While many can attest that it is possible to quit smoking for good, the decrease in the percentage of adults who smoke does not have an impressive showing despite the ever increasing price of cigarettes and restricting smoking areas in many places. If the trend continues, regular smokers cannot expect to survive another ten years of life. Either they will die of diseases generated from nicotine addiction or they will endure years of illnesses caused by their cigarette romancing. Smoking is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases and premature deaths. It adds to the ballooning of the family budget including the expenses to be incurred for medical treatment once any of the members suddenly fall sick due to smoke-related illnesses.
The continuous rise in the smoking population can be attributed to powerful advertising and promotional campaigns that tobacco companies employ to publicize their products. Notwithstanding the warning labels on a cigarette pack, the rank of smokers swell with the addition of young teenagers who have been exposed to the ills of smoking either from their family and adult friends or TV and print ads. Nowadays it is not surprising to see youngsters aged from 18 to 25 light up or billow cigarette smoke.
There is no magic formula in staging a war against smoking. Quitting is more difficult than getting hooked. However, knowing and understanding the reasons for smoking and with the availability of tools, a smoker who is determined to kick the habit can liberate himself from the bondage of nicotine addiction. Nicotine is the addictive component in the cigarette that directly affects the brain providing a relaxing sensation and energy boost. Because of this addiction, a few hours without nicotine, the smoker starts to be stressful which he mistakes as his own lethargic and distressful feelings. Once the addiction is removed, all the tormenting feelings will also evaporate into thin air.
The withdrawal symptoms are usually characterized by crankiness, loss of appetite, insomnia, headache and others. However, after a straight four days of being nicotine free, the smoker can start to experience the best of health. The problem remains on how to break away from the emotional and circumstantial factors that prompt him to puff a smoke. As he withdraws from the habit, he remains to be in the midst of people who smoke, continues to drink coffee in tandem with cigarette smoking, ends a good meal or sexual activity with a good waft or experiences upsetting situations usually soothed by nicotine inhaling. To break the association, there is a need to find a good substitute like popping in a sugar-free candy after each meal or taking short walks during troubling moments. These alternatives are cheaper and more effective in providing the desired relief without having a single trace of nicotine injected into the body.
There are many aids to be used by someone who is dead serious to quit smoking for good. There are two sides to treat cigarette addiction: psychological help and medicinal aids. But, the most important is the firm determination of the smoker to get rid of the habit. Without the right commitment, it is not even worth to start because any attempt is bound to fail. Nicotine has its way to get back into your system. Fight back and do not lose your guard. Life is worth more than a few nicotine surges.
There is no magic formula in staging a war against smoking. Quitting is more difficult than getting hooked. However, knowing and understanding the reasons for smoking and with the availability of tools, a smoker who is determined to kick the habit can liberate himself from the bondage of nicotine addiction.