Quit Smoking Tip Sheet ~

Thinking about quitting Smoking midnight New Years Day?? Here's an oldie but a goodie ... Some tips that have really helped me in the past.

1. Quit cold turkey with the help of drugs (prescribed!).


2. Do not carry cigarettes.


3. Quit smoking one day at a time. Do not concern yourself with next year, next month, next week or even tomorrow. Concentrate on not smoking from the time you wake up until you go to sleep.


4. Work on developing the attitude that you are doing yourself a favor by not smoking. Do not dwell on the idea that you are depriving yourself of a cigarette. You are ridding yourself of full-fledged smoking because you care enough about yourself to want to.


5. Be proud that you are not smoking.


6. Be aware that many routine situations will trigger the urge for a cigarette. Situations which will trigger a response include: drinking coffee, alcohol, sitting in a bar, social events with smoking friends, card games, the end of meals. Try to maintain your normal routine while quitting. If any event seems too tough, leave it and go back to it later. Do not feel you must give up any activity forever. Everything you did as a smoker, you will learn to do at least as well, and maybe better, as an ex-smoker.


7. Make a list of all the reasons you want to quit smoking. Keep this list with you, preferably where you used to carry your cigarettes. When you find yourself reaching for a cigarette, take out your list and read it.


8. Drink plenty of water the first three days. It will help flush nicotine out of your system.


9. To help avoid weight gain, eat vegetables and fruit instead of candies and pastries. Celery and carrots can be used safely as short-term substitutes for cigarettes.


10. If you are concerned about weight gain, do some moderate form of regular exercise. If you have not been exercising regularly, consult your physician for a practical exercise program which is safe for you. See also: Exercise Shown To Powerfully Decrease Cigarette Cravings


11. If you encounter a crisis, (e.g. a flat tire, flood, blizzard, family illness) while quitting, remember, smoking is no solution. Smoking will just complicate the original situation while creating another crisis, a relapse into the nicotine addiction.


12. Consider yourself a “smoke-a-holic.” One puff and you can become hooked again. No matter how long you have been off, don't think you can safely take a puff!


13. Don't debate with yourself how much you want a cigarette. Ask yourself how do you feel about going back to your old level of consumption. Smoking is an all or nothing proposition.


14. Save the money you usually spend on cigarettes and buy yourself something you really want after a week or a month. Save for a year and you can treat yourself to a vacation.


15. Practice deep breathing exercises when you have a craving.


16. Go places where you normally can't smoke, such as movies, libraries and no smoking sections of restaurants.


17. Tell people around you that you have quit smoking.


18. Remember that there are only two good reasons to take a puff once you quit. You decide you want to go back to your old level of consumption until smoking cripples and then kills you, or, you decide you really enjoy withdrawal and you want to make it last forever. As long as neither of these options appeal to you - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF

If Quitting is your goal and any of this helps Please write to me and share both your success and your frustrations. FJW

My 8 ~ 8 ~ 8 Plan!!!

I've just returned from Vegas, one of the most smoking friendly Cities in the United States... And I've just completed 888 Days Smoke Free!!

I know I really haven't blogged about my nicotine addiction struggles lately and I've probably lost most of my followers ... 'cept maybe one person in Missouri :)

But, in case anyone was wondering I am Still Smoke free nearly Two and a Half Years Later!

I had attempted quitting this vial habit so many times I lost count. But from all those attempts I did learn one very valuable lesson ... No matter what, don't try just one!

There is no such thing to just one cigarette for an addict. One will always lead to another. Every now and then, but not too often anymore, a cigarette sounds appealing however, the feeling always goes away.

So -- if you're a recent quitter learn from my past mistakes and never take another puff :)

Happy Holidays ~ FJW

Genes May Make Quitting Tougher for Smokers

Your particular DNA may explain why you can't break the habit, study suggests.

By Mary Brophy Marcus, HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Dec. 1, 2011 (HealthDay News) — Despite decades of public health efforts aimed at snuffing out cigarette smoking, 20 percent of Americans still light up. New research suggests it might be because of their genes.

While anti-smoking campaigns are credited with slicing cigarette use drastically over the past 40 years — from 42 percent of all Americans in 1965 to just under 20 percent in 2010 — the number of people who haven't been able to nix their nicotine habit has flatlined in recent years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Two out of three adults who smoke want to quit, a CDC report out earlier this month said, and more than half (52 percent) had attempted to quit in the past year.

The authors of the new study, released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of Demography, say new tactics may be needed to help the remaining smokers.

"Federal and social policies may be somewhat less effective now because maybe the composition of those at risk [those who smoke] has changed," said study co-author Fred Pampel, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a research associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science there. Those who can quit easily have probably done so, the authors said.

Study lead author Jason Boardman, an associate professor of sociology, said anti-smoking messages, higher taxes and restrictions on smoking have made a difference. "But for hard-core smokers, there may be something else going on," he said. That "something else" is likely genetics, he added.

The researchers drew this conclusion after analyzing the smoking habits between 1960 and 1980 of nearly 600 pairs of twins who answered an extensive health questionnaire — 363 were identical sets of twins and 233 were fraternal twins. Identical twins come from the same fertilized egg before it splits into two embryos and they share the same genes or DNA, while fraternal twins come from two separately fertilized egg cells and only share some genetic similarities.

In the identical twin group, 65 percent of both individuals quit within a two-year period of each other, while only 55 percent of the fraternal twins quit within that same stretch of time.

"The logic here is that the identical twins share genes, so if they act alike it probably reflects a genetic component," said Pampel.

The new research adds to a growing body of literature suggesting there is probably a substantial genetic influence when it comes to nicotine addiction, said Dr. Aditi Satti, an assistant professor of medicine and director of the smoking cessation program at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. But scientists are still trying to pinpoint the gene or genes involved, she said.

"There has not been one specific gene linked to nicotine addiction," said Satti.

She noted that while numbers of smokers have decreased over the years, smoking is up among women and black Americans, possibly another clue as to who is genetically at risk. Inner city, low socioeconomic and less-educated populations are more likely to be smokers, too, Satti added.

"I think the combo of finding better medications and educating people, even if doctors just spend five minutes talking with your patient about smoking, will lead to higher quit rates," Satti said.

Boardman said a policy shift might be in line. Instead of government anti-smoking campaigns focusing on high taxes and splashy advertisements, he said current smokers may discover more success using medication aimed at nicotine addiction, as well as counseling.

"I'd argue that nicotine replacement therapies may be far more effective with existing smokers still trying to quit than the posters showing images of smokers that are not cool. Behavior-changing efforts — I don't think that's going to help the two-pack a day smokers," said Boardman, who is also a research associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science.

Smoking-related diseases lead to approximately 443,000 deaths a year in the United States, including babies born prematurely to women who smoke while pregnant and those harmed by secondhand smoke, according to the American Lung Association.

Satti is concerned that cigarette addiction isn't taken seriously enough by some.

"Maybe we don't see smoking as being as important as alcohol and drug addiction, but I'm a pulmonologist and I see chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema and lung cancer every day," she said. "And we know tobacco smoke is linked to cardiovascular disease and stroke. It's one of the most preventable things you can do. If you quit smoking, you'll see a huge impact on health."