PREPARING TO BECOME A HEALTHY NONSMOKER

    Have you been thinking about becoming a nonsmoker?  People smoke for a lot of different reasons.  And they decide to quit smoking for different reasons as well.  Some people have had a health scare.  Other smokers may just be tired of the habit.  Many smokers have become concerned about the financial cost of smoking as the price of cigarettes continues to rise.

    If you have decided to quit smoking, there are some things you can do that will help you get ready to become a nonsmoker.  Talk to your friends who have already stopped smoking.  Use their advice and wisdom to learn more about how they did it and what their experience was.  There is great reassurance in knowing it is possible to quit and no longer want to smoke.

   Study your own smoking habit.  When do you smoke?  Where do you smoke?  How much do you smoke?  What do you get out of smoking?  The more you understand about your habit the easier it will be to identify problem areas and triggers which can be challenges when you stop smoking.

    It often helps to write down your reasons for wanting to become a nonsmoker.  Make a list and write down everything you can think of -- all the things you dislike about smoking and how it affects your life.  Keep this list with you so you can refer to it after you've quit smoking.

    Then it is time to decide how you are going to quit smoking.  You can use all the advice from friends who have already stopped.  Some people quit cold turkey.  This works for some but others find it uncomfortable and difficult.  Some smokers decide to wean themselves slowly off of cigarettes.  Perhaps they do this by cutting back one cigarette each day until they have stopped or only smoking at certain times of the day.  There are products you can buy over the counter such as nicotine gum or a nicotine patch.  Or your doctor can give you a prescription medication to support your attempt to quit smoking.

     Hypnotherapy is often used when people want to become healthy nonsmokers.  There are real advantages to working with hypnosis to quit smoking.  You are not putting chemicals in your system so it is a clean way to stop. Hypnosis gives you mental and emotional support as well as physical support while you are weaning off the toxic chemicals in cigarettes.  Hypnosis is an easy and powerful tool for you to make this powerful change in your life.

    If you are interested in stopping smoking, check my website: www.BeaHealthyNonsmoker.com which has more information and a quiz you can take to see if you are ready to be free of cigarettes and smoking.

STOPPING TEEN SMOKING

     Did you know that ever day, nearly 4,000 American kids younger than 18 try their first cigarette?  When I ask my clients who are choosing to become nonsmokers, "when did you start smoking?", the age I hear than more than any other is "twelve".  By fifteen or sixteen they are smoking regularly.  According to the FDA and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, every day, 1,000 U.S. citizens younger than 18 become daily smokers.

     In fact in 2010 one in five high school students smoked.  On June 22, 2010, the Family Smoking Prevention and Toacco Control Act went into effect begining an era of greater tobacco restrictions.  The provisions include the prohibition of sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to people under 18, the sale of clove and fruit-flavored cigarettes which were appealing to young smokers. and the sale of cigarette packages with fewer than 20 cigarettes.  Also prohibited was the sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in vending machines and the sale or distribution of hats and T-shirts that have tobacco brands or logos.  Finally, tobacco brand-name sponsorship of any "athletic, musical or other social or cultural event" was banned.

     If, in spite of these efforts, you have a teenager in your life who smokes, continue to encourage stopping smoking.  Hypnotherapy is a safe and comfortable way to become a healthy, nonsmoker.

NUDGING A SMOKER TO QUIT SMOKING

      Thinking about quitting smoking?  Hoping to encourage someone else to quit.  Patrick Reynolds, an ex-smoker, who works with the Foundation for a Smokefree America has some suggestions for ways to nudge a smoker, or yourself, to quit.

     His first suggestion is to "Nag wisely."  Certainly, if you or a family member are being directly affected by cigarette smoke, you need to express your concerns.  Reynolds notes if secondhand smoke is constant, "you can be a pest every day."  However, if the smoker keeps his smoke to himself by going out on the deck or smoking only outside, "Advocate for no smoking three times a year."  I believe if nagging wisely seems only to create resistance, express your concerns and opinion and then drop it.  Encouragement for any positive attempts to control smoking may be much more successful than nagging. 

    Reynolds then suggests that smokers should seek support from people who are also trying to quit or people who have already stopped smoking.  He goes on to say that smokers should seek expert advice.  This may be from your doctor, a support group or a trained hypnotherapist who does a lot of work with smoking cessation.

    Did you know that using smoking cessation programs and other cessation tools triples the success rate for those trying to stop smoking?  Do your research.  Try the tools to help you become a non-smoker.

    Free resources are now available online.  Reynolds recommends 1-800 QUIT NOW where coaches will customize a program for each caller.  Reynolds, the grandson of R.J. Reynolds, the cigarette company founder, started the non-profit Foundation for Smokefree America (tobaccofree.org) in 1989.  He reminds all smoker that "Failed attempts are part of the normal journey toward becoming a non-smoker."

    Today most people understand how challenging it is to quit smoking.  But there are more tools than ever to stop smoking permanently. Hypnotherapy, support groups, over-the-counter and presciption medications are just some of those tools.  Keep encouraging the smoker in your life to be a healthy nonsmoker.

CIGARETTE SMOKING AND YOUR PETS

     Has your veterinarian told you that secondhand smoke is dangerous to your pet?  For many pet owners becoming a nonsmoker will be better not only for their own health but that of their pets as well.  If you need another reason to stop smoking, wanting your pet to have the best chance at a long, healthy life may be it.

     The toxins in secondhand smoke can cause malignant lymphoma in cats and cause lung cancer in dogs.  If your pet already has some pre-existing problem, the dangers are even greater.

     A Web-based survey done in 2009 of 3,293 adult pet owners found that 48% were either smokers or living with smokers.  Love of their animals would encourage 37% to quit or ask the people they live with to quit if there was clear evidence that smoking is harmful to their pets.  That evidence would encourage 14% of the responders to only smoke outside, away from their animals.

     Check sites like the ASPCA and the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center and the American Legacy Foudnation to learn more about the dangers of secondhand smoking to your animals.  If you are considering stopping smoking, protecting your pets is another reason to make that choice.

SMOKING EXCUSES

           My clients give me many reasons they smoke.  There are some common reasons that smokers use to explain why they smoke and what they get out of smoking.  All of these must be addressed to be a successful, healthy nonsmoker.

         "I use cigarettes for relaxation." Or, "Anytime I'm stressed I need a cigarette."  In actuality, cigarettes stress your body.  Among the 200 plus known poisons in cigarettes are benzene (a cancer-causing flammable liquid) formaldelyde (a disinfectant and preservative), carbon monoxide (a poisonous oxygen blocker) and hydrogen cyanide (a poisonous rat killer).  I guarantee whenever you smoke a cigarette, it actually stresses your body because you are ingesting poison.  In addition, nicotine is a stimulant which causes the release of adrenaline, "the fight or flight" hormone which can leave you feeling stressed rather than relaxed.  Relaxation and stress relief are triggered when you take the break at work, sit outside on your deck, get away from the aggravations and the deeper breathing when you inhale that slows down your blood pressure and heart rate.  So take your break and do some deep breathing -- without a cigarette.

         "I'll gain weight if I quit."  People don't gain weight because they quit smoking.  They gain weight because they eat more and substitute eating for smoking.  When you become a nonsmoker, stay away from foods high in fat and sugar, avoid nervous snacking and get more exercise."

         "I know a smoker who lived to be 95 and never had a smoking related health problem."  That's great for that person.  Just know that person is the exception rather than the rule.  Diane Stover, chief of pulmonary medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York once commented that eighty percent of the diseases she treats are related to smoking.  You don't have to believe the constant studies reported in the media, just go to any hospital and talk to the patients.  You are unlikely to be the exception.

         "I've tried to quit before.  I've never been able to quit."  Know that each person has their own path to being a nonsmoker.  Some people may try to quit more than one time.  Just know that each try increases the chance that you will succeed.  If you have tried patches and pills, hypnotherapy is another way to become a nonsmoker permanently.

SMOKERS TO NONSMOKERS

Are you thinking of becoming a nonsmoker?   You are not alone. In 2006 Charlize Theron, a three pack a day smoker, became a nonsmoker with the help of a hypnotist.  The following is a list of some people you may know who have become nonsmokers.

Whoopi Goldberg                       2007

Jon Stewart                                 Dec 2000

Matt Damon                                2005 with the help of clinical hypnosis

Geselle Bunchen                         with hypnosis

Kelly Ripa                                    2006

TWILIGHT acresses, Ashley Greene and Nikki Reed                        2009

Courtney Cox                               2006 with hypnosis

Billy Joel                                      with hypnosis

Christy Turlington                        1995

Vince Vaughn                              2005

David Arquette                            2008 with hypnosis

Mel Gibson

Drew Barrymore                           2001 with hypnosis