Nicotine is an addictive drug found in tobacco.

The first part of this article is my personal opinion, please do not become offended.

We all know the harmful long term and short term side effects of tobacco. Tobacco companies themselves warn us on the packages that their product is the leading cause of death in North America. Yet they continue to market it and the government makes too much money off the sales of tobacco to ever de-legalize it. The sad truth is the government cares more about money then they will ever care about our health.

Smokers, who started in the past 10 years when it was publicly known how harmful smoking was, created their own pain. Everyone in this world has the ability to make decisions, and the decision not to smoke should be an easy one to make. Now not everyone was smart enough to make the decision in the first place, but many come to realize the mistake years down the road. Those people often say things like "I WISH I could quit" or "I WISH I never started smoking" These types of statements are weak minded statements, and its obvious that these were the same people who made the stupid mistake in the first place.

I know all the medical information about addictions. I realize how they work, and how powerful they can be. I know nicotine, like other addictive drugs, creates a chemical dependency, so that the body develops a "need" for certain levels of nicotine at all times. If this level is not maintained the body will go thru withdrawal. Withdrawal from nicotine can be as serious as withdrawal from cocaine but what people need to realize is that withdrawal from nicotine never killed anyone. So withdrawal is probably better for you then smoking in the first place. Your body obviously doesnt "need" the smoke it just wants it so it doesnt have to go thru withdrawals.

People who say they "need" a smoke should probably just go ahead and have it anyways. Most of us know what the necessities for life are, and smoking is defiantly not one of them. This just goes to show what state of mind some smokers have. People should be saying "I want a smoke", this is the first step to quitting believe it or not. Realizing that you do not "need" a smoke is the key; from here you can make the next changes to your attitude.

The next step is to know that EVERYONE can quit! I dont care if youve been addicted to heroin, speed and crack for 30 years, you can still quit! People dont realize a positive attitude is the key to achieving anything. If you dont think in your mind that you can quit, you never will, and you might as well stop reading, and have a smoke. Those who are ready to believe that they have it in them to quit, lets continue.

After realizing you dont "need" a smoke and that it IS possible for you to quit, the third step is to practice quitting something less addictive. This works on self control, and confidence. So pick a bad habit or useless activity such as staring mindlessly at the TV for hours every night, and stop! Give it up for 4 weeks. Some other examples are, biting nails, cracking your knuckles, swearing, eating junk food, eating fast food, drinking, spending money on useless stuff, and masturbating excessively. Just about any compulsive action that you might do that is potentially harmful to your health that you dont "need" to survive is acceptable. Choose one that you think you can give up for month. Now remember, this is used to quit smoking, so this excersise WILL NOT work if you smoke as a substitute. You must continue your regular smoking habits or even try slowing them down to prepare for the quitting faze.

If you picked a bad habit to break and did it for a solid month, you should no longer feel a "need" for it. You may still think about it, you may still even want it, but you are strong enough to say NO! If you did this correctly, you should feel good about yourself, you should feel confident, and you are now ready for the next step.

Here comes the hard part, but you know you are ready, you can do anything! Stay Positive! Go to your doctor, tell him you are about to quit smoking, tell him the steps you have done already and that you are ready to make the commitment. He should be able to give you some advice and help you get started. Dont use the patch or gum yet! Before you go ahead and do anything, try following these steps.

Advice - How to Quit Smoking - Part 2

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