Tips to quit Tobacco and Smoking

Because nicotine is so addictive, it is very hard to stop smoking. But you can. The single most important factor for people who successfully quit smoking was the belief and confidence that they could do it. There is no magical quick fix. Do it when you really decide you want to do it.

Do you know whats the disadvantages of smoking and chewing tobacco???  

• Smoking and tobacco use affect reproduction and fertility. Research shows that men who smoke have lower sperm counts, and the sperm they do have is often misshapen and has a harder time moving—making conceiving more difficult.
• Experts also believe smoking affects sperm DNA which may lead to developmental and physical health problems in a child.
• For women who are pregnant and still smoking, you are damaging the health and future health of your unborn child. Babies born to mothers who smoke are about 30 percent more likely to be born prematurely, and those who do make it full term are more likely to have a low birth weight. Babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are also at a greater risk of sudden infant death syndrome and many more side effects are there of tobacco….

Your body reacts aggressively when you suddenly stop smoking. This is because your body gets used to the addictive substances found in tobacco such as nicotine and tar. For this reason, Ayurveda advocates fortifying your body to fight the strong urge of smoking.

Tobacco cravings can wear you down when you’re trying to quit smoking or chewing tobacco. Delaying, avoiding triggers, yoga and nicotine replacement are among the ways to resist cravings.

For most tobacco users, tobacco cravings or urges to smoke can be powerful. But you’re not at the mercy of these tobacco cravings. When an urge to use tobacco strikes, remember that although it may be intense, it will be short-lived, and it probably will pass within a few minutes whether or not you smoke a cigarette or take a dip of chewing tobacco. Each time you resist a tobacco craving, you’re one step closer to stopping smoking or other tobacco use for good. But it can be difficult.

Ayurveda Approach —>>>

Ayurveda does not rely on one or two techniques.
– It combines as many as possible and addresses the life of the entire person — body, mind and spirit. Ayurveda views the roots of addictions as mental inertia, which is caused by excess mental activity.
– An addiction grows because we attempt to calm these excesses through artificial, external means (drugs, food, tobacco etc.) rather than through natural or holistic measures. If one is anxious, angry, worried, impatient, lethargic or uncaring, Ayurveda sees this as an excess of one of the three basic Dosha (Vata, Pitta, Kapha).

Some Dietary Tips –

• Do your very best to stay away from alcohol, sugar and coffee the first week or longer, as these tend to stimulate the desire for a cigarette. Avoid fatty foods, as your metabolism will slow down a bit without the nicotine, and you may gain weight even if you eat the same amount as before quitting. So discipline about diet is extra important now. No one ever said acquiring new habits would be easy!
• Take vegetarian low fat diet to increase the Sattvic quality of mind
• Reduce having acidic foods. Meat, dairy products, tea, coffee, pasta, breads etc. are acidic food. Increase your intake of alkaline food. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, sprouts etc. are alkaline foods. Raisins, beets, lima beans, dandelion, etc. are particularly good for giving up smoking.
• Take lots of vitamin C. Smokers should take about one-and-a-half times the amount of vitamin C as compared to nonsmokers. Citrus fruits, like oranges, grapefruits and their juice are good source of vitamin C.
• Sweet foods in small quantities reduce the urge for smoking. Take honey in whatever food you can have- juice, tea (preferably herbal tea), sweet dishes, etc.
• Whenever the urge to smoke overpowers you, have something salty or lick a little salt with the tip of your tongue. This kills your urge for smoking.
• Take some radish. Grate it and extract its juice. Now add some honey to this and have this juice twice a day. It will increase your body’s resistance against smoking.
• Chew liquorice (mulethi). It is a good substitute of cigarette when you feel like smoking. Its slight sweet taste also helps killing your urge. It will also relieves you off your smoker’s cough. Alternatively, you can also chew on sugarcane stubs.
• massage with aromatic oils also relax you and curb the urge for smoking.
• Fragrance really go a long way to create an atmosphere where the thought of smoking can’t enter. Take the herbal extracts- cedar, lavender, lemon, orange, and tea tree – mix them with water. Use the mixture as an air spray.

Some tips to  to help you resist the urge to smoke or use tobacco, no matter where you are:-

1. Delay. If you feel like you’re going to give in to your tobacco craving, tell yourself that you must first wait 10 more minutes and then do something to distract yourself for that period of time. This simple trick may be enough to derail your tobacco craving. Repeat as often as needed.
2. Don’t have ‘just one.’ You might be tempted to have just one cigarette to satisfy a tobacco craving. But don’t fool yourself into believing that you can stop at just one. More often than not, having just one leads to another, then another — and you may wind up using tobacco again.
3. Avoid triggers. Urges for tobacco are likely to be strongest in the situations where you smoked or chewed tobacco most often, such as at parties or bars, in the car or while watching television. Identify your trigger situations and have a plan in place so that you can avoid them entirely or get through them without using tobacco. Don’t set yourself up for a smoking relapse. If you usually smoked while you talked on the phone, for instance, keep a pen and paper nearby to occupy yourself with doodling rather than smoking.
4. Get physical. Physical activity can help distract you from tobacco cravings and reduce the intensity of cravings. Just 30 minutes of moderate physical activity can make a tobacco craving go away. Get out for a walk or jog. If you’re stuck at home or the office, try squats, deep knee bends, push-ups, running in place, or walking up and down a set of stairs a few times. If physical activity doesn’t interest you, try prayer, needlework, woodwork or journaling. Or do chores for distraction, such as vacuuming or filing paperwork.
5. Practice relaxation techniques. In the past, smoking may have been your way to deal with stress. Trying to resist a tobacco craving can itself be stressful. Take the edge off stress by practicing relaxation techniques. These include deep-breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, yoga, visualization, hypnosis and massage.
6. Call reinforcements. Touch base with a family member, friend or support group member for moral support as you struggle to resist a tobacco craving. Chat on the phone, go for a walk together or simply share a few laughs — or get together to commiserate about your cravings.
7. Remember the benefits of quitting. Write down or say out loud the reasons you want to stop smoking and resist tobacco cravings. These might include feeling better, getting healthier, sparing your loved ones from secondhand smoke or saving money. And if you’re a closet smoker, you may save hours of time since you no longer have to spend time trying to conceal your habit.
8. Go online. Join an online stop-smoking program. Or read a quitter’s blog and post encouraging thoughts for someone else who might be struggling with tobacco cravings. Learn from how others have handled their tobacco cravings.
9. Try nicotine replacements. Try a nicotine replacement product instead of a cigarette. Some types of nicotine replacement therapy, including patches, gums and lozenges, are available over-the-counter. Nicotine nasal spray and the nicotine inhaler are available by prescription, as are the stop-smoking medications bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix).

Remember, trying something to beat the urge is always better than doing nothing. And each time you resist a tobacco craving, you’re one step closer to being totally tobacco-free.
These tips are such that can be done without much effort- the only thing is your willpower that will lead you to take the first step, then the second and so on. Wish you all the luck in your healthy mission of quitting smoking!