If you smoke, we recommend that you definitely read this article! This article will tell you everything that you need to know about quitting smoking. Even if you are not really keen on quitting and are not sure why you should quit, we still recommend that you read this article just for the fun of it!

If you know anyone who smokes, we recommend that you read this article and tell them about it or direct them to read this article too.

Now, firstly, just incase you think that you do not want to quit smoking, let us tell you a little about what kind of effect smoking has…

The bad effects of smoking!
Want to become old much faster? – Then smoke!
You see, as you become old naturally, your arteries that carry the blood all around your body become “hard” and “narrow”. Because of this, blood starts to clot in them and there will be blockages caused in your arteries, which leads to all sorts of different problems.

For example:

If the blood clots in the arteries that supply blood to the heart, you will get a heart attack.
If the blood clots in the arteries that supply blood to the brain, you will get a stroke, you can become paralyzed for life etc.
If the blood clots in the arteries that supply blood to the kidney, you will have kidney failure.
If the blood clots in the arteries that supply blood to the legs, you might have to amputate your leg.
All this is generally caused with age. As people become old, their arteries start to harden and their blood starts to clot. But, you if you are smoking, you can make all this happen much earlier. If you are smoking you can become much older, much faster!

Your blood will start to clot 10 years before that of non-smokers (on an average)! While you are still young and providing for a family, who depend on you, one day, suddenly you will have heart attack and die.

It’s one thing to die when you are old. It’s a completely other thing to die when you have a family that depends on you. We are not telling you to quit smoking because it is bad for your health. It is bad for your health! But so what? We are telling you to stop smoking because you CANNOT AFFORD TO DIE when you have a family dependent on you.

Okay, maybe you do not have a family who is dependent on you. Then why should you quit smoking? Tell us, do you have around Rs.1 lakh to throw into a fire and burn. If I took Rs.1 lakh from you and threw it into a fire and let it burn, will you allow me? Obviously not! Well that would be the cost of hospitalization, if you actually were to survive a heart attack, stoke etc. But most likely you will just die. So the question is, do you want to die?

If you are young and think that you will quit smoking later on in life, then you can forget about it. You are never going to quit smoking. The chemicals involved in smoking, like nicotine, have severe effects on your brain such that quitting smoking becomes very very difficult if you have been addicted for too long. So, even if you are young and intend to have a family at some in the future, we suggest you quit now!

But, the effects stated above are just some of the effects that smoking can cause. Here are some other things that smoking can do to you.

Do you want to go blind?
Do you want to die of cancer?
Do you want to your teeth to fall off?
Do you want your gums to swell up?
Do you want to look older with a lot more wrinkles?

If nothing else till now has appealed to you, then maybe this point will:

For Men
Do you want to have kids? Well if you continue smoking there is a pretty good possibility that you will not be able to. Smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) by about 50 per cent.

Erection can’t occur unless blood can flow freely into the penis, so these blood vessels have to be in good condition. As we said earlier, smoking can damage the blood vessels and cause them to degenerate reducing blood flow and the pressure of blood in the penis.

This effect increases over time, so if you haven’t got problems now, things could change later.

For women
Do you want to have kids? If you continue to smoke, there is a pretty good possibility that you will not be able to have a healthy child. Babies born to mothers that smoke are generally underweight. Smoking is also known to cause many pregnancy complications, rupture of membranes that can lead to heavy bleeding and cause the deaths of both the mother and the baby.

So, do you believe us that it is a good idea to quit smoking? You do! Great. Then let us get right to it. But first, let us get to understand why it becomes so hard for someone to quit smoking…

Why is it hard to quit smoking?
Well, the biggest problem with smoking is that it is addictive. Now, this is easy to say. But let us try to understand what we mean when we say “addictive”.

Basically, addictive substances like alcohol, drugs etc. are so because they make you feel happy or good when you take them. You see, the brain has a certain system called the “reward system”. To put it in a very crude way, the “reward system” is a little reward that the brain gives you when you do something that is healthy for the body. For example, when you eat your food on time, you will get a little reward from your brain. This reward is generally in the form of momentary happiness. And this momentary happiness is caused by a chemical called “dopamine” that is released by the brain when ever you do something right.

Now, addictive substances are addictive because they get the brain to release some “dopamine” even though you have not done anything healthy to deserve it. Because of this, people who consume this addictive substances, have the “dopamine” flowing though their bodies and they are constantly with the feeling of happiness.

When they are bored or sad or stressed out, they want to consume something that will get the “dopamine” flowing though their body so that they feel good again. So over time, the body gets used to the constant happy feeling. If you take it away from them, they cannot live without it!

“Nicotine” is one of the chemicals in cigarettes that has this effect. So basically, to stop smoking, you will need to get over this “nicotine” addiction.

Please note: To be completely fair, nicotine has some other effects too except for just making you happy. It increases your blood sugar rate, increases your metabolism, reduces your appetite etc.

Now, here is the most important part! When your body gets addicted to nicotine, your body gets used to being constantly happy. So there are some changes that take place in the “reward system” to cope with the constant intake of nicotine and the constant flow of chemicals like “dopamine”. Your body adapts to the high nicotine intake. The “reward system” has to change.

Now, if you take away the nicotine and quit smoking, the body remains in the changed state for some time. Because of this, you will constantly feel the need to have a smoke just after you quit. But, here is the good news. If you stay away from nicotine for just “a month” your body will go back to it’s original way of working and you will not feel the immense need to smoke any more.

So, if you want to quit smoking, just quit for “one month” that is all! One month! If you stay away from your cigarettes for one month, the immense need to have a smoke will go away.

We are not saying, that the temptation will go away. Years later, after you quit smoking, you might still be tempted to go back to it. But, if you last for that first month without smoking, the temptation will reduce dramatically. So if you want to quit smoking, the task is very simple and very hard. Don’t smoke for just one month!

So, get up now. Throw all your cigarettes away. Now! Then go and tell everyone you know that you have quit smoking for the rest of your life. Don’t tell them that you have quit. Or that you are trying it out.

Tell each and everyone you know, especially the people who mean the most to you, that you have quit smoking for the rest of your life. We are asking you to do this because we want you to commit to yourself that you have quit. Telling everyone you know is a good first step.

In the next section, we will show you to get through the first one month of being a non-smoker. You are now a non-smoker. Remember that.

How to stop?
Why do you smoke?

Now, this is a little complicated and we cannot give you the answer to this question. But what you need to find out is why do you find the need to smoke. Smoking gives you feeling of energy, alertness or happiness. Why do you think you need this feeling?

A large number of people smoke because their problem is stress. They see the “good feeling” that nicotine gives them as a way to cope with stress. That is why they smoke.

Why do you smoke? There must be a reason why you smoke. Find it out. If you too smoke because of stress, then it makes sense to deal with your stress problem. If you do not, so long as you have your stress problem, you will want to escape it by smoking.

One of the best ways to find out why you feel the need for smoking is to observe yourself and to see at what point of your day do you start smoking. What makes you want do this? Basically, you need to observe yourself and decide the answer to this question. Then you must solve the problem that causes you to smoke.

If you have a problem of dealing with stress, we recommend that you check out this article.

Avoid the rationalizations
Once you stop smoking, you will initially have to fight the very strong feeling that will try to get you to smoke again. Your mind will try to trick you into smoking by rationalizing it. Here are some common things that you might try to convince yourself about:

I’ll just use it to get through this rough spot.
Today is not a good day; I’ll quit tomorrow.
It’s my only bad quality.
How bad is it, really? My uncle smoked all his life and he lived to be over 90.
You’ve got to die of something.
Life is no fun without smoking.
We are telling you this so that you know it is coming. You should know that this is what to expect. You should know that you must not convince yourself about these things. These are just tricks that your mind will try to play on you. Do not give in!

There are some other things that you can expect when you just quit smoking like anxiety, depression, stress etc. These will come initially. Be prepared for them.

Simple breathing technique

Here is a simple breathing technique to deal with the urges to smoke that you will have:

Every time you want a cigarette, do the following. Do it “three” times!

Inhale the deepest “lung-full” of air you can, and then, very slowly, exhale. Tighten your lips so that the air can come out slowly. As you exhale, close your eyes, and let your chin gradually sink over onto your chest. Visualize all the tension leaving your body, slowly draining out of your fingers and toes, just flowing on out.

This is a variation of a yoga technique and is very relaxing. If you practice this, you’ll be able to use it for any future stressful situation you find yourself in. And it will be your greatest weapon during the strong cravings sure.

Stay Away From Alcohol, Sugar And Coffee
Do your very best to stay away from alcohol, sugar and coffee the first week or longer, as these tend to increase the desire for a cigarette. Avoid fatty foods, as your metabolism will slow down a bit without the nicotine, and you may gain weight.

Nibble on low calorie foods like celery, apples and carrots. Chew gum or suck on cinnamon sticks.

Stretch out your meals; eat slowly and wait a bit between bites.

After dinner, instead of a cigarette, treat yourself to a cup of mint tea or a peppermint candy.

Distract yourself. Make friends. Take a new class. Do whatever you need to do. But do not touch a cigarette.

As the month progresses, the urge to have a cigarette will go on reducing. At the end of the month, your body should be back to normal. Now, what is left is in your head. Now, if you even try to smoke once, you will be hooked so do not even touch a cigarette.

All this is much easier to say than do. These are just “tips” that sound good. YOU need to implement them. Forget everything else. For the first month, DO NOT TOUCH CIGERRETTS!

Print out and put up signs in your office, in your house, on your vehicle, everywhere. Tell the whole world that you are quitting. With enough dedication, we are sure you will be able to.

BEST OF LUCK!

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