QUITTING
Many smokers want to give up smoking
for many different reasons. Some of them want to do that because of
their partner or maybe their parents. Some of them maybe have
already seen a person dying in pain because of lung cancer, caused
by smoking. Finally some smokers want to stop that bad habit after
becoming aware of the harm that smoking might cause. If you really
want to join them you must at first ask yourself this
question:
"AM I READY TO QUIT
SMOKING?"
This is the most important question before starting, because you
must be really determined in becoming a non-smoker. If you are
really determined, you must be prepared to give up smoking at this
moment. Here are a few other questions that could help you and will
assure you whether you are determined in giving up smoking or
not:
Do you believe that smoking
causes illnesses, which could lead to death?
Do you think that you will benefit more than lost by giving up
smoking?
Do you know anyone, who has any troubles with health because of
smoking?
Are you worried about illnesses, which are caused by
smoking?
More over, you must determine the appropriate day when you will
stop smoking. The best choices are on your birthday, on the first
day of New Year, on some special anniversary or maybe on the first
day of your holidays, when you have more time for yourself. It's
also appropriate time when a woman is pregnant, because she must be
aware that smoking is harmful for her and for her child.
It's also important that you don't determine the date too far in
the future, because this might mean that you aren't ready to stop
smoking yet.
When you determine the date, you should at first meet all
consequences, which could harm you in case you continued with
smoking. You must learn a lot about all illnesses and other
problems, which are caused by smoking. This would just encourage
you. (If you would like to learn more about consequences, press the
button CONSEQUENCES).
About two weeks before the day you have chosen for the last day of
smoking it's good to limit your consumption of cigarettes for a
quarter and the following week for another quarter, so a few days
before the day you should already smoke half less.
When the day comes you must say goodbye to cigarette, but you
mustn't say it like if you are loosing your best friend, you must
say it like if you would say it to your worst nightmare or to your
enemy. You must discard cigarettes completely. Also you should
write yourself a certificate for this achievement.
(We designed such certificate for you and you can print it with
your printer. Use MS Word 6.0 or newer.)
For the first day and also for the following days you must observe
two important things:
1. Expect the best, be prepared for the worst!
In these days think about problems you will get rid of, but you
must be also prepared for possible troubles which could appear
while giving up smoking. You mustn't you mustn't loose your courage
even if you become "gaolbird". You must know that you are
"gaolbird" and you do the right thing about this. You mustn't
despair.
2. Be prepared for critical moments!
In the beginning you will think that it's quite easy to give up
smoking, but only if no one near you smokes. Well, you must be
prepared on moments when desire will appear and you will need a
cigarette. You must get over this and keep on your decision!
In the first days ask your roommates to be nice with you and also
more thoughtful. Ask them to smoke outdoors or maybe on balcony and
also ask them not to leave cigarettes all around the flat.
You must also know, that the first day is not the worst, only at
the beginning you will think so. Actually the second and the third
day are more difficult, because lack of nicotine in your blood
appears and you really "need" a cigarette. In these first days your
body starts to clean itself, You start to loose poisons, which you
have been gathering for years. Your body will eliminate carbon
monoxide, you will cough up tar, which has imposed in your lungs
over years and you will lose about 3000 other toxic chemicals.
On the second and the third day some symptoms appear which are
caused by lack of nicotine in your blood. These symptoms are desire
for cigarette, danger of anguish, tiredness, enlargement of
appetite and body weight and also lower concentration at work.
These symptoms are very serious, especially on the third day, but
with the fourth day they start to lose the strength. For an average
smoker these symptoms become moderate two weeks later. Only hunger
and desire for a cigarette are stronger. Enlargement of appetite
can hold out for months. Desire for a cigarette is reducing from
day to day, but it could also hold out even for years!
When some of the above symptoms appear you should start thinking
about nice things. Think about all the poisons, which are going out
of your body. Realise that this means the beginning of something
new, better and healthy for your body. Don't be afraid of cough,
because in these days your lungs must get rid of tar. They must
clean themselves completely. If you are afraid to grow fat we must
warn you, that only 10-13% of smokers after giving up smoking
fatten. And even those usually put on only 2-3kg, which means they
get their regular weight. They would have had that weight if they
hadn't started smoking, because non-smokers grow fat within years
for about 1kg every 5 years. Well, if you are still afraid of
growing fat, you should watch what you eat, and you should put
yourself in motion. Don't sit in front of television all day
long!
When you feel the worst, think about the good sides of giving up
that bad habit:
- in the first 24 hours you will get rid of nasty smell of your
hair, skin and stench
- in 24 hours after giving up smoking the risk of dying from an
illness which is caused by smoking is quite lower
- in the first three days the level of carbon monoxide in your body
gets very low
- in the first four days nicotine will be eliminated from your
body
- in the first week your taste and smell will reform
- in the first week almost all toxic chemicals will be eliminated
from your body
Also you should imagine all the bad things which would hurt you if
you continued with smoking. Think about illnesses and also think
about all the money you won't spend anymore on
cigarettes.
You mustn't ascribe all
problems and accidents to non-smoking!
You can avoid some problems by reducing coffee drinking on half,
because coffee is half stronger if your body doesn't include
nicotine anymore. With nicotine in your body coffee was quite weak
and so you were able to drink quite a lot of coffee. You could also
reduce its strength by drinking it without caffeine.
In the first two weeks you should avoid places where you used to
smoke. But if you still must do something with your mouth start
chewing a chewing gum. You can also star singing, humming or
whistling, just don't have empty mouth if the desire for a
cigarette appears! You could go for a walk in the nature, you could
go to the cinema, maybe in the theatre. You could start taking up
some sports or you could go on holidays. The most important thing
is that you get over the desire for a cigarette.
YOU MUST
SUCCEED!
But, there's another trap while giving up smoking because you can
become "gaolbird". Gaolbird is a person, who gives up smoking for a
week or two, just to prove his friends or parents that he can stop
smoking whenever he wants. Gaolbird is also a person who was
defeated by stress or maybe by desire for a cigarette and so he
lights up a cigarette although he is quite determined to become a
non-smoker sooner or later.
Usually gaolbirds aren't determined enough to stop smoking but it's
still more important to know, that even if you become a gaolbird,
you have still many chances to become a non-smoker.
Non-smoking must be your
main goal!
Don't give up if you lose one battle, you have still enough time to
win the war! You are not underdog until you give up completely. But
you mustn't give up the moment after you have become gaolbird, you
must at first start again at the beginning. This time even more
determined that that's the last time!
YOU MUST SUCCEED AND
BECOME A NON-SMOKER!
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