{"id":330,"date":"2017-05-31T14:03:54","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T11:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/?p=330"},"modified":"2019-06-13T11:05:49","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T08:05:49","slug":"the-why-and-the-how-of-quitting-smoking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/the-why-and-the-how-of-quitting-smoking\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cWhy\u201d and The \u201cHow\u201d of Quitting Smoking"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>31<sup>st<\/sup> of May is World No Tobacco Day and we decided to talk about smoking. If you or anyone you know is trying to stop smoking or has difficulties quitting, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/ClinicalTrials\/Search\/?condition=smoking&amp;openStudiesOnly=true\">FindMeCure\u2019s database shows 352 clinical trials<\/a> developing different kinds of therapies and treatments to help people quit smoking more easily. If you, however, decide to opt-out of clinical trials or even any treatments at all to try your chances on your own and test the limits of your willpower (or as it\u2019s often referred to \u2013 \u201cquit cold turkey\u201d), here are some things to consider.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg  btn-outlined  \" target=\"_self\" title=\"Button\" >Find Clinical Trials<\/a>\n<p><strong>The \u201cWhy\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, if you need any more reason to quit smoking besides that it\u2019s just bad for your general health (and your wallet), let\u2019s talk facts and statistics.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Obviously, quitting cigarettes makes your breathing easier, gets rid of your smoker\u2019s cough (because your lung capacity improves) and it also improves your blood circulation, which in turn can lead to better sex and more enjoyment of physical activity in general (so no excuses such as \u201cIf I quit, I\u2019ll gain weight\u201d are available)<\/li>\n<li>Talking about sex, quitting cigarettes also improves fertility<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>, reduces the likelihood of miscarriage and\u2026 well, if you plan on having biological children even in the distant future, you can\u2019t quit smoking sooner<\/li>\n<li>And surprisingly enough, studies show that quitting cigarettes lowers stress levels \u2013 so, I guess, you can\u2019t keep on believing smoking is a stress-reliever now<\/li>\n<li>It improves smell and taste, as up till now your receptors have been dulled by the toxins<\/li>\n<li>It slows down the aging of the skin\u2026 but then again smoking makes you appear older because it damages your skin, so not smoking means aging at a normal tempo for your organism<\/li>\n<li>It makes your teeth whiter (or at least it prevents them from getting stained any further) and it improves your breath<\/li>\n<li>Quitting cigarettes significantly lowers the risk of smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, chronic bronchitis; not only does it add years to your life, but it also makes those years more enjoyable, as non-smokers remain more active, healthy and mobile in their old age<\/li>\n<li>It lowers the risk of the chronic incurable disease emphysema\u2026 well, according to the FindMeCure database, there are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/ClinicalTrials\/Search\/?condition=Emphysema&amp;openStudiesOnly=true\">66 clinical trials for emphysema<\/a>, so hopefully, it won\u2019t stay incurable for long, but let\u2019s try prevention first, ok?<\/li>\n<li>It improves your chances of fighting colds and infections, as the cilia (organelles found in the respiratory system, which help in keeping the airways free of mucus and dirt) are the first to heal when you quit smoking<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Quitting cigarettes reduces belly fat and your risk of diabetes<\/li>\n<li>Your estrogen levels will return to normal, which can also mean lighter and less painful periods for the people who have them<\/li>\n<li>Quitting means: stronger immune system, stronger muscles, and stronger bones<\/li>\n<li>Now, you might say \u201cI\u2019m gonna spend this money anyway\u201d, but let me just remind you that you can actually spend it on something better \u2013 better quality food, clothes, theatre tickets, higher quality cosmetics, that you\u2019d otherwise consider \u201cluxury\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s all up to you, but don\u2019t just brush off the fact that this is some extra money; you can even save the exact amount you would otherwise spend on cigarettes every day or week and buy something bigger at the end of the mon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_337\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-337\" style=\"width: 796px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-337\" src=\"http:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/infographic-no-tobacco.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"796\" height=\"826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/infographic-no-tobacco.png 796w, https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/infographic-no-tobacco-289x300.png 289w, https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/infographic-no-tobacco-768x797.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-337\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some more reasons to quit smoking\/Infographic\/WHO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The \u201cHow\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are numerous articles on the internet with generic advice on quitting, most of which you already know: let people know and ask for support, pick a quitting date, find other outlets for stress and irritation, pick up a sport to keep you focused on your improving physical condition, take up yoga or meditation\u2026 this is actually some pretty good advice and by all means, go ahead and adopt some of the suggested behaviors you find helpful. In this post, however, I\u2019ll suggest something else:<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy it. Or, well, at least try to. When you light up a cigarette, focus on the sensation \u2013 the taste, the smell, the feeling of the smoke filling up your lungs as you breathe it in. Be mindful of the way it makes you dizzy \u2013 do you really find it relaxing, pleasant? Do you really enjoy the taste it leaves in your mouth afterwards? Or do you just do it by habit, to fill up time, as you wait for the public transportation?<\/p>\n<p>Can you socialize without smoking, do you find conversations somehow difficult without the cigarette pauses, do you associate certain people in your life with lighting up a cigarette? Think about those things and find the answers for yourself. If you really do enjoy the act of smoking, do you enjoy the shortness of breath as you climb a flight of stairs?<\/p>\n<p>Mindfulness is a good technique for quitting many addictions. I first read it suggested to a woman who was trying to quit binge eating, then it popped up again in my yoga class as a method for quitting overanalysing, which too is a sort of addiction on its own.<\/p>\n<p>So, if you\u2019re quitting cigarettes, don\u2019t be scared if you \u201cslip\u201d \u2013 just focus on how you feel as you inhale the smoke\u2026 chances are, not particularly well.<\/p>\n<p>If you need more information and tips on how to quit smoking, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/tobaccofreelife.org\/\">Tobacco Free Life<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Article by Nelly Katsarova<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"fmc-widget\" style=\"width: 100%;\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function (win, doc, tagName, scriptDest, widgetObj, targetScript, m) {win['FmcWidgetObject'] = widgetObj;  targetScript = doc.createElement(tagName);m = doc.getElementsByTagName(tagName)[0];targetScript.async = 1;targetScript.src = scriptDest;targetScript.style.width = '100%';m.parentNode.insertBefore(targetScript, m);})(window, document, 'script', 'https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/Content\/Widget\/search-widget.min.js', 'fmc');<\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/smoking\/Pages\/Betterlives.aspx<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.smokefree.gov\/quitting-smoking\/reasons-quit\/benefits-quitting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>31st of May is World No Tobacco Day and we decided to talk about smoking. If you or anyone you know is trying to stop smoking or has difficulties quitting, FindMeCure\u2019s database shows 352 clinical trials developing different kinds of therapies and treatments to help people quit smoking more easily. If you, however, decide to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5],"tags":[15,14,17,16],"class_list":["post-330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-tips","category-innovations","category-news","tag-cigarretes","tag-no-tobacco-day","tag-quit-smoking","tag-smoking"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1570,"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions\/1570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}