Dear Bargain Lover: Your question is great and many people wonder about the same. I know of people who smoked all their lives and live into their 90s. I also know of people who only smoked for a couple of years and died of lung cancer. And many have developed cancer or other health conditions just by being around smokers. There is no exact science to confirm or deny whether diseases linked to smoking have anything to do with frequency, number of years or other factors. But there is science to support that the sooner a smoker stops smoking the better it is for the body to recover. Genetics also play a big factor on disease development. If I were you, I would just quit cold turkey and find "distractors" to help me go through the withdrawls. But that is easy to say than done, so a support system may be needed to help you succeed.
Here is a link to the Center for Disease Control that offers helpful informtation to people who wish to stop smokings. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/index.htm
I have included the QUIT TIPS below:
Are you one of most smokers who want to quit? Then try following this advice.
1. Don’t smoke any number or any kind of cigarette. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes, but do not stop completely, soon you’ll be smoking the same amount again.
Smoking "low-tar, low-nicotine" cigarettes usually does little good, either. Because nicotine is so addictive, if you switch to lower-nicotine brands you’ll likely just puff harder, longer, and more often on each cigarette. The only safe choice is to quit completely.
2. Write down why you want to quit. Do you want to—
Feel in control of you life?
Have better health?
Set a good example for your children?
Protect your family from breathing other people’s smoke?
Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. Smokers who live after a heart attack are the most likely to quit for good—they're very motivated. Find a reason for quitting before you have no choice.
3. Know that it will take effort to quit smoking. Nicotine is habit forming. Half of the battle in quitting is knowing you need to quit. This knowledge will help you be more able to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal that can occur, such as bad moods and really wanting to smoke. There are many ways smokers quit, including using nicotine replacement products (gum and patches), but there is no easy way. Nearly all smokers have some feelings of nicotine withdrawal when they try to quit. Give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, even one minute at a time—whatever you need to succeed.
4. Half of all adult smokers have quit, so you can— too. That’s the good news. There are millions of people alive today who have learned to face life without a cigarette. For staying healthy, quitting smoking is the best step you can take.
5. Get help if you need it. Many groups offer written materials, programs, and advice to help smokers quit for good. Your doctor or dentist is also a good source of help and support
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Dear Bargain Lover: Your question is great and many people wonder about the same. I know of people who smoked all their lives and live into their 90s. I also know of people who only smoked for a couple of years and died of lung cancer. And many have developed cancer or other health conditions just by being around smokers. There is no exact science to confirm or deny whether diseases linked to smoking have anything to do with frequency, number of years or other factors. But there is science to support that the sooner a smoker stops smoking the better it is for the body to recover. Genetics also play a big factor on disease development. If I were you, I would just quit cold turkey and find "distractors" to help me go through the withdrawls. But that is easy to say than done, so a support system may be needed to help you succeed.
Here is a link to the Center for Disease Control that offers helpful informtation to people who wish to stop smokings. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/index.htm
I have included the QUIT TIPS below:
Are you one of most smokers who want to quit? Then try following this advice.
1. Don’t smoke any number or any kind of cigarette. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes, but do not stop completely, soon you’ll be smoking the same amount again.
Smoking "low-tar, low-nicotine" cigarettes usually does little good, either. Because nicotine is so addictive, if you switch to lower-nicotine brands you’ll likely just puff harder, longer, and more often on each cigarette. The only safe choice is to quit completely.
2. Write down why you want to quit. Do you want to—
Feel in control of you life?
Have better health?
Set a good example for your children?
Protect your family from breathing other people’s smoke?
Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. Smokers who live after a heart attack are the most likely to quit for good—they're very motivated. Find a reason for quitting before you have no choice.
3. Know that it will take effort to quit smoking. Nicotine is habit forming. Half of the battle in quitting is knowing you need to quit. This knowledge will help you be more able to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal that can occur, such as bad moods and really wanting to smoke. There are many ways smokers quit, including using nicotine replacement products (gum and patches), but there is no easy way. Nearly all smokers have some feelings of nicotine withdrawal when they try to quit. Give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, even one minute at a time—whatever you need to succeed.
4. Half of all adult smokers have quit, so you can— too. That’s the good news. There are millions of people alive today who have learned to face life without a cigarette. For staying healthy, quitting smoking is the best step you can take.
5. Get help if you need it. Many groups offer written materials, programs, and advice to help smokers quit for good. Your doctor or dentist is also a good source of help and support
January 25, 2009 - 12:13amThis Comment
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