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There two stages . First you really must want to stop for good reason. Secondly you must follow the method which specialist have proved to be successful. Ignore the advice from friends who failed themselves. Two thirds of all smokers have tried to stop at some time in their lives but less than half succeed. Now there is new hope. A new treatment.

But first let us look at stage one – being determined to stop for very good reasons. There plenty of them and all convincing . They cover health , sex , money and social benefit.

WHY STOP SMOKING?

1.To live longYou cannot bury your head in the sand any longer and say that the case against smoking as a health hazard has not been proved . Look again at the fact. Statistics are difficult to grasp especially when the talk is in terms of thousands , hundreds of thousand and millions.It does not make a tremendous impact to read that more British World War 2 soldiers have died and are dying from the effect of smoking than were killed by the combined armies of Germany and Japan. Nor does it shock you perhaps to know that among 1000 men women who smoke , six will be killed on roads while 250 will be killed before their time through smoking.

But until you see uncle Joe dying. Flesh fallen from his body leaving his limb broomsticks , unable to eat , unable to drink and having a dry parched tongue moistened with wet lint. And watch his pain twisted face when he’s in need of the next morphine pill . then it makes an impact . The one personnal case. It is unforgettable ; I don’t want to see anyone else suffering like that. Once is enough.

There’s no point in fudging the facts. They have to be faced. And here is a nasty one. Of every 4 people who undergo an operation forlung cancer only one survives for as long as five years. Cigarttes smoking kills 50000 people a year in Britain. The death rate from lung cancer in Britain is twice as high as in USA where a high proportion of the population has stopped smoking. But lung cancer is not only the health risk. Heart disease and bronchitis are also attributable to smoking cigarettes .

Death from chronic Bronchitis is 20 times more likely amongst those smoking 25 cigarttes a day than amongst non-smokers. It is not only the smokers themselves who die either. Each year Britain 1000 babies die at birth or near birth because their mothers smoked whilst pregnant. Women who smoke whilst carrying a child are twice as likely to miscarry.

‘Ah yes….enough.. we know all about the figures … but my uncle smoked like a chimney and lived to be 93…’ And here the cynic with hunch his shoulders and wave his hands expressively Italian style as if to say that figures don’t count.

And so it is that intelligent , well-meaning folk will push away the horrific catalogue of painful deaths awating the persistant smoker. And reach for the reassurance of another cigratte . it only happens to other people anyway.

TO AVOID SEXUAL IMPOTENCE

According to a group of French doctors a common cause sexual impotence for men in their late 30’s and early 40’s is smoking and a diet rich in fat. Both these factors affect circulation and, say the doctors, a poor circulation often results in failure to achieve an erection. Just as smoking narrowing of the heart arteries it also causes constriction of blood vessels in penis. And a narrowing of the penis arteries by as little as 25 % is enough to prevent an erection.

This discovery can bring new hope to some men in despair , for this kind of impotence can be reversed by giving up smoking and changing to a fat free diet.

Naturally the French discovery will come as a blow to the cigratte firms who have for years promoted smoking as sexy and macho. It could also justify another warning on the cigratte packets and advertisements in addition to’Smoking can damage your health’ – ‘Smoking can damage your sex live’

Research by the French medical team stressed that this kind of impotence was not just a problem for the middle-aged but also the younger man not usually troubled in this way. Men in their late 20’s.

Ironically , sexual impotence could prove to be a more motivating reason for stopping smoking than the risk of an early and painful death. But that’s the way some people are made.

3. FOR TAX RELEIF

Why elect to pay more tax than you need? Think of the cash you are needlessly giving to the government every year. You could put aside that money and watch it grow and you could also use it to give yourself and family a bonus treat occasionally.

Your future will certainly look brighter financially every way, the moment you stop. You’ll be free from an expencive habit. Free from the worry of having to remember your cigrattes and matches whenever you go out. Free from the worry of wondering if there is going to be a shop open when you run out. And you’ll free from the worry that you may be killing yourself !

4. FOR YOUR FAMILY & FRIEND SAKE

You are much nicer person to sit alongside when your clothes and hair don’t smell of stale tobacco smoke. There is another point to consider too. Your non-smoking family and friends are not likely to relish the risk they are running from ‘side stream’ smoking. For although the main risk is to the smoker , non-smoker who live with a smoker run a higher risk of getting chest ds.

The benefits for your family and friends begin on the day that you stop smoking and they go on for a lifetime. It is worth it. Remember the slogan:”kiss a non-smoker and taste the difference”

POSITIVE SIGN

Recent survey show that 80%smoker want to stop. You will have plenty of support.

Two out every three who stop say they never miss smoking and that eventually it was easier to stop than they at first thought. Seats for the non-smoker are now more plentiful on public transport , cinemas , theatres , and restaurant.

By now you should have reasons enough to stop. But how can we help people like Mike, a teacher , who wants to stop but can’t?one day he said to me , “I’m 35, I watched my dad die at 66 from cancer of the lung. It was horrible sight and you would have thought it would have cured me from smoking . Well it did. But only for few months. I have two children and I want to be fit enough to play ball games with them and run about and grow old with them. I wish I could stop smoking but every time I seem to have kicked the habit someone offers me a ciggratte at a staff meeting and I’m back where I started”.

His story typical of many. They know they are risiking their health yet they keep smoking. Why ? It surely is not because of any of the psychological reasons given for younger people to smoke – ‘sophisticated thumb sucking’ , a feeling of inadequacy and the need to imitate the attractive glamorous celebrity or the he-man portrayed in the tobacco companies advertisements. The reason that mature people find difficulty stopping smoking is probably because they feel dependent upon some subtle ingredient in the cigrattes smoke itself which they believe could be nicotine.

And this is where the really good news comes. If we could remeve this feeling of dependency , this ‘need’ for the fix of the next cigrattes , then stopping of smoking could be easier. Well , that problem has now been solved. You can have your nicotine fix without lighting cigratte. A new aid is on the market which can help you to stop smoking almost painlessly.

After 10 years experience in European countries a chewing gum containing nicotine has proved to be risk free aid to stop smoking. It is sold as ‘Nicorette’ and some people in special need it can be obtained on the National Health Service. For most people though it can be obtained with doctor’s prescription from chemists.

As the gum is chewed a steady but small supply of nicotine is released and obsorbed through he membrane of mouth. , thus satisfying the smoker’s need without risk of lung. But it is no need thinking that nicotine in itself is going to be sure-fire cure. It is an aid. The first , remember is motivation – the determination to stop smoking – and then comes the decision. Nicorette can make that decision easier to maintain.

The simplest and most effective decision to make is to stop completely. Cutting down is more difficult than and a greater strain on the nerves , causing more irritation. You only need a decision : to stop – once and for all. In any case , cutting down does not necessarily mean that you will be smoking much less for medical tests have shown that people who cut down the number of ciggrattes smoked actually inhale more deeply and smoke them down to smaller stubs without thinking, in order to top up the nicotine level to what it used to be before cutting down.

It will help you remember that smoking is a habit which is a usually associated with certain time and places. If you break these links , you can the habit more easily. Work out how you can cope with danger spots, the time when ciggrate are going to be handed round. Be positive. You are anon-smoker. Plan new activities to replace smoking – things to compensate for the tingle of smoke , things to do with the hands, and the ways of coping with tension. Sometime it helps to make an agreement to stop with the friend or relative. (Weight watchers find group motivation is a great help in slimming).

Plan your ‘D’ day well – the day you are going to stop and make sure it will be a day when you not likely to be under sress nor subject to the temptation of being offered ciggarttes by others. On the day before you start , get rid of all your smoking kit – ciggarttes , ashtray and lighter. You are not going to need for themselves again.

Nothing succeeds like success. When you have spent one smokeless day you will know that you can do it. If you feel urge to smoke , then immediately do something else. Distract your mind from the thought of smoking. Go to places in the evening where you would not the think of smoking or where smoking is not possible – the theatre , library , swimming pool etc. it is worth making a big effort during the first few days. Sooner than you think that craving will go away, particularly if you are using the nicorette aid.

But don’t ever think that you can allow yourself the occasional ciggratte. You cant. Its all too easy to slip back to smoking as many as before.

To summarise

you can stop smoking if you want to stop. Think carefully about the effects on your health and sex life.

Reap the social benefits – people will like being near you smell of stale ciggartte smoke.

Use Niccorette at first to get over nicotine dependency.

Stopping altogether is easier than cutting down.

Plan your campaign carefully and see it through. And remember , its harder to say ‘no’ when you’re out at night having a drink.