This is just another good reason why people should quit smoking.  Many people say that they smoke to reduce stress, which is ironic considering that that stress combined with smoking is proving to lead to an early death.  To read the full article about this subject click: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/20/smoking.worry.mortality/

• Urge to smoke
• Depressed mood
• Insomnia
• Irritability, frustration, or anger
• Anxiety
• Difficulty concentrating
• Restlessness
• Decreased heart rate
• Increased appetite or weight gain

Although it may be hard, and these are not appealing side affects, try to keep up your quest to quit smoking!

For one, you will no longer smell like an ashtray.  People who smoke, no matter how hard they try, smell like smoke.  It is embedded in their homes, clothes, and overall aroma.  The only way to fix this is to quit smoking.

Another plus is you can start working on your teeth.  Smoking makes teeth very yellow.  No one wants to look at a person whose teeth are discolored.  If you quit smoking, you can bleach your teeth to the white they were meant to be.

You will finally be able to go on that vacation you could never afford if you quit smoking!  Prices of cigarettes have gotten very high and people waste so much money on them.  Smokers spend over $1,000 dollars on cigarettes per year.  This is an insane amount and quitting will make everyones lives better, especially in this economic crisis.  For more information about the costs that go along with smoking, visit: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourHealth/HighCostOfSmoking.aspx

The biggest reason people do not quit smoking is because it is too hard.  Quitting smoking is something that many people who have done it will tell you that it is the hardest thing they have ever done.  It is for this reason that more recent generations have been urged not to even start smoking.  When smoking first became popular, people were not aware of the consequences.  Now that we are, there are many anti-smoking campaigns to help people understand how bad smoking is for them.  It is hard to understand then, why so many young people continue to smoke.  

The answer will probably never be known.  Smoking is always going to appeal to some people, despite its harmful qualities.  If you are a smoker, please try to quit.  It will make you and those around you a lot more healthy.  If you are interested in learning how to quit the smoking addiction, visit: http://www.determinedtoquit.com/howtoquit/

• Coping with anger, stress, anxiety, tiredness, or sadness
• Smoking is pleasant and relaxing
• Smoking is stimulating
• Acceptance – being part of a group
•  As a way to socialize
•  Provides support when things go wrong
•  A way to look confident and in control
•  Keeps weight down
•  Rebellion – defining self as different or unique from a group
• A reminder to breathe
• Something to do with your mouth and hands
• Shutting out stimuli from the outside world
•  Shutting out emotions from the inside world
• Something to do just for you and nobody else
• A way to shift gears or changes states
• An way to feel confident
•  A way to shut off distressing feelings
• A way to deal with stress or anxiety
• A way to get attention
• Marking the beginning or the end of something

Now for people who do not smoke, these all seem like sad attempts to make their smoking seem alright.

To use the gum, you are supposed to chew it until it produces a tingling or “peppery” taste on your tongue. You then tuck the gum between your cheek and gum. When you no longer feel the tingling sensation, then you are directed to re-chew the gum again until the tingling comes back, then once again tuck it between your cheek and gums. The gum is said to last about thirty minutes.

One of the big downfalls of women smoking is that their fertility is reduced.  Smoking while trying to conceive is harder than trying as a non smoker.  Mothers who smoke during their pregnancy are putting their babies in serious risk.  Their babies are more at risk for birth defects and low birth weights.  Smokers are also more likely to have miscarriages, premature rupture of the membranes and placenta previa.  If you are planning on conceiving, you should quit smoking while you are pregnant as to not put your baby in danger.

If you want to learn more of the many bad effects that smoking has on women visit: http://www.womenshealthcaretopics.com/smoking_and_women.htm

• Among whites, 23.5 percent of men and 18.8 percent of women smoke.
• Among blacks, 26.1 percent of men and 18.5 percent of women smoke.
• Among Hispanics, 20.1 percent of men and 10.1 percent of women smoke.
• Among non-HIspanic Asians, 16.8 percent of men and 4.6 percent of women smoke.
• Among American Indians/Alaska Natives, 35.6 percent of men and 29.0 percent of women smoke.

All together, 26.2 million men in the United States and 20.9 million women in the United States smoke.  These people are at very high risks for heart attacks and strokes.

To begin using the patch, you must first stop smoking cigarettes all together.  Usually, you have to apply the patch to a hairless area on the trunk or upper arm.  The area also needs to be clean.  You hold the patch to the area for 10- 20 seconds to assure it is firmly sticking to your skin.  It is important that you talk to your physician before you use the patch.  Also, do not stop using the patch or switching a brand of patches or doses without consulting with your physician.

Nicotine makes up about .6- 3 percent of dry weight tobacco.  The average cigarette has about 1 mg of nicotine.  Nicotine has dependence properties in mammals because it is a stimulant.  The American Heart Association says that, “Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break.”  Some of the characteristics of tobacco addiction parallel the characteristics of heroin and cocaine addiction. 

The tobacco plant Nicotiana Tabacum is the origin of nicotines name.  German chemists Posselt and reiman isolated nicotine in 1828, and they considered it a poison.  Turns out, they were right.  Nicotine is a poison, getting million of people addicted and killing them through the lung disease that often develops in smokers.