How to Stop Smoking

It can be challenging dealing with nicotine addiction. One of the most effective ways to combat it is by redirecting your attention and replacing the habit with something else. There are a number of things you can do to overcome your withdrawal. Some of these activities include exercising, doing chores around the house, taking up a new hobby, or whatever else that is healthy, as long as it distracts you from smoking.

In this article, we will explore various activities that people dealing with smoking withdrawal symptoms can engage in. You can begin with any of these:

• Drink a glass of water.
• Eat a dill pickle.
• Suck on a piece of tart candy.
• Eat a hot fudge sundae.
• Whistle or hum for a while.
• Do three sets of ten jumping jacks.
• Floss and brush your teeth.
• Chew gum.
• Listen to some great music; sing and dance along.
• Slather on rich, creamy hand lotion and just keep rubbing. That keeps your fingers busy. It also smells better than tobacco, of course.

4 Tips to Help you Overcome Smoking

Avoid Isolation

Spend more time interacting with people. If you`re comfortable around them, you may talk about the phase you`re in. You may also just have a simple conversation about everyday life with them. You should also make efforts to reach out to people when you`re alone and feel like smoking. This distracts you from the feeling.

Distract yourself at Home

You`ll need to learn how to distract yourself at home because you won`t always get to be or speak with people. Whenever you feel like smoking, take the opportunity to get some tasks off your to-do list. Let`s look at some chores you can do to distract yourself from smoking.

• Wash or your car.
• Check your car’s tire pressure.
• Clean the inside of your car.
• Clean the basement or garage.
• Do the laundry.
• Scrub the floor.
• Clean out a closet in the house.
• Organize your boxes of pictures.
• Arrange your bookshelf.
• Organize the drawers.
• Paint your walls.
• Do some gardening.
• Start a vegetable garden.
• Make a to-do list for the week ahead.
• Start a home budget.
• Plan a vacation.
• Make dinner.
• Bake a cake.
• Chop up veggies.
• Try a new recipe.
• Wash your pet.
• Play with your pet.
• Read a book.
• Watch a funny movie.

Keeping your Hands and Mind Busy

People who deal with smoking realize that beyond needing a mental distraction, they also need to keep their hands busy. Here are some activities that can keep your hands busy and distract you from smoking.

• Take some pictures with your camera.
• Knit a scarf.
• Write a poem or a short story.
• Do some painting.
• Grab crayons or colored pencils and color a picture.
• Make a greeting card.
• Create a family cookbook.
• Make homemade soap or candles.
• Do a crossword or jigsaw puzzle.

Engage in Physical Activities

A major fear that people who consider quitting smoking have is gaining weight. Staying active will help you avoid unwanted weight gain. So what physical activities can you engage in to help you maintain your weight while quitting smoking?

• Go for a walk.
• Work out in the gym.
• Try a new exercise routine.
• Do some running on the treadmill.
• Ride a bike.
• Do some window-shopping.
• Do some fishing.
• Take a day trip.
• Get out into nature.
• Play golf.
• Go to the movies.
• Watch the sunset.

Why Quit Anyway?

Better Circulation

After about 10 weeks of quitting smoking, the blood circulation of smokers improves. This enables them to perform better at physical activities, as well as lowers their risk of a heart attack.

Improved Taste and Smell

People who smoke endanger the nerve endings in their nose and mouth, and as a result, their senses of taste and smell deteriorate. The condition improves after they stop smoking.

Increased Energy

People who quit smoking breathe better and perform physical activities better also. Because they have increased oxygen levels in their body, their energy levels increase.

Better Immunity

People who stop smoking enjoy better circulation, increased oxygen levels, as well as lower inflammation. All of these boost immunity, making it easier to fight off illnesses.

Better Oral Health

Smoking yellows the teeth, causes bad breath and increases the risk of oral infections.  People who stop smoking notice some improvements in their oral health.

Improved Sex Life

Smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction in men and may reduce genital lubrication and orgasm frequency in women. When people stop smoking, they enjoy their sex lives better.

Some Smoking Facts

• Every year in Northern Ireland, about 3,000 people die from tobacco use.
• Smoking accounts for one-fifth of all deaths in the UK.
• Lung cancer kills more people than any other type of cancer, and about 80% of deaths from lung cancer are attributed to smoking.
• Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals.
• The average smoker loses about 10 years of their life to smoking.
• Constant exposure to second-hand smoke can reduce coronary blood flow.
• Passive smoking causes ischaemic heart disease and lung cancer in adults, and asthmatic attacks, cot death, respiratory disease, and middle ear disease in children.
• Male smokers have a higher risk of lower sperm count than male non-smokers, and their semen contains a higher proportion of malformed sperm.
• Smokers are at risk of cervical cancer, which is a major cause of cancer death among women.
• People smoke, chew, and also sniff tobacco.
• Tobacco smoking causes chronic bronchitis,  a stroke, a heart attack, cataracts, leukemia, pneumonia, lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease.
• Secondhand smoke can lead to lung cancer and heart disease as well as other health effects in adults and children.
• Nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands to release a hormone, epinephrine, also known as adrenaline.
• Both behavioral treatments and medication can help people quit smoking, however, the combination of both is more effective than adopting only either.
• There are about 1.3 billion smokers in the world today. The number is expected to increase to 1.6 billion by the year 2025.
• Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year.
• There are over 16 million Americans currently living with a tobacco-related disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).
• About 22% of adults in these American states are smikers: Arkansas, Kentucky,
• Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia are eight states where at least 21.8% of adults are smokers.
• On average, smoking will make people die 13 years before their life expectancy. That may increase to 16 if they have HIV.
• People who smoke stand the risk of suffering  cancer of the bladder, blood, bone marrow, cervix, larynx, liver, mouth, pancreas, rectum, stomach, throat, colon, esophagus, and kidneys.
• Smoking can increase the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease by 400%.
• 80% of the world’s smokers live in low-income countries.
• In the U.S., 24.3% of people living below the poverty line are smokers, compared to 14.3% of those living above the poverty line.
• There are over  300 million smokers in China, and in total, they consume approximately
• 1.7 trillion cigarettes annually — this is roughly three million cigarettes per minute.
• All over the world, people buy about 10 million cigarettes per minute.

Now that you Know…

Smoking is quite unhealthy, and stopping may just not be as difficult as you think. It`s not enough to try to stop; you should also aim at replacing the habit with healthy ones. The suggestions in this article will go a long way in helping you combat smoking.