How to Stop Smoking and Alternatives to Try

Any day is a good day to quit. If you wake up in the morning look for your fag packet and can't find your fag's then my suggestion would be to say 'whatever' today I am going to quit.

Stoptober in the UK or National No Smoking Day is a day when smokers are given the opportunity and incentive to quit.

After three years of not smoking, my only advice that I can give now is when you first give up, try to avoid smokers, it only makes the challenge even harder!

Go on, take the last puff now and tell yourself I no longer need this there are far more good reasons in my life why I should stop and one of them is the desire to live.

When I gave up smoking three years ago on the 23rd March 2012 that is exactly what I did.

Yes, the first few weeks were horrible, I craved cigarettes badly, but I was determined that I wanted to be around to see my grandson who is now five grow in to a fine young man.

Coming from a family of smokers it became apparent to me that if I didn't get rid of the ciggies the ciggies would get rid of me. You see both my parents died from smoking, my father an acute stroke which he lived with for three years unable to speak or do anything for himself and my mother lung cancer following my father two years later.

It was hell for me and my family watching them die and knowing that the cigarette was the cause.

The best thing I have done since them both dying is to give up smoking. Not only do I feel better and fitter but I also know that I will be around a lot longer than they were.

It is a total waste of money and I am now just starting to reap the rewards in cash for giving up.

PLEASE QUIT TODAY FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

Lung cancer is the main one that we are all aware of isn't it, but read on to find out what other horrifying affects smoking can have on your body.

Head

Foul smelling hair, hair loss, loss of hearing, glue ear, eye irritation, cataracts, blindness, loss of sense of smell, sounds grim doesn't it. QUIT NOW.

Stomach

Stomach ulcers, cancers of stomach, kidneys, pancreas and the bladder. Not good. QUIT NOW.

Mouth and Throat

Gum disease and tooth loss, tobacco stained teeth, foul-smelling breath, diminished sense of taste, plaque and gum disease, sore throat, cancer of lips, tongue, throat, larynx, oesophagus. Yuck. QUIT NOW.

Lungs

Bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, coughs and colds, wheezing, shortness of breath, asthma, tar deposits, damaged cilia, pleurisy, cancer. It is common fact that a 25 a day smoker are 25 times more likely to die from lung cancer than non smokers. Four out of five of lung cancer deaths are attributed to smoking. QUIT NOW.

Circulation

Smoking damages the blood vessels in the legs and arms, aiding the athesclerosis process. This is the narrowing and hardening of arteries which can lead peripheral vascular disease, gangrene of limbs, cold hands and feet, cold skin, decreased fitness and sometimes even amputation of the limbs. The majority of people with peripheral vascular disease, which can result in one or both legs being amputated, are smokers. QUIT NOW.

Narrowed arteries, thickened blood, aortic aneurysm, angina and heart attack. Smokers are more than twice as likely to die from coronary heart disease as non-smokers. One in six heart disease deaths and nearly one in 10 stroke deaths can be attributed to smoking. QUIT NOW.

Bones

Female smokers are more likely than non smokers to suffer from osteoporosis (loss of bony tissue resulting in brittle bones that are liable to fracture) before reaching the menopause.

Reproduction system and fertility

Impotence, deformed sperm, reduced sperm count and mobility, testicular cancer, reduced fertility, miscarriage, low birth weight baby, cancer of cervix, cot death. Smoking increases the risk of impotence for men in their 30's and 40's. Smoking also increases the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight and other complications. Low birth weight babies are more likely to require life support.

Each cigarette contains around 4000 chemicals, as well as nicotine, many of which are known to be toxic.

Here are a few of the nasties you'll be inhaling in every drag you take.

Please leave a comment, let me know if you have given up.