Exercise Shown To Powerfully Decrease Cigarette Cravings

Reproduced without permission from:
NaturalNews.com
Originally published April 4 2007
by David Gutierrez, staff writer

Even mild exercise can help stave off cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms as well as decrease a smoker's chance of reaching for a cigarette, according to a study published in the journal "Addiction." Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Toronto reviewed 14 previously published studies and compared the results.

What you need to know - Conventional View

• Twelve of the studies reviewed demonstrated that a bout of exercise caused a rapid decrease in cigarette cravings, withdrawal symptoms and other negative effects of cigarette addiction.

• As little as five minutes of simple exercises such as walking, isometrics, or muscle flexing proved as effective as a nicotine patch in decreasing an immediate craving.

• A high-intensity bout of exercise decreased cravings for 30 to 40 minutes, whereas a light bout decreased them for 15 minutes.

• The majority of studies that looked at withdrawal symptoms found that exercise caused a significant decrease in at least two of six symptoms: anxiety, irritability, restlessness, stress, tension and poor concentration.

• The researchers noted that further studies are needed to discover the mechanisms by which exercise affects the body's response to addiction.

• Quote: "Relatively small doses of exercise should be recommended as an aid to managing cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms." - study authors Adrian H. Taylor, Michael H. Ussher and Guy Faulkner

Bottom line:
• Exercise can be used to stave off cigarette cravings.

Tobacco Industry Accused of Aggressively Marketing to Women and Girls.

Anti-smoking groups are criticizing the tobacco industry for launching “its most aggressive marketing campaigns aimed at women and girls in over a decade.”
Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds in the past two years have been selling smoking as “feminine and fashionable,” according to a report released last week by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.The groups criticized Philip Morris for marketing Virginia Slims with mauve and teal “purse packs” that are half the size of regular packs, allowing them to fit into small handbags. By using descriptions such as “Superslims Lights,” the company is trying to associate smoking with weight control, the report says.
The groups also take on R.J. Reynolds, which has spent more than $25 million to launch “Camel No. 9” cigarettes, sold in glossy black boxes with fuchsia and teal accents. The ads include slogans such as “now available in stiletto,” a thin cigarette for “the most fashion forward woman.”
David Howard, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds, says his company hasn’t run any print ads in more than a year. He says R. J. Reynolds has a right to market its products to adult women. Howard says R.J. Reynolds developed its new products through market research with women.
Howard said the idea that women will begin smoking because of pink packages is “offensive” and insults women’s intelligence. Howard adds that data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Camel is not a popular brand among teens, showing that the company’s advertisements are reaching adults, not kids.

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

Posted on February 20, 2009 in Cancer, Women's health Permalink

Warning: Hot Dogs Kill ~

First there were No Smoking Sections on Airplanes followed by a total ban. Then came peanut free zones and now many airlines won’t even serve peanuts on their flights.

Are we soon looking at hot dog free zones? Will a baseball game in America soon resemble the stands in Japan with fans eating Lo Mein with chop-stix rather than stuffing our faces with a quality all beef Frank??

This may be what’s ahead if The Cancer Project, a nonprofit anti-meat consumer group based in Washington DC, has their way. Recently, in Essex County, New Jersey the group alleged in a class-action law suit that hot dogs pose serious health risks and need to carry warning labels similar to those on a package of cigarettes. Something to the effect of:

“Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats

pose a serious increase in the risk of cancer.”

The suit cites a two-year study by the American Institute for Cancer Research stating that the amount of processed meat in a single hot dog (consumed daily, mind you) increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 21 percent.

The study recommends consumption of red meat should be limited to 18 ounces or less per week and processed meats such as hot dogs, bologna and cold cuts be eliminated from your diet all together.

According to The Cancer Project, Americans eat approximately 1.5 billion pounds of hot dogs annually. Also, the average person eats 32 pounds of processed meat every year. Sixty-two percent of Americans eat some form of processed meat. The conclusion then is that this is the reason 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year.

Personally, I really like the study released earlier this year by The National Cancer Institute which found that people who eat large amounts processed meats (ie: Hot Dogs) are more likely to die (Duh!) … especially from cancer of heart disease. Now, I’m no statistician, but if I’m not mistaken the death ratio among humans is still one in one!

I gave up smoking for a multitude of reasons – one was health issues, obviously. There was also the cost factor along with regaining control of my life.

I love hot dogs, I’m not totally sure about the health issues of me having an all beef frank on occasion but unless I was eating an entire package of Nathan’s Famous or Hebrew Nationals daily, (both great hot dogs, by-the-way) I don’t foresee a major cost issue. Further, my need for a Hot Dog doesn't have me running out on the side walk a few times each day.

For those of you who've in the past "wished you were an Oscar Meyer Wiener" ... all I can say is be careful what you wish for.

Be Careful What You Wish For ~

Warning: Smoking Hot Dogs Can KILL You!

Do It For Your Penis ~

The Questions are:

*Did you know there is a valve inside your penis that traps the blood inside so you can get an erection?

*That every time you smoke this valve is damaged?

*That if you don't stop smoking now, it might stop working all together?

Well, if you've been following along for the past month you do!

Reading: E D; (Part Two) ~ on August 9, or Erectile Dysfunction ~ Two days earlier.

Men, don't make the mistake I did -- take heed NOW!

Be prepared for next year's Mardi Gras!

50 Days ~

Since I left my lover ...

Today marks Fifty Smoke Free Days (if you don't count the times I purposely walked past a smoker just to catch a whiff of tobacco smoke).

The hold this stuff has on us is incredible. After all the things I've read and posted, not to mention we've all grown up with about the Hazards of smoking -- the desire still sometimes continues. (Read ~I Heart New York ~ )

I've just returned from a short road trip to Graceland and Beale Street in Memphis -- there were so many times I just wanted to stop walking, sit on a bench or stool, watch the crowed pass by around me while I enjoyed a cigarette along with my Beale Street Hurricane.

(As every smoker knows you can enjoy a smoke without booze, but it's darn hard to enjoy a cocktail with out a smoke.)

On top of it all -- Fifty Days and I still dream about smoking! Usually, it's a dream of me smoking a cig and being disappointed that my streak of smoke-free days has been broken.

Incredible -- But goal hasn't changed -- 365 smoke-free and cheat-free days!

Pammy said...

(Editor's Note: Reprinted from: July 20, 2009 12:57 PM ).

I've added your blog to my favorites in order to help myself.

My quit date has always been when I

"finish the cigarettes that I've already paid for".

Problem with that has always been that I have cigarettes stashed everywhere.

Car, bathroom, living room, laundry room.

Imagine my delight when I found an unopened pack

in a box in my storage facililty!

I have chosen my quit date of August 21st.

That's a special day for me as it is the 1 year anniversary of

my husband passing away.

He quit smoking almost 30 years prior while I kept on.

I don't know how he did it. So, in his memory, I have chosen that date.

This has been a stressful time for me but it's time.

Good luck and thanks for creating this blog.

I really think that it will help me to follow your progress

and try harder to quit this time, for the last time.
Coffee Black ... Cigarette ...

More Editor's Notes for Above Comments Hi-Lited in Red:

A). Add to favorites --

Good Advice for Anyone.

B). Choosing a 'Quit Date' --

Good Advice for all Smokers. See post directly below!

C). Good Luck --

Back at You -- I hope you're still following along.

Preparing To Quit:

Overview of the Basic Steps ~
In keeping with my 'quitting soon' theme;
here's a shorter version of the ~ 11 Steps ~

Remember, just thinking about quitting may make you anxious.
But your chances will be better if you get ready first.
Quitting works best when you're prepared.

**Note:I shamelessly copied these from

http://www.smokefree.gov/quit-smoking/index.html --

** Let's never mind the fact for now that our Government continues to profit excessively off tobacco products -- for our purposes here we'll just concentrate on our shared goal of becoming Smoke Free!

~ Before you quit ~

START by taking these five important steps:

S = Set a quit date.
T = Tell family, friends, and coworkers that you plan to quit.
A = Anticipate and plan for the challenges you'll face while quitting.
R = Remove cigarettes & other tobacco products from your home.
T = Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.
(I highly recommend this one --
as you may know because I've written it multiple times.)

~ About Me ~

For the more curious, here’s a short synopsis:
I was born the year before the Flintstones Winston Commercial I posted last month: Fred & Barney Enjoy a Smoke! A few months past the Kennedy Assassination; and a lot has changed since then.

It’s been suggested my Profile in the About Me section is insufficient … I’ve been asked to give a better description of myself … My thought’s however, have been; Does it Really Matter? I am everyman (or woman) struggling with an unhealthy, undesirable addiction. A social outcast in today’s world -- pretty much a second class citizen. Smoker’s are now the pariahs of the modern era.

But if your mind is still inquiring -- The abridged version of me:
Handsomely slender, slightly balding, dashing smile (stained teeth, of course), and a darn fun personality! Also a smoker for nearly 30 years.

In addition to Smoking is Bad For You! Other things I’ve learned includes:
Flossing is important; laughing is essential; and if life were perfect we’d all use a lot less duct-tape…
When the lemons are rotten why should I believe the lemon-aid would be any better…
And -- Blue Suede’s ‘Can’t Stop This Feeling’ is better with the ooga-chaka’s than without!

I usually drink coffee in the mornings, coke classic in the afternoons and beer or bourbon in the evenings …
I’ve smoked cigarettes on three continents but plan to be totally smoke-free by the time I visit my fourth…
I used to hang in smoky lounges; I prefer a bar and grill and a quiet time in the corner booth…
I refuse to Karaoke out my love for humanity.

The photo attached to the ‘About Me’ page is of the last pack of cigarettes I bought. For those still inquisitive about what I look like, I trust you can tell I must be rather fetching and quite appealing by the way I write!

In case nobody’s noticed up to this point, I’m new to the bloggasphere.
My latest attempt at conquering my own insanity -- not only because of health issues but also to not allow this addiction to have such control over my life!

~ Smoking Kills ~

You know me -- Always Trying to Add Some Humor to the Cause!
I thought this was funny, I hope you like it too ~