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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Public Tobacco Smoking Laws Aid to Quit Smoking

Public Tobacco Smoking Laws Aid to Quit Smoking
by Tim Allen


The cigarette smoking habit has seen an evolution in its perception and acceptance. Early in its history tobacco smoking was viewed as actually being good for you. How untrue that tale turned out to be. Instead we now know what tobacco does. It causes problems like cancer, problems in the lungs and heart disease. Those are just the major risks involved. Others like the smell and the expense of the addiction all contribute to the bad side effects.

National awareness of these problems have legislated action and laws against tobacco smoking and the need to quit smoking. Some of these actions include the following.

Anti-Smoking Public Service Announcements: Truth is one very successful ad agency that has depicted the bad effects of smoking. They portray the tobacco industry as an evil empire. Their commercials are also cryptic in showing the effects of tobacco and smoking. The ads they show have even reached audiences of the NFL Super bowl.

Public Laws have also curtailed smoking on a social level. In many states around the USA smoking bans in social places like restaurants, bars and recreation facilities are banned. The states with such bans include:

ALASKA, ARIZONA, ARKANSAS, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, HAWAII, IDAHO, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, KANSAS, KENTUCKY, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEVADA, NEW JERSEY, NEW MEXICO, NEW YORK, NORTH DAKOTA, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, PUERTO RICO, RHODE ISLAND,SOUTH CAROLINA, SOUTH DAKOTA, TEXAS, UTAH, VERMONT, WASHINGTON DC, WASHINGTON STATE, WEST VIRGINIA, WISCONSIN, WYOMING

High taxes on cigarettes and cigars also cut deeper into the budgets of smokers. It is estimated that a smoker who starts early in his age will end up spending nearly two million dollars on cigarettes in his lifetime.

Agencies like insurance and health organizations also penalize smokers. This is accomplished with expensive fees and less services available due to the dangers of tobacco.

Nicotine patches and other products that help smokers stop smoking have also emerged on the market.

The result of all these restrictions, laws and legislations against tobacco smoking has made it a habit that is becoming inconvenient and expensive. Quitting smoking does come with expense and effort but the benefits are very bright. They include saving money every year and a longer lifespan. Better health and a longer lifespan. Your family will also benefit from better health and not having to deal with secondhand smoking.


About the Author
Learn from the lessons of government agencies and organizations and get help to stop smoking. See the New Nicotine Cure today (Endorsed by the Writer of this Article): http://www.NicotineCure.info

You can also get the free Stop Smoking Newsletter by emailing us here stopsmokingtip@aweber.com.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Quit Smoking Techniques: Discover The Available Methods

Quit Smoking Techniques: Discover The Available Methods
by Rick Churchill


Of the millions of smokers in the world, many would tell you that they would gladly quit if only they could find a program that actually delivers what it promises. There are many quit smoking techniques available which guarantee results but if they all worked, there would be many fewer smokers in the world. Most smokers who have tried to quit are aware of the many methods available such as nicotine replacement therapy, drugs to alleviate cravings, hypnosis, and alternate programs. This article will look at these methods and discuss what works and what doesnt.

The technique of nicotine replacement therapy is probably the most common and regrettably the least successful quit smoking method available. The theory behind this method is to replace the nicotine a smoker gets from tobacco with an alternate source such as gums or patches in order to fight the cravings a smoker gets once they quit smoking. It is thought that by replacing a smokers nicotine intake by another source then the smoker can wean themselves off of tobacco completely. The problem is that it is the nicotine that is addictive and while replacing it with a different source may eliminate the health risk of the other chemicals in tobacco, the smoker is still introducing the nicotine poison into their body. Because of these facts, a smoker must have an extreme amount of willpower to break the nicotine habit completely and may turn to drugs to help fight the cravings instead.

For many smokers who are trying to quit that want to avoid the nicotine replacement therapy, drugs that help fight the cravings are a viable alternative. Drugs such as Chantix, Zyban, and Accomplia are all drugs that can be taken when trying to quit smoking although many of these types of drugs require a prescription from your doctor. Most of these drugs work by blocking certain receptors in a smokers body reducing the nicotine withdraw symptoms and some even affect the smoker by decreasing the pleasurable feeling they get from smoking. While these drugs may be useful for some smokers, the success rate of many is not all that high and many smokers can experience unwanted side effects from taking them. Drugs such as this may help smokers with their cravings but another alternative is hypnosis.

Hypnosis is still to this day often associated with the silly parlor trick where somebody is hypnotized and made to do embarrassing things in spite of the fact that science has firmly established hypnotism as a true science. Hypnotism is a state where a person is open to helpful, positive suggestions and will not work on anybody that doesnt already have a desire to follow through on the suggestion being made. Quit smoking programs such as the Freshstart quit smoking program rely on hypnotism and claim that using hypnotism to quit smoking will remove any cravings that a smoker would normally feel upon quitting. Quit smoking programs that rely on hypnotism often claim higher success rates then a lot of other programs but you must keep in mind that this method will not work on somebody that doesnt really want to quit smoking but, of course, this would prove true for any program out there. If hypnotism is something that seems a little unreal to you, then there are some other alternative methods available.

There are many other quit smoking programs available and I will not discuss them all but will say that they can range widely in both success rates and cost. Some of these techniques include acupuncture, quit smoking groups where you use a buddy system for support, and punishment programs where your body learns to associate smoking with physical pain. One program that seems to fall into the punishment style seems to be the forced smoking method where a smoker is forced to smoke non-stop until they get physically ill and no longer have any desire to smoke again. While this may work in some cases, it has also been known to backfire where the smokers addiction is greatly increased.

As you can see there are a great many quit smoking programs available with a wide range of success rates and not every one will work for all smokers. As already stated, no matter how good the program may claim to be, it will not work on a smoker who is not already committed to quitting their habit. Of all of the programs Ive discussed, it appears that the most successful is the hypnosis method and the Freshstart quit smoking program makes some outstanding claims that, if true, would work for most, if not all, smokers.


About the Author
If you are a smoker that really wants to quit but have been unable to break the habit then there is help available. If you are committed to quitting then the Freshstart quit smoking program may be what you are looking for. Click here for more quit smoking reviews or you can go here to visit the Freshstart website.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Quit Smoking Tips

Quit Smoking Tips
by Trevor Kugler



So you want to quit smoking? Good for you. As a person who choked down "lung darts" for more than fifteen years, I think I may know something about the act of smoking cigarettes. I walked away from smoking forever about a year ago and wanted to share how I did it, in the hopes that the information might help someone else. I know that you don't really want to out of breath from walking up a flight of stairs or god forbid have to run even a short distance. I also know that you don't like the stink that follows you around after smoking a cigarette. I know all of these things and hopefully some of these tips can help you walk away forever, just like I did.

The other beautiful thing about my experience is that I'm sharing it with you and in no way trying to sell you something to "help" you quit. I don't represent any product or company that claims to "help" with quitting smoking. I realized, through my own experience, that none of the "help" is necessary anyway. Here's my theory: no one helped me start smoking, so why do I need someone to help me stop? The bottom line is that you were born with absolutely everything you need to stop smoking.

The biggest hurdle that I had to overcome was this: What I thought about quitting smoking. Now that I've actually accomplished quitting I realize that quitting was more about what I thought, than anything else. I came to the realization that everything that a person sees and hears when they are quitting is how difficult it's going to be. How nicotine is harder to quit than heroine, and stuff like that. I simply decided not to buy into all of this hype.

I realized that most of the hype was coming from companies trying to sell me something. Sure, they claimed the stuff they were selling would help me, but the bottom line was that they were trying to sell me something. As I said, I simply stopped buying into all of the hype. I began telling myself how simple and easy quitting was going to be. I also started hanging out where people smoked less. I would even go so far as to look at a cigarette while I was smoking it, and say to it (in my mind) "I've got this; stopping isn't going to be hard". The process of me smoking went on for about six more months, when one day I looked in my pack and there was only 1 cigarette left.

I pulled out that cigarette, looked at it, and said, "This is the last one". I smoked it and that was it. I haven't had another cigarette since. It was simple. There was nothing hard about it. Were there times that I wanted a cigarette? Of course, but I simply didn't do it. Quitting smoking doesn't have to be difficult. Remember: Quitting smoking is as difficult as you think it will be, that's all there is to it.




About the Author
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com. He has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his 3 year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana.



Start Catching More Fish!

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Why Is It Hard To Quit Smoking?

Why Is It Hard To Quit Smoking?
by Mike Durand


Why is it hard to quit smoking when smoking is emerging to be one of the major causes of death in the modern world. This is attributed to the growing consumers of tobacco. Tobacco is responsible for the death of 1 in 10 adults all over the world, which translates to around 5 million deaths every year.It is because of this fact that cigarette smoking is now a public health priority.

Cigarette smoking increased sometime during the First World War.Tobacco companies were successful in including their products as part of the military ration. At the time, soldiers under the stress of warfare became smokers.And since then, the tobacco industry has grown through an increased consumer patronage all over the world an even today more and more young people are becoming smokers. With the prevalence of cigarette smoking came its adverse health effects on its consumers. Smoking poses dangers directly and indirectly to the public. An indirect public health concern that cigarettes also poses is accidental fires. As for the health risks in smoking tobacco, at first it was believed the disease mainly strikes the cardiovascular system, resulting in heart attack, respiratory tract diseases, and even cancer based on the 1964 Surgeon General report, then the Surgeon General report in 2004 added leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach.

In spite of these risks, the number of smokers all other the world has not dropped considerably.Though several smokers claim to have been meaning to quit this habit,they just find it so difficult.The fact is that after smoking for quite sometime,quitting smoking can prove to be very hard, but not impossible to do.

Why is it hard to quit smoking?

Foremost, this is because most smokers become addicted to the nicotine contained in tobacco products. Nicotine has a deadly addictive power.How? When a person puffs a cigarette, nicotine particles find their way to the lungs through inhalation. From there, nicotine is absorbed into the bloodstream just like the oxygen people breathe. It travels with the blood to the brain where it locks onto certain receptor areas. Dopamine is then released into the brain. This is the chemical that makes the smokers feel a euphoric sensation. Smokers find it difficult to quit because they come to be dependent on this good feeling. And in wanting to experience this repeatedly, this leads to dependence, a sign of addiction, why is it hard to quit smoking, one reason is the tobacco companies are aware of this and have been slowly increasing the amount of nicotine in cigarettes since 1998 feeding the smokers addiction.

Why is it hard to quit smoking? A person who attempts to quit may experience withdrawal symptoms. Topping the bill of withdrawal symptoms is depression.With the absence of the chemical that produces the relaxing feeling,the brain becomes distressed without it. Other withdrawal symptoms from smoking include:

- Headaches, dizziness, and nausea

- Shakes, chills

- Cough, dry throat nasal drip

- Hunger, fatigue

- Constipation, gas or stomach pain

- Insomnia, troubled sleep

Not knowing what to do with their hands is another common complaint among ex-smokers while quitting. Once people get hooked, smoking becomes a big part of their lives. They seem to enjoy holding on a stick of cigarette and puffing on them. And after a long period of lighting up, it becomes a routine. As a fact, humans are creatures of habit. By some force of habit, smokers find themselves reaching for a cigarette and lighting it up automatically without thinking about it.

Why is it hard to quit smoking? Certain triggers in the environment may also hamper a smoker's desire to quit. Things may turn on a smoker's need for a cigarette.These may be feelings, places, and moods. Even the things done routinely may trigger this craving for a smoke.

For those who have been smoking for quite a while already, they may not realize it but they form some emotional attachment to cigarettes. They find the cigarette calming and comforting during those stressful times.Cigarette smoking somehow becomes an extension of their social life, particularly when they are emotionally at the highest or lowest.Giving the smoker a feeling that giving up smoking would seem like giving up a trusted friend.

These are only some of the major reasons why it is hard to quit smoking.But there are also several strategies and quitting techniques that may aid smokers to finally give up on this tenacious habit.

Quitting smoking all begins with one's intention to stop.They must have the will power to overcome the craving for smoking.There are also a lot of quit smoking products on the market.These may also be worth trying.Support groups are proved to be very helpful, too.

Smokers must understand that to quit smoking may take more than one attempt. They must also try several methods before they can finally succeed.Smoking is a stubborn habit because it is closely tied to the acts in the course of people's everyday lives.Even so,with determination, will power, and a strategy, you can find the answer to why is it hard to quit smoking? You can be free of the nicotine addiction and be a non smoker.


About the Author
Eliminates All Cravings For Nicotine. Free Stop Smoking Subliminal Hypnosis Audio. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee! To Better Health

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Parents: We Can't Escape What We Model

Parents: We Can't Escape What We Model
by Dr. Randy Cale, Ph.D.


I recently had a conversation with one of my adult coaching clients about his twelve year old son. He was talking about son's growing negativity, how he couldn't stand to be around his own son, and how his son seemed to always have to have the last word.

He went on to discuss how frustrating it was to listen to him complain repeatedly. He also explained his many efforts to nurture him toward more independence and autonomy, and was exasperated with his inability to convince him to stop blaming others for his misery.

As my client was taking, notice how he is using his time with me. He is complaining about his son complaining...and he doesn't even notice it! This is how modeling works.

HOW he does life...is HOW his son does life. He just doesn't see it...because he has the mental story that he is worried about his son's tendencies, and is blind to his own tendencies. He sees his son as negative, always complaining and unwilling to walk away from a conversation without getting in the last word.

Yet, the reality is that this dad is always complaining to his son about his behavior. He constantly thinking negative and pessimistic thoughts about his son. Ultimately, dad is also unwilling to let his son have the last word, and it is dad who really wants to have the last word

Can you get this?

While strongly asserting his disapproval of his son's complaints, he is the one complaining...ABOUT HIS SON! How he is using his attention is very similar to the way his son uses his attention. The problem is not that this father is inaccurate in his view of his son: it's likely that his son is challenging. However, what dad is missing here is the fact that he is modeling (and thus teaching) the very behavior he doesn't want his son to have.

How you do life is (likely) how your kids will do life.

The key purpose of this article is to heighten your awareness of the power of modeling. In the session with my client, he is hooked into discussions about his son's behavior. He is caught up in the content of his complaints and neediness, and focused on "how my son is making himself miserable." In doing so, he is missing "how he is making his own life miserable." He just can't see it!

What we model affects children on several levels, and has more power than we suspect. This is because children learn the "how" of living by how parents use their attention and energy. We teach it by what we talk about. We teach it by what we complain about. We teach by what we notice, and what we ignore.

We are constantly modeling to our children "how" to live. There are other influences, of course, but modeling is the most powerful part of the teaching experience for children. So, while the words and contents of your conversations with your kids are important, the more powerful part of your role as a teacher and guide is through the way that you live. It's through how you do your life.

Here are three specific questions to consider as you attend to what you model.

1. What are my daily habits?

For most of us, we are well aware of the kinds of things that we can do that are healthy versus the kinds of things that are unhealthy.

There is no longer much argument about whether or not smoking is unhealthy...it will likely harm you. There is little debate about whether or not exercise is good for you...a lack of exercise will compromise your life. There is little need to discuss the role of processed sugars and simple carbohydrates...they are harmful over the long term.

In situation after situation, how you discipline yourself to maintain healthy habits is much more important than any words or discussions that you have about those habits. In reality, this is about walking our talk and noticing whether we use words to try to teach, or do we lead with healthy habits that demonstrate our commitments?

Do I habitually get angry when I don't want my children to react with anger? Do I speak negatively about the in-laws when I want my children to be respectful? Do I regularly talk about exercise, but my kids have never seen me lift anything other than the TV remote?

2. What do I regularly discuss?

When discussing your day-to-day activities and the events of your life, what do you tend to focus on? What gets your repeated attention in your home?

Do you complain about your co-workers? Do you focus on what your children aren't doing? Do you keep discussing problems? Do you keep noticing what is not working...rather than what is working?

All in all, is it a world where your kids are experiencing you as a complainer, focused on negativity...or do they experience you as a parent focused on what's working and going well?

This is a critical distinction to make. It will shape how your children learn to focus their attention.

3. What behavior gets my repeated attention?

In the day-to-day life around your home, what hooks your attention? What pulls you in? What do you notice most?

Are you constantly reminding your kids to take care of their clothes? Is it endless nagging to keep them on top of their homework?

Or ...is most of your energy focused on catching moments of cooperation? Are you vigilant in noticing the kids while they are doing their homework.... rather than while they are staring out the window?

Do you comment on parts of the room that are neat and orderly...rather than the parts that are not quite there yet?

Ultimately, at the end of the day, what has gotten the bulk of your attention?

In this way, you teach your kids "how" to live life. You're teaching them whether to invest their energy in what they value and appreciate.... or whether to invest their energy in finding problems that they don't like.

These three questions are really just a wakeup call to be aware. For all of us, it is likely that the first and most important influence on our children will be how we live our lives, rather than how we tell our children to live their lives. So we must walk our talk to have integrity, and to unlock the power contained in the many other tools available for parents striving to be effective and loving guides for our children.


About the Author
With over 20 years of clinical experience Dr. Randy L. Cale is a licensed psychologist, therapist, author and speaker. He has worked with thousands of families from all walks of life, and has helped families with behavior problems that go from the normal daily struggles to extreme behavior problems. He has developed solutions that are practical, proven and easily absorbed and put into daily practice.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Quit Smoking through Simple Home Remedies

Quit Smoking through Simple Home Remedies
by Dr. Anna Hardy


Much has been said and written about smoking as a dangerous health problem. Each and every person who smokes is aware of the fact that their habit could hasten them towards death. Smoking is known to be one of the carcinogenic factors, and could lead to a wide variety of cancers including lung cancer and oral cancer. Smoking also causes various breathing and respiratory problems.

But despite knowing all this, people are reluctant to give up smoking. The main attraction of smoking is the tobacco smoke, which is an addictive. In addition, tobacco smoke also contains nicotine, which is deadly poisonous to human beings in its pure form. Tar is another harmful ingredient. This can clog the lungs over time.

Many smokers have intentions to give up smoking, but cannot go about it in the right way. The main reason behind their inability to give up smoking is its addiction. Of course, a person wishing to give up smoking must have a steely determination to do so. But many a time that is not enough. The body may react violently to the sudden giving up of smoking. For this reason, it is necessary to fortify the body also.

In Ayurveda, there are some good techniques in which the body can be trained to cope up with the reduced smoking habits. This article tries to list some of the better Ayurvedic techniques in helping smokers in their quest of giving up smoking.

Dietary Methods to Stop Smoking

By changing your dietary lifestyle, you can make an effort to quit smoking. The following guidelines can be followed:-

- Do not consume more of acidic foods. Increase the quantity of alkaline foods in the diet. This changes the food preferences of the taste buds and helps them to adapt themselves to the de-addiction. Foods such as raisins, beets, lima beans, dandelion, etc. are very good for people who are giving up smoking.

- Have a good amount of vitamin C intake. This increases the hormones that help the body strengthen. Have a glass of orange juice or grapefruit juice twice daily.

- Sweet foods also help a bit to reduce the urge for smoking. Honey must be liberally used in the diet in different forms.

- Keep your food well supplemented with sources of proteins, amino acids and all the different kinds of vitamins.

- Have a glassful of water with a teaspoon of baking soda in it with every meal. This not only helps to digest the meal properly, but it also helps to reduce the urge for smoking after the meal.


Home Remedies to Quit Smoking

- Whenever you feel the urge of smoking, eat something salty, or lick a little salt with the tip of your tongue. Your craving will go away. If you do this every time you feel like smoking, you will be totally cured of the addiction.

- Grate some radish, strain it and extract its juice. Mix some honey in it. Have this juice twice a day. This is a good remedy for raising the body's tenacity against smoking.

- Licorice sticks have a placebo effect on smokers. Smokers like to have something in their mouths. So, some experts suggest them to chomp on licorice sticks. These are safe substitutes for the cigarettes. Putting some chocolates in the mouth also help to reduce the urge of smoking. But excessive chocolates are dangerous to health in other respects.

- Chew on sugarcane stubs as a substitute for cigarettes. Sugarcane stubs are very harmless, and their sweet taste helps to reduce the urge for smoking.

- Aromatic oils and fragrances are very good for smokers. A massage with aromatherapy oils can really go a long way in curbing the smokers' urges.

- When there is nothing around, experts also suggest a certain breathing therapy to stop the craving for cigarettes. When you have an urge, sit down in a calm place. Take ten slow and deep breaths. By doing so, you are stimulating your respiratory system. This will slowly help your urge for smoking to subside.

- Foreign herbs such as valerian, chamomile, hops, skullcap, lobelia and peppermint are also very beneficial in suppressing the urge for smoking.

Read More on Treatments by Ayurveda and Home Remedies at http://www.ayushveda.com


Read more about Ayurveda at World's Largest Portal on Ayurveda and Ayurvedic Remedies. - The Free Ayurvedic Encyclopedia


About the Author
Dr. Anna Hardy