We lost Another Great Man to Cancer

Each year 435,000 people die from smoking related diseases and that doesn't mean much to us until we understand that there is a name behind each of those numbers. Paul Newman lost his battle to cancer. He lived a great life and with his philanthropic donations and creating the Hole in the Wall Camp for kids with cancer, he has enhanced the lives of many. Yet, he has become another statistic in this War on Tobacco.
The reason I do what I do is because I am a cancer survivor and I hope to help others quit smoking before they become part of the 435,000 people who die each year or the millions that become disabled. Isn't it time for you to quit to?

Stop Blaming Smokers

Many people want to point a finger at smokers, "Don't you know that it's bad for your health?" they ask.These self righteous individuals are making smoking a moral or ethical issue instead of what it is--a health issue, pure and simple. Smokers are not bad people because they smoke. 90% started as a teenager before they were legally able to buy cigarettes and before their brains were fully developed. Teenagers often lack the sense to make appropriate life-changing decisions. Teenagers often think that they won't become addicted or that they will quit before they do any permanent physical damage. Yet a teenager can become addicted within 6 months of the first cigarette and because their brain is still developing, smoking can cause structural changes to the brain which make it very difficult to stop smoking. So why do we still blame adults for making a stupid decision as a teenager? It's time to stop blaming the smoker for being addicted to nicotine. It's time to stop making smoking a moral issue. We don't blame individuals with diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure for eating the wrong foods that damaged their blood vessels. Their habit of eating started as a children before they had control over their food choices. Smokers are more likely to stop once they are not blamed for smoking but are helped to address their physical problem, just as we view those with other chronic diseases that center are our lifestyle choices. Most smokers do want to quit but as long as non-smokers keep pointing a finger at smokers, their defensive mechanisms stay up and keep the smoker smoking instead of looking for solutions to try and quit.

Dealing with Stress when Quitting Smoking

It was through a workshop that I quit smoking and 3 months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had been quit for 5 months and I relapsed while I was going through chemotherapy.
Most smokers in a very short period of time feel like a non-smoker and think that they will never smoke again until they have to handle a tremendous amount of stress, like I did with having to go through cancer treatment. A woman told me that she thought she had been through the worse when her mother died but it wasn't until all the relatives started fighting about the estate that she relapsed.
We don't smoke that cigarette thinking that we are going to go back to full time smoking, we kid ourselves that it's "just one" to get us through the stress that we are experiencing. Yet that one will always lead to another one because of the effect that nicotine has on the brain, it is a physiological effect that we can't control with willpower.
It is often in times of high stress that smokers will relapse because they are lulled into a false sense of security because they were able to resist smoking for months at a time but without a method for dealing with those times of high stress, a smoker will often turn to the one thing that they have been turning to their whole adult life--a cigarette. at some level, what ever age you started smoking was when you stop develoing new ways of dealing with high levels of stress because smoking worked so well. The time to develop new strategies is before you quit. think of the last time of intense stress and then think of different ways that you could have handle the stress, taking care of yourself phsyically, mentally and emotionally.

Why Are Smokers More Likely to have less Education and Less Income?

More and more people are quitting every day. If it was easy for you to quit smoking, you probably would have quit already. But those who are still smoking are more likely to have less education, less income and are more likely to have a substance abuse problem or a mental illness. This does NOT apply to all smokers but this is the group that are having a hard time quitting. Is there a connection? Up to 95% of individuals with schizophrenia smoke and 85% of hard core alcoholics are also smokers. If you have a substance abuse problem or a mental illness, then it would stand to reason that you might make less money than someone without these added problems or have more difficulty in maintaining employment?
Individuals with substance abuse problems and mental illness are also the ones that are probably more highly physically addicted and are best candidates for medications, yet often they can't afford the up front cost for these type of help because of their lower income, while those with higher income are able to pay for help out of pocket.
Most insurance companies do not pay for medications or counseling to stop smoking while the tobacco companies spend $164 million each year to try and get more people to start smoking.
If everyone on medicaid stopped smoking, the annual savings after 5 years would be $9.7 Billion.
Smoking is more than just a bad habit, it is a health care crisis that costs our society $7.18 for every pack of cigarettes sold. It's time for us to stand up and recognize the health care problem that smoking has created and it's time to do something about it, it's time to prevent the next generation from ever starting, it's time to help every smoker quit who wants to quit and it's time to recognize that smoking is an addiction that our society can not afford to support. And it is the weakest individuals within our society that tobacco hurts the most, the poor, the under educated and those suffering from other addictions.

Should Stop Smoking be an Inpatient Program like for Alcohol?

There are a couple of inpatient programs in the United States. The Mayo Clinic has a inpatient program that is a combination of medications, cognitive-behavior therapy and relapse prevention. Many people successfully quit in this environment. Yet the people that come to my workshops that have been through other inpatient programs, tell me that it is easier to quit in a protected environment because you are away from your normal triggers but once back in your "real" life, every smoker still has the small issues to deal with and it is easy to relapse. Like I have said before--every method will work for some, no method will work for everyone.
I am often told by smokers in my workshops that I am their "last resort" that they have tried everything else and nothing has worked for them. I think that individuals that may benefit the most from an inpatient program are ones that are highly addictive, have other substance abuse problems or a mental illness and need a physician to monitor their medications. Often individuals such as these will need a combination mediation therapy that lasts at least 6 months to a year while they are dealing with the other aspects of quitting such as habits, stress, and social situations.
So if you have the money to spend on an inpatient program that might be the way to go but only if you are serious about working on the other issues to prevent relapse.

First Step Towards Quitting Smoking

Quitting is like a baby learning to walk. First the baby grabs onto the coffee table and holds on, next stands up and immediately falls on their butt and finally takes a first step and falls on butt again. But we would never chastise a baby because they don't take off and start running immediately because we know it is a process and that the baby is learning how to use muscles they have never used before. I started smoking when I was 14, so you're like me, you've been smoking longer than you've been doing almost anything else--smoking is connected to sooooo many things in your life, it is a retraining process. You need to learn to use muscles that you haven't used before. You didn't become a smoker over night. Do you rememer your first cigarette? You probably coughed, felt light headed and maybe sick to your stomach, but you kept at it until it felt normal. It was like learning how to walk with one shoe on and one shoe off, at first it was ackward but in a very short period of time, it felt normal. Now it's a reverse process, like learning how to walk with both shoes on, at first it doesn't seem normal, it feels ackward-its a process of learning how to live without each cigarette, each instance that you smoke, each habit, each emotion. but often we are too hard on ourselves for not quitting overnight or doing it perfectly the first time.
So start the process with becoming conscious of smoking. Maybe your first step could just be to leave your cigarettes in another room instead of on the table next to you, so instead of unconsciously reaching for one and lighting it up, you actually have to think for a minute and go get one. All you need to do to start learning how to walk with both shoes on, is to take one baby step and train yourself step, by step on the road to recovery. Fianlly, make it OK to stumble and fall, just like a baby, be gentle with yourself, it a learning process, a retraining program, believe in progress, not perfection and before you know it, you'll be off and running and be smoke free.

Different Skills Needed to Stop Smoking and then to Stay Quit

There are two different periods when a smoker quits. The initial quitting lasts 2 to 4 weeks. This is when the quitter is learning how to deal with the physical aspects of quitting and the habit cigarettes. There are now 7 FDA approved medications to handle the physical aspect of quitting and most individuals are able to get through this period by using one or a combination of these medications or for some, they are able to handle going cold turkey. Habit cigarettes fade away within 3 to 4 weeks because they are habits, you get to practice new habits on a daily basis, so that in a short period of time, most quitters have mastered the physical aspect and their habits. But many are not prepared for the second phase which can last up to a year or more. Without medicinal or counseling support, up to 95% of smokers will relapse within the first year and another 15% the second year. This drops to 60% to 90% if medications and counseling are used.
So the reality is that we are successfully able to get smokers to quit for a period of time but not forever. Preventing a relapse takes different skills than were needed in the first couple of weeks. After 6 months, when the telephone rings, the quitter is not still looking for their cigarettes, the car starts without lighting one up, the withdrawals have long since past but new situations pop up and without preparation, the quitter can very easily relapse.
The problem areas usually center around positive social situations, negative emotions and stress situations, being around other smokers, alcohol and weight gain. For long term success, a quitter will need to face this situations without turning to their long lost friend-a cigarette.

Top 8 Reasons Why Medications Don't Work When Quitting Smoking

I've heard it over and over again--"I tried The Patch (or the gum or any other medication) and it didn't work". there are several reasons why the 7 FDA-approved medications don't work.
1. Under dosed. The guidelines with the use of nicotine replacement products may not deliver sufficient nicotine. If a smoker is smoking two packs a day that is the equivalent to two-21mg patches. If they were only using one, they were not getting anywhere close to the level of nicotine that they are used to and they will suffer from withdrawal symptoms. 2. Used incorrectly. The gum is not to be chewed like gum but just soften enough and then parked so the nicotine is absorbed through the mucosa of the mouth instead of being swallowed into the stomach, which can cause indigestion.
3. Expecting too much. Medications are not a magic wand. Often a smoker will "try" medications with a "show me" attitude. Medications are used to help with the physical symptoms while the smoker learns to deal with the behavioral, social and psychological aspects. If nothing is done to address this issues, after discontinuing the use of the medication, the smoker will relapse.
4. Not used long enough. In a short period of time, most smokers have released their "habit" cigarettes and feel like a non-smoker but they are still at high risk for relapse but they will discontinue their medication because they think they've got smoking beat. Or the individual may experience side effects and simply stop the medication instead of changing the regiment to lower the risk of side effects.
5. Not having strong motivation to quit. Quitting can be one of the hardest things a smoker ever accomplished and it takes the right kind of motivation for the smoker to stick it out when the going gets tough instead of caving in and reaching for a smoke.
6. Assuming that because one kind of medication didn't work, the others won't either. Often it takes someone that is familiar with the medications to make adjustments to fit a particular individuals situation. for some smokers, a combination of several medications is suggested to increase the effectiveness.
7. Not even giving them a chance. Some individuals are concerned about the long term effects of medications or that they may become addicted. Discuss these concerns with your physician.
8. Doesn't make sense to take a little bit of your drug to overcome the withdrawals of your drug. Inhaling nicotine is the faster way to get the highest dosage of nicotine to the brain. None of the over the counter nicotine replacement products can match the speed and dosage level of smoking which is why there is little risk of becoming addicted to OTC nicotine replacement products. Nicotine spray which is by prescription only is an exception and should be monitored by a physician because it is closest to inhalation, in delivering the rapid dose of nicotine
I believe that the physical addiction to nicotine is over estimated when individuals are trying to quit and there are effective medications to help with these withdrawal symptoms BUT I believe that the physical addiction is UNDER rated when it comes to relapse prevention. Inhaling nicotine causes structural brain changes that are still there even after a smoker quits and having even one cigarette is risking a full relapse. Remember, you're a puff away from a pack a day.

Getting the Right Kind of Support When Quitting Smoking

You've quit smoking for a couple of days and it's been a struggle but so far you've been able to resist temptation. A well meaning friend asks how you are doing? You explain your struggles and instead of getting encouragement that while it is hard that you can do it, the comments you get --feel like judgement, blaming and shaming. Friends who have never smoked just don't get it and former smokers think that if they can quit, anybody can quit. Often these well meaning friends just don't know what to say and they say the wrong thing or even worse tell you that you'll never be successful or that you too grumpy anyway so why don't you just go have a cigarette
Feeling judged or being shamed or blamed can lead us right back to our friend who never judged, shamed or blamed us--cigarette. So if this has happened to you, don't discuss your smoking struggles with them anymore, tell them that their comments feel like judgements or tell them exactly what you want to hear. The right kind of support can encourage and strengthen our resolve instead of weakening us.
Sabotage can come from many places and we need to protect ourselves even from well meaning friends. Find a support person that give you the kind of support that feels good, that doesn't blame or shame but offers encouragement that no matter where you are and what you have done that tomorrow is another day and you can be successful. Believe in progress not perfection.

Are you Physically Addicted to Nicotine?

This will indicate whether you are dependent upon nicotine and may indicate whether you will need medicinal support for withdrawals when you quit.
Answer each question in the list below, giving yourself the appropriate points.

1. How soon after you wake up do you have your first cigarette?
a. within 5 minutes
b. 6-30 minutes
c. 31-60 minutes
d. After 60 minutes
2. Do you find it difficult to refrain from smoking in places where it is forbidden, such as the library, theater, or a doctor’s office?
a. yes
b. no
3. Which cigarette would you most hate to give up?
a. the first one in the morning
b. any other
4. How many cigarettes a day do you smoke?
a. 10 or less
b. 11-20
c. 21-30
d. 31 or more
5. Do you smoke more frequently during the first hours after waking than during the rest of the day?
a. yes
b. no
6. Do you smoke if you are so ill that you are in bed most of the day?
a. yes
b. no

Scoring:
1. a: 3 b: 2 c: 1 d: 0
2. a: 1 b: 0
3. a: 1 b: 0
4. a: 1 b: 2 c: 3 d: 4
5. a: 1 b: 0
6. a: 1 b:0

A total score of 7 or greater indicates that you are very dependent on nicotine and are likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop smoking. A score of 6 or less indicates low to moderate dependence.
For a highly addicted smoker, there are 7 firstline and 2 second line medications approved for nicotine dependence, so there are lots of choices to finding the right combination for you. If you choose not to use medications, then it is important to take care of yourself physically while you go through withdrawals. The tings that you can do to help is to drink more water, do deep breathing exercise, avoid alcohol, and exercise.

(The Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence)

The 5 "R's" to Helping Motivate A Smoker to Quit

If you have a smoker in your life that you have been trying to get them to quit by nagging, blaming and shaming, BUTT OUT. Those tactics don't work, if they did, no one would be smoking since every smoker has at least one person nagging them. Instead, listen to the smoker and keep these 5 "R's" in mind. This list was originally a remind for healthcare workers when talking to their patients, so adapt the framework to fit your situation with the smoker in your life. If you are a smoker, take the time to make your own list:

1. Relevance: Provide information that has the greatest impact on the patient’s disease status, family or social situation (e.g., children and second-hand smoke), health concerns, age or gender.

2. Risks:

• Acute risks: shortness of breath, exacerbation of asthma, harm to pregnancy, impotence, infertility, increased blood carbon monoxide, bacterial pneumonia; increased risk for surgery
• Long-term risks: heart attacks, strokes, lung and other cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, long-term disability and need for extended care
• Environmental risks: increased risks of lung cancer and heart disease in spouses; higher rate of smoking by children of tobacco users; increased risk of low birth weight babies, SIDS, asthma, middle ear disease, and respiratory infections in children of smokers

3. Rewards: Highlight benefits most relevant to the patient, such as better health, improved sense of taste and smell, money saved, good example for children, more physically fit, and reduced wrinkling and aging of skin.

4. Roadblocks: Ask the patient to identify barriers to quitting, such as withdrawal symptoms, fear of failure, weight gain, lack of support and depression. Note elements of cessation treatment, such as problem solving or pharmacotherapy.

5. Repetition: Repeat the motivational intervention each time the patient has an office visit. Let the patient know that most people make repeated attempts to quit before they are finally successful.

What is the First Step Towards Quitting Smoking?

After building a desire to quit, many smokers get stuck in a love/hate relationship with their cigarettes. They want to quit but they also don't want to give them up just yet. But if you think of this a process and not a one time event, it will make it easier. So the first step is to start to break your connections to your cigarettes. Most smoker smoke unconsciously. The computer in our head registers a trigger that connects in our mind to light up a cigarette and we have done that without even thinking about it--just like we automatically drive a car--we don't think about pushing the gas pedal or hitting the brake--it is automatic. Our brain is conditioned to smoke and does so automatically. So the first step is to become conscious of the cigarettes you are smoking.
This could be something simple like leaving your cigarettes in another room instead of on the table next to you, so instead of unconsciously reaching for one and lighting it up, you actually have to think for a minute and go get one before you can smoke it. you cold leave them in your car, on top of your refrigerator, in the garage, I know of one person who even left them in their mailbox. Maybe it is just logging in on a piece of paper every time you light up--what time is it, what are you doing and how are you feeling.
I believe in progress, not perfection. You didn't become a smoker over night but your brain had to learn how to smoke and what your individual triggers are before you were a full time smoker. Just like when you learned to drive a car, it took a while before it became automatic. Quitting is a relearning process, the first step is to become aware and conscious. You need to know what you are doing if you are to change it.
Quitting is like a baby learning to walk. First the baby grabs onto the coffee table and holds on, next stands up and immediately falls on their butt and finally takes a first step and falls on butt again. But we would never chastise a baby because they don't take off and start running immediately because we know it is a process and that the baby is learning how to use muscles they have never used before. If you are like so many smokers, you started smoking as a teenager, so you've been smoking longer than you've been doing almost anything else--smoking is connected to sooooo many things in your life, it is a retraining process, a learning process with each cigarette, each instance that you smoke, each habit, each emotion. But often we are too hard on ourselves for not stopping in one day.
So start by learning about your smoking habits, one step at a time.

Changing the Way you Think about Cigarettes to Help You Stop Smoking

In a workshop during the time of 9-11, one woman had quit and her husband continued to smoke. She said, "Every time I see his pack of cigarettes, I just think that this is 20 little terrorists trying to kill me."It is important to change the way you think about smoking and cigarettes. Often smokers feel deprived when they quit or that they are losing a best friend. Instead of deprivation or loss, start thinking of what you are gaining, such as better health, smell better, food tastes better, becoming a better role model for you children, providing a healthier environment for your family.For another woman, every time a craving came up, she said to herself, "Oh, that's something I used to do but I don't need cigarettes anymore." As she said this, she imagined the glowing cherry of the cigarette on he sleeve and she brushed it away.Stop thinking of what you are giving up, but how much better your life is without cigarettes being in control.

Should you Quit Smoking at the Same Time as you Diet?

Both smoking and weight can cause health problems, so which do you tackle first? Many individuals will gain weight when they stop smoking (see previous post about 7 reasons for weight gain) but few will start smoking when they go on a weight loss program (unless they are a former smoker who has relapsed). We do know now that smoking changes insulin levels and increases the risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. I read an interesting article about arsenic in drinking water increasing the same risks and I wonder since arsenic is in cigarettes, if this isn't the causation mechanism in smoking?
There are two schools of thought about making multiple changes at once and I believe that either approach would work depending on the individual. The first approach is to make only one change at a time. Stop smoking and after you stabilize, set up a weight loss program. The idea is instead of making huge sweeping changes all at once, change in small incremental steps because small steps are easier to maintain.
The second approach is that it is hard enough to maintain any change that it is better to do it all at once because each change will reinforce the other. Since stopping smoking can cause weight gain, wouldn't it make sense to work on that issue at the same time, to avoid any weight gain?
To avoid weight gain after quitting, those that are aware of the reasons of weight gain and that have a plan to avoid the traps, are more likely to be successful at minimizing weight gain and be successful at quitting than those with no plan. The combination use of bupropion (zyban) and nicotine replacement products for the first 6 months after quitting can also minimize weight gain. Those who gain the most weight are at a high risk of relapse because the common thought is that-"I'll go back to smoking, lose the weight and then quit again." Unfortunately, as we all know, once the weight is on, it's very difficult to take it off and the individual who relapsed never gets around to quitting again.

Helping a Closet smoker to Quit Smoking

Whenever Steve took the trash out, his wife would comment that he smelled like smoke. Steve always said the smell was from a neighbor that smoked that he ran into outside.
Gail was in sales and before going into a client’s office, she would spray, spritz, wash and cover up any sign or smell that she smoked.
After Richard's heart surgery, his wife found a pack of cigarettes in his bathrobe. She thought he had quit.
Like Steve, Gail and Richard, I was a closet smoker. After my cancer experience, even smokers would bug me about my smoking.
“Why are you smoking, you’ve had cancer?”
I wanted to scream at them to leave me alone, after all, how did they know that they DIDN’T have cancer but just didn’t have a diagnosis yet? So after another failed quit attempt, I hide my smoking from everyone even other smokers. At work, I would take any opportunity to run errands, so I could smoke.
It was at an all day picnic for the 4th of July when I couldn’t stand it anymore and pulled out a cigarette and lit up. I could hear the disappointment in my friend’s voice when she said,
“But you were doing so well.”
Not really, she just didn’t know I was smoking. People don’t notice when you don’t smoke, they only notice when you do smoke.
Closet smokers hide their behavior because they do not want their friends and family to nag them about their smoking. They don’t want to hear the disappointment, the anguish, the frustration in their loved ones voice. Closet smokers feel a range of emotions from failure, shame and guilt to indignation and self-righteousness. What you don't want to do is escalate the situation. If confronted, the closet smoker will likely tell you to "BUTT OUT!"
The problem is that when a closet smoker wants to quit, it’s hard to ask for help for something that you’ve hidden from everyone. But that doesn't mean that they don't want to quit but they don't feel comfortable talking to you about it.
The best way to help a closet smoker to quit if you find out they are smoking, is to NOT make a big deal out of it and make them wrong, or blame them for being a failure. Most likely they have tried to quit before and there is nothing you can say that they haven't already told themselves. The last thing you want to do is make them feel guilty or shame. The best thing to do is just tell them that what a great job they did do with their last quitting attempt and this is just another step to becoming a former smoker and when they are ready to try again, you will help in anyway.

Another Effect of Nicotine on the Brain

Nicotine is a powerful drug that enters enters the brain and attaches to receptors that release dopamine, which is a feel-good neurotransmitter. So when a smoker says that they enjoy smoking, what they are really saying is they enjoy the effect that nicotine has on their brain. One of the other things that nicotine does, is that it goes to the part of the brain that enhances external events, which means that when you pair smoking a cigarette with drinking a cup of coffee, answering the phone, driving a car or anything else, the release of dopamine makes each of these events more enjoyable than doing it without smoking. This is how "habit" cigarettes are created. so when a smoker quits, having that morning cup of coffee just doesn't seem as enjoyable, the effect that nicotine has on the brain is what is missing. This also explains why we smoke when stressed, anxious or angry, because the effect of dopamine makes us feel a little bit better. A traditional way of looking at addiction is that the substance needs to cause intoxication or euphoria, like taking a drink of alcohol or a snort of cocaine but with nicotine, the effect is much more subtle but it is still a mechanism that is used to alter our emotional state, not to the degree of other addictive substances but this is probably a reason of why so many people underestimate the power that nicotine has over a smokers brain.

We Need More Help For Those Trying to Quit Smoking

Many insurance policies do not cover programs or medications to quit smoking, yet quitting smoking is the best thing a smoker can do to improve their health. The long term cost savings alone would more than cover the initial cost. 50% of smokers will die from a direct cause of their smoking, which are very expensive diseases-heart disease, cancer, emphysema, stroke, just to name a few. But does that mean the 50% of smokers can smoke without consequences??--No, it just means that they die from something that is not smoke related but that doesn't mean that their health wasn't affected by smoking. A man with emphysema was in one of my workshops and told of the time he was driving from Texas to California and someplace in Arizona, his oxygen tank ran out of oxygen and he passed out and wrecked his car. Luckily he wasn't hurt. Mr. O'Kelly was a patient I took care of, who came in for daily treatments for his emphysema. He died from complications from his medications for his emphysema. In neither of these two cases would "smoking" have been the "cause" of death and would fall outside of the 50% statistic.
Statistics don't apply on an individual basis. The average American family has 2.4 children--have you ever seen a .4 child? But we kid ourselves that not all smokers are affected because they don't die but what we should really be talking about is--disability. How many smokers become disabled because of smoking? I haven't seen any statistics on that but from the individuals that have been through my workshops since 1990, I would estimate that close to 90% have some kind of health problem related to smoking.
So why don't the insurance companies do more? Politics--individuals who have never smoked, will say--I don't understand why the smoker just doesn't put down their cigarette and walk away? Smokers will agree that it is their right to smoke and that is isn't an addiction. Then we have the smokers that really do want to quit but need help but can't afford medications (even though cigarettes are expensive, the cost is spread out over days, instead of one big upfront cost, like with medications). Some will get information from the internet or from the very few books that are out there. but many don't want to spend anymore needless money on another 100% guaranteed program or gimmick that just doesn't work.
Helping others quit is my passion because I know that misery that being treated for cancer can be--and I'm a survivor but will have effects from the treatment for the rest of my life. That's the reason for this blog--to share with you free information that will hopefully help you to live smoke free. Let me know what you need help with and I will post suggestions for all questions.

Exercise As a Way to Stop Smoking

While I have had a couple of aerobic instructors attend my workshops to quit smoking, most smokers would rather go light up another cigarette than hit the gym. Besides, smoking makes it difficult to breathe after running up a flight of stairs, let alone when hitting the stairmaster. Exercise and smoking just don't seem to go together. Yet starting an exercise program can help with the quitting process.
1. Taking a 5 minute walk around your office building instead of a smoke break can help with the withdrawal symptoms of anger, irritability, tension and cravings.
2.Exercise will also help to avoid the weight gain that many smokers face when quitting. Only part of the weight gain is due to a change in metabolism, which two 10 minute walks a day will counter balance.
3. A brisk walk will help clear the tar that has been accumulating in your lungs so don't be concerned if you cough more, think of it as your body healing itself.
4. Getting a little bit sweaty will allow toxins to be released with your sweat.
5. Replace the harmful habit of smoking with a healthy habit of exercise. Find an exercise activity that you enjoy. It's easier to replace a habit than it is to just stop a habit.
6. Meet new friends that don't smoke. Carol used to play cards with her smoking buddies and couldn't seem to stop when around them, so she took up ball room dancing. She met new people who didn't smoke and got some exercise too.
Exercise is the fountain of youth, second only to quitting smoking as the best thing you can do for your health, so replace your cigarettes with something that will increase your health even more-now go take a walk.