Congratulations on wanting to quit smoking! Your motivation to quit smoking is your first step to living a smoke-free life, and there are ways to quit smoking that can help you improve your health - as well as the health of those around you. When you quit smoking, you lengthen your life - proving that you're ready to experience true freedom by no longer becoming a slave to the cigarette.
There are many myths surrounding smoking and cigarettes that may cloud your judgment. As one of the most effective ways to quit smoking, dispelling these myths can help you quit the habit permanently.
Weight gain is not associated with quitting smoking
Perhaps one of the biggest smoking cessation myths out there is: "If I quit smoking, I'll gain weight." The fear of weight gain can render any way of quitting smoking useless. Nobody wants to substitute one problem for another, but in reality, there is no link between quitting smoking and weight gain.
The reason people gain weight when they quit smoking is because they don't properly deal with the emotions and issues that their smoking addiction had successfully suppressed, sometimes for years. Without the ability to smoke, these emotions and issues can become painful and overwhelming, thereby driving people to eat as an alternative way to cope with the pain and stress. If you think that you may have painful, unresolved issues that may appear when you quit smoking, talk to a trusted friend or psychological counselor - and avoid putting on weight.
It's never too late to quit smoking
The other most common smoking myth is "It's too late to quit." Smokers may believe this philosophy after a lifetime of being enslaved to their habit. The truth is the only time it's too late to quit smoking is when you are dead. As long as you still live and breathe, you can absolutely quit smoking! There is no time limit and no cut-off date for quitting - and you can still repair your health, even after decades of smoking. For example, according to the US Surgeon General, even just 24 hours after you smoke your last cigarette, your risk of a heart attack reduces tremendously, and just one year after you quit, your entire risk of coronary heart disease is less than 50% of a smoker.
Cold turkey is not the only way to quit smoking
The next myth is quite prevalent, yet not true in the face of today's technological advances. "If I quit, I'll have to go cold turkey." The truth of the matter is that people who successfully quit smoking do so with help, most of the time. Indeed, cold turkey is always an option, but there are other ways to quit smoking, including pills, patches, counseling, gum, or therapy. There is no shame in asking for help - quitting smoking is a huge lifestyle change and support for any major change typically makes that change a lot easier.
Today starts the rest of your life
Too many smokers find themselves procrastinating, prolonging the decision to quit the habit. If you start thinking "I'm going to quit smoking... tomorrow," your chances of even starting to quit, much less successfully breaking your addiction to smoking, plummet to near zero. If you think that way, you will never start the process.
Once you make the decision to quit, start right then! It doesn't matter that you've had your breakfast cigarette already - make the decision to stop smoking immediately and don't have that cigarette for lunch. As the popular saying goes, 'Journeys of a thousand steps have to start with one," and quitting smoking is not a passive action. You need to actively, consciously decide not to light up - to start your journey of a smoke free life now. Not later. Not tomorrow. Not after your weekly meeting. Right now! After all, the only thing holding you back is you. Once you take that first step, you'll find it will become easier to take the second step all the way to successfully quit smoking.
Author Resource:-
By Drake Mcall, sponsored by HealthLife.com. HealthLife provides information about quit smoking, ways to quit smoking, weight loss, fitness, motivation, dating, personal development and other health information to help you live a better, healthier life.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.massagebyben.com/articles/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites 