Quit Smoking Action Plan

Over the past four years at the Stop Smoking Centre, we have helped over 2,000 people quit smoking. In that time, we’ve heard every story and have lost count of the times clients have begun by saying, “You may think this is silly, but…”

So first of all, let me ask you, how determined you are to stop smoking? On a scale of zero (not bothered) to ten (nothing will stop me), how determined are you to quit?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

If you have scored less than eight, you almost certainly have ‘mixed feelings’ about stopping. But don’t worry, that’s normal. Many smokers know all the reasons why they 'should' stop, but still struggle making the final decision. They beat themselves up, complaining of a lack of willpower. But they are wrong, it isn't willpower, you just need to make the decision.

Smokers who find it easy to quit say things like:

“I spent a year thinking about it before I finally decided to quit...

“…You just make a decision.”

Our experience of helping many hundreds of smokers is that ‘Making that decision’ is the main reason why those who quit easily found it easy to stop. Honestly answering the following questions will help you 'get off the fence' and reach the decision to quit.

Please answer the following questions:

How many cigarettes you smoke each day? ____

Note down what are you doing when you are smoking.

Is it while having a drink, after a meal, taking a break?

How many of these cigarettes do you actually enjoy? ____

Many clients tell us they smoke ‘all the time.’ If that’s your belief, just calculate how many hours you are actually smoking each day - assuming it takes about four minutes to smoke each cigarette, just multiply the number you smoke each day by 4. Then divide by 60 to get the number of hours you smoke.

Hours I smoke: ____

How many hours you are awake each day (Hint, the Av is 16 hours)? As you can see, even a heavy smoker doesn’t smoke all the time. In fact, even a heavy smoker is a ‘non-smoker’ more hours then they are a smoker!

Total hours awake: ____

Now let me ask you, why do you actually want to stop smoking? Tick which of the following apply to you:

o Health
o Money
o Unsociable
o Want to be there for my children/grandchildren
o Am pregnant, or intend to start a family
o Dislike the smell
o Inconveniento Controlling my life

If you ticked health, do you have current health issues?

For example, shortness of breath, wheezing, lack of energy, asthma, bronchitis or emphysema? Or have you suffered from colds or viruses that you just can’t shake? If you have noticed smoking is affecting your health, write down the specifics here:

If you ticked health but don’t have any current health issues, is it because (like many) you are concerned of what might happen if you continue to smoke? You are probably aware of all the facts:

· Smoking causes 120,000 deaths a year in the UK, that is 330 people every day
· Smokers in their thirties and forties have five times the amount of heart attacks as non- smokers the same age
· One half of smokers will die prematurely
· Studies by ASH and the BMA indicate that around 50% of UK male smokers in their thirties and forties suffer from smoking related impotence
· Women who continue to smoke are more likely to experience vomiting, urinary infections and thrush.

Is smoking stopping you from doing what you want to do (i.e. getting fit, participating in your favourite activity), or is it the fear of what might happen if you continue to smoke? Use this space to describe specifically what your health concerns are:

Now, make a note of all that you will gain by stopping smoking. Will you gain more health? More energy? Self-confidence? A clean smelling house? More money? Describe what you will gain by becoming a non-smoker:

Imagine how you will look in six months as a non-smoker? How are you feeling? What are others saying about you?

Now, try to imagine how it would be if you continue to smoke… Imagine yourself in five years time if you continue to smoke. How would you look? How would you feel? Fast-forwards another ten years. How does it feel now? What are you saying to yourself? Can you go another ten years? How is your health? What are you saying to yourself?

As best as you can, switch between the two future scenarios, Smoker… and Non Smoker. Switch between them more quickly now, four or five times. Smoker…Non-Smoker. Smoker.. Non-Smoker… etc

What do you notice? Most of our clients find the ‘non smoker’ becomes more compelling.

You can download the free report, "Secrets to Stopping Smoking Without Cravings or Weight Gain" from www.stopsmokingcentre.co.uk

Dave Trevena, with his wife Elaine have helped over 2,000 smokers quit at the Stop Smoking Centre. You can download their free report, 'Secrets of Stopping Smoking Without Cravings or Weight Gain' from, http://www.stopsmokingcentre.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Trevena

How To Quit Smoking

Every year, thousands of people around the world fall prey to a small but deadly evil. Cigarettes ensnare people with their strong flavor and stimulating effects, but few realize that these joys are short-lived. Cigarettes are made of tobacco, which contains nicotine. Nicotine is an organic compound, which tends to physically and mentally stimulate humans when taken in small dosages. However, an overdose of this substance may lead to several complications.
Nicotine addiction is hard to fight. Once a person is hooked onto cigarettes, he will find it hard to let go. We all know that the harmful effects of smoking are many. From simple respiratory disorders to more complex and lethal cases of heart diseases and cancer, quitting smoking is a life saving necessity.

Many people around the world try to quit this life-threatening addiction. Although it might seem difficult, the task is not impossible. How to quit smoking is a question that a smoker asks himself when he or she decides to take the path towards self-recovery. There are several steps one can take to get started. Fixing a date for quitting and listing out the reasons for the same is the starting point. A person should try and stick to the date without postponing it indefinitely. Quitting might seem hard at first and people tend to experience withdrawal symptoms. Hence, the process should be gradual. To help oneself, a person could try switching to a different brand, so the taste difference might act as a deterrent.

A person usually tends to smoke when he has nothing to do. Therefore, keeping busy constantly is a great solution to the problem. Apart from staying busy, one can also keep the mouth occupied with sugarless gum or candy so that the temptation to smoke does not arise.

The most important aid to quitting is getting the full support of one’s family and friends. A word of encouragement by a loved one can go a long way in helping a person overcome the addiction.

Quit Smoking provides detailed information on Quit Smoking, How To Quit Smoking, Ways To Quit Smoking, Quit Smoking Tips and more. Quit Smoking is affiliated with Stop Smoking Help.

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Can Acupuncture Help you Stop, and Eventually Quit Smoking?

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese healing approach that is almost 3500 years old. It is based on the belief that chi, a vital energy force flows around 12 key channels around the body. Within these channels there are 365 acupuncture points, which can sometimes become ‘blocked’ preventing the smooth flow of the vital energy, resulting in degrading health.

Acupuncture is a highly effective method for treating all manner of addictions including nicotine. The application of acupuncture to help you stop and eventually quit altogether, involves the insertion of very fine needles into special points on the skin. The needles are generally left in the skin for up to 20mins. There is virtually no pain apart from the slight pricking sensation when the needle first goes in. The technique itself results in the release of special chemicals called endorphins which will provide a ‘natural high’ at the end of the treatment.

Following the first treatment, the patient is likely to cough up phlegm during the week after treatment as the body starts to adjust to life without smoking, and the tar and phlegm in the lungs starts to loosen. It is common to schedule a follow up session about 1 week after the first to assess progress, and decide whether further therapy is required. Many heavy smokers have reported success after only 1 or 2 acupuncture sessions.

Acupuncture as a method for quitting smoking is best for those individuals that are heavily addicted to the nicotine, but have clearly made the commitment to quit. This type of therapy will dramatically reduce the side effects of nicotine withdrawal, such as the cravings, depression and anxiety. The body will also start to repair itself, particularly in improving blood circulation and de-congesting the lungs, and the patient will generally feel very positive and optimistic as a result of the release of natural anti-depressants by the brain.

Combining acupuncture with more traditional approaches to quitting smoking can be an effective strategy, especially if you have tried and failed at simply using willpower to quit in the past. If you decide acupuncture to stop smoking is for you, make sure you see a qualified and reputable practitioners.

About The Author

Peter Vine is a successful online publisher of Stop-Smoking-Products.com. He provides practical advice and the latest information on all aspects of stop smoking programs, which you can readily research on his website.

Giving Up Smoking Will Increase Your Wealth

Figures released recently by the Health Development Agency confirm that smoking is killing around 83,200 people a year in England. It is the largest cause of illness and significantly decreases smokers expected life-span.

Speak to any reformed smoker and they will tell you just how difficult it was to overcome the habit, although invariably they enthuse about their improved health and the saving in money. Did you know that smokers spend an incredible £92,000 on cigarettes, on average, during their lifetime? How's that for an incentive to quit?

It's not only the cost of the cigarettes that they'll save on. Life and critical illness insurance premiums will be healthier too – smokers can pay up to double the cost of their insurance cover. With the increased accessibility to information on the internet, people have been searching for ever lower prices for their insurance cover. This has led to a price war with insurance companies battling to retain their share of the market. In an effort to recoup some of the lost revenue, insurers have tightened their criteria and now insist that smokers must pay an increased premium to cover the health risk which their habit fuels. The standard rates for these insurance policies shown in insurance advertisements are for the fit and healthy and clearly the risks to which smokers expose themselves take them out of this category.

For even more incentive, smoking bans are now in place in enclosed public places in Scotland and Ireland and England will be joining them around mid 2007. An impressive number of people have given up their smoking habit as a result of this.

Once you've achieved your goal and broken the habit, you'll have to convince your insurer that you're a reformed character! You need to have given up smoking for between 1 and 5 years (most companies would be happy with 1 year) before you can be counted as a non-smoker. Then you can contact your company and ask them to re-quote. You'll see a very much reduced premium. At this stage it's worth trying the internet to see if you can save even more money. It would be as well to wait until your new insurer has checked your health details and accepted your application before cancelling your current cover.

It's no trouble to cancel a policy – stop paying! If you cancel your direct debit the insurer will contact you fairly quickly to see what's going on. You then need to tell them that you no longer require the cover. Cancellation charges will not apply.

Talking of health details, please be completely truthful when you fill in the proposal form. In the event of making a claim, your insurer will approach your Doctor for confirmation of your non-smoking status and if you're found to have misled them, your claim will be refused due to non disclosure of facts.

However long you've been a smoker, the improvement in your health gained by quitting is very worthwhile. Remember, to miss-quote someone famous, “Tis better to have smoked and stopped, then never to have stopped at all!” Or something like that.

Express Life Insurance specialise in Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Challiner

How To Quit Smoking

Smoking has been linked to many health conditions, such as Lung Disease and Emphysema, both of which are often lethal, and thus many people have been trying for years to quit smoking. However, quitting is easier said than done as cigarettes have an ingredient known as nicotine, which makes smoking addictive and thus very difficult to quit.

Now, some people are able to stop smoking under their own power; however, thousands of others have suffered with their smoking problems for years and it is killing them slowly. It can be easier to quit smoking if you get some prescribed medication from your doctor which is used to help people overcome their addiction to nicotine, or use one of the many consumer products such as the Nicotine patch or Nicotine gum to help stop smoking. The bottom line is, if you are serious about quiting, there are lots of options out there.

Smoking is a very difficult habit to overcome, and for those who cannot quit by means of their own will power, it is recommended that they seek medical help to help stop smoking and overcome their addiction. Smoking is very dangerous and thus it is recommended that smokers begin the quitting processes quickly so that serious diseases do not have a chance to develop.

For Health tips and more information on cancer visit What Is Mesothelioma or http://www.worldfitnes.ca

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Smoking Gun for Diabetics

If you are feeling great now, consider it a blessing, and quit today. Stay ahead of the game. If you have an existing health problem, then quit today, prevent further damage, and maybe even reverse some of the effects. If you have diabetes, it is even more imperative that you quit now. For those of you with diabetes, your risks increase dramatically when you smoke. For example, some of the risks are:


- Death from a stroke or heart attack is increased by 11 fold

- Circulation & wound healing problems which may lead to infection & amputation

- Kidney disease, blindness, & neuropathy

- Increase in blood sugar levels

- High blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides in the blood which can result in a heart attack.


There are treatments created to assist people like you to make the decision to ‘Quit for Life’. You may have tried numerous times to quit and may think it is impossible. It is not impossible. The first step is to make the clear decision to stop. The second step is to decide which method you will use.


One treatment in particular offers an all-new, clinically proven method. It is absolutely clean. This breakthrough approach was created in 1999 by a team of scientists and professors in Germany. Since then, thousands of people in Europe have successfully quit smoking. We have a non-invasive treatment that is free of side effects, needles, medication, and nicotine. The computer aided software is administered via electronic stimulation which shortens, if not eliminates, the nicotine withdrawal state, partly through the release of endorphins. Our treatment has had staggering success rates in Europe and is continuing here in the U.S.


Remember, for every cigarette that you smoke, minutes are taken from your life. Even more so if you are also diabetic. Make the decision today to quit destroying your body, and make up your mind once and for all. Let this patented method help you with the rest. It is the best gift you will ever give to yourself and your loved ones.


For more information please visit: http://nicocess.com or call 1-888-320-QUIT.

Annette Baril is a New York State Licensed Acupuncturist.

Free to reprint as long as the authors name and website link follow, and content remains unchanged.

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Stop Smoking Help Has Finally Arrived

Millions of people smoke, and to many, particularly those that have been smoking for some time, the prospect of stopting seems daunting. An addiction to nicotine is a serious one, and is multifaceted: there is a physical component, in that your body craves the nicotine the cigarettes contain, and a psychological one, in that many habits and situations become associated with cigarettes for the smoker. For these reasons it is important that you come up with a plan of attack in order to stop smoking: although the cold-turkey technique works for some people, the vast majority of smokers will have success only with a more comprehensive plan.


When you first consider the prospect of stop smoking, it's probably going to seem far fetched, but keep in mind that thousands of people - people that are no different from you - stop smoking every year. If they can do it, there's no reason that you can't. Many smokers also feel that after a certain age it is "too-late" to stop smoking. Simply put, this isn't true, and should not be used as an excuse to avoid an attempt to stop smoking: the health benefits of stop smoking begin the very day you stop.


Before you actually have your last cigarette, begin to build up your willpower. Your willpower is going to be your most important tool in stopting, and it's very unlikely that you will be successful without it. Spend some time thinking of the reasons you want to stop smoking. Learn about the health benefits of stopting, for both yourself and the people around you. Do some math and come up with some figures for the amount of money you'll save by not buying cigarettes, and think of something you'll use that money for.


Once you've built up your willpower, it's time to have your last cigarette. To keep your spirits up, understand that the human body is incredibly resilient, and your health will improve as soon as you stop smoking - literally. 8 hours after your last cigarette, carbon monoxide levels and oxygen levels in your blood stream will return to normal. At 24 hours after your last cigarette, you statistically reduce your chance of a heart attack. Only 48 hours after your last cigarette, your sense of taste and smell will improve as your nerve endings start growing.


As you continue to stay smoke free, think of the longer-term benefits to stopting in order to keep your willpower up: even after 2 weeks your lung power will begin to increase, and continue to do so over time. Other aspects of your health will continue to improve in different ways. The ultimate motivator should be the knowledge that 15 years after stopting, your risk of death is almost the same as someone who has never smoked - a remarkable fact that illustrates our the human body's surprising ability to restore itself.


By coming up with a concrete plan to stop smoking help you will greatly increase your chances of success. Crucial is understanding the important role that your willpower will play in the process, and planning to build up this willpower weeks before you attempt to stop. Once you've stopped you have to keep the strength of this willpower up, and to do so, remind yourself of the health benefits you will be privy to immediately after butting out that last cigarette.


René Knops writes about proven methods and ways to succesfully quit smoking. Get Your Free report to learn how to stop smoking quickly and easy. Click here below to visit his site: Stop Smoking Help or visit =>http://www.stop-smoking-expert.com

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5 Tips: Quit Smoking Products That Work

If you are interested in quitting smoking, but do not know if you can do it on your own, then you need to know about the quit smoking products that are available. In recent years, smoking has been given a negative image. With this image come the multitudes of people that are looking to quit the habit to avoid the negative connotations that come with smoking. The following information will help you to navigate through the choices of products that are available today.


1- Books are always a popular choice when attempting to start or stop a habit and quitting smoking is no different. There are numerous books available to you for this purpose. The best way to choose is to ask your doctor or friends that have quit which they prefer. Buying several books and choosing which one fits your situation best is also a good option.


2- If you are trying to quit smoking, products such as nicotine gums are often a first choice. This is because they provide your body with small doses of the drug when you need it most, during the withdrawal process.


3- Another popular product is a filter that is attached to the cigarette. This claims to filter out up to 90% of the harmful drug from your cigarette. This quit smoking product is a gradual four-step system that works by gradually filtering out greater percentages of nicotine until you are actually getting only 10% with your cigarette.


4- Visual products also work very well for some people. For example, putting "No Smoking" signs around your house, using graphic pictures of the dangerous health effects of smoking or some other sort of picture are great ways to remind you of the goal that you want to accomplish.


5- Hypnosis is becoming a widely used product to help people quit smoking. While not everyone believes in this technique, it does claim to help countless people around the world. This may be a last resort for you, but it just may be the right quit smoking product for you.


Visit http://ez-stop-smoking.info or http://quit-smoking-center.net to learn more about cessation smoking and stop smoking.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Wallander