Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the U.S. Smoking causes lung cancer, heart attacks, emphysema, and stroke. People who smoke have much shorter life expectancies than people who don’t.
How do you help a friend or family member quit smoking? It isn’t easy. Smoking is a difficult habit to break. Smoking is an addiction with physiological and psychological components.
Nevertheless, there are things you can do to help someone quit smoking. In my talk I will explain how to present a smoker with information on the health consequences of smoking, how to develop a Quit Smoking Plan, and how to persuade a smoker to follow such a plan.
I realize that by talking about the health affects of smoking I run the risk of depressing the whole audience. I promise to move quickly to the more practical question of how to quit.
The health consequences of smoking are well documented. Two places to find such information are the Mayo Clinic website and the American Lung Association website.
Smoking is responsible for nearly one in five deaths in the United States. Almost half a million people die every year from the consequences of smoking.
On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years sooner than nonsmokers do.
Lung cancer is the No.1 cause of cancer death in the United States.
Almost 90,000 Americans die each year of coronary heart disease caused by smoking. Smokers have triple the risk of coronary heart disease that nonsmokers have.
Smoking raises your blood pressure, cholesterol level and your risk of blood clots. A smoker is two to six times more likely to have a heart attack, and the more you smoke, the higher your risk.
Depending on how well you know a smoker, you could simply mention these websites or print out and discuss the information with the smoker.
After reviewing the health affects of smoking, the next step in quitting smoking is the Quit Smoking Plan.
A quit smoking plan is a detailed list of steps that someone should take to quit smoking. It is usually not realistic for someone to just wake up one day and quit smoking. A certain amount of planning and preparation is needed.
A quit smoking plan should mention some of the health and other reasons that provide the motivation for a smoker to quit.
A quit smoking plan should set a quit date, which is a date sometime in the near future, when the smoker will plan to stop smoking. This gives a smoker time to prepare to kick the habit.
The bulk of the quit smoking plan contains a series of actions the smoker needs to take to get ready to quit. Such actions include joining a local smoking cessation class, identifying a group of people who can provide support when the smoker quits, and reviewing the quit smoking literature available on the ALA website. This website contains a detailed seven module program called Freedom from Smoking which describes how to quit smoking.
A smoker can also join a gym or get a treadmill, because exercise is helpful for someone giving up smoking. In addition, smokers can consult a doctor or pharmacist about nicotine patches and gum and become familiar with smokeless cigarettes as an alternative to smoking.
Other possibilities include starting deep breathing yoga exercises, using relaxation CDs, or squeezing a physical therapy ball to relieve tension. A quit smoking plan needs to be tailored a bit for each individual.
A Quit Smoking Plan is fairly easy to prepare. The hard part is getting a smoker to follow the plan.
There is no guaranteed way to get a smoker to follow a quit smoking plan. However there are some things you can try.
To get the smoker’s attention you might...
If you’ve been smoking long enough to know that you want or need to quit, you are already familiar with many of the reasons to quit smoking. Just as a reminder, here are 10 of the best reasons for you to quit smoking today.
10 Reasons to Quit Smoking
The average smoker can save over $1000 per year in cigarette costs
You will have more energy for physical activities and exercise
You will be able to climb stairs and walk without getting out of breath
Smoking causes premature aging and wrinkling of the skin
Food and drink will taste better when you quit smoking
Your clothes, hair, car or home and will not smell like cigarette smoke
Your teeth will be whiter and breath fresher
Reduce the chances of having a heart attack or stroke
Reduce the risk of getting lung cancer, emphysema, and other diseases
You will have more control over the quality of your life
There’s no better time than today to stop smoking and lead a more healthy, happy life. All it takes is a desire because no quit smoking method or aid will work unless you have a good reason to quit.
George Yeo is the possessor of AskGeorgeYeo.com. Learn how you can quickly and effectively quit smoking from today onward. It is easy IF you know the ...
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![Smokers Can Lower Cancer Risk With Fruits and Vegetables eMaxHealth]("http://nt1.ggpht.com/news/tbn/dd30LSDyc5bSFM/6.jpg")
MedIndiaSmokers Can Earlier small Cancer Risk With Fruits and VegetableseMaxHealthThe best way to change the risk of developing lung cancer is to quit smoking, but for those who cannot or will not quit, eating a extensive variety of fruits and Can Fruits, Veggies Help Thwart Off Lung Cancer?Eating mix of fruits, veggies may cut lung cancer riskNew swot shows eating fruits and vegetables can decrease gamble of lung cancerall 116 news articles »
![Runner James Thomas Reveals His Love Of Electronic Cigarettes News Fire]("http://nt1.ggpht.com/news/tbn/jU2faZLdSvnKgM/6.jpg")
VoxyRunner James Thomas Reveals His Fancy Of Electronic CigarettesNews FireThomas stated: “My fellow-countryman-in-law showed me an electronic cigarette and let me take a drag and explained how he quit smoking but still enjoyed this Rolling your own (categorize of) to avoid tobacco taxThe heavy truth behind expose cigarette labelingAir Force bans electronic cigarettes from the workplaceall 57 tidings articles »
![Medical: Docs find different responses to stop-smoking treatments The Republic]("http://nt3.ggpht.com/news/tbn/mxJFaNnOPs05-M/6.jpg")
CBC.caMedical: Docs find unusual responses to stop-smoking treatmentsThe RepublicDNA variations may also helpers plot how people can best quit smoking. Researchers at the University of North Carolina reported last derive from that they had found Medicare Expands Coverage To Help Nicotine Addicts Quit SmokingProvince does inform appropriate smokers quitFairchild To Lead The Way In Bid To Quit Smokingall 105 tidings articles »
