Cigarette Rehabilitation

Reasons to Quit Smoking Cigarettes

2009-03-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

Smoking costs the United States over $167 billion each year in health-care costs including $92 billion in mortality-related productivity loses and $75.5 billion in excess medical expenditures.

One of the main reasons to quit smoking cigarettes is that it improves your overall health. Smokers who are smoking from long time become habitual to smoking cigarettes. They do not find any harm in smoking cigarettes. (Effects of Smoking)

They have included smoking cigarettes as their daily routine. Many smokers often decide to quit smoking. On the other hand, several smokers do not find any effective reasons to quit smoking cigarettes.

Indeed smokers feel that smoking cigarettes is helping them a lot. To support this statement, they say that smoking cigarettes relieves them from anxiety and makes them feel light.

They are addicted to smoking cigarettes to such an extent that they could not be able to work properly without smoking cigarettes. Thus, they do not find many effective reasons to quit smoking.

Healthy & Active Life

Actually they don’t know what they are missing. There are vast effective reasons to quit smoking cigarettes. The major effective reason to quit smoking cigarettes is health. After they quit smoking cigarettes, they will be able to lead a healthy and active life.

Heart Diseases

Another one of the effective reasons to quit smoking cigarettes is that the risk of heart disease gradually decreases up to half within a year (Smoking and Heart Diseases). After 15 years of non-smoking, your risk of heart disease would be almost equivalent to a non-smoker. Thus, your heart will be as normal as of non-smoker.

Lung Cancer

Decreasing the dangers of lung cancer is also another reasons to quit smoking cigarettes. The danger of lung cancer decreases up to 30 to 50 percent, after ten years. (Smoking and Lung Cancer)

Increase in Life Expectancy

If your age is 35 then after quitting smoking cigarettes, you are giving 7 to 8 more years to you. A woman smoker is incrementing her life from 6 to 8 years if she quit smoking at the age of 35.

You can add 6 to 7 more years to your life, if you are at the age group of 45. 3 to 6 years can be added, if you are 55. Moreover, 1 to 1.4 if you are 65. Therefore, you can always enjoy the benefits of healthy life and clean environment around you. It only depends on you.

It is up to you know to decide whether to have deadly diseases or to have a healthy life by quitting smoking cigarettes. You can opt for life and at the same time death also.

Your time span of smoking does not matter at all. The thing that really matters is enjoying the good reasons to quit smoking cigarettes. When you quit smoking cigarettes guarantees so many advantages, so a smoker should quit smoke without giving a second thought.

Life is precious do not play with your life. Your smoking habit is a slow poison, which is killing you slowly. Moreover, you are playing on your money. Smoking cigarettes has only disadvantages.

Cigarettes Health Article

2009-03-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

Description

Farmers were harvesting tobacco crops eight thousand years ago. Its uses since that time have ranged from weather forecasting, appetite suppression, and pain relief, to the ceremonial smoking of the peace pipe and recreational use. Although tobacco was smoked and chewed in the United States back in the days of Columbus, it was not until the 1880s that smoking cigarettes became a widespread custom. At its peak in 1965, 52% of all adult men and 32% of all adult women in the United States routinely smoked. By the year 2001, smoking rates in the United States had decreased to 25.5% in men, and 21.3% in women.

The potential adverse health effects of smoking were suspected as far back as 1859. It was then that an evaluation of 68 patients with oral cavity cancer linked 66 of them with the practice of smoking tobacco through short-stemmed clay pipes. Epidemiological evidence of the potentially harmful effects of cigarette smoking continued to mount over the following years. Finally, in 1962, the Royal College of Physicians of London officially deemed smoking a serious threat to health; in 1964 the U.S. Surgeon General followed suit.

Health risks of cigarette smoking

By 2001, an estimated 450, 000 Americans died annually from diseases related to cigarette smoking. According to the American Cancer Society, 3, 000 non-smoking adults die each year of lung cancer from the effects of secondhand smoke. Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to give birth to low-weight babies, and smokers have increased rates of heart disease and respiratory problems.

In addition to those health risks, smokers are at a higher risk for the development of many types of cancer. In fact, 38% of all cancer deaths in men and 23% of all cancer deaths in women are believed to be attributed to cigarette smoking. As cigarette smoking becomes more prevalent in developing countries, the incidence of particular diseases, such as lung cancer, has also increased.

Cancers associated specifically with tobacco use include:

Lung cancer: Smoking is now the primary modifiable risk factor for lung cancer. Tobacco was first linked to lung cancer in 1898, when it was theorized to be the cause for several cases of lung cancers in tobacco workers. Since then, studies have continued to document the relationship between smoking and lung cancer. Lung cancer incidence—the number of new cases diagnosed per year—closely follows smoking trends. As more and more women began to smoke, for example, the incidence of lung cancer in women also increased. By the late 1900s, 90% of lung cancer cases in men and 79% in women were believed to be related to smoking.

Head and neck cancer: Smoking increases the risk of head and neck cancers. When tobacco is used in conjunction with alcohol, there is believed to be an even higher risk of these types of diagnoses. The precise mechanism of this relationship, known as a "synergistic effect, " is not yet well understood.

Esophageal cancer: Smokers, particularly women smokers, are at an increased risk for developing esophageal cancer—a risk that increases with the quantity of cigarettes smoked per day.

Pancreatic cancer: An estimated 22, 000 people die from pancreatic cancer each year, and an alarming 30% of these deaths are related to cigarette smoking.

Colorectal cancer: Individuals who smoke cigarettes are more likely to develop polyps in the colon, which in turn increases the risk of colon cancer. There is also evidence that the risk of colon and/or rectal cancer increases with pack years for smokers. (Pack years are calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked a day by the number of years smoked.)

Stomach cancer: Although some studies have found no existing relationship between smoking and stomach cancer, others have shown an increased risk for smokers over the age of 50 years and a relationship between the disease and pack-years of smoking. More conclusive research is necessary to better understand the role that smoking plays in the development of stomach, or gastric, cancer.

Bladder cancer: Smoking is believed to be related to 30-40% of all bladder cancers, most of which are of the transitional cell type. The risk of developing bladder cancer is believed to be related to the duration of smoking and inversely related to the age at which smoking began (that is, the younger a person is when he or she starts smoking, the higher the chances of developing bladder cancer).

Cervical cancer: There appears to be a relationship between smoking and cervical cancer—the higher the "dose, " or amount smoked, the higher the likelihood of developing cervical cancer. Smoking is also associated with human papilloma virus infection, or HPV. Certain types of HPV can cause warts to develop in the genital area and cervix. These types of infections are a major cause of cervical cancer. Because of these overlapping relationships, the exact effect of smoking in cervical cancer needs further study.

Breast cancer: Smoking is not yet a well-established risk factor for breast cancer: some studies indicate an increased risk among smokers, and others report a decreased risk among smokers. Genetic susceptibility to certain components of tobacco may explain the varying results, but more research is needed to better understand the relationship.

Although cancer is not always preventable, avoiding known risk factors, such as smoking, is an important part of prevention. The best approach to prevent disease is not to start smoking at all. However, even individuals who have smoked for years can decrease their risk of cancer and improve their health and well being by breaking the habit. Shortly after quitting smoking, a person will notice an improvement in their sense of taste and smell. After a smoke-free ten years, lung cancer risk declines by up to 50%. After 15 smoke-free years, an ex-smoker has the same risk of early death than a person who never smoked at all. Although quitting smoking does reduce the likelihood of cancer development, the risk depends upon the amount smoked, the number of years smoked, and whether or not a person is ill at the time of smoking cessation.

Smoking Cessation Health Article

2009-03-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

Definition

Smoking cessation is the medical term for quitting smoking. It is a vital part of cancer prevention because smoking is the single most preventable cause of death from cancer. As early as 1982, the Surgeon General reported that tobacco causes more cancer deaths in the United States than any other factor-30% of all cancer deaths, including 87% of deaths from lung cancer. Although people think of smoking most often in connection with lung cancer, smoking is also associated with cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box (larynx), esophagus, pancreas, kidney, and bladder. Women who smoke increase their risk of cancer of the cervix. Quitting smoking, however, significantly reduces the risk of cancer; 15 years after quitting, a former smoker's risk is almost as low as that of someone who has never smoked.

Description

Smoking cessation covers several different approaches, ranging from medications and psychotherapy to special classes and programs. Smoking is a habit difficult to break because it involves many different aspects of a person's emotions and social life as well as physical addiction to nicotine. Most people who quit smoking successfully use a combination of treatments or techniques for quitting.

Special concerns

People who are trying to quit smoking are often concerned about:

Withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine, the substance in tobacco that gives smokers a pleasurable feeling, is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Withdrawal from nicotine may produce depression, anger, fatigue, headaches, problems with sleep or concentration, or increased appetite for food. These symptoms usually start several hours after the last cigarette. They may last for several days or several weeks.
Weight gain. Many people, particularly women, gain between two and 10 pounds after giving up smoking. This mild weight gain, however, is not nearly as great a danger to health as continuing to smoke. Getting more exercise can help.
Stress. Many smokers started to smoke as a way to cope with stress and tension. Finding other methods—exercise, meditation, biofeedback, massage, and others, can reduce the temptation to smoke when stress arises.
Side effects of nicotine replacement products. Smokers who are using these products to help them quit may experience headaches, nausea, sore throat, or long-term dependence. Side effects can often be reduced or eliminated by using a lower dosage of the product or switching to another form of nicotine replacement.

Treatments

Nicotine replacement therapy

Nicotine replacement therapy gives the smoker a measured supply of nicotine without the other harmful chemicals in tobacco. It reduces the physical craving for cigarettes so that the smoker can handle the psychological aspects of quitting more effectively.

As of 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved four forms of nicotine replacement therapy:

Transdermal patches. Patches, which are non-prescription items, supply measured doses of nicotine through the skin. The doses are lowered over a period of weeks, thus helping the smoker to reduce the need for nicotine gradually.
Nicotine gum. Nicotine gum provides a fast-acting nicotine replacement that is absorbed through the mouth tissues. The smoker chews the gum slowly and then keeps it against the inside of the cheek for 20 to 30 minutes. The gum is also available without prescription.
Nasal spray. Nicotine nasal spray provides nicotine through the tissues that line the nose. It acts much more rapidly than the patches or gum, but requires a doctor's prescription.
Inhalers. Nicotine inhalers are plastic tubes containing nicotine plugs. The plug gives off nicotine vapor when the smoker puffs on the tube. Some smokers prefer inhalers because they look more like cigarettes than other types of nicotine replacement. They also require a doctor's prescription.

Other medications

Bupropion, which is sold under the trade name Zyban, is an antidepressant medication given to lower the symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine. Bupropion by itself can help people quit smoking, but its success rate is even higher when it is used together with nicotine replacement therapy. Another drug that is sometimes given for nicotine withdrawal is buspirone (BuSpar), which is an antianxiety medication.

Stop-smoking programs and groups

Stop-smoking programs help by reinforcing a smoker's decision to give up tobacco. They teach people to recognize common problems that occur during quitting and they offer emotional support and encouragement. While stop-smoking programs do not have as high a success rate by themselves as medications or nicotine replacement therapy, they are very helpful as part of an overall quitting plan. The most effective programs include either individual or group psychological counseling. Many state Medicaid plans now cover the costs of smoking cessation programs; further information is available from the American Association of Respiratory Care at

The Great American Smokeout has been held annually since 1977 on the third Thursday in November to call attention to the high human costs of smoking. Smokers are asked to quit for the day and donate the money saved on cigarettes to high school scholarship funds.

Nicotine Anonymous is an organization that applies the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to tobacco addiction. Its group meetings are free of charge.

Alternative and complementary therapies

Some people find that hypnosis helps them to quit. Acupuncture has also been used, but there are no large-scale studies comparing it to other stop-smoking treatments. A list of physicians who are also licensed acupuncturists is available from the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture at (800) 521-2262.

Other complementary approaches that have been shown to be useful in quitting smoking include movement therapies like yoga, t'ai chi, and dance. Prayer and meditation have also helped many smokers learn to handle stress without using tobacco.

The incredible E-Cigarette!

2009-03-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Imagine being able to smoke on the train, in the office, in a restaurant, or even on a plane! With the E-Cigarette you can smoke anywhere. You will still be smoking like you do normally, and you will still be getting a nicotine fix, however you wont be breathing in cancer causing carcinogens, and other poisons. I know this sounds to good to be true, but thanks to modern technology, scientists have created the cigarette of the future, and is here now, available to order online and get delivered right to your home.

Inhale and exhale that looks & feels
EXACTLY like a traditional cigarette...
it's amazing!

The E-cigarette is an amazing high tech product developed to provide smokers with a clean alternative to smoking or as a device to help you quit. It contains, no carbon monoxide, no cancer-causing chemicals, and no tar. When air flows through the device, it is detected by a microprocessor. This microprocessor then activates the atomizer which injects tiny droplets of the liquid into the flowing air. This produces a vapor mist which is inhaled by the user. The addition of propylene glycol to the liquid makes the mist better resemble normal cigarette smoke. The microprocessor also activates an orange LED at the tip to simulate real smoking. It not only simulates cigarette smoke but also the temperature of common cigarette's smoke which is 50-60 °C.

Imagine the health benefits and cost benefits!

The Electronic Cigarette can allow smokers to enjoy the same pleasure as that of traditional cigarettes when inhaling, imitating the whole process of smoking. E-Cigarettes create a much more healthy smoking experience and are far more fun than other products and have become known as the most perfect alternative to smoking so far. You are simply inhaling and exhaling water vapor with nicotine!

If you want to quit smoking, then the E-Cigarette is by far the easiest way to do so.

Within the first day of using the E-Cigarette, your body will start repairing itself, your lungs will start to un-tar, and your health will start to improve, by day 7 your sense of smell and flavor will be enhanced, your lungs will start to gain capacity and the stains on your figures and teeth would of disappeard. All this while still smoking.

Nicotine addicted

2009-03-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

Nicotine is one of the most heavily used addictive drugs in the United States. In 2003, 29.8 percent of the U.S. population 12 and older—70.8 million people—used tobacco at least once in the month prior to being interviewed.* This figure includes 3.6 million young people age 12 to 17. There were no statistically significant changes in past-month rates of the different tobacco products among this age group between 2002 and 2003. However, there were significant declines in past-year and lifetime cigarette use between 2002 and 2003. In addition, the rate of past-month cigarette use decreased among 13 year-olds. Young adults aged 18 to 25 reported the highest rate of current use of any tobacco products (44.8 percent).

Cigarette smoking has been the most popular method of taking nicotine since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1989, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report that concluded that cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, such as cigars, pipe tobacco, and chewing tobacco, are addictive and that nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction. The report also determined that smoking was a major cause of stroke and the third leading cause of death in the United States. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing approximately 440,000 premature deaths each year and resulting in an annual cost of more than $75 billion in direct medical costs. (See www.cdc.gov/tobacco/issue.htm).

Health Hazards
Nicotine is highly addictive. Nicotine provides an almost immediate “kick” because it causes a discharge of epinephrine from the adrenal cortex. This stimulates the central nervous system and other endocrine glands, which causes a sudden release of glucose. Stimulation is then followed by depression and fatigue, leading the abuser to seek more nicotine.

Nicotine is absorbed readily from tobacco smoke in the lungs, and it does not matter whether the tobacco smoke is from cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Nicotine also is absorbed readily when tobacco is chewed. With regular use of tobacco, levels of nicotine accumulate in the body during the day and persist overnight. Thus, daily smokers or chewers are exposed to the effects of nicotine for 24 hours each day.

Addiction to nicotine results in withdrawal symptoms when a person tries to stop smoking. For example, a study found that when chronic smokers were deprived of cigarettes for 24 hours, they had increased anger, hostility, and aggression, and loss of social cooperation. Persons suffering from withdrawal also take longer to regain emotional equilibrium following stress. During periods of abstinence and/or craving, smokers have shown impairment across a wide range of psychomotor and cognitive functions, such as language comprehension.

Women who smoke generally have earlier menopause. If women smoke cigarettes and also take oral contraceptives, they are more prone to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases than are other smokers; this is especially true for women older than 30.

Pregnant women who smoke cigarettes run an increased risk of having stillborn or premature infants or infants with low birthweight. Children of women who smoked while pregnant have an increased risk for developing conduct disorders. National studies of mothers and daughters have also found that maternal smoking during pregnancy increased the probability that female children would smoke and would persist in smoking.

Adolescent smokeless tobacco users are more likely than nonusers to become cigarette smokers. Behavioral research is beginning to explain how social influences, such as observing adults or other peers smoking, affect whether adolescents begin to smoke cigarettes. Research has shown that teens are generally resistant to antismoking messages.

In addition to nicotine, cigarette smoke is primarily composed of a dozen gases (mainly carbon monoxide) and tar. The tar in a cigarette, which varies from about 15 mg for a regular cigarette to 7 mg in a low-tar cigarette, exposes the user to an increased risk of lung cancer, emphysema, and bronchial disorders.

The carbon monoxide in the smoke increases the chance of cardiovascular diseases. The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in adults and greatly increases the risk of respiratory illnesses in children and sudden infant death.

Promising Research
Research has shown that nicotine, like cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, increases the level of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which affects the brain pathways that control reward and pleasure. Scientists now have pinpointed a particular molecule [the beta 2 (b2)] subunit of the nicotine cholinergic receptor as a critical component in nicotine addiction. Mice that lack this subunit fail to self-administer nicotine, implying that without the b2 subunit, the mice do not experience the positive reinforcing properties of nicotine. This new finding identifies a potential site for targeting the development of nicotine addiction medications.

Other new research found that individuals have greater resistance to nicotine addiction if they have a genetic variant that decreases the function of the enzyme CYP2A6. The decrease in CYP2A6 slows the breakdown of nicotine and protects individuals against nicotine addiction. Understanding the role of this enzyme in nicotine addiction gives a new target for developing more effective medications to help people stop smoking. Medications might be developed that can inhibit the function of CYP2A6, thus providing a new approach to preventing and treating nicotine addiction.

Another study found dramatic changes in the brain’s pleasure circuits during withdrawal from chronic nicotine use. These changes are comparable in magnitude and duration to similar changes observed during withdrawal from other abused drugs such as cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and alcohol. Scientists found significant decreases in the sensitivity of the brains of laboratory rats to pleasurable stimulation after nicotine administration was abruptly stopped. These changes lasted several days and may correspond to the anxiety and depression experienced by humans for several days after quitting smoking "cold turkey." The results of this research may help in the development of better treatments for the withdrawal symptoms that may interfere with individuals’ attempts to quit smoking.

Treatment
Studies have shown that pharmacological treatment combined with behavioral treatment, including psychological support and skills training to overcome high-risk situations, results in some of the highest long-term abstinence rates. Generally, rates of relapse for smoking cessation are highest in the first few weeks and months and diminish considerably after about 3 months.

Behavioral economic studies find that alternative rewards and reinforcers can reduce cigarette use. One study found that the greatest reductions in cigarette use were achieved when smoking cost was increased in combination with the presence of alternative recreational activities.

Nicotine chewing gum is one medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of nicotine dependence. Nicotine in this form acts as a nicotine replacement to help smokers quit smoking.

The success rates for smoking cessation treatment with nicotine chewing gum vary considerably across studies, but evidence suggests that it is a safe means of facilitating smoking cessation if chewed according to instructions and restricted to patients who are under medical supervision.

Another approach to smoking cessation is the nicotine transdermal patch, a skin patch that delivers a relatively constant amount of nicotine to the person wearing it. A research team at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program studied the safety, mechanism of action, and abuse liability of the patch that was consequently approved by FDA. Both nicotine gum and the nicotine patch, as well as other nicotine replacements such as sprays and inhalers, are used to help people fully quit smoking by reducing withdrawal symptoms and preventing relapse while undergoing behavioral treatment.

Another tool in treating nicotine addiction is a medication that goes by the trade name Zyban. This is not a nicotine replacement, as are the gum and patch. Rather, this works on other areas of the brain, and its effectiveness is in helping to make nicotine craving, or thoughts about cigarette use, more controllable in people who are trying to quit.

Nicotine Addiction Recovery Rehab Facility

2009-03-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

Seabrook House is a nationally recognized, private and exclusive, and CARF accredited inpatient drug rehab and alcoholism rehab treatment center. Our main facility is located in rural Bridgeton, New Jersey (NJ), convenient to New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA), Maryland (MD), Delaware (DE), Virginia (VA), Washington, DC, Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI) and Massachusetts (MA). Our extended-care transitional living facility is located in Tioga County, Pennsylvania (PA), within minutes of the New York state border.

Our alcohol and drug rehab campus in New Jersey extends over a 40-acre manicured estate, providing a serene and healing drug rehab environment. The transitional living facility in Pennsylvania is similarly situated on a 14-acre estate with rolling hills and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. For over 33 years we have been helping families find the courage to find recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse such as marijuana addiction, heroin dependency, cocaine addiction, xanax abuse, prescription medication abuse and other compulsive diseases.

If you have a loved one that does not want help, don't give up! Many have come to our rehab program and into full recovery as a direct result of a Family Intervention. Call or click now for more information on how family intervention may work for you.

Applying our research-based recovery treatment center methods for drug addiction and alcoholism, which we call The Seabrook House Model®, we assist patients in restoring their lives by embracing a way of life based upon the 12-Step principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). We apply a variety of recovery therapies including cognitive behavioral (CBT) and adjunct therapies including music, yoga, massage, EMDR, psychodrama, equine assisted, Reiki, and outdoor adventure ropes course. Belief systems of Adler, Rogers and Jung and many other psychological theorists are applied during CBT.

Our rich history and CARF accredited quality alcohol and drug addiction treatment rehab programs have earned Seabrook House a citation in "The 100 Best Treatment Centers for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse - The Only Complete Guide to the Most Outstanding Drug Rehabs in the Country" by Linda Sunshine and John Wright. This Avon Publication is available through most bookstores.

Seabrook House addiction drug rehab center specializes in a withdrawal treatment for opiate detox i.e. heroin, oxycontin, using specific medication protocols with Suboxone, whose primary active ingredient is buprenorphine. Suboxone (buprenorphine / naloxone), at the appropriate dose, can suppress symptoms of heroin withdrawal, decrease cravings for opioids, block the effects of other opioids, and help patients stay in drug rehab treatment. You may also apply for admission online to our drug rehab center by using our encrypted Preadmission Assessment form. Please be assured that your alcohol and drug rehab addiction treatment records and information are protected by Federal confidentiality laws and we cannot share your information with anyone unless you give us written consent. Contact a Clinical Outreach Representative in your area if you have any questions or need further assistance.

Our main drug rehab facility is located in southern New Jersey (NJ), approximately 1 1/2 hour drive from Princeton, New Jersey (NJ), Seabrook House's residential drug rehab addiction recovery treatment services are convenient to rehab Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA), Radnor, Pennsylvania (PA), Reading, Pennsylvania (PA), Wilmington, Delaware (DE), Dover, Delaware (DE) or within a 2 to 3 hour drive from New York City, New York (NY), Long Island, New York (NY), Bridgeport, Connecticut (CT), Gaithersburg, Maryland (MD),Washington, DC, Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) and Baltimore, Maryland (MD), or within a 5 hour drive from Boston, Massachusetts (MA), Worcester, Massachusetts (MA), New Bedford,

Quit Smoking

2009-03-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Do You Really Want To Quit?

The main thing that one should keep in mind to quit smoking is determination. One needs to analyze if he really wants to quit smoking. Many people say that they can quit smoking any time. While, there are others who need proper support. They do not get the proper support. Sometimes, many easy things are projected as difficult by the people.

Smoking cold turkey is a short and sharp method to quit smoking. When body leaves nicotine, there could be nausea and a sense of irritation. This lasts for three to four days. These symptoms last just for the time till the body is free from all nicotine contents. Determination is needed to overcome craving. The real pain is only for a month. After that, you are free as a bird.

The main problem with smoking is that people do not want to give it up. They are hooked. When nicotine goes inside, it switches on the receptors of the brain. This releases neuro transmitter dopamine. This is a chemical that gives a feeling of complete pleasure. Nicotine also gives a push to concentration levels. This is the reason why many businessmen and students smoke before crucial business meetings and examinations. If the neurotransmitters in brain are balanced, it improves mood, ability and the capacity to focus.

People who suffer from diseases like depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer, and Parkinson’s disease, have nicotine contents, but, not in the form of smoking. Many drug companies are doing research on nicotine that can help the mankind in the pure organic form. Nicotine is dangerous in the form of cigarette; otherwise it is a good health product.

In its purest form, it is non-toxic. Billions of people take nicotine on a daily basis in the form of potatoes, red chilies, tomatoes, and some varieties of teas. It is advisable to drink nicotine, in pure form, through water. It is an alternate method of relief to the smokers.

How to Help a Teen to Stop Smoking?

Understanding the specific reason why your child took up smoking in their teenage can help you wean them off the bad and health endangering habit. Every smoking teen is different. They start out because of different reasons. You as a parent need to understand the nature of cigarette smoking first as only that can help kick start your kid to get off the habit.

Smoking is an addictive habit and in adolescents, use of pressure, force, or anger is a strict no no. Such tactics can make your child steadfastly increase his cigarette smoking even further out of rebellious feelings. The way to help your child is to simply ask him what exactly caused him to pick up the habit.

Show of support is more likely to elicit the proper response from a teenager. He will feel cared for and may well confess that the need to stay in sync with his friends made him do it. Having a frank talk with your smoking son is the best way to approach the matter. Never castigate him for picking up the habit because surely your teenaged kid already must feel guilty about it.

After your child himself expresses regret, tell him gently about the concern you feel for his health. At this point you can well point out the health hazards that cigarette smoking if continued can have on his health and his career. Parents who do not smoke themselves have a better chance of weaning their child off cigarettes, than those who themselves do.

The reason for this is that children always look up to their parents. They in all probability want to emulate every single action of their parents. Therefore you can become a positive influence in so far as your kid's quitting the puff altogether is concerned.

Next you can always point out how smoking stains teeth. You can also focus on the wastage of money going up in smoke without adequate returns in any form whatsoever.

You can also casually point out that changing his current set of friends may help do the trick. Usually that almost always forms the crux of the matter because it is from one or the other influential friend that teenaged kids pick up the smoking habit. Usually it is simply because of peer pressure and conformance to a group's common feature.

Another circle of friends may have a common feature of no smoking in their members. Joining such a group of friends can help your kid more than parental controls can ever bring about. The reason is that teenagers are influenced by their mates much more than elders.

In some cases, parents may find that the habit has gone too far ahead. In such cases, you can take your kid to join a cigarette weaning support group or a hospital. Such institutions use medication and psychology to catalyze the cessation of smoking by teenagers.

Quit Smoking Vaccine

The Swiss biotechnology company Cytos AG has announced the arrival of the vaccine CYT002-NicQb to treat nicotine addiction. In fact, there is a buzz in the air that the smoking vaccine from Cytos is on the offing. The phase II clinical trial results were presented by Prof. Dr. Jacques Cornuz (CHUV Lausanne), principal investigator, at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Orlando, USA, has presented the Phase Two clinical trial results on behalf of the Study centers. The study only confirmed the efficacy of the vaccine.

The vaccine makes it much easier to quit smoking. In it, part of a protein is used that attracts an immune response to nicotine. Antibodies bind to nicotine and this prevents it from getting through to the brain. Without the 'high' from nicotine the incentive to smoke diminishes.

In the study, there are 341 smokers. The volunteers smoked between 10 to 40 cigarettes a day for at least three years. They were aged between 18 to 70 years of age. The smokers are assessed on safety, tolerability and efficacy of the vaccine. The percentage of smokers who achieved high levels of antibodies against nicotine after receiving the vaccine is 57%. They after receiving the vaccine stopped smoking completely for at least six months. Interesting is the fact that 31% of the people who received dummy vaccine also quit smoking. About 33% of those who developed lower levels of antibodies also quit smoking.

There are some minor side effects of the vaccine. It is redness and tenderness at the injection site. Other than that the vaccine is a great news for all those who are trying to quit but could not. There was also a large placebo effect with the vaccine.

Rehab Centers Help You Quit Smoking

2009-03-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

When all the efforts based on will power and determination fail to make you quit smoking, a rehabilitation center is the avenue left open for you to explore. Rehabilitation center with it's modern medical therapies and behavioral therapies helps smokers quit tobacco.

Conventional nicotine substitute treatment is quite common- for example nicotine gum, spray and patch. It helps addict decrease dependence on nicotine. But, nowadays new medicines have been introduced by rehab centers. A medicine varenicline has been recently introduced that can be taken orally.

These rehab centers provide constant counseling about disastrous effects of not quitting smoking. Smokers are convinced that if they continue smoking they may develop heart disease or cancer. A balanced combination of psychological and medicinal treatment is used to treat the sufferer.

These rehab centers also provide a list of skills with the help of which a patient can keep himself/herself away from smoking. In certain chronic cases of smoking, hypnosis is also used by rehab centers as a mode of treatment.

Usually, treatment at rehab centers start with evaluation of level of addiction. Then behavioral therapy is introduced in three stages. It is first done at individual level followed by group and family level therapy.

Replacement therapy is practised with the help of nicotine substitutes like Bupropion, inhaler and alike.

Give Up Smoking

2009-03-26T21:55:00.001-07:00

End Your Addiction To Cigarettes With NLP and Hypnotherapy

Most smokers are experts at how to stop smoking because they have done it so many times. Despite their best intentions and sincere efforts, the pull of cigarettes and nicotine is just too strong. Eventually, they go back to smoking cigarettes and the cycle of addiction begins all over again.

Cigarette Addiction And How It Works

Cigarettes contain nicotine, which is proven to be an addictive drug. Your body becomes dependent on nicotine, and when it doesn’t get enough of it you experience unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal. In addition to the physical addiction, there is also a powerful mental component to cigarette addiction as well. Your mind associates smoking cigarettes with pleasant feelings, such as relaxation, reward, or stress relief. There is also a strong social pull with cigarette addiction because many people associate smoking with the social situations in which they typically like to smoke.

This addiction is incredibly powerful, as you probably already know because you’ve probably already tried to quit several different times. You’re not alone in this, however; take a look at these facts about cigarette smoking:

Most smokers who quit have to try at least two or three times before being successful
Only 6% of people who try to quit using willpower alone will succeed
Using a nicotine patch or gum increases the success rate to 12%
Overall, only 2.5% of all smokers are successful at quitting each year
Studies show that hypnotherapy is one of the most successful tools for quitting smoking

That last fact is important, because there are some very good reasons why hypnotherapy, especially when used in combination with NLP, has an excellent success rate at helping you to quit smoking.

Using NLP And Hypnotherapy To Overcome Cigarette Addiction

NLP and hypnotherapy work with your mind to help you overcome both the physical and mental aspects of cigarette addiction. NLP works with your conscious mind to teach patterns of thought that lead to new patterns of more desirable behaviour. Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, works with your unconscious mind to resolve deeper issues in your mind, such as stress and the desire for reward.

Another interesting thing to consider is that people who use NLP and hypnotherapy tend to experience fewer (and sometimes even none) of the typical nicotine withdrawal symptoms. While nobody can say for sure why this is the case, we have seen it in our clients many, many times. There is not doubt that when used together, these techniques are the most powerful way to attack cigarette addiction and get rid of it for good.

How Long Will Treatment Take?

Most cigarette addictions can be resolved in one one-hour session, but we strongly recommend you allow for two or three sessions. This allows us to take advantage of the full range of techniques available to ensure you have dealt with all of the underlying issues associated with cigarette addiction.

Cigarette addiction is bad for your health and can destroy your life. Don’t let another day go by, let our experienced and professional team of NLP and hypnotherapy practitioners help you take back control of your life! Contact us today for more information about the clinic closest to you.

Sometimes, self hypnosis recordings can be very effective with stopping smoking issues. One of the best is by Duncan McColl and you can get it from the USA here - Help Stopping Smoking, and from the UK here Stopping Smoking Self Hypnosis. If you do get this recording, be persistent with its use.

Do You Know Why You Are Addicted to Cigarettes

2009-03-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Cigarette smoking is just about the most disgusting habit there is. Yet surprisingly people who do smoke can not quit. If you smoke do you know why you are addicted to cigarettes? In this article we will look at the transformation of a social smoker into a full time cigarette addict.

At first you become addicted to cigarettes because of the fast action of nicotine on the pleasure centers of your brain. When you puff on a cigarette the nicotine in your lungs enters your blood stream and within 15 to 20 seconds begins to work on your brain.

Once in your brain nicotine binds to receptors that are intended for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. These neurotransmitters affect your mood and behavior.

The neurotransmitter dopamine affects the reward center that causes feelings of pleasure and enjoyment. Serotonin helps moderate your mood and controls your appetite. GABA produces a calming effect that reduces anxiety.

Smoking is a means of artificially spiking the acetylcholine system resulting in feelings of pleasure, calmness, and a moderation of your mood.

As an occasional you may begin to use cigarettes as a means of coping with life's daily stresses. You switch from social smoking to daily smoking. Once you begin smoking several cigarettes a day, nicotine is constantly stimulating your brain, 24 hours a day. You are psychologically addicted to the positive effects of nicotine.

Your brain adapts to the frequent presence of nicotine. Your brain physically changes by increasing the nicotine receptor concentration. This requires more nicotine for your brain to function properly. That is, your brain now becomes dependent on nicotine for normal functions. This adaptation produces tolerance for nicotine.

When your brain is unable to get the required amount of nicotine, you experience withdrawal symptoms. These withdrawal symptoms include restlessness and irritability. You may have trouble sleeping or in getting along with family and friends. You often appear anxious one day and listless the next.

As an addicted cigarette smoker you often go for your first dose of nicotine as soon as possible in the morning. Many smokers take their first puffs within 5 minutes of awakening.

Throughout the day you need nicotine doses every couple of hours. You will use your one break at work to smoke. You will go outside and stand in the snow to smoke. You may get up in the night to have a puff when you go to the bathroom.

You are now a cigarette addict and destined for a life of health problems not to mention the outlandish cost of a carton of cigarettes. If you are already a cigarette addict you face a tough road ahead to quitting. If you are a social smoker quit while you still can.