Tips for Quiting Smoking

I know that smoking is bad for your health and I decided to quit around a year ago, I had to I had a heart attack. Smoking is a risk factor for various health problems including heart disease, stroke and cancer. If you have children and you smoke your child is exposed to second hand smoke and may suffer from health problems, like ear infections and coughing. When you finaly decide to stop smoking your body starts to heal itself, your risk for heart disease goes down. In addition your lungs start to function better and your airways are cleaner. I know that when I stopped I found that I could take longer walks with out becoming winded and tired. I felt better after a few weeks

I talked to my doctor, some people may need to use a nicotine patch. The nicotine patch is an adhesive patch that releases nicotine into the bloodstream through the skin. The patches help some smokers gradually withdraw from smoking. If you cannot use the nicotine patch your doctor may be able to give you other alternatives. I used a nicotine patch, it helped me. I set a quit date and tried to stick to it, this was the hardest for me to do, my husband was still smoking and there were many times when I felt that I wanted to return to my old habits. I had to decide how and when I was going to l quit. I tried to cut back and gradually ease off of smoking. Some people are really brave and they try going Cold Turkey. When I was quitting smoking I talked to several friend who had tried to go to go cold turkey and they fell back into their old habits. I could not do cold turkey, even though my doctor insisted upon it, I had to gradually get myself off the cigarettes
I was told to look at the reasons why I was smoking. The doctor informed me to analyze the reasons that I was smoking, he asked me if I was stressed. I smoked when I was driving, I thought I need the cigarette to calm my nerves while I was in traffic or after a hard day at work. I also found that I was smoking when I went out with my husband , if we went to a bar or out socially I found that I would light one up just to have something in my hands, rarely smoking just keeping my hands occupied. I had to figure out the reasons and then I had to look for solutions.

When I finally figured out why and when I smoked, I sought healthy alternatives. I found that when I was driving a car I would turn the radio on or chew a piece of gum to keep from letting the traffic bother me. When I went out with my husband I still found that I had to have something to do with my hands, I would take the straw from my drink and spin it through my fingers or tie knots in it just to keep myself busy.

I sat down and made a list of my reasons why I wanted to quit, I started with wanting to be around for a few more years with my husband, my son and my family. I want to be around to see my grandchildren. I also stopped for health reason, my family has a history of heart problems and I should have known better.

I made plans for other things to do when I got the urge to smoke. I would take the dogs for a walk, I always had a pack of chewing gum on me, and I ate a whole lot of fruit, I made sure I was doing something that kept me occupied until the urge passed. I went through the house and got rid of as many ashtrays that I could, my husband still smoked and I wanted him to stop, so I took everything out that I could. I talked to my husband and asked him to quit with me, he had a harder time of quitting than I did, yet he agreed to not smoke in the house. I made sure that I was drinking plenty of water, it helped flush the nicotine from my body. I felt like I was going through a withdrawal and that was natural, it only lasted for a few weeks and then I started to feel better
. I kept snacks around when I got the urge to smoke. I have been using peppermints, the taste is good and the peppermint lasts a long time. I also tried to keep a positive attitude, and I did ot get discouraged when it took me several tries to finally stop altogether. I know if I could stop anyone can. Good luck..