First Day of Lent ~

President's Day ~ February 15th ~

Today is President's day ~ For the first time in decades we have a Commander and Chief who we know is presently a smoker of cigarettes ... but he's not the first one to do so.

I've done some research on the subject of American Presidents and their tobacco use but much of the sources and articles I found were very much contradictory. Rather than go through a long list and write might haves and might not's, I will just hi-lite a few we know to be true.

Many of the Founding Fathers were tobacco farmers so I'm sure in turn they were also tobacco users. Ulysses S. Grant, civil war hero and 18th President, was known to have smoke up to 20 cigars in a day and later die of throat cancer.

More recently, FDR was a known cigarette smoker along with the use of his signature cigarette holder. Ike, General Eisenhower, too was a cigarette smoker ... fairly heavily if all read is to be believed. Kennedy and Johnson both smoked cigarettes and JFK was also a know cigar smoker. Rumor had it he had a staffer round up as many Cuban Cigars as he could prior to signing the trade embargo against Cuba.

Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush were both known 'former' smokers who kicked the habit prior to occupying The Oval Office ... As a crutch to help with nicotine cravings and withdrawals is how Reagan became know for his jar of Jelly Beans on his desk.

39th President Gerald Ford, and avid pipe smoker, was our last Commander and Chief (prior to Obama) I remember who openly used tobacco. ("Used" as in smoked I should say ... We all know the Clinton Cigar Story, no need to rehash is here).

In fact Hillary made news when she banished all smoking from the White House ... Maybe she should have restricted ALL uses of tobacco products!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY ~

~ Do Something Special for the ONE you LOVE ~

We all know smoking can cause lung cancer but it can also cause many other debilitating and life threatening illnesses.

Cardiovascular disease is one such disease which causes of death due to smoking. Some Research done on this subject has shown that smoking reduces life expectancy by seven to eight years.

Why should you stop smoking today?

Stopping smoking is the single biggest gift you can give yourself and others around you as it has only bad effects. But it needs tremendous will power and expert help as you may suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Alternate therapies like acupuncture and hypnosis are highly effective in stopping this habit.

Here are 12 Reasons to quit smoking today.

(1)Smoking raises blood pressure, one of the major causes for heart attacks and stroke.
(2)Smoking reduces life expectancy. You pay a higher insurance premium if you are a smoker.
(3)Increased chances of Cancer and several other debilitating and life threatening illnesses.
(4)Smoking is very much an addiction, similar to heroin and cocaine. It can burn a hole in your pocket. Think of how much money you are spending per year on smoking. Quitting smoking is a way to stretch your Bucks.
(5)Couples who smoke are more likely to have fertility problems. Also the children born to such couples are likely to have more health problems.
(6)If you suffer from conditions like Asthma, Smoking can worsen the condition and counteracts with medication.
(7)Smoking stains your teeth and gums.
(8)Smoking also affects your looks as it reduces the blood supply to the skin and lowers levels of vitamin A. It can also affect eye sight.
(9)Smoking can cause impotence and risks like Erectile Dysfunction ~
(10)Care for others: Show some care for others. You are polluting the air we smoke. Remember that passive smoking can affect or bring complications like asthma, asthmatic bronchitis, allergies etc.
(11)Smoking ruins your sense of taste and smell.
(12)The foul smell in the mouth and clothes of smokers are not liked by majority of females.

~ Just Three More Days Until Lent ~ Give it Some Thought ~

25 Ways to Stop Smoking Cigarettes (Part 3)

State of Mind
(Continued from Wednesday ~ Readers Digest.c0m)

18. If you relapse, just start again. You haven't failed. Some people have to quit as many as eight times before they are successful.
19. Put all the money you're saving on cigarettes in a large glass jar. You want to physically see how much you've been spending. Earmark that money for something you've always dreamed of doing, but never thought you could afford, be it a cruise to Alaska or a first-class ticket to visit an old college friend.

20. Switch to decaf until you've been cigarette-free for two months. Too much caffeine while quitting can cause the jitters.

21. Create a smoke-free zone. Don't allow anyone to use tobacco in your home, car, or even while sitting next to you in a restaurant. Make actual "No Smoking" signs and hang them around your house and in your car.

22. Find a healthy snack food you can keep with you and use in place of cigarettes to quench that urge for oral gratification. For instance, try pistachio nuts, sunflower seeds, sugarless lollipops or gum, carrot or celery sticks. The last ones are best if you are concerned about weight gain.

23. Picture yourself playing tennis. Or go play tennis. British researchers found volunteers trying to quit smoking were better able to ignore their urges to smoke when they were told to visualize a tennis match.

24. Quit when you're in a good mood. Studies find that you're less likely to be a successful quitter if you quit when you're depressed or under a great deal of stress.

25. Post this list in a visible location in your house. Whenever you're tempted to light up, take a look at all the ways smoking can damage your health:

• Increases risk of lung, bladder, pancreatic, mouth, esophageal, and other cancers, including leukemia
• Reduces fertility
• Contributes to thin bones
• Affects mental capacity and memory
• Reduces levels of folate, low levels of which can increase the risk of heart disease, depression, and Alzheimer's disease
• Increases likelihood of impotence
• Affects ability to smell and taste
• Results in low-birth-weight, premature babies
• Increases risk of depression in adolescents
• Increases risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure
• Increases risk of diabetes
• Increases your child's risk of obesity and diabetes later in life if you smoked while pregnant

25 Ways to Stop Smoking Cigarettes (Part 2)

Reduce and Replace

Contnued from Yesterday from Readers Digest.com ~

8. When your quit date arrives, throw out anything that reminds you of smoking. That includes all smoking paraphernalia -- leftover cigarettes, matches, lighters, ashtrays, cigarette holders, even the lighter in your car.

9. Instead of a cigarette break at work, play a game of solitaire on your computer. It takes about the same time and is much more fun (although, like cigarettes, it can get addictive). If your company prohibits games like that, find another five-minute diversion: a phone call, a stroll, or eating a piece of fruit outdoors (but not where smokers congregate).

10. Switch to a cup of herbal tea whenever you usually have a cigarette. That might be at breakfast, midmorning, or after meals. The act of brewing the tea and slowly sipping it as it cools will provide the same stress relief as a hit of nicotine.

11. Switch your cigarette habit for a nut habit -- four nuts in their shell for every cigarette you want to smoke. This way, you're using your hands and your mouth, getting the same physical and oral sensations you get from smoking.

12. Carry some cinnamon-flavored toothpicks with you. Suck on one whenever a cig craving hits.

13. Make an appointment with an acupuncturist. There's some evidence that auricular acupuncture (i.e., needles in the ears) curbs cigarette cravings quite successfully, says Ather Ali, N.D., a naturopathic physician completing a National Institutes of Health-sponsored postdoctoral research fellowship at the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center in Derby, Connecticut. You can even do it yourself by taping "seeds" (small beads) onto the acupuncture points and squeezing them whenever cravings arise.

14. Swing by the health food store for some Avena sativa (oat) extract. One study found that, taken at 1 milliliters four times daily, it helped habitual tobacco smokers significantly decrease the number of cigarettes they smoked.

15. Think of difficult things you have done in the past. Ask people who know you well to remind you of challenges you have successfully overcome, says Dr. Lieberman. This will give you the necessary self-confidence to stick with your pledge not to smoke.

16. To minimize cravings, change your routine. Sit in a different chair at breakfast or take a different route to work. If you usually have a drink and cigarette after work, change that to a walk. If you're used to a smoke with your morning coffee, switch to tea, or stop at Starbucks for a cup of java -- the chain is smoke-free.

17. Tell your friends, coworkers, boss, partner, kids, etc., how you feel about situations instead of bottling up your emotions. If something makes you angry, express it instead of smothering it with cigarette smoke. If you're bored, admit to yourself that you're bored and find something energetic to do instead of lighting up.

~ Be sure to check back tomorrow for #'s 18 thu 25 ~

25 Ways to Stop Smoking Cigarettes (Part 1)

It is just one week until Ash Wednesday.
If you been following my blog for awhile you will know that I have quit smoking for Lent numerous times. This year however, I will not be trying to quit as I am now 220 days smoke free ~ That’s 5.5 times the Lenten period.

For anyone following along or new here who is now giving thought to giving up smoking for their Lenten Resolution or ‘Penance’ as it were -- And as any smoker knows, the first few days and even weeks of nicotine withdrawal is an insufferable penance -- Here are 25 ideas (broken up into three parts) to help Stop Smoking Cigarettes as put out by Readers Digest. I hope it will help.

A Hard Habit

For all the intense efforts to reduce smoking in America over the past two decades, the progress has not been stellar. Today one in four men and one in five women still smoke.

For those who never smoked, this is a befuddling fact. Don't smokers understand that cigarettes are the number one killer in America, that they dramatically increase risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, high blood pressure, and almost every other health concern, small or large? How could any habit be worth this?

Make the decision to quit smoking today!

Truth is, most smokers do understand. They also understand the huge financial toll of smoking, with a pack of 20 cigarettes costing $7 in some areas (imagine: $2,500 spent a year on cigarettes by pack-a-day smokers -- often people of only modest resources).

Then why do millions still smoke? In good part, because the nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive. In good part, because smoking provides psychological comfort to some people. Perhaps most of all, because quitting smoking is so hard.

Researchers and businesses have responded strongly to the last point. Never have there been so many tools, systems, and programs available for quitting smoking. And with every month that passes, there is more research showing the benefits of quitting, and the drawbacks of not quitting.

So if you smoke, consider again whether it is time, finally, to quit. If yes, you'll need to think through the best approach, perhaps working with your doctor or an expert. But the following 25 tips will help you succeed.

1. Make an honest list of all the things you like about smoking. Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper and write them on one side; on the other side make a list of all the things you dislike, such as how it can interfere with your health, work, family, etc., suggests Daniel Z. Lieberman, M.D., director of the Clinical Psychiatric Research Center at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Think about the list over time, and make changes. If you are brave enough, get feedback from family and friends about things they don't like about your use of cigarettes. When the negative side outweighs the positive side, you are ready to quit.

2. Then make another list of why quitting won't be easy. Be thorough, even if the list gets long and discouraging. Here's the important part: Next to each entry, list one or more options for overcoming that challenge. For instance, one item might be: "Nicotine is an addictive drug." Your option might be: "Try a nicotine replacement alternative." Another reason might be: "Smoking helps me deal with stress." Your option might be: "Take five-minute walks instead." The more you anticipate the challenges to quitting, and their solutions, the better your chance of success.

3. Set a quit date and write a "quit date contract" that includes your signature and that of a supportive witness.

4. Write all your reasons for quitting on an index card and keep it near you at all times. Here are some to get you started: "My daughter, my granddaughter, my husband, my wife..." You get the idea.

5. As you're getting ready to quit, stop buying cartons of cigarettes. Instead, only buy a pack at a time, and only carry two or three with you at a time (try putting them in an Altoids tin). Eventually you'll find that when you want a smoke, you won't have any immediately available. That will slowly wean you down to fewer cigarettes.

6. Keep a list of when you smoke, what you're doing at the time, and how bad the craving is for a week before quitting to see if specific times of the day or activities increase your cravings, suggests Gaylene Mooney, chair of the American Association for Respiratory Care's Subcommittee on Smoking and Tobacco-Related Issues. Then arrange fun, unique things to do during those times, like some of the ones we recommend here.

7. Prepare a list of things to do when a craving hits. Suggestions include: take a walk, drink a glass of water, kiss your partner or child, throw the ball for the dog, wash the car, clean out a cupboard or closet, have sex, chew a piece of gum, wash your face, brush your teeth, take a nap, get a cup of coffee or tea, practice your deep breathing, light a candle. Make copies of the list and keep one with you at all times so when the craving hits, you can whip out the list and quickly do something from it.

~ After you've done this ~ Log back on Tomorrow to see #'s 8 thru 17 ~

Painting The Town ~

I wonder if my last blog post was misunderstood ... I was not so much tempted to cheat as surprised that I continue to dream about cheating ... and these dreams are so real!

This weekend however, was a bit different ... I spent most of my weekend painting my living room ... (Benjamin Moore Dry Sage btw: Looks Fab ...)

Anyway ~ I was taken by surprise how often during this process I would not necessarily 'crave' a cigarette, but I did think about having a cigarette break quite a bit.

After smoking a pack and half to two packs a day for most of three decades and only being smoke free for 220 days thus far, apparently the thoughts are not going to go away too easily ... Even if the cravings aren't as strong as they used to be, the associations are.

I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about ... "When I finish this wall I will have a cigarette" ... or; "I'd like to hurry and get this part done so I can take a smoke break."

I couldn't help but to notice that I was thinking about going out and having a cigarette a lot this weekend ... even if it was cold and snowy most of the time.

Happily, I can report, I thought about it but I did not do it!

Seven Smoke Free Months ~

If I have a cigarette while out having a beer ... Heck, I may as well have three or four if I'm going to cheat once ... Right?

I should probably grab one for the road from an unoccupied pack sitting on the table next to me!!!

Once I've tumbled off this wagon I've ridden for this long -- there are other questions to be answered: (1) Do I start my cigarette counter at the bottom of this blog completely over?? (2) Do I confess to the 'indiscretion' in this blog?? (3) I have very few readers so who'd really care or even notice anyway???
There's more questions but I'll stop there for now ...

The questions, as well as the guilt, start to become overwhelming!!! I bet there are people who cheat on their spouse who don't experience this kind of turmoil!!!

I've been SMOKE FREE ~ Totally without cigarettes ~ Completely CHEAT FREE ~ for right at 7 Months now!!
I've been able to stave off the cravings But ~~~~
I continue to have these reoccurring and very realistic dreams!!!

97 Reasons To Quit Smoking (part 2.1) ~ 82 - 97

82. Be warmer in the winter.No more standing in the snow outside bars and restaurants.

83. Contribute more to the nation's productivity.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that premature deaths caused by smoking cost the U.S. roughly $92 billion in lost productivity each year.

84. Hold on to your marbles longer.A 2007 Dutch study of 7,000 people published in the journal Neurology concluded that current smoking increases the risk of dementia. Past smoking doesn't.

85. Get rid of genital warts faster.(now this is good!!) An Australian study showed that genital warts were more likely to linger for six months or more in men who were smokers compared with nonsmokers.

86. Improve your chances of getting pregnant: Part 1.Compared with nonsmokers, female smokers have a higher incidence of infertility and take longer to conceive.

87. Improve your chances of getting pregnant: Part 2.Cigarette smoking damage women’s ovaries and the degree of harm increases with the number of cigarettes and length of time a woman smokes.

88. Improve your chances of getting pregnant: Part 3.Smoking can speed up egg loss and reproductive function in women.

89. Improve your chances of having a healthy pregnancy.The chemicals in cigarette smoke have been shown to interfere with estrogen . These chemicals also cause a woman’s eggs (oocytes) to be more prone to genetic abnormalities.

90. Now that you're pregnant, improve your chances of the pregnancy turning out well.Smoking is strongly associated with an increased risk of miscarriages.

91. Another reason you'll improve your chances of the pregnancy turning out well.Pregnant smokers are more likely to have premature babies than pregnant nonsmokers.
92. Less chance of suffering tobacco-induced limp-noodle syndrome, which is not a technical term but you get the idea.

93. You could save $14 per pack!You will, however, split that savings with your employer and the nation. Here’s the math: If cigarettes are $7 per pack in your local store today, add another $7.18 (at least), because that’s the 2002 estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the per-pack cost in lost productivity and medical costs caused by cigarettes. Given the skyrocketing cost of medical care in this country, the savings may even be greater than that.
94. After you quit, it will be safe to watch Mad Men.AMC’s riveting, smoke-wreathed, ultra cool series about ad agencies in the early 1960s is an hour-long inducement to light up.
95. You will be much less likely to be the butt of a headline like "Smoking Woman in Air Rage."According to The Smoking Gun, the Web site that serves up arrest warrants and other documents pertaining to bad behavior, a 35-year-old New Yorker lit up a cigarette on a JetBlue flight to San Francisco on June 17, 2008, began cursing, punched a flight attendant, and had to be restrained while the plane made a diversion to Denver.
96. You will laugh less self-consciously at a headline like "Smoking Now Permitted Only in Special Room in Iowa."Check out The Onion's hilarious 1998 story about a congressional law "restricting smoking in the U.S. to a specially designated ‘smoking lounge’ in Oskaloosa, IA." The story quotes an antismoking activist: "We must continue to lobby for greater restrictions until smoking is only allowed beyond the orbit of the outermost gas giant Neptune."

97. Oh Yeah, have I mention you'll likely live longer?

Every cigarette you smoke cuts and estimated 11 minutes off your expected life span.

97 Reasons To Quit Smoking (part 2) ~ #'s 63 - 81

63. Cut down on your chemical intake ,,, cigarettes have more than 4,000 different kinds.

64. Earn more money and have more job options.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National Workrights Institute estimates that there are more than 6,000 companies in the U.S. that attempt to regulate off-duty smoking and other private behavior.

65. Date more—at least in Canada...A 2005 survey of Canadians, done by Nicoderm (a patch product) and Lavalife (a site that says it has "thousands of local, sexy adult online singles"), found that over 50% people would not date a smoker.

66. ...and get dumped less.In that same survey, 20% had, or knew someone who had, broken up with someone because he or she smoked.
67. Enjoy chocolate more.In a study, women who smoked were les sensitive to sweet flavors than women who never smoked.

68. Get more pleasure out of life.No matter what the cigarette makers say about tobacco-induced coolness, bonhomie, cowboy-ruggedness, independence, and sexiness, it's mostly nonsense. Scientists at the Peninsula Medical School in the UK assessed the well-being of nearly 10,000 people over the age of 50 and found that smokers in the group reported less satisfaction with their lives than the nonsmokers.

69. Crash your car less often.In a 1990 study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, smokers had a 50% increase over nonsmokers to have an accident.
70. Be indoors more often, where it's safer. This video ~ Danger, Will Robinson, Danger ~ is a joke, but it's only one of a whole genre of "funny reasons to quit smoking".

71. Be more kissable.Chics dig a dude with fresh breath --- and vise versa…
72. Stop being a horrible influence on children.Children of smokers are twice as likely to pick up the habit.
73. As we said, you'll stop being a horrible influence on children.Exposure to second hand smoke, even low amounts, hurts kids' cognitive skills and is linked to increased behavioral problems.

74. Your children will even have healthier teeth, for crying out loud.Children raised in houses where one or both adults smoke are more likely to develop tooth decay.

75. Your mouth will be better off too.Smoking compromises saliva flow and function. Saliva is important for cleaning the lining of the teeth and mouth and protecting teeth from decay.

76. You'll look better in front of a judge.Secondhand smoke, also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), can have an adverse impact on child-custody decisions.

77. Preserve your eyesight.Exposure to cigarette smoke doubles your risk of developing Macular Degeneration:Smoking and Macular Degeneration
78. If you quit, it will be easier for your partner to quit. Several studies have found that it's harder to quit when you live with someone who smokes.
79. No more huffing and puffing during workouts.Cigarette smoking causes carbon monoxide to seep into your blood, which it’s the amount of oxegen to your heart, lungs, and muscles.

80. Save money on dry cleaning.Quitters will no longer have to pay to remove the stench of smoke from their sweaters and sport coats.

81. Broaden your online dating options.See #65 ("Light up your love life"), are a bit limiting.