Tobacco is grown because the leaves serve a few purposes. They can be smoked. They can be chewed. They can be sniffed. It becomes addictive because of the chemical called Nicotine.

Tobacco is not harmless as once was believed. It contains at least 19 chemicals known to cause cancer. It gets even worse. There are well over 4,000 more chemicals such as acetone, ammonia, carbon monoxide, and cyanide. It also contains methane, propane, and butane.
It’s been reported that the number of smokers is down however, the users of smokeless tobacco alternatives is ever increasing.

The effects of nicotine are many and could eventually cause permanent damage to health and even death. It is a very highly addictive agent that changes mood and behavior.
It stimulates the central nervous system. Epinephrine is increased and stimulates the brain’s pleasure center. It affects bowel function, saliva production, and increases bronchial secretions. This results in the feeling of relaxation during stressful events that many feel.

Diabetics should not smoke because nicotine can cause blood glucose (sugar) levels to rise. It also makes Insulin levels go up. Other issues related to nicotine are the occurrence of several kinds of cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems such as emphysema, and
blood clots such as aneurysms and stroke. For pregnant women there could be dire circumstances for their babies. Many are born with low birth weights and are at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Miscarriage, premature labor and births, and also the infant may be born still born. This is definitely not a pretty picture.

Countless people have tried to quit and couldn’t and others ask why should they?

If you quit smoking you can improve or even reverse some of the complications that come from nicotine addiction. Many are now turning to a smokeless tobacco alternative, chewing tobacco. This is no less a problem in fact users of chewing tobacco have a risk of getting mouth cancer 50 times greater than non-users.

A healthier smokeless tobacco alternative is to turn to herbal products. They are pure herbs, perfectly legal, and they work. They can be purchased in traditional smoke shops but from online smoke shops as well.

Herbal chews are a mixture of herbs or a single herb that is used as a smokeless tobacco alternative. One online smoke shop (see below) is outstanding in its products, its guaranteed quality of herbs, and their desire that people become healthy in mind, body, and spirit.

Their products including tobacco and nicotine herbal chews are pure herbs and botanicals.
They will consult with a person to find the appropriate herb or herbal mix to meet that person’s specific needs. Always consult your doctor to be on the safe side.

Discover the herbal smoke blends we personally use - http://www.herbal-smoke-shop-guide.com

After years of research in to herbal blends, we have found that our herbal blends of choice contain some of the most natural and purest herbs in the world, especially
when it comes to manufacturing these herbal blends.

Jean Helmet is one of the editors at a collection of nutritional and herbal web sites, you can learn more about herbal smoke at our website - Herbal Smoke Shop.

Quitting smoking doesn’t have to be a horrible thing. Most people condition themselves to believe that quitting smoking is going to be more difficult than trying to swim upstream in a set of class uit,four rapids with their hands tied. Quitting smoking only seems like it will be that difficult because that’s what they’ve conditioned themselves to believe. Basically, they’ve bought into the hype.

Kevin Eubanks said, “The belief that we are what the media says we are, what people perceive we are, is soon to be what we think we are. We are treated based on this warped perception. It is hard to get away from it.”. That quote is exactly what happens in the battle to stop smoking. You see, most everyone that you hear from about the subject of quitting smoking are either smokers themselves or companies trying to sell you something to help you quit. You must realize this truth. The people that smoke themselves don’t really want you to q so ant information that they provide is bogus and the companies simply want your money. They don’t really want you to quit either. It’s better for them if they’re help kind of helps you and you keep purchasing their product time and time again.

At this point you may be asking yourself how in the hell I know all of this? Well, because I smoked for more than 15 years and walked away from smoking forever without the aid of drugs, patches, gum, or anything. Once I realized the things I’m sharing in this article, it was simply walked away. I realized that smoking was all in my head! It is completely, 100%, mental!

Change the way you think about smoking, and the act of smoking will change. It’s exactly what I did. There was no magic. No pills to take. No gum to chew. Everything that I needed for quitting smoking was right inside of me the entire time. In some ways, I think that’s why I started smoking. To come to that realization, and maybe that’s the reason that you started smoking as well. To come to exactly that realization for yourself?

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of http://www.jrwfishing.com/. He has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his 3 year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana.

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My Story

After years of smoking (13 to be exact), I finally decide it was time to give up. The main reason was simply because if i hadn’t then i wold have ended up dying at a young age. I had started smoking at 14 simply to fit in with the cool kids (yeah I know, what a idiot). I was now 27 and every morning i would wake up coughing like hell and breathing like darth Vader, by the time I had walked the short journey to the shops and back I would be totally out of breath, the daft thing is that while sat down catching back some air i would pull out a cig and light light it up.

So the time finally came for me to beat my addiction once and fall, but it wasn’t for me something that came easy. I tried three different courses to try quiting before i found the right one for me. I took my last drag of a cigarette 18 months ago and I havn’t looked back, I now wake each morning feeling fresh and ready, the morning walk to the shops witch i used to dread as been replaced with a morning jog around the park.

The methods

Below are the different methods witch all claim to help you to stop smoking. The first three are the ones that i tried, but failed to do for different reasons. The fourth is the one witch helped me to finally kick the habbit. There is many more out there ranging from herbal remedies to prescription drugs their are even many a book on smoking and how to stop, one of witch according to my cousin helped him just quit, so maybe i’ll get him to write up a review for it and add it here at a later date. Remember though that the methods below are what i tried, and just becouse some of them didn’t work for me dosn’t mean they wont work for you.

Nicotine Gum
Price: $8 for a pack of 24 prices although varie from chemist to chemist.
Value for money: Not bad, you take 15 peices a day so two packs will last a about 3 days.
Side affects: Taste bad, Sore throught, heartburn and hiccups.
Duration: 2 to 3 months.

My first attempt to quit was with nicotonell nicotine gum witch was advised by my doctor. It was the gum that i gave up the quickest out of my 3 failed attempts, so their isn’t much i can say apart from ive never tasted anything as crappy in all my life. The couse was meant to last between 2 and 3 months, and comes in two strengths 2mg and 4mg. Anyway i managed just 5 days on the gum before giving it the boot, i had a really sore throught from all the chewing and kept getting heartburn and hiccups so i cut my losses. although they do say good things about nicotine gum, I have yet to actually meet anyone who has quit smoking using it.

Nicotine Patches
Price: $34.99 for 14 but once again price and quantity depend on were you buy them.
Value for money: good i got 14 in the box i got and they last 24 hours (also available in 16 hour).
Side affects: Sleepless nights, headache, stomach ache and mood swings.
Duration: 6-12 weeks.

The doctor was a lot more helpful on on my next visit, and after a discussion about my life style he suggested i give patches a go and that if those didn’t work he would try me with Zyban. I started on the 21 mg patches and though they didn’t seem to work at first by the next day they seemed to be working, that night and from then on it started taking me ages to get to sleep and when i finally did drop off, I would have strange dreams and wake with a bad headache that would last most of the day, making me moody towards my wife and kids. I decided to try the 16 hour patch that you take off before bed, but although my dreams weren’t bad it was still taking ages to get to sleep, and instead of an headache i would wake with a stomach ache instead. This went on for about ten days before i stopped putting them on.

Zyban
Price: prescription only
Value for money: N/A
Side affects: Bad rash, dry mouth, headaches also reports of seizures in certain people.
Duration: 8 weeks

This one i kinda cheated with, I went back to my gp (again) and was prescribed Zyban. I started the course and within hours of taking my first tablet i got a rash on my arm that itched like mad. It was a course of 1 150mg tablet a day for six days and then 2 a day for the rest of the course, it works by altering certain chemicals in the mind that stop you from withdrawing. Anyway as i said i kinda cheated i say kinda because i cant really remember that good, as my dad was in hospital and it was a really horrible month not knowing weather he’d pull through. Some days i’d wake feeling positive and would do without cigarettes, the next day i’d be so stressed out i wouldn’t even notice i had lit one up. at the end of the first month i decide not to continue with them, and try another way.

Audio Hypnosis
Price: $47
Value for money: Good. Along with the audio tape i got 5 bonus items chucked in, including a quit smoking book and stress relief audio tape, and more.
Side affects: Only positive ones.
Duration: The main audio is a 40 minute session.

After my three previous attempts had ended in failure, i again saw my doctor to see what else i could try, he told me he had been hearing of late that many a people were using hypnosis to pack in there habits. I was more determined to stop than ever and was willing to try anything. I did a little researching and found many testaments giving a programme of audio hypnosis the thumbs up, all of them saying it had helped change there life in some way, and so i decided to give it a go. I visited many sites and decided to go with the one that had the most positive responses and best success rate. As soon as i received it i gave it a go, And here i am 18 months later and i haven’t touched a smoke since that day. I’m amazed at how listening to 40 minutes of words as not helped me stop but MADE me stop. In under a hour using NLP (neuro linguistic programming) techniques programmed my mind into never again wanting or needing to smoke. It really was that easy and the small amount I paid for the programme was made back within the first week, and only cost a little more than i had paid for the patches, with which I had failed miserably.

if you would like to try any of the methods here and more than, you can find the links to each of them at my site witch is: http://quit-smoking-programs.blogspot.com/
GOOD LUCK.

Woes of a Stop Smoking Hypnotherapist, A Day in the Life of a Stop Smoking Hypnotherapist, Tales from a Frustrated Meridian Therapist, Stop Smoking - Hypnotherapy? I have been grappling somewhat with what to call this article. The possibilities are endless.

Let me illustrate with the following common scenario.

Potential Client:
“I stopped smoking with hypnosis three times this year and it worked every time.”

What I wish I could say:
“What part of “worked” exactly do you not get?”

What I actually end up saying:
“Oh that’s great! Now there’s a new and exciting method that modern hypnotherapists use that you’ll find even better…”

Potential Client occasionally says:
“Oh no, I want none of that tapping stuff, oh no, not for me, I want hypnotherapy. I know it works.”

What I then really want to say:
“What part of “works” exactly do you not get?”

One day, I will have clients always ringing up about EFT, a great meridian therapy, for smoking cessation. Now, this is not the norm. Even people who have never had hypnosis before are convinced it is the best thing for them. Take the following scenario.

Potential Client:
“I want to stop smoking with hypnotherapy. My friend did it and was very successful.”

Me:
“That’s great. Hypnotherapy is very good for stopping smoking.”

Potential Client.
“Yes, it is. My friend did it a year ago and it worked. She stopped for 3 months. I was really impressed!”

What I wish I could say:
“What part of “worked” exactly do you not get?”

What I actually end up saying:
“Oh that’s great! Now there’s a new and exciting method that modern hypnotherapists use that you’ll find even better…”

Of course, meridian therapies like EFT and TFT, are relatively new compared to hypnotherapy or hypnosis. And we always want the familiar. The new is, well, just too new. And of course, there is no certainty that the new way will work. But if the old way didn’t work that well anyway, you have nothing to lose by trying the new.

If you are thinking of stopping smoking, really as long as the method works, go for it. Keep an open mind and keep trying until you succeed for good. Try a meridian therapy like EFT or TFT. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Complementary and alternative health education and empowerment is my passion. I am committed to empowering people to take control of their health and wellness. WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Alternative complementary health expert and author Suzy Zacharia, author of the new book at http://www.stop-smoking-ebooks.com , publishes her alternative health regular ezine. If achieving your optimal state of health and happiness is your goal, then subscribe now FREE at http://www.newageinternationaltraining.com/contact.php .

Smoking can be considered a kind of suicidal act because we know that smoking kills. We are very much aware of the ill-effects of smoking and the diseases associated with it but we still smoke. I don’t fault the older generations as it was out of their ignorance that they had smoked but for us the generation of today, living in the 21st century what’s the point in knowing so much when we don’t even try to quit smoking?

It is true that sometimes, it is very hard to give up old habit especially smoking, as you feel as if you are about to say goodbye to your best friend. I would not be wrong if I say that almost everybody failed at least once in their attempt to quit smoking. Various surveys have shown that 70% of smokers want to quit smoking but the actual rate of people who quit smoking is very less.

The main reason why cessation of smoking is such a hard task is because of the presence of the addictive chemical, nicotine. Nicotine belongs to a group of chemical compound called alkaloid. It is a stimulant drug, when we smoke; the nicotine triggers the brain to release dopamine which is a neurotransmitter which regulates movement and emotions and thus, makes us so addictive to it.

However, if one really tries there is always a way out. We must realize that we are not alone in this and that there are many people who are facing the same problem. We must first feel the need to quit smoking. We should be able to envisage what our life would be like in future if we continue to smoke.

There are many programmes that can help you quit smoking, all you have to do is browse the internet and choose the one that you like and get rid of this bad habit which is slowly taking you towards death.

It is good to know that many treatments are available now to help in quitting and also to lessen the urge to smoke. Nicotine replacement therapies like Nicotine gum, Nicotine inhaler, Nicotine patch, Nicotine nasal spray and Bupropion SR had been approved by U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) but they must be taken in the right proportion and all the information written on the packet must be read very thoroughly. Besides, you even have medicines like Chantix and Zyban which help in quit smoking. Out of the two Chantix is more famous as it takes care even of your cravings.

It has proved as a great help for many people who have now quit smoking. As it has been working for many people it will not be a bad idea to try one of these medications instead of relapsing back to ground zero.

The author is a health expert and writes articles on various issues related to the causes as well as consequences of smoking and also on the quit smoking medicine chantix. For more information, details and advice on smoking related matters, visit the website http://www.chantixhome.com

Have you tried endlessly to quit smoking only to fail after just a month, week or even a day? Do you want a healthy and secure future knowing that you will be free from smoking and have reduced the risk of getting all of the nasty illness’ that smoking offers? Are you just fed up and want to quit now? Stopping smoking can be as easy as you want to make it with hypnotherapy and Self Hypnosis. In fact science proves just how successful hypnosis is for stopping smoking, so why not give it a go today and let the results speak for themselves.

As a hypnotherapist the mass of my business is helping people successfully give up smoking - especially around new years with folks trying to stick to their resolutions. I am amazed how many people come to see me to use hypnotherapy to quit, saying that ‘this is my last chance, I have tried everything before’. The reason that this statement shocks me so much is that according to research, hypnosis is the second best way to quit smoking. It is only seconded by contracting heart disease and let’s face it - who wants to go that far to give up smoking? Not me that’s for sure.

So what would life be like if you could just walk away from your smoking right now and leave it in the past? What a relief will it be when you have no cravings and full control over your habits and behaviours? What will you do with all of the extra money that you will save from not smoking? Just imagine how much more fitter you will feel and how great it will be not to smell of cigarette smoke all the time. Just imagine the freedom that your new life will bring you and your loved ones!

If you are really serious about being a happy and contented non smoker and want to do it the easy way, then I suggest that you think about hypnosis being your best chance of success. Just think, this time tomorrow you could be that happy and content non smoking person. I recommend trying a hypnosis download or recording or even take the time to look up your local hypnotherapist and seek their help.

Your success in stopping smoking is just around the corner! Grab this opportunity with both hands and get the life of your dreams. I wish you the best of luck and success in your new life as a non smoker.

Richard’s hypnosis cd to stop smoking makes it easy. Check out his site for more on stop smoking hypnosis.

Quitting smoking may just be the hardest thing anyone will have to do in their life. It was definitely difficult for me. I took the hard-core, cold turkey route as opposed to using any stop smoking aids, but today those looking for relief and freedom from their nicotine addictions may not have to fight so hard. Nicocure is a new, all-natural stop smoking aid that claims anyone can quit smoking in 30 days or less. That certainly is quite a claim, but is it all just marketing hype and fluff?

I am not 100% sure what to think about nicotine addiction. I quit smoking myself cold-turkey without the use of any stop smoking aids such as Nicocure. I felt that if my desire was truly strong enough that I would be able to overcome anything. It still took over 20 attempts even then. My own mother struggles with it daily and has tried to quit numerous times with a variety of methods. Maybe this really has nothing to do with willpower or desire, but instead we should recognize that this addiction is so powerful we could all use a little help. So where does one turn? Nicocure claims to have that answer.

There are so many different products on the market today all claiming to help people quit smoking. This is definitely BIG business, but if these products all did what they claimed they could do, I do not think I would see so many people struggling. The developers of Nicocure would agree and they cite one major reason for the failure of these other products that really caught my attention.

The two major types of stop smoking aids on the market today are gums and patches. According to Nicocure, the problem with all of them is that they contain nicotine. nicotine is the substance of the addiction in the first place so a serious question arises here. Is it beneficial to fight nicotine addiction with nicotine? Once you finish the gum or patch program what have you accomplished? It seems to me that you have accomplished nothing except keeping nicotine in your system. You get off the patch and the gum and you still have the same problem. Withdrawal is just around the corner.

This is why Nicocure was developed and why it claims to make the difference that other products cannot. Nicocure patches offer what seems to be an effective and alternative to the nicotine-derived products we are so used to seeing today. As a 100% all-natural and herbal formula, Nicocure claims to mimic nicotine just enough, so that the brain is satisfied, while the body completely removes the addictive chemical from its system. It allows your brain to continue releasing dopamine just as it did while you smoked. The point here is that you will be able to rid your body of that nasty nicotine chemical without having to go through the physical and psychological anguish that causes so many to fail early on.

So the question remains…does it actually work? Nicocure wants to put this question to rest, so they offer a guarantee. If Nicocure does not help eliminate your cravings for nicotine, and end your smoking habit permanently within 30 days of purchase, they will refund 100% of your money. As always I remain skeptical, but I also know how much easier my battle could have been if Nicocure was available at the time. With the dangers of nicotine so great, and the benefits of quitting so numerous, this is a guarantee I would be willing to accept, and one I will be introducing to my mother.

Adam Bauthues has a passion and a love for personal development and health-related niche topics. His most recent website reviews and discusses the smoking cessation product Nicocure, and can be found at: http://www.NicocurePatchReview.com

With the increase in the price of cigarettes, smoke-banning in all but a few public places and all the warning labels of how dangerous cigarette smoke is to your health, people are still lighting up every day and every night. And the reason is simple. Cigarette smoking is one of the most addictive habits there is, more addictive that heroin and cocaine.

I ought to know. I was a chain smoker for ten years, until eight years ago when I quit after my 50th attempt. As challenging as it was to withdraw from such a disgusting habit, I attribute my success to a few things:

(1) Quitting first begins in your head. You have to want to quit and you have to want it bad.

(2) Determination and persistence. Though I failed numerous times, I was determined to keep trying until I succeeded.

(3) Nicotine patch. Cravings for nicotine can be quite severe which keeps true smokers lighting up to dissipate the cravings.

(4) A substitute. I needed a substitute in the place of smoking so that I would have something, rather than nothing. I chose hot beverages. I drank teas and coffees in the morning, after a meal, while watching television, before bed, all the time. Whenever, I would normally smoke, I sipped hot beverages.

As good as most of this advice is, it won’t count for much if the drive to quit is not intense enough.

Wishing you much success and a long life of not smoking,
Jessie Jamie Coleman

Jessie Jamie Coleman is an author, screenwriter, freelance writer and a self-esteem expert. She is the author of two self-discovery journals, “The Incredible, Awesome You” and “Where Will You Be in Two Years.” For more information, visit her website: http://www.autumngirlpress.com and http://www.jessiejamiecoleman.com

Smokers tend to think that they don’t really need support when attempting to quit smoking, and that they can manage well on their own. If indeed you don’t need that level of support, how come you are still smoking? There is obviously something missing in your plan to quit smoking. Your attempts to quit smoking without support did not work, otherwise you would not be still trying to find a way to quit.

By creating a support structure, your chances of successfully quitting smoking will be much higher. Using a quit smoking support group has always been a stumbling block for smokers trying to tackle their addictions. Smoking addicts have a strong tendency to resist support, without realizing that receiving adequate support will in many cases mean the difference between success and failure.

Surveys have found that success in quitting smoking is associated with having a non-smoking partner, and not being exposed to smokers in the household and social environment.

Here’s what you can do to create a quit smoking support group. Enlist the help of your family members, friends, and colleagues; people who know about your plan to quit smoking. Get them to support and motivate you. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Ask your colleagues sitting next to you to remind you whenever you have the urge to smoke. Go for tea breaks with non-smoking colleagues.
2. Request your family members/partner to give words of encouragement for everyday that you don’t smoke.
3. Let your friends know that you won’t be able to go for your usual drinks with them at the pub for the first 3-5 months. If they are your true friends, they will understand that this is for your own good.

The existence of supportive family, partner and friends enhances the success in quitting smoking. Go ahead and form your quit smoking support group now. The more people there are in your support group, the better it is to help you quit smoking.

Do you know that one in two long-term smokers will die prematurely as a result of smoking - half of these in middle age? Free yourself from this bad habit now. Get your FREE REPORT here.
http://www.quitsmokingaids.org/

Bans on public smoking are spreading throughout the world. That suits Eric who is a lifelong non-smoker, nay, ANTI-smoker. For 30 days he will change the world and the habits of current smokers.

Day 13:

In the United Kingdom we follow a sport - it is our National sport. We call it football - in the US it is called soccer (football in the US is played with an odd shaped ball and, for some reason, the participants have to wear body armor). Anyway, it is an enjoyable sport and whiles away the hours especially on a typical Saturday afternoon.

Where I watch my team, Ipswich Town, there is usually a crowd of about 24,000. That’s pretty big and we are all seated. It is comfortable in most parts except I am invariably surrounded by people that smoke. This spoils my enjoyment and appreciation of the match as each intake of breath in readiness to celebrate a goal or berate an opposition player is accompanied with the ingestion of 8 cubic meters of cigarette smoke. Even shallow breathing (of the type needed to sustain life) is soured by the putrid smell and tastes of smoke.

It’s no good. As well as trying to kill me, smokers are also spoiling my enjoyment of the match. Swift and robust measures are needed and the idea I have put forward to the footballing authorities is a set of handcuffs attached to each seat to be used in the event that the occupant is found with a packet of cigarettes on his or her person. I tried to sway them into allowing electrified seating for these people but my request fell on deaf ears.

Eric Hartwell oversees “The World’s Best Homepage” intended to be a user-generated resource where YOUR opinion counts. Anybody can contribute and all are welcomed. Visit us to read, comment upon or share opinions on health and visit our associated site articles for free.