10/10/2011

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How to Avoid Smoking Triggers?




You have just quit smoking cigarettes, but there are certain events or times of the day which make you lighting a fag. This can be at a party, when you are stressed or bored, or right after a meal. If you are thinking how to avoid smoking triggers, then you have come to the right place! These events are known triggers – things, places or people you link with smoking. Don’t worry as they happen with most smokers who try to quit smoking. However, with practice and patience, you can overcome these triggers and successfully kick the habit for good. Read on to know how to avoid smoking triggers and stay away from a smoking relapse.



• In the Morning – If you feel like smoking right after waking up, then don’t remain idle. Move your butt! Spit shine those boots, jog to take your mind off or take a shower. If you have to stay in the bed, then keep flavored toothpicks, straws or gum by the bedside to help you curb the strong urge to smoke.
• With Coffee – Hey, you can simply trade the job! If you have been tempted to buy that French silk coffee for sometime in the store and were scared to try it, now is the moment. Take the plunge without having any second thoughts! Switching over to any flavored decaf or coffees can help you kill the strong urge to smoke. You can simply try some teas. Hey, this is the perfect time to exchange your cracked cup for that stainless steel personalized travel mug.
• After a Meal – Here is the perfect dig! Freshen up! Get up from the table and brush your teeth. For extra clean feel, you can use some mouthwash or baking soda. Additionally, you can try eating meals in different places to help you to break the association between smoking and meals. You can eat you food at places which are no-smoking zones. You can also eat many small meals instead of having two large meals. This will keep your energy in balance as well as prevent the strong urge to smoke cigarettes. Also, avoid eating spicy or sugary foods.
• Due to High Stress Levels – Feeling overwhelmed? Overworked? Hey, get your game on! Go out and swim, play basketball or baseball. Or, simply strap on a heavy bag filled with rocks for a 10-mile run to release the stress. If you don’t want to go out, get a deck of cards and play with your friend or even alone. Even hobbies help to curb these triggers. Unable to get away? Just practice deep breathing exercise. Try to imagine filling you lungs with clean, fresh air.
• Due to Setting Boredom – You just have to reach out! You can talk to someone who can support you in your efforts to give up smoking. You can even try these measures – interact with other ex-smokers, read quit smoking stories or engage in live chat sessions. You can do some activity in order to keep yourself engaged. Just change your surroundings by walking around.
• After a Date – Man, you can simply veg out! After going out on a date, grab a plate of cheddar, celery sticks and grapes, instead of lighting a fag. A recent study found that smokers discovered that fags tasted worse after they ate dairy products, vegetables or fruit and after they drank juice or plain water. Hail to the power of cheese!
• Before Hitting the Bed – Just chill! If the mere sight of your comfy pillow makes you feel like lighting a fag, then don’t fret. Light a candle or incense and take in the soothing aroma instead. Play your favorite songs and allow yourself to relax. Just imagine a life without smoking. Just think and believe that you can do it!
I hope now you know how to avoid smoking triggers and stay away from a smoking relapse. Just remember, smoking is not good for your health. Ensure that you don’t fall back in the old trap of smoking!

1/02/2011

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Harmful Health Effects Of Smoking Cigarettes


The harmful health effects of smoking cigarettes presented in the list below only begin to convey the long term side effects of smoking.
Quitting makes sense for many reasons but simply put: smoking is bad for health.

Harmful Effects of Smoking

  • Every year hundreds of thousands of people around the world die fromdiseases caused by smoking cigarettes -Smoking KILLS.
  • One in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit. Half of these deaths will occur in middle age.
  • Tobacco smoke also contributes to a number of cancers.
  • The mixture of nicotine and carbon monoxide in each cigarette you smoke temporarily increases your heart rate and blood pressure, straining your heart and blood vessels.
  • This can cause heart attacks and stroke. It slows your blood flow, cutting off oxygen to your feet and hands. Some smokers end up having their limbs
    amputated
    .
  • Tar coats your lungs like soot in a chimney and causes cancer. A 20-a-day smoker breathes in up to a full cup (210 g) of tar in a year.
  • Changing to low-tar cigarettes does not help because smokers usually take deeper puffs and hold the smoke in for longer, dragging the tar deeper into their lungs.
  • Carbon monoxide robs your muscles, brain and body tissue of oxygen, making your whole body and especially your heart work harder. Over time, your airways swell up and let less air into your lungs.
  • Smoking causes disease and is a slow way to die. The strain of smoking effects on the body often causes years of suffering. Emphysema is an illness that slowly rots your lungs. People with emphysema often get bronchitis again and again, and suffer lung and heart failure.
  • Lung cancer from smoking is caused by the tar in tobacco smoke. Men who smoke are ten times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smokers.
  • Heart disease and strokes are also more common among smokers than non-smokers.
  • Smoking causes fat deposits to narrow and block blood vessels which leads to heart attack.
  • Smoking causes around one in five deaths from heart disease.
  • In younger people, three out of four deaths from heart disease are due to smoking.
  • Cigarette smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight, prematurity, spontaneous abortion, and perinatal mortality in humans, which has been referred to as the fetal tobacco syndrome.
As mentioned earlier, this list can only begin to convey the harmful health effects of smoking cigarettes and its long term side effects. Next we consider reasons why smoking is bad for those around you in the effects of second hand smoke.