July 19th, 2009 -- Posted in Herbal Remedies, Natural Remedies, Natural Remedies for Quitting Smoking |
Do you have “Quit Smoking” on your list of New Year’s resolutions as you have had for many years past? Make THIS the year you quit smoking and kick the habit for good because you are worth it!
A study published recently in the Journal of Clinical Psychology says that people who make New Year’s resolutions have higher rates of success at changing their behavior than people who don’t make resolutions.
“At least 40 percent of adults make one or more resolutions each year, and at least two-thirds of these pledges concern life-threatening behaviors - tobacco smoking, obesity and inactivity, for example - which psychologists have extensively studied and successfully treated” according to an article published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology (Vol. 58(4), 397-405 (2002)). The decision to quit smoking is one that only you can make. Others may want you to quit, but the real commitment must come from you! Quitting permanently is the final, and most important, stage of the process. You can use the same methods to accomplish this as you did to help you through withdrawal. Think ahead to those times when you may be tempted to smoke, and plan on how you will use alternatives and activities to cope with these situations.
Why Quit?
Health concerns usually top the list of reasons people give for quitting smoking. Smoking can, of course, cause lung cancer and lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, but few people realize it is also a risk factor for many other kinds of cancer as well, including cancer of the mouth, voice box (larynx), throat (pharynx), esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, liver, cervix, stomach, colon and rectum, and some leukemias. These progressive lung diseases are usually diagnosed in current or former smokers in their 60s and 70s. You’re also more likely to suffer from hardening of the arteries and shortness of breath. Smokers are twice as likely to die from heart attacks as nonsmokers. Smoking causes premature wrinkling of the skin, bad breath, bad smelling clothes and hair, and yellow fingernails.
When you smoke, you’re exposing yourself to more than 4,000 chemicals, including cyanide, benzene, and ammonia — and at least 40 of those chemicals can cause cancer and smoking hurts every organ in your body. Smokers between the ages of 35 and 70 have death rates three times higher than those of people in the same age range who have never smoked. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking. No matter what your age or how long you’ve smoked, quitting will help you live longer.
People who stop smoking before age 35 avoid 90% of the health risks attributable to tobacco. Even those who quit later in life can significantly reduce their risk of dying at a younger age. Ex-smokers also enjoy a higher quality of life with fewer illnesses from cold and flu viruses, better self-reported health status, and reduced rates of bronchitis and pneumonia. Regardless of your age or smoking history, there are numerous advantages to quitting smoking. There are several visible and immediate rewards to quitting as well as long-term benefits, reducing risks for diseases caused by smoking and improving your health in general. Quitting helps stop the damaging effects of tobacco on your appearance including premature wrinkling of the skin, bad breath, stained teeth, gum disease, bad smelling clothes and hair, yellow fingernails. Some benefits that will gain gradually in the first few weeks after quitting will be that you will notice that food tastes better, your sense of smell will return to normal, your ordinary activities will no longer leave you out of breath, and your health and life insurance premiums should drop.
How to Quit?
There is no one right way to quit, but there are some key elements in quitting smoking successfully. These crucial factors include:
* Making the decision to quit
* Setting a quit date and choosing a quit plan
* Dealing with withdrawal - Take it day -by day — or even trigger -by trigger. This may sound like “addiction-speak,” but it works. To approach the process by thinking, “I can’t wait until I’ve been nicotine-free for a week” won’t help you with that craving you get with your morning coffee on the very first day.
* Maintenance or staying off cigarettes
Your body benefits as soon as you stop smoking. Within 20 minutes of that last cigarette, your body begins a series of healthful changes that continue for years. This deep healing is mostly invisible to the person experiencing it except for the gradual loss of a smoker’s cough, an increase in energy, and the like. After a couple of days, your abilities to smell and taste improve and your damaged nerve endings start to repair themselves. Within a few months, walking and other physical activities will become easier and your lung function will increase by up to 30 percent. After five years, you’ll have nearly halved your odds of getting lung cancer.
Look at the amazing and remarkable healing progression over time:
20 Minutes After Quitting
Your heart rate drops.
12 hours After Quitting
Carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting
Your heart attack risk begins to drop.
Your lung function begins to improve.
1 to 9 Months After Quitting
Your Coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
1 Year After Quitting
Your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
5 Years After Quitting
Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker’s 5-15 years after quitting.
10 Years After Quitting
Your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker’s. Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases.
15 Years After Quitting
Your risk of coronary heart disease is back to that of a nonsmoker’s.
Compared to Smokers, your…
Stroke risk is reduced to that of a person who never smoked after 5 to 15 years of not smoking
Cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus risks are halved 5 years after quitting
Cancer of the larynx risk is reduced after quitting
Coronary heart disease risk is cut by half 1 year after quitting and is nearly the same as someone who never smoked 15 years after quitting
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk of death is reduced after you quit Lung cancer risk drops by as much as half 10 years after quitting
Ulcer risk drops after quitting
Bladder cancer risk is halved a few years after quitting
Peripheral artery disease goes down after quitting
Cervical cancer risk is reduced a few years after quitting
Low birth weight baby risk drops to normal if you quit before pregnancy or during your first trimester the benefits of quitting
This year make the resolution with confidence with the help of Native Remedies’ NEW Stop Smoking Solution Pack – a combination of three proven, effective and safe NATURAL remedies; because Native Remedies knows that you are worth it too. Our three new remedies are:
Rx-Hale Tablets prevents symptoms of nicotine withdrawal naturally, before they start. These tablets contain a combination of Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort), Scuttelaria Laterifolia, and Chromium Picolinate to assist with the management of depression and mood swings. Used for four weeks before you stop smoking, Rx-Hale Tablets ensure that when your first day without cigarettes arrives you’ll feel confident and prepared! Rx-Hale Tablets ensure that your efforts to stop smoking are not foiled by depression, mood swings and sugar cravings.
Crave-Rx Drops controls nicotine cravings naturally without using harmful and expensive nicotine products. Crave-Rx comes in tincture form and contains Avena Sativa, Garcinia Cambogia, and Gotu Cola (Centella Asiatica) which have a balancing effect on brain chemicals known to be associated with addiction. These herbs also help prevent sugar cravings and overeating which often cause people to go back to cigarettes due to unwanted weight gain.
Triple Complex NicoTonic assists in promoting the bio-availability of nutrients, hormones and bio-chemicals usually depleted by stress of nicotine and drug withdrawal. NicoTonic contains Natrium Phosphate, Kalium Phosphate and Natrium Muriaticum as a treatment for the ’short fuse’ syndrome frequently associated with nicotine withdrawal. Regular use prevents irritability, temper outbursts and is effective in reducing restlessness associated with withdrawal from nicotine or other addictive drugs.
Do You Know That Smoking and Asthma are
Interrelated?
What is the link between smoking and asthma?
As you have read, smoking is especially and extremely harmful to the respiratory system. So for people with asthma, tobacco smoke frequently tops the list of the most common triggers of an asthma attack. An asthmatic does not have to smoke to be affected, as even second–hand smoke can trigger asthma attacks or cause permanent harm to the airways, making it easier to have an asthma attack in the future. Anyone with an asthmatic condition who smokes should immediately quit. Smoking can greatly complicate an asthmatic condition by damaging the lungs, even if it does not trigger an attack. The airways in a person with asthma are very sensitive and can react to many things, or “triggers.” Coming into contact with these triggers often produces asthma symptoms. Tobacco smoke is a powerful asthma trigger. When a person inhales tobacco smoke, irritating substances settle in the moist lining of the airways and can set off asthma episodes. Often, people with asthma who smoke keep their lungs in a constant state of poor asthma control and have ongoing asthma symptoms. Also, when a person with asthma is exposed to second-hand smoke, he or she is more likely to have asthma symptoms. Children with asthma are especially sensitive to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke harms children with asthma even more than adults. When a child is exposed to tobacco smoke, his or her lungs also become irritated and produce more mucus than normal. But the child’s lungs are smaller, so smoke can cover them quickly. Children of parents who smoke are also more likely to develop lung and sinus infections. These infections can make asthma symptoms worse and more difficult to control.
Native Remedies now has a new tool to not only help you or someone you love stop smoking, but also one to treat, control and soothe asthma symptoms and problems in yourself, a loved one, or friend! Find out more about our proven, effective and natural asthma remedies, BioVent and BronchoSoothe today!
This article is provided courtesy of Native Remedies.
Technorati Tags: Cancer Of The Mouth, Cause Lung Cancer, Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, Hardening Of The Arteries, Health Concerns, Heart Attacks, Journal Of Clinical Psychology, Kidney Pancreas, Kinds Of Cancer, Leukemias, Lung Cancer, Lung Diseases, Many Other Kinds, Pancreas, Quitting Smoking, Risk Factor, Shortness Of Breath, Tobacco Smoking, Voice Box
July 19th, 2009 -- Posted in Herbal Remedies, Natural Remedies, Natural Remedies for Quitting Smoking |
As you read this, you are probably filled with anxiety with the very thought of being without that reassuring packet of cigarettes in your bag or pocket! You might have been smoking for years. Maybe this is the first time you are seriously considering “giving up” or perhaps you have tried before and failed. Whatever the case may be - don’t be discouraged, you are one of millions!
In my opinion, not enough recognition is given to the fact that nicotine dependency is a serious addiction! Many people see cigarette smoking as a “Bad Habit” and feel that smokers should be able to “just stop”! Although there are many gums, sprays and patches available to help the person gradually wean him/herself off the cigarettes, most smokers are expected to “go it alone”, be crabby for a few weeks and then be fine! If they fail, the insinuation is that they are weak, indulgent, inconsiderate, etc. The medical and moral support and understanding given to other substance abusers (e.g. alcoholics, crack addicts, etc) is usually not forthcoming for those who are struggling to overcome nicotine dependency.
Hopefully, this article will fill that gap a little. Nothing on earth will make it easy and effortless - but, if you are serious about giving up and follow the advice given here, you will find that you stand a better chance of being successful.
Think about why you want to give up. Like all addictions, YOU are the one that must want to quit. If you are quitting because someone else wants you to or is pressurizing you to, your chances of success are greatly diminished. YOU must want to do it, for reasons that are YOURS.
One of the most compelling reasons to give up smoking is that cigarettes are detrimental to your health. Here are some sobering facts:
1. Smoking is the most important risk factor for cancer and heart disease. In fact, statistics show that smokers are about three to five times more likely to contract cancer or heart disease than non-smokers. (Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals and 50 of these have been identified as carcinogens).
2. Not only do smokers have a far greater risk of contracting lung cancer, but they also have increased rates of other cancers, including cancer of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, liver, cervix, stomach, colon and rectum. Smokers are also at greater risk for leukemia.
3. The overall cancer death rates for smokers are twice as high as those of non-smokers. The more cigarettes you smoke and the longer you smoke for,the greater the risk.
4. Smoking contributes significantly to the development of high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries and therefore places smokers at greater risk of stroke and heart disease.
5. Smoking causeschronic lung disorders like emphysema, asthma and bronchitis.
Heard enough? Well, here is some more!
1. Smoking causespremature wrinkling, especially of the face.
2. Smokers haveyellow teeth, and foul smelling breath, hair and clothes.
3. Smoking causesimpotence and erectile dysfunction in men and low libido in men and women. It can also contribute towards difficulties in falling pregnant and birth defects.
4. Smoking deprives the body of oxygen, leading to fatigue and low concentration levels.
5. At current prices, smoking is very bad for your bank balance! Think of what you could do with the money you spend on cigarettes!
These are only a few of the known dangers of smoking that pertain to the individual. Still not convinced? Then think of this:
Not only is smoking bad for you, but it is also bad for your family and those around you! For example, children of smokers are far more likely to develop asthma and other chronic respiratory infections than those of non-smokers. They are also more prone to colds and flu and lose more time off school. Exposed to second hand tobacco smoke on a daily basis, these children also have higher risks of developing all the cancers, disorders and other medical conditions mentioned above. In addition, you are a role model for your child and are not teaching them good health habits when you continue to smoke in the face of overwhelming evidence regarding the serious health hazards associated with smoking. If you don’t do it yourself, do it for your kids!
So what’s new?
Most people who are reading this ebooklet have heard all of this before. When they stop and think about it (which they try not to do), they cannot avoid the fact that the only sensible thing to do is to stop the habit. In fact, research has shown that the majority of smokers over the age of 30 would like to stop smoking. Many of them have tried and failed. This brings us back to Square One.
The Native Remedies Stop Smoking Ultra Pack At Native Remedies, we have all had personal experience of nicotine addiction and withdrawal. As a psychologist, I have also counseled many people who have struggled to stop smoking. As an ex-smoker, I understand the difficulties involved, as well as the feelings of failure and frustration experienced every time you try and fail to stop smoking. I understand how stressed you feel when you read about the health hazards of smoking, the feelings of irritation when other people point them out to you - as well as the feelings of guilt around endangering the lives of your loved ones who are exposed to your second hand smoke.
Considering the huge cost that smoking imposes on our own lives, those of our children and the economy of the country, it is surprising that there is not more support for smokers who want to give up. Nicotine withdrawal is no joke and cigarettes can be more difficult to give up than many other dangerous drugs.
To help you, Native Remedies has worked together with experts in the field to provide help in the form of specially formulated natural remedies combined with a free step-by-step program to support and guide you through the process of nicotine withdrawal.
Natural Remedies Can Help
Natural remedies can help to prevent depression associated with nicotine withdrawal, reduce nicotine craving and soothe the restlessness, irritability and volatile moods often felt by people trying to quit smoking.
Unlike some nicotine withdrawal programs, the Native Remedies Stop Smoking Ultra Pack does not include nicotine substitutes like nicotine gums, sprays, patches, etc. Apart from the fact that nicotine is the ‘enemy’, using nicotine substitutes may help with craving in the short term, but can also lead to relapse in the long term. Our aim is to keep you nicotine free and we want you to start out that way!
Other programs advocate the use of synthetic anti-depressant drugs or even tranquillizers to help control the depression, anxiety and mood swings that can send you right back to the cigarettes. While this approach does have some merit, it is also true that there are very effective natural substitutes for the synthetic antidepressants and tranquillizers - which can offer the same benefits without the side effects and potential for addiction. After all - you are fighting one addiction and do not want to replace it with another!
With this in mind, Native Remedies has formulated three natural remedies to help address all the major problems associated with nicotine withdrawal. Although they are all excellent stand alone products, Rx-Hale tablets, Crave-Rx Drops and Triple Complex NicoTonic tissue salts are designed to work together and are recommended for use as part of a holistic treatment program.
1.Rx-Hale Tablets are especially formulated to prepare your body to stop smoking and are begun one month before you want to stop. They contain a unique combination of herbs which are well known for their anti-depressant and calming effect and include chromium to help prevent the tendency to overeat as a substitute for cigarettes. Taken during the month before you stop smoking and continued for a few months until the worst is over, Rx-Hale Tablets ensure that your efforts to stop smoking are not foiled by depression, mood swings and sugar cravings. Taking the tablets every day during the 30 days before you stop also prepares you psychologically for nicotine withdrawal and ensures that you begin the process feeling strong and ready to face the challenges ahead of you!
2.Crave-Rx Drops contain a unique combination of selected herbal ingredients to assist with the management of nicotine craving, possibly due to their balancing effect on brain chemicals known to be associated with addiction. Containing herbs which have been clinically proven to reduce the craving for nicotine, Crave-Rx Drops also contain herbs which will help to prevent the sugar cravings and compensatory overeating which often cause people to go back to cigarettes due to unwanted weight gain. Taken in a little water or juice three to four times a day, Crave-Rx Drops act quickly to reduce nicotine craving and keep you calm.
3.Triple Complex NicoTonic is a complex biochemic tissue salt formulation to assist with the ’short fuse’ syndrome so frequently associated with nicotine withdrawal. Triple Complex NicoTonic helps to prevent irritability, temper outbursts and restlessness and ensures a calmer and more successful path to a cigarette free life! It does this by promoting the bio-availability of nutrients, hormones and bio-chemicals that are usually depleted by the stress of nicotine and drug withdrawal. Presented in convenient sucking tablets which are dissolved under the tongue when needed, Triple Complex NicoTonic can be taken as many times per day as necessary. For more information on these three natural remedies, please see www.nativeremedies.com/quit-smoking-herbal-ultrapack.html
The Native Remedies Stop Smoking Ultra Pack
STOP SMOKING IN EIGHT WEEKS - BE A NON-SMOKER FOR LIFE!
STEP ONE: (Four Weeks)
Preparation is important!! Follow these steps. During this first four weeks you can continue to smoke.
1. Determine your Quit Date! You must set a Quit Date no less than one month away. This gives you four weeks to prepare for beginning nicotine withdrawal.
2. Start using Rx-Hale Tablets one month before your Quit Date to prevent depression and anxiety and to stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent weight gain. Remember to use them every day as directed! Every time you take a dose, remind yourself that you are on the road to recovery from nicotine addiction!
3. Make a list of all the reasons why you want to stop smoking and read this list every day. Glue it to the door of your fridge, your computer monitor and the mirror in the bathroom.
4. Tell at least 10 people that you are going to stop smoking on your Quit Date.
5. Identify times and places which you associate with cigarettes e.g. after a meal, first thing in the morning, when you are driving, watching TV, etc. During the first four weeks, DO NOT smoke during these times and at these places - although you can smoke elsewhere. If you smoke in front of the TV, get up and smoke in the kitchen. If you smoke in bed when you wake up, get out of bed and smoke after you have dressed. If you smoke after a meal, wait for 30 minutes and do something else in the meanwhile. If you light up as soon as you get into the car, rather smoke before and after your journey. If you smoke while speaking on the telephone, hang up if you need to have a cigarette. This helps you to break the ‘habit smoking’ while still allowing you to smoke.
6. Start an exercise program and/or start a new hobby. Regular exercise helps tremendously to improve mood and motivation levels and also gets you feeling healthy and more confident. People who exercise regularly have a running start over those who don’t when it comes to beating the smoking habit! It doesn’t matter what you do - just do it every day for at least 30 minutes. Take up an interesting hobby, preferably one that you can do with your hands - but any hobby will do. Be prepared to invest money in exercise and a new hobby - you will have some to spare because you are not smoking!
STEP TWO: (Four Weeks) Quit Date arrives! NO MORE SMOKING!
1. Throw away, trash or burn all cigarettes, ashtrays, lighters and anything associated with smoking!
2. Remind everyone that you have now officially stopped smoking.
3. Continue using Rx-Hale Tablets and being taking Crave-Rx Drops three to six times daily to reduce nicotine craving, control appetite and prevent the weight gain often associated with quitting.
4. If you experience mood swings or a ’short fuse syndrome’, suck Triple Complex NicoTonic Tablets whenever needed to reduce restlessness, bad mood and agitation.
5. Ask a friend or family member to be your ‘buddy’ during the next few weeks, preferably one who has also stopped smoking. He or she needs to be ‘on call’ for emergency phone calls, walks, talks and visits for those moments when craving becomes just too tough to manage alone. If possible, email or phone this buddy every night before you go to bed. Just a short message to say ‘I made it today’ does wonders and holds you accountable to someone else besides yourself. If you are tempted to smoke, read the list you have made of reasons why you want to stop and promise yourself you will not have a cigarette before first speaking to your buddy.
6. Continue with your exercise program and hobby.
7. Instead of smoking, chew on raw vegetables like carrots or chew sugarless chewing gum. If your fingers are itching to hold a cigarette, play with a pencil, some ‘worry beads’ or a cool smooth stone.
8. Take one day at a time! This is important. Every morning tell yourself that your goal for the day is to complete it without cigarettes.
9. Reward yourself at the end of this month with a gift equal in value to the money that you would have spent on cigarettes.
10. Go out and celebrate with your ‘buddy’, friends and family. Making four weeks without cigarettes is a BIG DEAL and means that you have beaten the physical addiction to nicotine.
STEP THREE: Now that you are a Non-Smoker, maintenance is essential!! Physical addiction to most substances is ‘cured’ after 3 or 4 weeks. Now you have to overcome the psychological addiction!
1. Continue with Rx-Hale Tablets and Crave Rx Drops for at least 6 months. If you feel restless or irritable, suck a Triple Complex NicoTonic Tablet to calm yourself.
2. Don’t let your exercise program slip.
3. Be on guard all the time - ‘only’ one cigarette is one cigarette too many for any Quitter! If anyone offers you a cigarette, say ‘No thanks - I don’t smoke!’ and mean it!
4. Reward yourself at the end of every month. Celebrate your Quitting Anniversary every month.
5. Whenever you feel stressed or tense, practice deep breathing exercises or listen to some soothing music.
6. Realize that the danger is not past. Although the craving for cigarettes becomes weaker and weaker as time goes by, ex-smokers report that the thought of having a cigarette still pops into their minds years after they have stopped. When that happens, visualize a big red STOP sign and say ‘NO’! As a nicotine addict, you can NEVER again have a cigarette. Never give up giving up!
What if I have a cigarette?
Well, what if you don’t?
But seriously, if you do “slip up” and have a cigarette, don’t say, “Oh No, I failed - I’m a smoker again”. Tell yourself “One cigarette doesn’t make a smoker - I am a Non-Smoker, who had ONE cigarette and I am not going to have another one!” Put out the cigarette as soon as you can, forgive yourself (just this once) and move on as a non-smoker.
So, there you have it! You CAN stop smoking. Using Rx-Hale Tablets, Crave-Rx Drops, Triple Complex NicoTonic and the Native Remedies Rx-Hale No-More-Smoking Program you can also enjoy the health and beauty benefits of being NICOTINE FREE!
This article is provided courtesy of Native Remedies.
Technorati Tags: Addictions, Alcoholics, Bad Habit, Better Chance, Cigarette Smoking, Contract Cancer, Crack Addicts, Gums, Heart Disease, Inconsiderate, Insinuation, Moral Support, Nicotine, Nicotine Dependency, Nothing On Earth, Risk Factor, Smokers, Smoking Cigarettes, Substance Abusers, Tobacco Smoke
