A while ago I posted an article titled 8 Stop Smoking Tips that Work. Some people have asked me if I knew another method or two to help them quit smoking and I do. Here they are:

1. Start an exercise program. When you exercise you put your body into motion. Getting into motion is an excellent way to remind you why you want to quit smoking. An added benefit of exercise is that it can reduce your stress and help you relax, which is often an excuse smokers will use to continue smoking cigarettes.

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Although it’s the most important reason, health isn’t the only factor people should consider when they quit smoking. The facts are that cigarette smoking is just plain expensive! The cost of smoking has a direct impact on a smoker’s way of life. Smoking costs adds up and can really subtract from the amount of money they can contribute to the living expenses to your household.

Smoking is a very expensive habit. It’s even worse when you smoke more than one pack per day. Most smokers start out smoking relatively few cigarettes per day, but as they become more accustom to smoking, the number of cigarettes they need to use each day to feel the same type of mood enhancement increases, as does the cost of their habit. This can continue to spiral upward until they make the decision to that they want to quit smoking.

Let’s do some simple math. Right now, let’s calculate how much money you spend on cigarettes.

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Cigarette Smoking is the number one cause of preventable deaths in the world today.  The good news is that there are a number of methods to quit smoking available if you want to quit smoking.

As a martial artist I have had my share of bumps and bruises so over the years I have regularly gone to an acupuncturist. I have found that acupuncture is an excellent method for healing these types of injuries as well as helping me when my energy is low or my stress level is high.

If you want to quit smoking, acupuncture can be an excellent alternative method. I have talked with a number of people who have used this method to quit smoking successfully. I realize that some people might be skeptical about using acupuncture as a way to quit smoking but research shows that it can be very helpful for some people.

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Smoking is the number one cause of preventable deaths in the world today. You probably already know that. In fact, there’s probably not a person alive who doesn’t know that smoking cigarettes can cause cancer, heart disease and death. They know if they quit smoking they greatly improve their chances of living a long and healthy life. But even with this information, there are still tens of millions of people smoking in the U.S. and millions upon millions smoking around the world.

Most people that I know that smoke want to quit smoking. But, once you have become a smoker there is a strange dynamic that comes into play. Non-smokers, people who have never smoked a cigarette in their lives, can be very arrogant toward you. They don’t even try to hide their disdain for the habit and exhibit a holier-than-thou attitude that can be extremely annoying, to say the least. This type of attitude can, and probably often does piss you off at that person while at the same time reinforces your desire to smoke.

If this is you to tell you the truth I don’t blame you. Nobody and I mean nobody, likes to be looked down on or treated like a second class citizen. That being said, recently, laws prohibiting smoking in restaurants and bars have been expanded to public places and outdoor venues. One state has even enacted legislation prohibiting smoking in your own car! While it’s reasonable that smokers should not subject non-smokers to the poisons in their second hand smoke these laws do not help anyone who wants to quit smoking.

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Are you looking for a method to quit smoking? If you’re a smoker you’ve probably looked for all kinds of ways to quit smoking.

You want to know something interesting? Did you know that people from various cultures have been smoking tobacco in rituals or just for enjoyment for many centuries? Until the fairly recent past, people did not become addicted and nobody smoked anything near the equivalent of a pack a day. People just did not have to worry about wanting to quit smoking. It was merely an occasional pleasure or a significant event. So why is this problem today? Why do so many people want to quit smoking?

In the latter part of the 20th century doctors began issuing stern warnings on the horrible effects smoking has on a person’s health. This was presumably a new discovery. It kind of sounds like the new discovery of the $700 billion problem that fell out of the sky a few years ago and onto the United States taxpayer’s shoulders, seemingly without warning! Well that’s the same thing that happened with cigarettes. Even though tobacco manufacturers today offer advice and methods on how to quit smoking, this seems a bit incongruent. These are the same companies that sell millions of cigarettes around the world and that sell the nicotine patches to help you quit.

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Most of us have been affected by the illness or death of someone who smokes. According to the World Health Organization, cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable deaths in the world today. That’s why I decided to help people to stop smoking using Total Mind Therapy, a combination of hypnosis and NLP, to give people that wanted to quit a method to quit smoking that works. Since I started I have helped hundreds of people become smoke free for life. During that time I’ve asked each one of my clients why they thought they hadn’t succeeded so far. From what I could seem the biggest common denominator is usually because they hadn’t found a way to quit smoking that worked for the long haul.

Now, although I believe you should quit as soon as possible, just dropping your cigarettes in the trash often isn’t the best method to quit smoking. Most people that quit cold turkey fail so, unless you are ready to white knuckle it you might not want to use this method to quit smoking.

That may sound like bad advice from someone who helps people quit smoking but my research has shown me that only about 5 to 7 percent of the people who try to quit this way actually succeed. What you want to do is take some time to think about how you can set yourself up for success rather than failure.

For example, you can find some great ways to quit smoking on the internet. With all information available to quit smoking on the internet I’m sure you can find one that can work for you. Whatever plan you choose, make sure you have all the pieces in place before you actually quit. This gives you a much higher probability that you will succeed.

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I think that most people that smoke today understand the risks of smoking. But sometimes, in order to make a decision to quit smoking, it takes information and reinforcement. This article was written to remind you of the risks of smoking and, if you have a loved one who smokes, what you can do about it.

I help people quit stop smoking with Total Mind Therapy, which is a term I coined that uses a combination of hypnosis and NLP for smoking cessation. I tell you that because I want you to know I have talked with thousands of people about their smoking habits. I have found that smokers find it’s easier to quit when they have a method to quit smoking that works and good reasons to quit.

Part of those reasons involves the risks smoking brings to their health. Another reason many people quit smoking today is that it is becoming more and more socially unacceptable. In fact, some people make it a point to hate smokers and will make loud, rude comments about a person who is smoking. These are usually people who have never smoked a cigarette in their life.

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I was watching one of my favorite Sunday morning broadcasts, CBS’ “Face the Nation” when I heard Bob Schieffer ask John Boehner, the House Republican leader,  if he still smoked cigarettes. The House Republican leader replied that he still smoked. Bob went on to point out that he is both an ex-smoker and cancer survivor. He knows first hand the effects of cigarette smoking on one’s health.

Bob then went on to comment that President Obama is also a smoker.  I researched this comment and found that he is a smoker, but he only smokes in private. I guess that’s good. At least he’s not exposing his family and friends to second hand smoke.

This bothers me. We have two of the leaders of our country, a Democrat and a Republican that both smoke cigarettes. What is puzzling to me is that while both of these gentlemen are tasked by their constituents to make decisions on spending our health care dollars, both of them show a complete lack of interest in health.

According to aboutus.com “smoking-related deaths costs the nation about $92 billion a year in the form of lost productivity.”

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People who have successfully quit smoking will tell you that it’s not an easy task. Almost everyone who eventfully quits has failed several times before they finally succeeded. There is never a convenient time to quit and for some people the littlest thing can set them off. You can’t afford to lose your job because you are edgy as a result of quitting and explode at your boss. Your spouse probably won’t understand biting their head over nothing and the ensuing fight will only result in you lighting up. You don’t want to take a two week vacation to quit, do you?

Let’s face it. To quit you are going to need all the help you can get. Family members, especially if they are lifelong non-smokers, may not be very helpful. On the other hand, the quit smoking forums are filled with sympathetic people who know just what you’re going through. This is a method to quit smoking that can be very helpful. That’s because these are people who have already broken their habit. They can be especially helpful in your quest to quit. Best of all, these quit smoking forums are filled with individuals from all over the world, at all hours of the day and night. So, if you find yourself jumping out of your skin over your desire to take a little puff and unable to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, you can get online and find one of your quit smoking forum buddies to chat with to help you get you through the challenging moments.

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If you want to quit smoking there are many different types of therapies to help you. Cold turkey is one way, which of course means to quit smoking with no therapy all at once. While this does work for some people and is very beneficial to your physical health, most people find this a very difficult method to quit smoking.

Since I use hypnotherapy to help people quit smoking I have interviewed hundreds of people who have used nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). NRT can be a very helpful way to help a person quit smoking because addresses the physical addiction. Using nicotine replacement therapy a person can gradually wean themselves off of nicotine.

Since nicotine is a drug that induces a dependency, when a person tries to quit smoking, they often suffer physical withdrawal symptoms that can make life unpleasant until they pass. These symptoms include the “smoker’s flu” which mimics a cold or flu accompanied by irritableness, grumpiness and fatigue. By the way, these are the most common symptoms you might experience after you quit smoking. A few other common withdrawal symptoms are headaches, coughs and sore throats. NRT allows the smoker to use gums, patches, sprays, inhalers, or lozenges with nicotine in them so they can break the smoking habit without experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. This is accomplished by lowering the dose of nicotine over a period of time until the body no longer craves it.

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