Smoking Cessation

Quitting smoking can appear to be a challenge for some but it is one of the best things we can do for our health. Since the negative effects of smoking are well known, we must question why we continue to smoke. We may start smoking at any stage of our lives and for a variety of reasons. The longer we do so, the more imaginative our reasons for not quitting become. At first, we may smoke to fit in to a particular social group. Later in life we may feel we need it to relax. Later still, we may believe that giving up smoking will cause us to gain weight. A common misperception is that the longer we have smoked the longer it will take to quit.

Cigarette smoking is the greatest single cause of illness and premature death in the UK and kills around seven million people each year world wide. It affects other people’s health too and almost one million deaths are due to non-smokers being exposed to second hand smoke. It is a dangerous and, ultimately, deadly habit, which is a leading cause of cancer and increases the risks of heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and other health problems.

However, once we have made a firm and absolute decision to quit smoking, and actually do so, we can enjoy numerous benefits, including:

• Increased energy levels
• Improved immune system
• Longer life expectancy
• Better breathing
• A reduction in stress
• Younger looking skin
• Better finances

A smoking habit is not a conscious behaviour, which is why it cannot be controlled by conscious determination. It can be rather difficult to maintain a conscious act of not smoking, since the habit of smoking is a result of subconscious beliefs and behaviours.

Advertisers of nicotine products promote the idea that quitting smoking is difficult and takes time, whereas in reality once we understand the process which takes place in our minds and bodies, we can quit smoking with relatively little effort and with no side effects.