However, it is not impossible to quit smoking, rather it is just hard and you will need to have a fixed and strong resolve to quit. Smoking brings extreme and fatal risks to your health, research shows that more than 400,000 U.S. citizens die from smoking related illnesses every year. Plus, smoking greatly increases the possibility of an individual having lung cancer and other types of cancer.
They say that second hand smoking is more dangerous than first hand smoking, second hand smoke is a toxic combination of poisons and carcinogens. There are about 4000 chemical compounds found on second hand smoke, 200 of which are known to be poisonous and up to 60 of these poisonous compounds have been identified as carcinogens (carcinogen – a substance which causes cancer).
Smoking also brings harm to children and infants who are always around a smoker. Women who smoke during pregnancy are more prone to having babies that are deprived of having good health. Due to second hand smoke 300,000 cases of infants having bronchitis and pneumonia are reported each year. For teenagers, if both the parents or if they are living in an environment where smoking and smokers are abundant, they are most likely to smoke at a very early age.
If you are thinking about quitting smoking, these tips might be able to help on your quest to being smoke free.
Quit Smoking Tips
1. Find the reason or reasons why you decided to quit smoking
– finding the reason or reasons might be an easy feat if you really want to quit smoking, first you must understand why you smoke, understanding the reason behind why you like to smoke is an essential requirement to come to understand why you want to quit smoking. If you have found the reason/reasons why you want to quit smoking, ask yourself, are these reasons strong enough to withhold the temptation of smoking?
2. Set a “quitting date”
– setting a “quitting date” to quit smoking makes you prepare yourself mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Try to set the date of quitting on a day that you will be able to relax while keeping yourself busy in order for you to make yourself free from thinking of smoking a cigar or two. Set the date at about 1 – 2 weeks after you decided that you will quit smoking.
3. Ask the people around you for support
– having someone to boost your morale makes quitting smoking more and more easy, for example you can ask your family to encourage you to quit smoking and discourage you from the thought of smoking. With their help, you can be more assured that everything will go well. Also, tell them about the side effects of quitting smoking, so they will not be so worried about what is happening to you.
4. Ask your doctor
– asking your doctor will be a great help, not only that he will be able to give you some advice on how to deal with the side effects of quitting, but he might also give you some medicines to support your intentions.
5. Be optimistic
– being positive on your decision will ease your burden, after all it is not easy to quit what you have done for so long, thinking about the pleasure that smoking gives, it will be a very difficult thing to do. Be confident that you can quit smoking, also, think about the grave illnesses that smoking brings. Believe in yourself and persevere to reach your goal.