Giving Up Smoking - Musings on Methods of Success

The No-Smoking Day people in the UK say that 70% of smokers would like to stop. And smokers determined to quit try, try and try again until they are finally free.

Everybody has heard of hypnotherapy, patches, Zyban, and nicotine gum. There also new methods emerging as particularly effective with smoking, such as EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques, otherwise known as Tapping) and acupuncture. Other methods I have heard people getting success with are Reiki, spiritual healing, crystal healing, Shiatsu, Yoga, meditation, religion or worship, and Tai Chi.

Some ex-smokers-to-be avoid all the smoking triggers for a few months while they quit. This includes having tea or coffee, having an alcoholic drink, changing the rules about where smoking is allowed in the home, and avoiding friends who are smokers.

Others change their habits. This includes which hand they hold the cigarette in, changing the brand of cigarette or using roll-ups, changing their lighter to matches, and so on.

Of course, there is always the trick of replacing one habit by another. For example, some ex-smokers-to-be drink water instead of having a cigarette in order to replace one habit by another. Commonly, it is food which replaces the cigarettes; and some ex-smokers simply choose to overeat for a while until they are completely over the cigarettes. Then they go on a diet or a fitness regime in order to lose the weight. Others take up an intensive physical training regime from the get-go, partly to replace the smoking bad habit with the exercise good habit.

And aversion can be quite an important factor in turning one's back to cigarettes forever. Some would say that maybe if one were to observe some of the terrible smoking related diseases, one would not hesitate to quit and not need to spend money on hypnosis, EFT, NLP, accupuncture, and so on. Surely just by opening one's eyes to the terrible reality of smoking consequences, one can be cured of smoking and cravings forever?

Well, this works for some. But I got one of those terrible smoking related diseases and I still couldn't stop. I ended up preparing for my death so my children will be looked after. Then finally, I was helped to give up smoking. It is wonderful for all the lucky people who can give up smoking by willpower or by facing the facts. The rest of us need a little help, and there is nothing wrong with that. We all spend money on something or other. Spending money on health is surely a good thing. I am worth it, and so are all the clients that I and the many excellent stop-smoking practitioners that I know have helped to quit.

? Suzanne Zacharia 2010. Complementary and alternative health education and empowerment is my passion. My name is Suzanne Zacharia and I am committed to empowering people to take control of their health and wellness. A virus caught along with 5 other students at university at the end of 1986, plus medical negligence, meant that I got smokers lung at a relatively young age. In desperation for help with my symptoms and quality of life, I turned to complementary therapy, and this is beyond a decade that I have outlived one doctor's prognosis. I am now a complementary therapist, author and trainer. My big passion is to to help others stop smoking, as in my http://www.stop-smoking-ebooks.com/.

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Quitting Smoking - Enlightenment for Your Success!

If you are tired of feeling out-of-place by being a smoker and find it hard to quit smoking you are not alone. Enlightenment is what is needed to make your move to successful cessation from the powerful addiction of nicotine.

Today smoking is viewed as a taboo because of the proven health hazards of smoking and second-hand smoke. More and more places are introducing bylaws to limit areas where you can publicly smoke. You are now outnumbered by ex-smokers and non-smokers. You smell, your clothes smell and if you smoke in the house everything in your house smells. You know this and you want to quit; but how do you quit?

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances. When you introduce it into your lungs, it reaches your brain in 6 seconds. It can take only one cigarette to become addicted and once addicted over time you form habits around smoking. You have one with coffee, a favourite drink or alcohol, while talking on the phone, when you get up or after you eat. You know your own habits that are tied to smoking. When the cravings hit you smoke and it feels good. Those cravings are both physical and psychological.

The reason why it can be so difficult to quit is because of the combination of those physical and psychological cravings that support your addiction. The physical craving is from the lack of nicotine in your brain's feel good receptors that takes place of your endorphins. Those craving are triggered by the nicotine floating around in your blood stream. The psychological cravings come from your minds inner self that rationalizes your addiction. That inner self is the addictive voice that you created with this addition. The Rational Recovery Group whom teaches the addictive voice recognition concept for dealing with addictions calls this inner voice the beast. You can give it whatever name you want; it supports your addiction.

As a smoker, in your mind you may want to quit smoking, but when the mind and brain is in conflict it is the brain that usually wins. Your brain which is stimulated by pain and pleasure is addicted to the temporary pleasure provided by nicotine. When you're out of nicotine the toxins from the cigarette make you feel bad but you want to feel good. Your mind with your addictive voice will make sure of that. Now that you know all this how do you quit?

In order to succeed in smoking cessation you must deal with three aspects to quitting smoking. They are the physical withdrawal, the psychological withdrawal and the detoxification of the body from nicotine and toxins introduced by your smoking. Foremost you must want to quit and even though the process of quitting may be a tough challenge, you will succeed and you will join the ranks of ex-smokers.

There are a variety of methods for quitting smoking. Cold turkey with a plan using information found on the Internet will work. There are support groups, websites and quit smoking books that will improve your success. Quit smoking aids known as the patch, gum and now inhaler work by slowly withdrawing the nicotine over time. Aids do work, however, they still put nicotine into your system and they too may become habit-forming. Another method is using drugs known as Zyban and Champix. Your doctor can prescribe one of these drugs to help with the physical withdrawal from nicotine. Their down side are the hefty warnings regarding their possible side effects. Other natural health methods are, acupuncture, laser therapy, hypnosis and bio-resonance. These methods are drug-free and despite the fact that each of them does not have an official study on their success rate, unofficial data shows them to be quite high. They usually have a program that deals with the three aspects to quitting smoking and provide support.

Knowledge gives you the power to achieve your goal. Garner as much as you can on the methods to quit and make your decision. Also check to see if you have referrals. Whatever method you choose, you must incorporate in your plan the three aspects to quitting smoking. Want, know, do and you will succeed.

Phil Barrs is and ex-smoker for more than 25 years. He had to quit the hard way "Cold Turkey". He knows the zero tolerance rule that applies to ex-smokers. Addiction happens again from one puff of one cigarette 2 minutes, 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 years or 20 years from the day of quitting. Phil moved from the computer industry to the heath and fitness field to pursue his interest in helping people with their well-being and self-improvement using low level laser therapy. You can find out more information at Imagine Laserworks Vancouver.

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Quit Smoking Success

For smokers that have realized that their habit of lighting up a cigarette stick is causing their health to deteriorate, the need to have quit smoking success will be great though at the same time kicking the habit will not be so easy. Nicotine that is found in a cigarette can get you hooked on it very easily and once addicted, it becomes very hard to give up the habit of lighting up the next cigarette.

In order to have quit smoking success you will need to make considerable sacrifices and you will also need to make a strong commitment to get over your addiction to nicotine. Having a strong desire to quit smoking and acting in good time are also essential to succeeding with quit smoking, and even if you do light up, success will only come if you regularly put out the cigarettes after just a puff or two.

Success with quit smoking comes only to those who take the extreme step of cold turkey, but there are also other ways by which to kick your habit. Some methods can work well with a certain class of people but may not work with others and so you need to find a method that works right for you.

You should try and quit smoking gradually as this is a good means of achieving success and it only requires slowly but surely weaning you away from smoking. It only requires cutting down your smoking to just a few sticks in a day and in this simple yet effective manner condition the mind to think that the body does not require so much nicotine.

If you are determined to quit smoking you should also seek support from close family members and friends since you will need all the help that you can get in order to kick the habit. You can also ask for advice from your doctor who may prescribe certain medications that can help you with quit smoking.

Another simple method by which to quit smoking is to divert your mind with something that will direct your attention at not smoking and in this regard sports and also other recreational activities can provide the required diversion and cause you to have less need to light up a cigarette.

There are also several methods available that can help you achieve success with quit smoking for free including methods to replace a bad habit. You certainly need to be determined in your resolve to quit smoking to achieve success as there are no easy options available that will help you get over your nicotine addiction.

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