Tag Archives: nicotine addiction

Can’t Stop Smoking – Try Electronic Cigarettes

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I’m having great fun with electronic cigarettes, I feel healthier and think that I’m saving money, but am I living in cloud cuckoo land? We shall see.

Electronic cigarettes are healthier than smoking tobacco, can help you to stop smoking, they save you money. Claims made by e-cigarette companies and users but are they true or false?

Smoking Facts

I found out that normal cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals and to my horror approximately 40 that are cancerous and that is a proven fact.

Electric cigarettes contain Nicotine, Propylene Glycol, Water and Flavourings – a bit less than 4,000 chemicals don’t you think!!

I’m already addicted to nicotine so I can’t see that e cigs are more harmful in that respect. Propylene glycol is used to deliver vapourised nicotine and according to Wikipedia is used amongst other things as a moisturiser in medicines, cosmetics, food, toothpaste, mouth wash, and tobacco products. If propylene glycol is so widely used in those other products then it shouldn’t be harmful. Water shouldn’t hurt anybody and flavourings – most of our food contains flavourings.

Looking at those facts and unless electronic cigarettes contain substances that we don’t know about then I can’t see them being anywhere near as harmful as tobacco products. I’m no doctor or scientist, but having scoured the Internet the objections to e cigarettes don’t seem to be about what they contain, more that they are addictive and that young non smokers may turn to them because of different flavours available including chocolate and cherry.

I can see that point and really can’t see why flavours beyond the normal were introduced, except for profit of course.

Giving Up Smoking

I’ve tried many times and in different ways, the most successful was with nicotine patches but obviously as with over 80% who try to stop smoking with patches or gum they didn’t provide a permanent cessation of my nicotine addiction. Whether electronic cigarettes help me to stop permanently or not I don’t know and won’t for at least another year or two.

What I do know is that with patches you have a constant flow of nicotine into your body, some brands even recommend that you use them 24/7. I never smoked 24/7 and was never comfortable that nicotine was being constantly released into my body. With e cigarettes I have more control over my intake and like patches can gradually reduce the nicotine strength until I am smoking no nicotine vapour.

Healthy Or Not

Do I think that electronic cigarettes are healthier? Absolutely, I feel better in myself and although I’ve only been smoking e ciggies for a couple of weeks even after a short time I have noticed a difference in my breathing. I walk up a long steep hill every day – usually slowly and out of breath. Not now, I walk up there quicker and my breathing is easier.

I lay on my back and slept last night for the first time in years. Usually I lay on my side because the strange noises that my chest was making when I laid on my back not only kept me awake but also was frightening.

I stopped waking up coughing a few days ago.

Money Saving

There are claims of saving 80% of the cost of smoking normal cigarettes. I don’t think that’s strictly true. The initial outlay for a starter kit generally containing an atomiser, 2 batteries, charger and 5 or 6 cartridges can vary from about £20 to £100. Some companies claim that 1 nicotine cartridge is equivalent to 20 cigarettes – others say 6. I am finding that the brand I am using is probably about 10 cigarettes per cartridge.

An additional cost that isn’t mentioned on some of the sites selling e-cigs is that atomisers need changing fairly regularly and that you should have a spare one. Even so I estimate the saving that I am making to be at least 50% in money and perhaps far more in health.

I am not a law breaker, but if my government ban e cigarettes as some countries have I would have to strongly consider breaking the law rather than risk of going back to tobacco and certain deteriorating health.

Are you struggling to stop smoking? I was but not any more. Just click on giving up smoking to follow my progress, or visit the stop smoking forum. Grab yourself a free copy of How To Stop Smoking Forever

Giving Up Smoking Preparation

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AllenCarrsbookMost people fail at giving up smoking many times before they eventually stop. Fact is that nicotine addiction is harder to beat than cocaine or heroin addictions. Frightening isn’t it that tobacco companies can legally manufacture and sell harmful addictive products whilst less addictive substances are illegal.

Stopping smoking is a challenge and as with any challenge in life you’ve got to give yourself the best shot at not failing. I think that mindset plays a large part in whether you are going to succeed or not.

Some people suddenly decide that they are going to stop there and then and they do. Others set a date for their big quit smoking day, or think about it for a while and prepare themselves. The 2 most popular new years resolutions are either to stop smoking or lose weight and most of us break our resolutions so it’s no wonder there are so many of us still smoking. Every week Monday is the set day for many people to start dieting or stop smoking, that only really works if you have prepared yourself.

Preparation can make a big difference in helping you to control your withdrawel symptoms and temptations in the early days of your attempt. First of all you should make a list of why you want to stop smoking, study that list and you will see that you have a lot of good reasons for quitting. Tell yourself that yes you can end your addiction, that you are in control of your life and not the tobacco companies.

Stopping smoking is a life changing experience and to succeed you need to be ready for your change in life style. It’s a good idea to remove all traces of smoking from your home. Banish lighters and ash trays to the darkest corners of your cupboards and drawers if you cannot bring yourself to throw them away. Throw the last of your cigarettes out during the evening before you quit. I know that some people manage to keep a pack of cigs and still stop but to me that is unnecessary torture and increases the chances of you starting again.

Ideally you shouldn’t smoke inside your home for a while before your big stop day. Let the horrible smell dissipate and the fresh air in. Make your home a no smoking zone before and after stopping.

Ask your friends and family for help. Ask the non smokers not to lecture you and tell you that you had better not start again – that is like a red rag to a bull to me. Ask the smokers not to smoke in your home and to never offer you a cigarette. Smokers offering those who are trying to quit cigarettes is one of the main reasons for starting again.

Unless you are very brave and going cold turkey make sure that you have your stop smoking aids ready. Those aids could be one or a mixture of:

Nicotine Patches

Nicotine Gum

Inhalator

Self-Hypnotism DVD/ Video/ Audio/ mp3

Motivational Courses

Books/ Ebooks

Electronic Cigarettes

Stop Smoking Cash Cans

Laser Therapy

Microtabs

Lozenges

Stop Smoking Diary

You can even set up a blog and or forum to help yourself and others. Mutual encouragement can be a powerful form of motivation to stop and stay stopped.

Lay in a few treats for yourself. Weight gain is often a worry with smoking cessation, but having plenty of low calorie, low fat treats to nibble the cravings away helps.

Finally think about your reasons for giving up smoking regularly and especially if your resolve begins to weaken. Remind yourself just what harm they are doing to your body and your life and tell yourself and the world that yes you can stop smoking.

Are you struggling to stop smoking? I was but not any more. Just click on giving up smoking to follow my progress, or visit the stop smoking forum. Grab yourself a free copy of How To Stop Smoking Forever

Excuses For Not Giving Up Smoking

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511px-English_No_Smoking_signBeing on my umpteenth attempt at giving up smoking I decided to look back at the excuses I and those around me gave for not stopping smoking, or starting again after quitting. When I say excuses they are usually given as reasons when really they are excuses.

Stopping smoking makes me put on weight

Absolute BS. Nobody has ever put on weight simply because they have stopped smoking. How do I know that? Because I’ve been there. Sometimes I have put weight on, sometimes I haven’t but each time has been different. What happens is that you automatically try to substitute the craving for nicotine with something tasty like chocolate or boiled sweets and that is what puts weight on you.

If you need substitutes try low fat, low calorie substitutes like grapes, oranges, Tic Tacs or carrots. If you really can’t manage without chocolate or boiled sweets use the money that you are saving on cigarettes to pay for membership at a gym and work the calories off. Or get yourself a Wii Fit like I have! Whatever you do exercise will help to keep the weight off and to make you healthier. The bottom line is that tobacco products are more likely to kill you than a few pounds weight gain so forget vanity right now.

My husband/wife/partner smokes

OK it’s a tough one when somebody that you live with continues to smoke when you are trying to quit. It’s far easier if they don’t smoke or if they decide to stop with you, but if they care about you they should be happy to help you. One way that they can help is to go outside to smoke and keep your home smoke free.

Apart from keeping temptation out of your way, if you have children they shouldn’t be smoking in the home anyway for the sake of the children’s health. Smoking outside also keeps your home cleaner, less smelly, doesn’t need decorating as often and your partner will find that he or she smokes less and saves some money too because they haven’t got the convenience of just being able to light up where ever they are.

In fact banning smoking from the home, or just having one room where you can smoke can help you to cut back on smoking and lead up to stopping.

My grandparents smoked and they lived until they were in their 90s

Your grandparents aren’t you and statistically they were darned lucky to live so long as smokers. Truth be told I used to say the same about one of my grandmas, conveniently forgetting that this shriveled up relative of mine who always seemed to have a Capstain full strength dangling from her lips could rarely get a sentence out without coughing. In fact that image of her in my head is my only memory of her and that’s sad.

I’m going to stop smoking on Monday not today

Monday comes and goes and you have either forgotten your promise or you decide that you will wait until the following Monday. Or you might even manage an hour or two without a cig before you change your mind.

I can stop anytime

Thats what some smokers say but when challenged they will say that they don’t want to yet, or that they will stop after Christmas, the new year, their holiday, sometime never. Truth is the desire to quit needs to be stronger than your addiction and that is when you will stop and not just any time.

I’m waiting until after the summer because everybody is getting duty frees for me and I’m saving money

You would save even more if you quit altogether!

I smoke roll ups/ a pipe and they are not as bad for you

They are still killers no matter how you smoke tobacco.

I get too stressed and that’s bad for me

That isn’t stress it’s the nicotine addiction and craving. There are lots of products on the market today to help reduce the craving and withdrawal symptoms: nicotine gum, nicotine patches, inhalators, books, hypnotism, subconscious learning cds, tablets, fake cigarettes and even a Wii game to help you to stop smoking.

I’m sure there are many more excuses for not stopping smoking, but there are far more good reasons for giving up smoking and the main one is your health and the health of everybody around you.

Are you struggling to stop smoking? I was but not any more. Just click on stop smoking to follow my progress. Grab yourself a free copy of How To Stop Smoking Forever