Šalje: QuitSmokingTips [bwprice@quitsmokingsupport.com] Poslano: 28. listopad 2000 23:23 Prima: List Member Predmet: QuitSmokingTips - Volume 2 - Number 41 QuitSmokingTips - http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com ==================================================================== QuitSmokingTips - Saturday October 28th, 2000 Issue Volume 2 Number 41 http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com support@quitsmokingsupport.com ==================================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: SmokeSaver - A powerful interactive guide to help you quit! Quitting Smoking Now Quitting Smoking - A Very Important Decision! ===================================================================== SmokerSaver 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! ===================================================================== Quit Smoking Now The best advice about smoking is the bluntest: Stop as soon as you can. Good things start to happen in your body soon after you quit. Cigarette smoking is such a widespread and significant risk factor for heart disease that the U.S. Surgeon General has called it "the most important of the known modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease in the United States." According to the American Heart Association, a smoker has more than twice a nonsmoker's risk for having a heart attack. Cigarette smoking is the risk factor most associated with sudden cardiac death. Smokers who suffer a heart attack are more likely to die and die suddenly (within 1 hour) than nonsmokers. Evidence also suggests that passive smoking (chronic exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke) may increase the risk of heart disease. We wish we could tell you that it's easy to quit smoking. We can tell you that it's worth the trouble. If you want to quit smoking, consult your doctor for advice and help. ===================================================================== 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 ===================================================================== Quitting Smoking - A Very Important Decision! The decision to smoke is a personal choice. So is the decision to quit. Brown & Williamson believes that everyone should have the right to make those decisions for herself or himself. Public health officials in the United States have been successful for decades in publishing their conclusions that smoking is a cause of disease, and encouraging smokers to quit. Some smokers who have made the choice to smoke may question the extent to which their risk of disease may be reduced if they continue to smoke but simply cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoke, instead of quitting. Although most of the evidence suggests that the risks of smoking decrease as the number of cigarettes smoked per day decreases, the risks are still significantly higher than those of nonsmokers. However, for those who are concerned about or wish to reduce the risk of smoking, public health authorities have consistently informed smokers that the best way to do so is to quit. The scientific evidence supports this advice, suggesting that the amount of time for which people smoke is the most significant factor associated with the risk of smoking. In other words, the data suggest that starting to smoke later in life is better than starting to smoke earlier, and quitting early is better than quitting later. In the most recent review of the published evidence, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1997 commented that: "data clearly documents that quitting smoking results in substantial benefits for one's health, regardless of how long or how much one has smoked." They report, for example, that "the risks of CHD [coronary heart disease] for heavy smokers may eventually return to those of never-smokers after 20 years of cessation." Consistent with this scientific evidence and with the advice of health authorities, Brown & Williamson believes that only adults should make the choice to smoke, and that, for people who wish to reduce the risks associated with smoking, the best way to do so is to quit. If you are a smoker who has made the choice to quit, here are some of the things we think you can do to increase your chances of success. Deciding to Quit So you've decided to quit smoking. Now what? Maybe you've heard the horror stories of friends who quit, or quit and started again. Weight gain. Irritability. Or just plain missing the enjoyment of a cigarette with a cup of coffee or after a meal. Perhaps you've been persuaded by the media that quitting is impossible. The good news for those of you who want to quit is that millions of people have stopped smoking successfully. In fact, according to the U.S. Surgeon General in 1990, almost 45 million American smokers have quit, most without outside help. There are now as many Americans who have smoked and quit as there are Americans who continue to smoke. You're not alone, and you can do it! And contrary to rumors, the average weight gain after quitting smoking is just four to five pounds. Not much. And that can be worked off over time with a regular exercise program and a common-sense approach to eating. The most important factors in the process of quitting smoking are the desire to quit and the belief that you can do it. Academic research on quitting smoking suggests that one of the best predictors of success in quitting smoking is the amount or level of confidence you have that you can successfully quit. Many failures are the result of a less-than-100% commitment to the goal. "I really should quit," just isn't strong enough. Being badgered into trying to quit generally doesn't work either. When family or other sources of pressure force someone to try to quit, the personal resolution may be lacking. Most of us don't do our very best without real commitment. A decision to quit based on a complete desire to quit and a belief that you can do it is the ticket to success. There are lots of tips, programs, techniques and pharmaceutical products that claim to help...and some may. Everything from acupuncture to hypnosis to group therapy to nasal sprays is available. We encourage you to take a look at the wide selection of programs and products that are available and see what looks as though it might work for you. Why Quit? Your reasons for wanting to quit smoking are your own. Why do you want to quit? Write down the reasons. Examine them. Challenge them. When they are solid - when you are confident in them - you should be ready. This list of reasons to quit is the foundation of your commitment to quit. Keep it handy, put a copy in your purse or wallet. In the early days, it may help to reach for your list of reasons when you would be reaching for a pack of cigarettes. More academic research suggests that a belief that the benefits of quitting outweigh the benefits of smoking is another crucial determination of success. If you want to be successful in quitting, you must believe that quitting smoking will provide you with more benefits than continuing to smoke. All at Once or Little by Little? The first decision you need to make is how you want to quit. Do you want to quit "cold turkey" on one day, or do you want to gradually reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke over a period of a week? There's no right or wrong answer - people have been successful using both methods - so whatever seems likely to work best for you is the method to use. The gradual reduction course focuses you on each cigarette (since you have to count). Take the number of cigarettes you generally smoke each day and reduce your consumption by five every day until you stop. You should figure out how many days this will take, and when your end-day comes, stick to it. How Should You Go About It? Most people who quit, or try to quit, will tell you the first week is the most difficult. No question about it. Cigarette smoking is something you have done consistently thousands of times. That is a pretty strong habit. Not something easily broken. If you are used to enjoying a cigarette with a cup of coffee in the morning, or after a meal, or when socializing with a group of friends, then doing those things will inevitably trigger a strong urge to reach for a cigarette. One approach to overcoming this custom is finding a substitute action that works. Here is where you get to be creative! The trick here is really the search for something different. Trying different things until you find the activity that replaces the act of holding a cigarette becomes a game. When you find it, the morning coffee or after-meal ritual becomes comfortable again. Just thinking about doing something other than smoking - when you normally would be - is progress. You, however, must discover what it is. You should check for other organizations' approaches to quitting smoking on the Internet. You may find something that seems to be just right for you. Here are a few for you to check out: American Cancer Society Telephone: 1-800-ACS-2345 Internet Address: www.cancer.org/tobacco Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Internet Address: www.ahcpr.gov American Academy of Medical Acupuncture Telephone: 800-521-2262 (Patient Referral Line) American Heart Association Telephone Number: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721) Internet Address: www.americanheart.org American Lung Association Telephone: (800) 586-4872 or 212-315-8700 Internet Address: www.lungusa.org www.drkoop.com National Cancer Institute Cancer Information Service Telephone: 800-4-CANCER or 800-422-6237 Internet Address: www.nci.nih.gov National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) Telephone: 800-994-WOMAN or 800-994-9662 Internet Address: www.4woman.org Nicotine Anonymous Telephone: 415-750-0328 Internet Address: www.nicotine-anonymous.org Office on Smoking & Health National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Telephone: 770-448-5705 Internet Address: www.cdc.gov/tobacco www.quitsmokingsupport.com www.committedquitters.com However you elect to go about it, you can quit if you choose to do so and if you believe in yourself. ===================================================================== Take care and have a great week! Blair support@quitsmokingsupport.com QuitSmokingSupport.com http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to quitsmokingtips-unsubscribe@listbot.com Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb