Šalje: QuitSmokingSupport.com [support@quitsmokingsupport.com] Poslano: 30. listopad 2000 14:33 Prima: List Member Predmet: QuitSmokingSupport.com Newsletter: Volume 3 Number 34 QuitSmokingSupport.com - http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com ==================================================================== QuitSmokingNewsletter - Monday October 30th, 2000 Volume 3 Number 34 http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com support@quitsmokingsupport.com ==================================================================== Check out our new and very powerful search engine courtesy of Atomz.com at: http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/home.htm IN THIS ISSUE: ** "SmokeSaver" - A powerful interactive guide to help you quit! ** ** Does smoking affect blood pressure? ** ** Why is it so hard to quit smoking? ** ** The risk of smoking far outweighs gaining a few pounds! ** ===================================================================== SMOKESAVER turns your computer into a virtual therapist. By replacing your screen saver, SmokerSaver drops in on you several times a day, every day ? bite-sized instalments that accumulate into a comprehensive 30-day course. This powerful interactive guide shadows you throughout the day, initially assessing your habit, then advising you, monitoring your progress, supporting and inspiring you, until you reach your ultimate goal of being a non-smoker. Release early November. Visit www.SmokerSaver.com to pre-register for the course, and get a $10 discount on the normal price of $38.00 ?no obligation. ===================================================================== Make sure you visit http://www.quitsmoking.com Excellent Information and Products to Help Smokers Quit! ===================================================================== Does smoking affect blood pressure? Smoking a cigarette raises the blood pressure by 5-10 mm Hg for about half an hour. If this is combined with drinking a cup of coffee the effects are bigger and last longer. Despite this, numerous epidemiological studies have found that people with hypertension are not more likely to be smokers than those with normal blood pressure, and conversely that smokers are not more likely to be hypertensive than non-smokers. One possible explanation for this might be that smokers tend to weigh less than non-smokers, and that the effects of obesity and smoking on blood pressure cancel each other out. But even when smokers and non-smokers of the same body weight are compared their blood pressures are the same. This is probably because the blood pressure measurements are usually made when people are not smoking. If you smoke a pack a day, it will raise your average daytime pressure by about 5 mm Hg, even though your doctor may not detect this during an office visit. The important thing about smoking is not what it does to your blood pressure, but that it greatly increases your risk of heart disease. ===================================================================== The following is courtesy of the American Cancer Society: QUITTING SMOKING: Over 40 million people in the United States have made the decision sometime in their lives to quit smoking. According to the US Surgeon General, "Smoking cessation (stopping smoking) represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives." WHY IS IT SO HARD TO QUIT? Mark Twain said, "quitting smoking is easy; I've done it a thousand times." Maybe you've tried to quit too. Why is quitting, and staying quit, hard for so many people? The answer is nicotine. Nicotine Nicotine is a drug found naturally in tobacco. It is highly addictive, as addictive as heroin and cocaine. The body becomes physically and psychologically dependent on nicotine, and studies have shown that smokers must overcome both of these to be successful at quitting and staying quit. When smoke is inhaled, nicotine is carried deep into the lungs where it is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and carried to the heart and brain. Nicotine affects many parts of the body, including the heart and blood vessels, the hormonal system, body metabolism, and the brain. Nicotine produces pleasurable feelings that make the smoker want to smoke more and also acts as a depressant by interfering with the flow of information between nerve cells. As the nervous system adapts to nicotine, smokers tend to increase the number of cigarettes they smoke, and hence the amount of nicotine in their blood. After a while, the smoker develops a tolerance to the drug, which leads to an increase in smoking over time. Eventually, the smoker reaches a certain nicotine level and then smokes to maintain this level of nicotine. ===================================================================== TRYING TO QUIT SMOKING? Using the Nicotrol Inhaler? * Harris Interactive invites you to participate in a research study designed to learn more about your experiences using the NicotrolŽ Inhaler. * Participation involves completing up to six short surveys over the next seven months, either by phone or internet. * Qualified participants will receive payment for each interview completed, totaling up to $60. * You must be over the age of 18 and using the NicotrolŽ Inhaler to enroll in this study. * For more Information Call: 1-877-889-8593 OR, go to: http://survey.harrispollonline.com/11662f.htm ===================================================================== Experts say that the risk of smoking far outweighs gaining a few pounds NEW YORK, NY -- February 15, 1999 -- Americans attempting to quit smoking must determine which is more important: Gaining a few pounds or risking lung health problems. To most people, the decision to quit smoking is quite easy, but actually doing it is not. In fact, quitting smoking can be more difficult with the additional concern of putting on weight. Medical experts at the American Lung Association advise potential quitters that a modest weight gain is common, but should not be used as a rationale to continue smoking. "The first six months after quitting smoking are the most difficult," says Dr. Edwin Fisher of the American Lung Association. "A person not only has to contend with constant urges to smoke, but also with putting on up to 5 - 10 pounds. But, that person must realize the tremendous lung health benefit of not smoking. Youll feel better, you'll have more energy and youre more likely to live longer. And, those few pounds gained during the quitting process can eventually come off." According to the American Lung Association, an estimated 46 million Americans smoke cigarettes and more than two thirds, 32 million, reportedly would like to stop. Each year, 34 percent of smokers actually attempt to quit. While the short-term consequence of quitting smoking is gaining approximately 5 - 10 pounds, the long - term consequences of continuing to smoke are the increased risk of lung cancer and chronic lung disease. Lung disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States. The American Lung Association wants to help in the struggle to maintain healthy weight and still quit smoking. The Lung Association offers these tips for balancing quitting smoking and weight gain: 1. Recognize that it will be more difficult to quit smoking if you also try to lose weight. Controlling weight can sometimes distract you from your ultimate goal: Stopping smoking. A plan for losing the gained weight can only be put into effect after you have stopped smoking for a period of time. 2. Do not try to limit your eating until urges to smoke subside. If not, you may find yourself in a cycle of quitting smoking, gaining weight, returning to smoking to lose that weight and then the pattern starts again. 3. Incorporate an exercise regimen into your daily activities. Exercise can be used as a potential substitute activity to distract urges to smoke. Exercise reduces tension and stress as well as increases your metabolism and helps burn off excess calories. 4. Adhere to a healthy nutritional plan. Eat three square meals a day consisting of the six basic food groups: Proteins, breads, milk products, vegetables, fruits and fats. Know what you are eating and what triggers your eating. It is important to know what foods you are eating, how much, when and why. 5. Monitor your weight. Weigh yourself regularly. Do what you can to avoid weight gain. For more information on quitting smoking, contact your local American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872). ===================================================================== Take care and have a great week! Blair support@quitsmokingsupport.com QuitSmokingSupport.com http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to nosmoke-unsubscribe@listbot.com Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb