The Best Quit Smoking Support

If you are a smoker and you want to quit, you have to be serious about it. The best quit smoking support you can have is true friends and family. I have been around people who have smoked my whole life. At one point or another these people have said that they were in control and could stop, but there actions have spoken louder than there words.

I am not a smoker, but I have witnessed many people that I love and know live a life totally controlled by tobacco, and its had a profound affect on me. One of those people was my grandfather. He ended up dying at 67 from throat cancer because of his smoking habit that he picked up as a young adult.

About ten years before he died, he lost his voice and then started wearing a trachea to help him breath functionally. During that time my uncle ( my grandfathers son ) ended up having a similar complication, and was soon issued a trachea because of smoking. Right before my grandfather died I remember being a young boy, and sitting across from him right before he was to go to the hospital.

My grandfather never really expressed his emotions that much, as I remember him being more of a stoic man than anything else. However, what he said to me that day stuck out harshly and will remain in my mind for years to come. He said, 'Don't drink, and don't ever smoke.' It was one of the only true memories that stuck out to me concerning advise that my grandfather gave me that was sincere and emotional. That little peice of advise has played a huge part for me in how I view tobacco.

During my grandfathers funeral I found it ironic and sad to see so many people from my dads side of the family smoking before and after the service. I remember all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles having a cigarette in there mouth at one time or another during that day, and it really hadn't really impacted me until I saw them all together for the funeral. To this day they all still smoke very heavily, except for my uncle that has the trachea. He soon quit after he saw his father pass away from the disease. The only other person on my fathers side of the family who doesn't smoke is my grandmother, who is alive and well.

My best friend is also a smoker, and he started about two years ago. He has tried numerous times to quit on his own using the gum, patches, and just sheer willpower, but he has failed with no avail. There are times when he gets extremely frustrated because he wants to become a pilot but most of the major airline industries don't allow pilots who are smokers to work for them. Many times he would ask me to help him quit smoking just by being there. He would calm down considerably when I was around him, knowing that he was accountable to me. Before my friend moved away he started smoking about once or twice a day, and since I have talked to him its up to at least a pack a half a week.

Looking back on the people that I know that have had there life's completely altered by tobacco, I am glad that I never started the habit. I am concerned for my friend and my dads side of the family. I hope they either try to stop with someone they know that can be accountable to them, or get real help, because I don't want to see them end up like my grandfather.
By Brett Manard

The Best Ways to Quit Smoking for Good

I know that when I was trying to quit smoking it was one of the most difficult times of my life. Sure I had tried to quit many times, and some times I was even successful for a brief period of time, but I always found my way back to the comfort zone, and in my case that was holding a cigarette. So what was it that made me finally kick the habit for good, and what are the best ways to quit smoking?

There are so many different ways that you can quit. You could try anything from nicotine gum to the patch to laser therapy. The options are pretty much limitless anymore, and there are several ways that promise to help you to quit without any cravings at all. I give up the habit before any of these new ways to quit were even around, and from what I understand they will take away some of the physical cravings, but you and I both know that the mental cravings are the worst. So what can you do to guarantee success?

The best ways to quit smoking have always been through preparation and willpower. You need to make you mind up that is what you want to do and that you are going to do it no matter what. Then you need to prepare yourself for life without smoking. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't try one of the new gadgets that are said to help you quit, but you should still prepare for the worst, and make sure that you can fill any negative void in your life with a positive influence. Stick with the program, prepare in advance and don't let failure be an option.
By Tim Shank

How Supportive Are You?

Do you want your loved ones to quit smoking, your dad, mom, girl friend, boy friend, friends and relatives to kick the butt and stay smoke free? How helpful are you in helping them change their habit? Are you supportive enough or are you the kind who knows only how to complain and ridicule the smokers? If so it’s a high time you lend a helping hand and change your “holier than thou” attitude. Time and again we keep on pointing our fingers at smokers and even ridicule them when they say they are about to quit. Non-smokers always have this attitude that they are clean and that they totally hate smokers and consider them to be some kind of disease spreaders. Do you think that a smoker doesn’t want to quit smoking? I doubt there would be any smoker who doesn’t want to quit, they all wanna quit, and it’s just that they are not strong enough to try on their own. That’s the reason why they need your love and support more than anything else.

Since the addiction of nicotine is much harder to kick than heroin, cocaine and alcohol, smokers often fail in their attempt to quit smoking. Nicotine works in the brain by activating dopamine which is a neurotransmitter and is responsible for the normal functioning of the central nervous system. Therefore when people begin to depend on nicotine, it controls them; it affects their behavior and moods. The addictive nature of Nicotine is that it is a stimulant and also a depressant.

Therefore, if a smoker finds it difficult to quit, do not laugh at him/her instead understand their situation and give a shoulder to lean on. You don’t need to do much just believe in them, become their activity partner, give them your trust, motivate and cheer them up when they are on the brink of giving up. You can help your loved ones to quit by being supportive and by lending an ear and listening to whatever they have to share. The most important thing is accept them as they are, encourage them but never force them to quit smoking.

You may also give presents like nicotine replacement products and medicines to make their quitting easier. If you go for the medicines, chantix by Pfizer which is also known as champix in European countries is the best choice. It has been used by many people and is giving quite remarkable results. Due to its effectiveness thousands of smokers are able to quit smoking.

Chantix is not a nicotine replacement nor is addictive, it is a prescription medicine approved by FDA for the treatment of anti-smoking in adults. It works in the brain by undoing whatever nicotine had done. It also diminishes the taste of cigarette i.e. even if a smoker smokes after taking chantix he doesn’t feel the same taste or pleasure he used to feel before. Further, it remarkably cuts down the cravings or the urge to have cigarette.

So if you want your loved ones to quit smoking change your attitude and buy chantix for them. You will remember this great act of yours with fond memories in days to come. Isn’t it overwhelming to know that because of you somebody could quit their bad habit? Your loved ones will be thankful to you through out their life for saving them from preventive death.
By Sandy Tonsing