The biggest change you can make, if you are thinking of getting healthy and living longer, is to quit smoking. While the health risks of smoking cigarettes are well acknolwedged the latest reports indicate that quitting smoking can prolong your life for as many as fifteen years. What would you trade for even a moment of life when you are on death’s door… certainly everything you possess in this world; it is unbelievable that so many toss their life away so casually. Smoking cigarettes is suicide in a very real manner; it is direct causation. Fundamentally, there is very little different between drinking a little Hemlock in your tea and smoking a cigarette; they both cause you to die some time in the future, the only true distinction is the duration in time involved. If you want to extend your life and your quality of life stop smoking today.
There are a few ways to quit which have been reported to work fairly well:
- Nicotine replacement products – These would include nicotine gum, the patch, etc.
- Fading – This involves gradually smoking less and less, and downgrading the amount of nicotine that is in the cigarettes that you smoke.
- Hypnosis – Some people claim this works, others claim it doesn’t. Your mileage may vary.
- Cold turkey – This is when you smoke one last cigarette and say that’s it, you’re done, no more. And stick to it.
Remember, combining approaches that address both your physical addiction and your smoking habit is most likely to be effective…and, as the old adage says, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”
