Is it Hard to Quit smoking?

From a cigarette smokers perspective quitting to smoke a cigarette is hard. Although there is a considerable number of smokers who realizes its threats or danger to himself and the public. In some cases, cigarettes cause accidental fires which is very rare. The health is the most at risk, it can cause many health complications commonly to the cardiovascular (heart) and respiratory (lungs) or worst a cancer. Why it is hard to quit? believe me it is a bad habit to break specially if your smoking cigarettes for quite sometime now. It is very obvious and widely spread that addiction to Nicotine is the cause.

Ever wonder how we really get addicted to Nicotine? When you puffs a cigarette, nicotine particlesgoes to the lungs through
inhalation. Nicotine then is absorbed and flows to our bloodstream just like the oxygen people breathe. It travels with the blood to the brain where it
locks onto certain receptor areas. Dopamine is then released into the brain. This is the culprit that makes the smoker feel a euphoric sensation. Smokers find it difficult to quit because they come to be dependent on this good feeling. And in wanting to experience this repeatedly, this leads todependence a sign of addiction. (got this from a certain medical book). Ask a cigarette smoker (me!) on what it takes to trash this habit or the things to be given up. Here is the most probable list :

• the relaxing feeling (feels good) -
  
• a good buddy ( it will be there for you for good and bad times - even in your death, LOL!)
• they think they are still healthy
  
• afraid of the withdrawal symptoms (but not afraid to die!)

withdrawal symptoms

• depression - brain becomes distressed without it
  
• Headaches, dizziness, and nausea
  
• Shakes, chills
  
• Cough, dry throat nasal drip
  
• Hunger, fatigue - Constipation, gas or stomach pain
  
• Insomnia, troubled sleep
  
• Not knowing what to do with their hands is another common complaint

For a long time cigarette smoker, you may not realize but there are some kind of emotional attachment to cigarettes (their the best bud!), specially during some stressful time.
We think of them as a part of our life but they are not (we just made them and we became worst). building a will to quit smoking is hard but it is not impossible, no matter how many attempt you try to quit, don't just give up. A method/s that suits you, add up to your will, will eventually lead to success. Quit smoking!

Smoking Kill scenario

A friend of mine once told me that during his visit in one manufacturing plant in china, he notice one of the smoking room with a painting on its ceiling that signifies death. He describes same as the image above, well I'm not really sure if it is the same image but it sure gives you the creeps while smoking a cigarette (whew! talk about discouragement), from the image it really doesn't bother the 2 person smoking (at least from what it shows!) but what do you think their conscious mind is thinking.

Sure their not dying in an instant but I bet we are digging our own graveyard for continuously smoking cigarettes. Our smoking room in my office don't have this kind of health care promotion. It has the same boring warning we see in cigarette packs like " smoking is dangerous to your health" and a reminder that smoking is only allowed during break time, that we all know is not effective anymore. So whenever you want to Quit smoking or reduce your cigarette consumption, how about thinking of this image, it might help you. It sure make me think twice lighting too much cigarettes in a day.

Quit smoking quest continues

I haven't updated this blog for weeks now, not that I gave up (so you must not also). Cigarette smoking still continues but carefully monitored, not much of an improvement but health consciousness is pretty much increased.

We could all go through hundreds of process or procedure in quitting cigarette smoking that are available in the internet, but we still must find a good information on all of it. Because we want to find is the more suitable for us (I mean for me), we are all different individual and we differ in our ways of living or lifestyle. Been reading some ebooks ( in my spare time) on some popular author of a stop smoking program. some claim the process is within a week result or even less. (Hmm, let see!).

There are some interesting process on quitting smoking we can find in the net, and I'm pretty much getting some info on this stuff, I'll post some of them to remind me. This blog is somewhat a personal notebook, well I just wish that I can cover much for me and for others also.

Cigarette smoking relaxation myth

I found this comic strip very funny and true. Majority of cigarettes smokers who would like to Quit Smoking has this reason or mind set that unable them (I mean us!) to find their will to stop. We think that that it relaxes us and it is a great benefit to relieve us from stress. The question is, does cigarette smoking really relaxes the mind and body?.

Base on experienced, cigarettes smoking relaxes me or it's just what I think. Smokers never really search why is this so, but we always do think that it relaxes us without even realizing that cigarette smoking do the opposite. Nicotine is a stimulant which means it increase your adrenaline and heart rate, so why do we have a feeling of relaxed state during smoking? It just really satisfy your/our craving for nicotine that is why our body feels satisfied because of the intake. It even makes us nervous and do the thinking system hay-wire because of less supply of oxygen to the brain.

So the term smoking relaxation is just a myth that is false, if we want to really feel relaxed, try to Quit Smoking, I bet we all be worry-free and relaxed.

Quit Smoking Battle plan

Why does the majority of cigarettes smokers who tried to quit smoking failed, one could say that it is because they don't really want to because only their conscience is willing but the real person is really not up to it. for non-smokers it is easy to comment on this situation, but for a long time cigarette smoker to totally stop smoking cigarettes is somewhat a big deal (damned that nicotine addiction!). You can't just flick your finger (magic don't work here!), then presto the habit is gone. Why can't magicians try this trick, maybe because the only thing they can do to disappear is the cigarette and probably got smack in the face for doing that (LOL!).

While most of us know why most failed even though there are tons of book, e-books, and products (medical or electronic) to help someone smoking. Let's check out on why others
succeed. What I mean by the success on cigarette smoking is that they are able to totally quit smoking. I did an earlier post that person with a strong will to quit will have a better chance on succeeding, I think a 50-50 chance. but there is an additional factor to increase this chance, and that is planning and preparing.

The combination of strong will, planning ang preparing must be the right way. Do you have these on your recipe? This is how I think this process should work:

• Of course you must have a Strong will to quit (look for a good reason for you to quit smoking - there are millions)
• Plan on how to execute it. whether you are getting some help through doctors or some gadgets and maybe naturally, you must have a plan. Make a checksheets and progress chart that suits you, by this you may know ahead of you plan the success rate for your plan.
• Prepare yourself. there will be some obstacles or hindrance in this process but if your prepared you just can go around it.

Quitting cigarette smoking will be hard and even harder for a long time smokers but the good thing is, it is doable. Let me see I do have the will to quit, but still in the planning stage (caution: poor planning leads to failure). whatever preparation and planning you do make sure you do it well- LQS (let's Quit Smoking!)

Smoker's Cough

Here is another good reason to Quit smoking. During one of my morning cigarette smoking with coffee at the office smoking room (smokers usually meet at my office every morning), we smoke and get to have some chit-chat on current, work issues and whatever there is to talk about, mostly the humorous side. ( I limit myself to 1 cigarette stick every morning, I still like hanging out with this guys)

I once thought that some coughing on the smoking room was cause by their laughing and smoking simultaneously until one of my office mate say the term Smoker's Cough. well, everybody in the smoking room ignore him, and the chit-chat topic was changed. Laughing and occasional coughs continues (ha ha ha! cough, cough! - how's the sound of that!). Thank god I'm not experiencing it yet although I've been smoking for years now.

From what I've read majority of cigarette smoker's experience this smoker's cough, newbie cigarette smokers will not have this but in years of smoking eventually they also will experience it, if thery are unable to Quit. According to wikipedia (nice to have them),

Smoker's cough is a kind of cough seen especially in smokers. Any irritant present in the respiratory system may trigger cough, however, smoker's cough develops as a consequence of phlegm buildup in the trachea.



Cause

In the trachea, the walls are lined with cilia, small hairs that protrude from the tracheal epithelium. They move in a synchronous wavelike motion, thereby moving foreign bodies trapped in phlegm upwards towards the oropharynx, so they may be swallowed. Cigarette smoke destroys or paralyzes these cilia, so the only way that phlegm can be removed is via coughing.



You should also look at smoker’s cough as a means of suggesting that your body is less and less capable of handling the poisons you’re inhaling. It may be challenging to quit, but smoker’s cough indicates that your respiratory system is damaged. Other types of coughing, especially those that don’t resolve within an hour of waking, and if you cough up blood or yellow to green phlegm, may suggest presence of bacterial illness.

Mostly though, if you have smoker’s cough, you likely know you’ve been smoking for a long time. Possibly it’s time to consider that your body is sending you a clear message when you must cough and cough in the morning before you can start accomplishing any of your daily tasks. It’s not only unpleasant, but a signal that cigarette and tobacco smoking are simply not good for the body.

Basically, our body is giving signals of getting much toxic it can take and that something should be done to address this signal call or further or worst body failure will happen. Although there are some so-called cure for smoker's cough, it will not totally cure this. Of course you know how to cure this - Stop Smoking. If your a new cigarette smoker and don't want this to happen to you - Quit Smoking now!

3rd hand smoking - more reason to QUIT SMOKING

As majority knows the effect of cigarette smoking on the smoker and the people or persons which is nearby the smoker area of toxicity, wherein they are bound to inhale the smokes from the original smoker, the usual term for them are 2nd hand smokers, in which they are also exposed to the same danger as the smoker is.

You may not heard of but there is a term 3rd hand smoking (what!), yes there is!. and that is pretty obvious specially if you observe keenly. I personally did not know of this term (3rd hand smoking) but I always knew it. It is best observe, in my case in a smoking room (office). It is pretty obvious that even without a single person in a smoking room (room for smokers where exhaust is installed) and you enter it, you can still somehow smell cigarette smokes, in my opinion the smell actually sticks on the walls, the exhaust never really purge majority of it, and that is what you can smell. And it is damn obvious because the wall that used have a painting of white color, after some time (day or months) it is turning yellow (wow!).

3rd hand smokers are the persons who are able to inhale the chemicals or substance of a cigarette smoking without even exposing themselves to a smoker actually smoking cigarettes. where can they get it? you see particles or substance (mostly dangerous specially for children) really stick or clings in some place where smokers smoke constantly.

here are the more probable that a 3rd hand smokers may get it:

• hair and clothes of a smokers
• home furnitures (couch, carpets, beds and etc.)
• cars (might stick on its upholstery)
• smoking rooms or area (don't enter even if there is no one smoking!)

Children are of major risk here since they mostly like to play on the floor (carpets) and might put some toys in their mouth and ingest some of these toxic cigarette substance. They are at the same risk to a 2nd hand smoker. So to all cigarette smokers, stop smoking inside the your car or house, even if it is well ventilated in due time cigarette substance will accumulate and will be dangerous, better yet kill smoking there is no other way, Quit smoking!