Quit Cigarette Smoking~Giving Up Smoking

Quit Cigarette Smoking~Giving Up Smoking

If you have tried to quit smoking at any time, you would more than likely have used the phrase ‘I am giving up smoking.’

I would like to introduce to you the fact this phrase may be doing more harm than good.

If you don’t get what I mean, you may be sabotaging your quit atempts from the very beginning. In this article you will learnt his phrase actually carries negative connotations and can subliminally hinder your quit attempts when repeated over and over to yourself. At the conclusion of this article you will see the more you tell yourself you are ‘giving up,’ the less likely it is you will have success with stopping smoking.

“I am giving up smoking”, it’s a common saying that we have all heard at one time or another. It is so common in fact, that I don’t think we even realise what it actually means or implies. When you are trying to stop smoking one of the worst things you can say, or even think, is the term “giving up.”

‘Giving up’ something implies loss. You ‘give up’ things you care about and cherish. Like you would ‘give up’ your nightly bath to save power. You would ‘give up’ your morning coffee at a cafe to save money.

The term “giving up” has a strong negative connotation, that implies you are stopping something that is a great thing in your life. It does not enforce that you want to quit, it actually does the opposite. You may not even realise this is happening, but every time you say or think you are “giving up” you are inviting in negative thoughts and feelings.

When you stop smoking, it is a positive experience. You are not giving up anything, on the contrary, the benefits are endless. You get healthier, you save money, you don’t stink of smoke any more, etc etc.

Now I can imagine some people out there are reading this and thinking “Smoking is a great thing in my life and I enjoy doing it.”

Well, I can sympathise with that because I used to think exactly the same way. This didn’t stop me from wanting to quit though, because the thought of dying young just wasn’t very appealing to me.

The first few times I tried to quit, I went into it thinking “I am giving up.” I felt like I was losing something dear to me. Well guess what, I couldn’t quit. It wasn’t until I changed my way of thinking and stopped using the term “giving up” that I ironically “gave up”.

Instead of thinking I enjoyed cigarettes and the positives it brought into my life, I turned it around 180 degrees and concetrated on the positives. I no longer thought I was “giving up cigarettes” but that I was gaining life, I was gaining freedom, I was gaining good health, I was gaining more money.

I kept on reinforcing these thoughts and before long I was no longer thinking or feeling like I enjoyed cigarettes, I actually I hated them.

It wasn’t until I had been free from smoking for about two months that I realised that I never in fact enjoyed the act of smoking, what I actually enjoyed was relieving my nicotine craving. My craving was at such a level that it had fooled my brain into thinking that I actually enjoyed the bad taste, the bad smell, the having to go outside every half an hour etc.

I never enjoyed any of those things but it took to thinking of it as not “giving up smoking” but instead “what am I gaining from not smoking” to realise this.

Quit Cigarette Smoking~Giving Up Smoking

Quit Cigarette Smoking~The Decision To Quit Smoking

Quit Cigarette Smoking~The Decision To Quit Smoking

Even before you decide is to Quit Cigarette Smoking, you need to figure out why you want to quit smoking. From a non-smokers point of view this may seem obvious; health reasons. However, smokers don’t always Quit Cigarette Smoking for health reasons. While a smoker may think that this would be the best reason to stop smoking; it might not motivate them to stop for good. People in general like to be instantly gratified; they look for and act upon things that provide benefits that can be felt, seen, tasted and experienced now, not always things that will benefit them in the long run. I highly recommend you take a note pad and make two columns on a page. On the left side you should list the things that you enjoy about smoking (ex. Relaxing with my cup of tea after supper). On the right side you should list all the cons about smoking (ex. I run out of breath easily). I am sure when you complete this you should see a longer list on the right side and a shorter one on the left. This can help you get motivated to take the final step and quit.

The motivating factor for a smoker to Quit Cigarette Smoking varies greatly among people. For many it is for financial reasons. In some areas of the world, a pack of cigarettes run $8 per pack or more. This means smoking one pack per day will take $56 out of their pocket every week, $248 every month and a whopping $3,000 a year. I am sure anyone can find something better to do with that money. I often suggest to people that while they are quitting, bank the cash you WOULD be spending on cigarettes. It adds up very fast and when you are successful at quitting….take that dream trip, go on a shopping spree, pay down your mortgage….whatever you like. I just find that it is very motivational to visually see the numbers you’re wasting on cigarettes.

Other motivating reasons for quitting may also be: the smell on their clothing and hair, the smell of your car, it prevents excelling at a sport that they love, they want to sing better, their teeth are stained and it embarrasses them, the birth of a new child or many, many other non-health related reasons. In order to experience a permanent break from this habit, you need to determine the reasoning behind your decision. Once you determine why you want to quit, you can remind yourself on a daily basis why you’ve decided to Quit Cigarette Smoking. Here is another motivational thing you could do to help yourself along the way. When you find out why you want to quit you need to make a list of those reasons and post it on your fridge, near your desk, in the bathroom….wherever you will see it. You should read it at least once a day if not more to help you stay motivated!!

Here is a partial list of ingredients found in cigarettes:

Acetic Acid: in vinegar, hair dye and developer.
Acetone: main ingredient in paint and fingernail polish remover.
Ammonia: a typical household cleaner and glass cleaner. Scientists have discovered that ammonia lets you absorb more nicotine — keeping you hooked.
Arsenic: deadly poison that causes diarrhea, cramps, anemia, paralysis and malignant skin tumors. It is used in pesticides.
Benzene: found in rubber cement, pesticides, and gasoline.
Benzo (A) Pyrene: found in coal tar and cigarette smoke. It is one of the most potent cancer-causing chemicals in the world.
Butane: found in cigarette lighter fluid and gasoline. Highly flammable.
Cadmium: found in batteries, and artists’ oilpaint. It causes damage to the liver, kidneys and brain, and stays in the body for years.
Carbon Monoxide: a poisonous gas found in car exhaust.
DDT/Dieldrin: found in insecticides.
Fibreglass: a material often used to make the hulls of boats, as well as fibreglass pipes. Small particles of fibreglass are found in some cigarettes and chewing tobacco. Fibreglass is included in these products in order to cause tiny cuts in a smoker’s or chewer’s mouth, throat and lungs to ensure faster delivery of nicotine and other chemicals to the blood stream.
Formaldehyde: used to embalm dead bodies. It causes cancer, and can damage your lungs, skin and digestive system. This embalming fluid is also often used to embalm small animals in biology classes, so check with your science teachers to find this one.
Hydrazine: used in jet and rocket fuels.
Hydrogen Cyanide: used as a poison in gas chambers.
Lead: a highly poisonous metal that used to be found in some paints. Lead poisoning stunts your growth, makes you vomit and damages your brain.
Napthalenes: used in explosives, moth balls and paint pigments.
Nitrobenzene: a gasoline additive.
Phenol: found in disinfectants, plastics, and used in chemistry tests in laboratories.
Polonium: radiation dosage, equal to 300 chest x-rays in one year.
Propylene Glycol: lock de-icer.
Styrene: found in insulation material (Styrofoam).
Tar: a sticky brown substance composed of organic and inorganic chemicals that is the main cause of lung and throat cancer in smokers. Tar can also cause unsightly yellow-brown stains on fingers and teeth.
Toluene: found in paint thinner and embalmer’s glue. It is highly toxic.
Vinyl Chloride: found in garbage bags.

In general, people do not stop to think about what they are really putting into their bodies. As you can see the tobacco companies have gone to great lengths to keep you addicted for life......using chemicals that can eventually take your life. In my next post I plan on talking more about nicotine itself, how it works, what it does in your body and some of the withdrawal symptoms it produces when you quit!

Is this new information to you? Did it shock you? Does your new knowledge motivate you to take the step and quit?

Quit Cigarette Smoking~The Decision To Quit Smoking