When you are considering a program to quit smoking, it is important to understand some of the methods in which it touches base on, helping you understand the problems that you will face when you give up smoking and how to cope with them.

Not only is your own will and determination important, but the caring and support of those around you when things get rough. Some of the best stop-smoking programs include counseling, both individually or in groups, and therapy.

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The therapy is different from counseling as it is in reference to the individual and how they are responding to quitting smoking. It is decided on the basis of an individual’s health, for which a smoker is required to undergo a full medical check up.

Most of these stop-smoking programs are normally spread over a period of 2 weeks. During this period, trained counselors conduct anywhere from four to seven sessions, the duration of which ranges from 20 to 30 minutes. The duration of the total program or the sessions can be modified based on the needs of the participating group and the individual involved. The programs are invariably led by people who have had considerable experience in assisting people give up smoking.

One excellent group that runs such programs is Nicotine Anonymous, which works on the same principles as Alcoholics Anonymous. Like AA, smokers can attend all meetings free of cost and have a continuous support group on a weekly basis. The American Lung Association, Health Department, and American Cancer Society also sponsor such free programs and support groups for smokers who are trying to quit smoking.

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There are so many programs to choose from in regard to quitting smoking, it is best to research how legitimate they are before joining. It is never easy to quit anything, but smoking seems to be one of the worst. Looking around at all the programs, realize what you will be up against – being honest with yourself – while also looking at the options should be carefully done before beginning.

It is pretty hard to be objective about an addictive drug that is present in the body about three or four days after quitting the nicotine, but to be truthful and honest about what is going to happen and what it will take to successfully quit is what it takes.

However, before joining any such program, you need to do some research. You must avoid programs that are not ethical, or programs that use injections or pills as the only method of treatment. The programs that refuse to disclose details of the chemicals used in injections must surely be shunned. So should be those programs that charge high fees or promise instant results.

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And most of all, you must remember that it takes time and patience to give up smoking. Most smokers have been at it for quite awhile, and won’t be able to quit overnight. But once you do, food will taste better and your sense of smell will be back to normal. Shortness of breath will be gone, and you will return to better health. Join a program that is well planned and willing to help you on a long-term basis for a major future goal.

All addicts engage in denial and rationalization.  You use these tidy bits of fiction to protect yourself from the stark reality of the smoking risks to your health and the health of those around you. Your tobacco addiction is likely accompanied some or all of the following bits of smoking fiction.  You cannot quit cigarette smoking unless you give up your denial and face the facts about smoking.

Fiction: I have the right to do what I want,  it is my body.

Fact #1: The facts about smoking reveal that your habit is contributing to air pollution, global warming, accidental poisoning, escalating  prevalence of asthma and even sudden infant death syndrome. Your addiction is harming not only you but those around you.  Your are not alone on this planet, and you are not alone in your life.  There are other people who love you and need you and your smoking is as harmful to them as it is to you.

Fiction: If I keep the windows open when I smoke in the car I am protecting the children from the harmful effects of smoke.

Fact #2: This does nothing to protect your children from the smoking risks to health. Every time you smoke a cigarette in the car they smoke it with you.

Fiction: Smoking is a bad habit.

Fact #3: Smoking is a tobacco addiction not a habit.

Fiction: Everybody smokes.

Fact #4: Everybody does not smoke.  So many people in Canada are giving up smoking that the national rate for smoking is approaching 18% . If you smoke you are in the minority not the majority.

Fiction: Smoking is cool.

Fact #5: When you smoke you do not look cool, you look stupid.  Let’s face it you have freely chosen to engage in an activity that drains your pocket book and harms your health. This decision calls your intelligence into question.  Smoking statistics in Canada show that smoking is more prevalent among the unemployed, lower income groups and populations with 12 years or less of grade school education.  Smoking doesn’t make you look cool it makes you look uneducated, unemployed, and poor.

Fiction: It is only tobacco. Its not like its heroin or anything.

Fact #6 : Nicotine is more dangerous that cocaine, heroin or alcohol when it comes to dependence. Dependence develops quickly.  The product is legal and easily available making the dependence easier to maintain. Tobacco addiction causes more health problems worldwide than heroin.

Fiction: It is legal so it can’t be that bad.

Fact #7: See smoking fact # 6

Fiction: I only smoke socially when I am with friends.

Fact #8: See smoking fact # 6. Your social smoking will likely result in a tobacco addiction.  If you value your friends do not harm them.  You have a moral obligation to protect them.

Fiction: I am still young and will quit before I get older

Fact # 9: See smoking fact # 6. Smoking statistics show that most people start their cigarette addiction when they are teenagers.

Fiction: It is hopeless, I have tried many times and I cannot quit cigarette smoking.

Fact # 10: Not everyone is successful the first time they try to quit cigarette smoking.  The facts about smoking show that most former smokers had several unsuccessful attempts before they finally overcame their tobacco addiction.  Keep trying!

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Of all the known smoking risks to your health perhaps the most significant one is not facing the facts about smoking and living in a world of denial.

If you want to quit cigarette smoking your reality check should include facing the smoking facts.  This one is so important it bears repeating.

Smoking can kill you.

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For some reason, nicotine replacement therapy has become one of the most popular ways to stop smoking in the world today. The main principle of this method is to replace the addictive ingredient in the cigarettes, i.e. nicotine with an agent that is less harmful and less addictive. Naturally, the replaced substance must be similar to nicotine in taste, or it would not be an ideal replacement at all.

In most cases, the Indian tobacco, i.e. lobelia is used. Indians have been smoking beedis (i.e. herbal cigarettes with lobelia wrapped in betel leaves) for centuries, without any addiction. Also, these herbal cigarettes do not contain any tar. Nicotine replacement therapy uses several products such as lozenges, gums, cigarettes, patches, etc. with substances similar to nicotine.

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The main intention of the substances used in all kinds of nicotine replacement therapy is certainly to gradually wean away the person from the addiction and protect him or her from pumping dangerous tar and carbon monoxide in the body. They have attained a degree of success and popularity too, and indeed doctors have also been prescribing these methods for hardened smokers.

But the fact remains that with nicotine replacement therapies, the person is not actually kept away from nicotine. In some cases – such as the nicotine patches – nicotine itself could be used in the therapy. If that is done, then the person does not really get off the addiction at all. Tar is prevented from entering the body, but the addiction to nicotine could persist. There is a very high chance that the person may revert to active smoking as soon as he or she stops using the nicotine patch.

In short, a person on a nicotine patch may have to wear it for life. Then there are other problems too. Nicotine patches can cause irritation of the skin. That could be a reason why its use could be discontinued. Some people have also experienced nightmares and vivid dreams when on the nicotine patch. So, it is not guaranteed that nicotine patches and nicotine replacement therapies may actually work.

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Even medications cannot be considered as very effective ways to stop smoking. All medications that are used for smoke cessation nowadays, such as buproprion and varenicline, are nothing more than antidepressants. These medications would help smokers to resolve their anxiety pangs that occur when they are giving up smoking, but they do not actively dissuade the person from smoking. Also, they cannot repair the organs already damaged by the smoke. Doctors would not recommend antidepressants to everybody because several conditions of the body may make their use dangerous. Old people and pregnant women, for example, must not take antidepressants at all.

With such disfavor for most smoke cessation methods that exist today, the herbal remedies are making their presence felt as effective ways to stop smoking. These are made from natural herbs, which do not have side-effects on the body, and can be used by most people, even with health conditions. Herbal remedies wean people away from their addiction and also repair the damage that has been caused in their body due to long years of smoking.

Several herbal ways to stop smoking are aimed at bringing results within as less as seven days. Hundreds of herbal remedies are available today, and they are also showing good results. Herbal remedies work because they address all the problems smoking causes, and do not target just one of the problems. They can be used against the addiction, depression as well as for the repair of the tissue and cell damage already caused.

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Smoking cessation is a serious thing. That is why you should seek all the stop smoking aids you can get in order to quit smoking completely.

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Here’s a step-by-step stop smoking aid list:

The first stop smoking aid in our list may be the one that you expect less – your own will and determination. If you are not strong enough to cope with the smoking cessation stress and if you are not determined enough to quit smoking forever, no stop smoking aid can help you.

Assuming that the decision and the determination are there, here are other stop smoking aids that are available:

Nicotine Replacement Stop Smoking Aids

Cigarettes, similar to other drugs, contain addictive substance. In this case, nicotine is the one that gets you hooked. A nicotine replacement therapy works on the principle of replacing cigarette nicotine with nicotine from other sources. After your body continues to receive its daily nicotine doses, you have less cessation symptoms and this leaves you more stress-free time to cope with the behavioral side of the problem.

There are various forms of nicotine replacement products. The nicotine gum is a very popular stop smoking aid product. You do not need a prescription for a nicotine gum.

The nicotine patch is another stop smoking aid based on the NTR (nicotine replacement therapy). The patches are usually transparent and invisible if put under clothes. They should be placed over clean skin anywhere between your neck and waist. There are various patches available – some should stay for 12-16 hours, others should be changed in every 24 hours.

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Laser Stop Smoking Aids

Laser therapies are also a well-known and successful way to quit smoking. The therapy employs ancient Chinese acupuncture techniques – specific points of your body are stimulated with low-level (also called cold) lasers. This results in increased endorphin production thus reducing cravings and post-smoking symptoms. Laser treatments give very good results especially if they are combined with a correct behavior therapy.

Alternative Stop Smoking Aids

Many people are reluctant to use any form of chemical substances to help them quit smoking. There are also people whose medical condition does not allow the use of nicotine replacement products (people with heart problems, diabetes, stomach problems, pregnant or breast-feeding women, etc). The good news is that there is a stop smoking aid for those people as well. There are many herbal products available that will reduce the cigarette cravings and the cessation symptoms.

I have heard there is a chart, saying what happens after 1 day,1month, 1year, 5years etc. Has anyone seen this?

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Here’s the powerful E-Book Guide to quitting smoking with meditation and yoga.

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The recently passed SCHIP bill in the house funds the additional spending through higher taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products. But the bailout now has about $50 Million for stop smoking programs. If they are trying to raise money for SCHIP using tobacco revenue, why are they trying to get people to quit in the bailout?

If you are thinking about taking the prescription medication Chantix, please read this review of the potential problems, side effects, and precautions taken from the official Chantix web page (Chantix is produced by Pfizer).

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Smoking is a vice, we all know that. The amazing thing is that even smokers know what a dangerous habit smoking it, taking a heavy toll on their health, relationships and finances. But still, they are will not – or perhaps they think they cannot – kick the smoking habit. However, there are stop smoking aids available today that can actually help the smoker to give up smoking and seriously increase the quality of his or her life. Experts suggest the following aids to stop smoking.

Self Determination and Support - Initially, a smoker may smoke because of the so-called thrill the habit provides, but as time passes on, smoking become a more or less mechanical activity. Hardened smokers do not find any pleasure in smoking; they smoke only because they cannot give up the habit. Hence, if you want to stop smoking, the first thing you must have is will power. Once you have that, half the battle is won.

Then tell everyone you know that you are quitting the habit. You will be surprised how well this works. If everyone knows you are trying to quit smoking, you will find it very difficult to smoke in public. You can also join the several support groups that discuss stop smoking aids at length. There is a lot of morale boosting here, which could go a long way in helping you to come off the smoking habit.

Medications and Therapies – If you are already a long way into smoking, then quitting the smoking habit will become much more difficult for you. Apart from your determination, you will also need to take treatment for the havoc nicotine has already caused in your body. Here, there are many herbal remedies that can help you. The benefit of the herbal remedies is that they will not only repair the damage done in your body, but they will also help to wean away your smoking addiction slowly but surely. In order to resist from smoking, doctors would sometimes prescribe antidepressants to smokers.

Nicotine Patches – One reason why most smokers are afraid to give up smoking is that they think they will not be able to resist the withdrawal symptoms that would come in. Withdrawal symptoms will occur if you have been smoking for too long, but if you are a mild smoker, then there will be no such problems.

Anyways, today there are nicotine patches for those who cannot give up smoking all at once. These nicotine patches reduce the temptation for a smoke, and help the person to quit smoking. However, many medical experts are against nicotine patches because they are, after all, nicotine products. Experts believe that patches are never able to reduce the urge of smoking, but they can only reduce the frequency.

Alternative Therapies – Today, alternative therapies have made a huge impact on the medical world, just because of their effectiveness at treatment without causing any side-effects. Smokers are using natural therapies like yoga and Ayurveda to a very high degree. Yoga helps the individual to exercise better control over the mind, while Ayurveda is an ancient herbal science that can work at the internal body system.

When both yoga and Ayurveda are practiced together, they can become two of the most formidable stop smoking aids. There are many western herbs like St. Johns Wort, which are currently being investigated for their properties in making people giving up smoking. Today, different forms of hypnosis are also being used in a significant way to help people stop smoking.

Thus, there are many stop smoking aids available and, frankly speaking, it is easier to quit smoking today than it ever was before. A right mix of determination, support and remedies could go a long way in converting a smoker to a nonsmoker.

Author: Peter Finch