Preparation Phase
1- Information and intelligence gathering. You need to know that to win this war you need help from your physician, your family, and your friends. Most importantly you need to take charge of your own health by reading more about how to maximize your chances of success.
2- The psychological warfare – Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you. But very few appreciate how bad smoking is. Part of quitting smoking is to get angry at the cigarette instead of thinking of it as your best friend. You should be able to recite by heart the bad effects of smoking on your health and on your family.
Cancer has replaced cardiac disease as the number one killer in the USA in 2004. 40% of cancers are caused by smoking. Smoking is behind 21 different cancers. Lung cancer accounts for one third of all cancer-related death. By the time a chest X ray shows lung cancer, it has been present for at least five years and contains a billion cancer cells. Breast cancer is tripled with smoking, so does bladder cancer and prostate cancer. With 4000 different chemicals per cigarette 60 of them known to cause cancer, cigarettes also cause cardiac disease, high blood pressure and stroke and can kill you if you are lucky or worse can put you in a wheelchair.
What most people do not appreciate is that smokers may or may not get cancer or heart disease but every heavy smoker destroys his or her lung (emphysema) which destroys the person’s ability to exercise or climb stairs. The “usual” morning cough of the smoker is a sign of chronic bronchitis – infection of the bronchi. Smoking is also a major factor behind asthma and allergies. It also aggravates stomach ulcers and heartburn as it increases gastric acidity.
Another little known fact is that the majority of people above 80 years old lose their site due to the degeneration of the retina. They also get Alzheimer where they do not even recognize their name or their kids. The likelihood of both terrible conditions is doubled when you smoke. When you get older, your height shrinks and you get a hump due to painless fractures of your spine caused by osteoporosis. The risk of fractures and osteoporosis is significantly increased with smoking.
Blood clots in the legs and poor wound healing after surgery also affect smokers. Another unappreciated fact is that smoking rubs you out of your beauty not only by staining your teeth and nails and bad the bad smell that it produces but through decreasing blood circulation to your skin. This decrease damages the elastin fibers creating sagging not only of your neck and face but also of your abdomen, breast, thighs and rear.
Smokers have a higher incidence of impotence and have a decrease in their sexual performance. They are in general more stressed out than non smokers.
Chronological age refers to how old you are on paper. Biological or real age refers to how truly old or young your heart, bones, muscles, joint, brain, liver, kidneys and immune system are. There can be a 27 year difference between the two numbers. The first and most effective anti-ageing step is to quit smoking. When you quit smoking you start growing younger every year for ten years to come.
Smoking parents, health professionals and parents have a bad influence on their kids. Smoking can be the first gate to alcohol and drug abuse as the child accepts that it is OK to do harm to your body instead of respecting this amazing and complex machine.
Passive smoking can be very dangerous to your family as the smoke coming out from the unfiltered cigarette end can increase asthma, respiratory and ear infections and can affect the unborn child of pregnant women.
Smokers waste a lot of time consumed in the act of smoking and taking unproductive brakes.
Smoking is less socially acceptable now than it was in the past. While decisions may not be based entirely on social acceptance, most workplaces have some type of smoking restrictions. Some employers prefer to hire nonsmokers.
Landlords, also, may choose not to rent to smokers since maintenance costs and insurance rates may rise when smokers occupy buildings.
Friends may ask you not to smoke in their houses or cars. Public buildings, concerts, and even sporting events are largely smoke-free. And more and more communities are restricting smoking in all public places, including restaurants and bars. Like it or not, finding a place to smoke can be a hassle.
Smokers may find their opportunities for dating or romantic involvement, including marriage, are largely limited to only other smokers, who make up only about 1/4th of the population.
Finally smoking is very expensive. The cost is not just the thousands of Dollars wasted buying cigarettes but more importantly the cost paid to treat the major health problems that invariably affect the smoker later on and the cost of lost earnings due to the frequent sicknesses reported by smokers.
Having the above list present in your head helps you decide to seek help, take action and view the cigarette as the enemy camouflaging as a friend and as a source of pleasure and calm.
3- Setting the date. There is no convenient date to quit smoking. Seventy percent of smokers would love to quit but are afraid of gaining weight or going through the pain of withdrawals or are afraid of failure. Do not postpone quitting until you have less stress, there is always an excuse to postpone the decision. The best time is usually 2-3 weeks from the time you finish reading this chapter when you should be mentally ready to quit.
If you smoke less at home then chose the quitting date on a weekend or on a vacation. If you smoke less at work then chose the beginning of the work week. Announce to all the people you know the magic date and ask them for their support. If your spouse is a smoker it is essential that you quit together.
4- Two weeks before the date you have set up for quitting you should:
- Switch brands. Switch to a brand you do not like. Switching increases your success rate. Remember, you will be quitting soon. You want to sever this love-hate relationship gradually.
- Start exercising. We all know that exercise is good for us. Why then most of us do not exercise. Most smokers suffer from a state of low energy and feel older than their age. Exercise is an essential tool to deal with the temporary increase in stress or depression of the first 2-4 weeks after quitting. Exercise releases Dopamine a substance that gives us a high, the same way nicotine does.
Smoking speeds up metabolism by 100 calories per day. This translates into four kg per year. You can get the equivalent calories burning benefits by lifting weights to build muscle. Every kilo of muscle burns 100 calories per day while a kilo of fat burns only five. By gaining only one extra kilo of muscle you would make up for the loss of metabolism. Weight lifting also reverses osteoporosis which will show up later in life due to smoking.
Exercise also helps us sleep better; fight constipation and control weight gain.
Smokers who smoke more than 10-15 cigarettes per day would benefit from Zyban. Zyban decreases your obsession with smoking and lifts your mood and calm your anxiety. It is not addicting and has few side effects such as sleepiness or dizziness. You should not take it if you have a history of seizures or if you are pregnant. Some people are against using FDA approved drugs to get help with quitting but have no problems using 4000 chemicals in a cigarette!!
Zyban is taken one pill a day for five days then one pill twice a day for two months. It takes two weeks to work and that is why you should start it two weeks before quitting and continue using it for 6-8 weeks after quitting.
Recently , Pfizer aslo introduced a newer effective medicine called Champus® and is now available in the market
5- Stress reduction strategies. Beside exercise you need to get plenty of sleep, and cut down on coffee and other caffeine drinks. Do not stop coffee cold turkey as you get headaches and feel very lethargic. Instead change the size of the mug to a smaller one, mix half decaf and half regular, ad skim milk under etc. Coffee increases your blood pressure and increases stress making it harder to quit smoking.
Few days before quitting you need to get Nicotine replacement patches (10 mg patch for each pack you smoke per day). You should start the patches the day you quit.
Learn how to use deep breathing exercises to control stress, anger or frustration.
Book a visit to your dentist on day one or two after quitting date to clean your stained teeth and gums.
Stock up the night before on sugarless gum and healthy snacks.
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