Quitting Smoking - The Most Important Rule for You to Remember

This online quitting smoking book is free for you

to read, print etc (though not to reproduce in
online form) The most important rule is this -
Nobody is trying to make you do anything.
Please don't think the author is trying to preach
or patronise. We are not trying to make you feel
foolish by presenting facts and ideas about
smoking. If you decide to press that internal
'quitting smoking button' then that will always
be your choice and you will do it on your own
terms. If this book and Website help you to stop
then that's a bonus.

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 Giving Up Smoking

'There is absolutely nothing to give up. There is

no genuine pleasure or crutch in smoking. It is
just an illusion like banging your head against a
wall to make it pleasant when you stop.'
Allen Carr - Quote from The easy way to stop smoking

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 Does Smoking Give You Pleasure – Do you Enjoy Smoking?

If the answer is yes then what is it you enjoy? If

it's the taste then there's no need to inhale
because as I'm sure you're aware, all of your
tastebuds are in your mouth and guess what?
They're all clogged up with tar. When you
become a non-smoker everything really will
taste better. Everything will smell better too. The
last two points come with a cast-iron guarantee!

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 So What Else Do You Enjoy About smoking?

You really should think long and hard about this

because you need to be able to explain it to
someone else who hasn't experienced it before.
You need to be able to explain to a teenager who
has never smoked before just what it is that he
or she is going to enjoy so much. And then when
they start to cough and splutter you need to be
able to explain why they're not doing it properly.
It sounds ridiculous doesn't it? But then, if
smoking is enjoyable, shouldn't it be enjoyable
to someone who hasn't done it before? Enjoy
quitting smoking! It makes more sense, doesn't
it?

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 The Truth About Smoking

Here's the real truth About Smoking. If you

haven't done it you can't enjoy it. The pleasure is
not pleasure at all - it's simply the feeling of
topping up the nicotine in your body. The first
time you smoked it smelt, tasted and felt awful.
It actually still does! Your mind is just disguising
the fact from you - stop for a few days and then
light a cigarette! You'll soon notice the illusion
disappear. It will taste nasty, just like it always
did in reality.

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 Facts About Smoking - Is Smoking Addictive?

Nicotine is generally thought of as an addictive

substance. However do you actually realise how
long it takes for nicotine to leave your body after
you stop smoking?

The truth is it's just a few days. And once it's

gone you can't scientifically be addicted. If you
can stop for two or three days then you can be
confident what you are left with is a strong habit
which you probably associate with other
experiences - socialising, drinking coffee, driving
etc... etc... etc...

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 Everyone is Different - Stop Smoking Forums

Because everyone is different, you can be sure

that people smoke for different reasons. It
follows then that everyone will have their own
'best way to quit smoking' There are many
helpful and friendly forums on the internet
dedicated to advice and help with quitting
smoking. There may be someone there just like
you (Except, of course, they found their way to
quit smoking!)

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 The Effect of Quitting Smoking - The First Few Days

The first few days can be uncomfortable because

your body is losing the nicotine. Its important to
understand this, maybe pamper yourself a little.
Always look for the positive angle with smoking
cessation. This isn't your body withdrawing, it's
your body shedding the harmful toxins and
poisons. Once those first two or three days are
over you are not dealing with any kind of
addiction, just a habit.
Find someone who has successfully become a
non-smoker and ask them how the first few days
were. They'll probably tell you they were fine.
Part of the very positive process of becoming a
non-smoker.

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Smoking Facts - But I Know Someone Who Stopped Smoking and Found it
Really Hard!

Willpower involves giving up smoking even

though deep down you don't really want to.
Choice means giving up smoking because you
choose to. The problem with willpower is that
people tend to find themselves thinking
constantly about the one thing they shouldn't be
'cigarettes'. It is because they still feel they are
depriving themselves of something and no one
wants to be deprived!

People who stop through choice and stop

permanently tend to not think about smoking
and if they occasionally do then it's to think
about the benefits of not doing it. Ask them!.

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 Why is Willpower such a hard way to Stop Smoking?

When you use willpower to stop smoking you

end up creating an internal battle. And guess
who you're battling against? That's right -
Yourself. So, of course, you've got a pretty
formidable opponent who just happens to have
just as much willpower as you. So forget
willpower and start thinking about what you
really want.

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 What do you Really want?

Here's a tip that often helps. First, write down

your reasons for wanting to stop smoking. And
then turn them all into positive reasons. For
instance, if one of your reasons for stopping is to
'not get ill' then change that to 'enjoying good
health'. Your list will probably include reasons
such as;

To enjoy good health

To be fit and energetic
To have more money and enjoy more holidays
etc.

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 Ways to Stop Smoking - Why Stop This Way?

The established way to stop smoking is using

willpower, all the leaflets tell you so. You need
willpower, you need nicotine patches, gum and
it's going to be very difficult. Well stage 1 of
giving up easily is to get the nicotine out of your
body and patches, gum etc seem to do the
opposite i.e. they keep putting nicotine into your
body.
What we have found time and time again is that
the people who are successful at stopping
permanently are surprised at just how easy it
was. This does not understate what an incredible
achievement it is to stop, it is simply an
observation that it does not have to be difficult.

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 So What is Stage 2?

Stage 2 is simply enjoying your life and living it

in a more healthy and energetic way.
As pointed out earlier, willpower tends to focus
on what you are depriving yourself of.
As you are now aware, you are depriving
yourself of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING other than
Nicotine and Tar and all the other nasty things in
Tobacco products.

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 How to Break the Smoking Habit?

Breaking a habit can be simple - you just create

a new one and then practice it again and again.
If you've smoked for any period of time then you
have probably practised the smoking habit
thousands of times. Every time you think about
it, you practice it. Ironically, when you try to not
think about it you also practice thinking about it.
To understand what I mean, try not thinking of
one of your schoolteachers. Impossible, is it not?
Every time you start to think about smoking just
revert to thinking about something else - the
positive benefits of stopping, health, happiness,
being in control, smelling fresh etc. If you notice
a dark thought, turn it into a bright one.

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 Affirmations for Smoking Cessation

Many people benefit from using affirmations to

help develop a new habit which is, let's face it,
what you are doing. In the past you've
unconsciously been practising such affirmations
as 'I'm a smoker', 'I'm an addictive personality',
'smoking relaxes me', 'I always have a cigarette
in the morning' and so on.

How about a new affirmation 'Everyday I'm

getting healthier, happier and richer', Choose
your own affirmations for stopping smoking and
practice them every time you start to think about
smoking or even notice someone else doing it. It
will soon become second nature.

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 Health Benefits of Quitting Smoking

'Heart attack risk drops to the same as a non-

smoker three years after stopping smoking'
(Source Ash.org.uk - Top 15 Tips for stopping
smoking

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 Other Health Benefits of Stopping Smoking

The fact is your health improves the moment you

stop smoking. Every night you stop smoking
when you fall asleep and, within hours, your
body is clearing out the tar and other toxins.
Imagine the health benefits after a week, a
month a year. It won't be long before you are as
healthy as if you never smoked. This is amazing -
but true.

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 You Will Look and Feel Healthier

Imagine how clean your skin will feel. Your skin,

your hair and your clothes will all smell fresher
as will your house and your car. A lot of people
can't imagine what it would be like to be a non-
smoker. Well, unless you started on the day you
were born, you've already got plenty of
experience of what it was like to look and feel
like a non smoker, probably sixteen years or so.

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 The Cost of Smoking

Smoking 20 cigarettes a day for 20 years in the

UK will cost you £32,120. Converted into US
dollars that's $49 500 (correct conversion in May
2003).
Many clients who come to us to stop smoking
claim that money isn't a reason to stop. Of
course, compared to your health it absolutely is
not but then perhaps you might like to spend a
few minutes planning what you’d like to do with
all that money because, like it or not, it's a fact
that you will save that much.

(Source for figures - ash.org.uk)

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 When is the Best Time to Quit Smoking?

The best time to stop smoking is when it feels

right for you. Don't let anyone tell you it can't be
done, including yourself. The problem with
setting a date for the future is that it stops you
from dealing with it now. It also doesn't allow
for the possibility that maybe you won't want to
stop that day. Forget birthdays, new years eve
etc and stop when it's right for you. Stop on the
day that's right for you! Ideally make that today,
you're obviously already thinking about it.

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 Success or Failure with Quitting Smoking

There is no success or failure. There really isn't.

If you want to stop, rest assured you will. You
may just need to find the right time and the right
way for you. Ask someone who has stopped
successfully and easily and they may well tell
you that they had to try a few times. The secret
is to never stop trying. Many authorities will tell
you that it's essential to use willpower and to
buy patches and to stop on a particular day. Well
fine, maybe that's the way that will work for you.
If it doesn't then for goodness sake don't see it
as a failure. Just try something different and
keep doing that until you stop easily and
permanently. Come back and read this book
again. It may make more sense next time.

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 What about Zyban and smoking cessation drugs - Do They work?

Bupropion is the active ingredient in Zyban. It

was originally marketed as an anti-depressant
and for this reason it is absolutely essential that
you go to your doctor to have Zyban prescribed.
There is evidence of it helping smoking cessation
but in some cases it is medically inappropriate.
Seek medical advice before taking it.

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 Natural Ways to Quit Smoking - Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy has helped a great many people

stop smoking and its major benefits are that it's
natural, relatively cheap and doesn't involve
pumping nicotine into your body. You'll hear on
some websites that there is no clinical evidence
for its effectiveness. Don't believe a word of it.
The problem is that the kind of research methods
used to investigate pills and patches is not
appropriate for assessing hypnosis. Phone a
local hypnotherapist. Have a chat with them. Ask
them how it works, what their approach is etc.
You have nothing to lose and of course 'It might
work! - It has for many others'

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 Smoking Cessation and Weight Gain -
Do People Gain Weight when Quitting Smoking?

If you eat more calories than you burn off you

put on weight. When people stop smoking they
find very quickly that their sense of taste
improves and so you would be forgiven for
developing an appetite. But the fact is that the
only reason for putting on weight is that you
have given up using willpower and still feel you
are depriving yourself, therefore you substitute.
This means using something else to take over
from the smoking habit. If you remind yourself
of all the wonderful reasons to stop smoking and
celebrate the gift of health and happiness then
you will have no need to substitute anything.
Long term non-smokers tend to be fitter and
healthier and to weigh less than smokers.

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 Why Would You Want An Alternative?

Look at what you lose; the smell, the taste, the

coughing and wheezing, the feeling of being out
of control, not being able to run half a mile, the
expense, etc...etc... You gain your health, fitness,
self-respect, financial and social rewards.
Why on earth would you want an alternative?
You lose NOTHING

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But it Helps Me to Relax, (Concentrate, focus, be happy, be creative etc...)

It does none of these things. Smoking does not

help you to relax in fact, scientifically speaking,
it does quite the opposite. Smoking does one
thing and one thing only - It satisfies the need
for nicotine which your body has from the last
one you put out. Ask yourself this, if you had
never ever had a cigarette, if you had never lit
that first one, what would a cigarette do for you?
Come on, be honest!

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 How to Stop Smoking - Cutting Down

Cutting down is very much like using nicotine

replacement products, you never actually stop
putting nicotine into your body until you stop
completely. The sooner you get to stage 2 the
better and the only way to do that is to put out
that last cigarette.

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 Quitting Smoking - The Withdrawal Symptoms

This is a very interesting one. Those who use

willpower and make giving up smoking a
personal battle tend to report lots of withdrawal
symptoms but the symptoms are often quite
vague. A common one is irritability. Well it's not
unheard of for someone who is being denied
something they really want to be irritable. The
fact is that if you can get yourself to the place
where what you want (and desperately want)
are such things as happiness, health, personal
success, fitness, money etc, the feeling of being
deprived goes away. In fact, you are filled with a
feeling of success and achievement. Nothing to
withdraw from. This explains why people
stopping smoking the natural way report that
they find it surprisingly easy.

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 Permanent and Natural Smoking Cessation

Two things that people using willpower often

forget to do;

1. Make it a permanent commitment - Rather

than saying 'I am becoming a non smoker for
ever and removing all of the unnecessary
pressures and doubts, people often use such
phrases as 'I'll give it a go' or, 'I'll stop for a
week and see how I feel'

2. Use their incredibly powerful imagination to

help them succeed. In fact they often actively
switch off their imaginations.

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 Using your imagination to help you Quit Smoking

We have five senses which we use to make

sense of the world. We can also use these five
senses in our imagination. And remember, the
reason we have imagination is to facilitate
change. Now try this short exercise. You might
want to practice it often with your eyes closed
until it becomes very natural.
Imagine that you've quit smoking for a year.
What will you look like? Imagine your skin
looking and feeling healthy, a look of freedom
about you. How will it feel to be that successful?
Think about how fresh and clean your skin,
clothes and hair will smell. Think about how
great food will taste. Use all of your senses to
create your own incredible future. What starts in
the imagination can soon become real.

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 Pictures of the Harmful Effects

We've all seen pictures of lungs removed from

deceased smokers. They resemble something
offered at a bad barbecue and pictures like these
display the true horror of what cigarettes do to a
human body. The problem is that as with ads on
TV that show terminal cancer patients or
photographs of gravestones etc, these pictures
of the harmful effects of smoking create fear.
And fear is not always a helpful force for
becoming a non-smoker. Often it makes smokers
reach for a comforting cigarette.

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 How do you Experience the Smoking Habit?

Some people think of the smoking habit as an

annoying voice in the back of the mind. 'Go on,
have a cigarette, one won't hurt'. Some people
notice it as more of a feeling like hunger or
thirst. Some people experience the sensation of
wanting to smoke as a big 'smoking picture' in
their mind that won't go away until they light up.
Allen Carr, in his book 'The Easy Way to Stop
Smoking', describes it as an itch that needs to be
scratched. How do you know when you want a
cigarette.

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 How to give up smoking - Summary So Far

1. Make a list of your outcomes as a non-smoker.

In other words what will be the wonderful
benefits you will enjoy.
2. Understand that you get nothing from
smoking. If you'd never lit one you'd never want
one and soon you will be back in that situation.
3. If you ever think about cigarettes,
immediately repeat to yourself your personal
affirmation (I am getting healthier and healthier
or whatever works for you) At the same time
remind yourself of all the wonderful gifts you are
giving yourself.

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 The Health Benefits of Quitting Smoking

Smoking is assumed to cause cancer and heart

disease. There are now strong links between
smoking and diabetes. One of the great benefits
of quitting is that you no longer need to weigh
up the odds, wonder about which one might get
you first. You will be free from all of this. Just
remember to focus on what you do want. You
can do it! Lots of people have already done it.

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 But Smoking is Relaxing, isn't it?

Smoking is not relaxing - It is stressful. Ask a

doctor, they will confirm it for you. When you
stop smoking you body displays more symptoms
of relaxation, so long of course as you don't
believe you're depriving yourself of something
which will always be stressful. If life is hectic
and stressful then there are many appropriate
and healthy ways to relax including exercise
which will seem far easier once you've stopped.
Some smokers keep fit anyway, but then when
they stop they get much fitter again.

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 Why Doesn't Smoking Kill More Quickly?

Smoking can be thought of as a slow way of

killing you. Smoking is full of toxic poisons.
Nicotine itself is a toxin, a fertiliser like DDT.
Packet cigarettes contain thousands of poisons
including arsenic, benzene and carbon monoxide.
Our bodies are well equipped to deal with
poisons in small amounts and on a temporary
basis. This makes us adaptive and is useful for
our survival as a species, but make no mistake
about it, if you keep introducing these poisons
into your body long enough, they will kill you.

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 But I Could Be Run Over by a Truck Tomorrow!

Yes, you could but what on earth is the relevance

of that belief. You may wish to question beliefs
which harm you. If I told you that I was going to
run in front of trucks wearing a blindfold and
gave my reasoning as 'Well I could die from
smoking related disease tomorrow', you would
be excused for thinking that was rather foolish.

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 After Effects of Quitting Smoking

After stopping smoking, you're blood pressure

and blood quality will improve. Your body will
start to shed toxins. You will be able to breathe
more easily and your health will receive a boost.
You will have more money in your pocket every
day. Often, the most significant benefit reported
by ex-smokers is the sense of being back in
control - no longer at the mercy of a habitA
which gives absolutely nothing in return
After stopping smoking, you-re blood pressure
and blood quality will improve. Your body will
start to shed toxins. You will be able to breathe
more easily and your health will receive a boost.
You will have more money in your pocket every
day. Often, the most significant benefit reported
by ex-smokers is the sense of being back in
control - no longer at the mercy of a habitA
which gives absolutely nothing in return.

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 A New Generation of Smokers - Breaking the Cycle

Smoking is becoming less acceptable in Western

culture and so this means that less children are
taking it up. The best way to minimise the
chances of your children taking up smoking is to
stop yourself. Research shows that children are
far more likely to smoke if their parents do so.
By stopping you are potentially stopping the
cycle. This is probably the greatest benefit of
quitting smoking. Think about it, children learn
from others. And children don't much like being
told 'I'm doing something but you mustn't do it.'
To a child, that makes it challenging and
exciting.

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 Your Next Cigarette will Cost You £50 000

This is what you need to remember as a non-

smoker. When you first started smoking, you
could be excused for believing that you would
only smoke for a week or two and perhaps you
didn't even pay for them then. 'I won't buy any
myself, that way I'm not a proper smoker!' But
that first cigarette was led to all the others and
all the relative cost, financial and otherwise.
Luckily, you won't have that excuse again. Just
one cigarette is impossible. As soon as you
smoke one you start the whole process again. If
you ever think about lighting that first one, just
remember your affirmation and your wonderful
future.

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 How to Quit Smoking - Emotion Versus Logic

Talking of that first cigarette you ever smoked,

I'm sure it wasn't a logical decision. I bet you
didn't sit down with a piece of paper and weigh
up the pros and cons of smoking. Of course not,
it was an emotional decision 'It felt right!' You
probably felt cool, or part of the crowd. This is
another serious flaw with willpower and
determination. It is a logical approach to
stopping. It is basically saying 'I'm stupid,
smoking is stupid therefore I'm going to stop
(even though I don't really want to)'
Using the approach outlined in this book, you are
finding your own way to stop. Because it wasn't
a logical choice to start then it won't be a logical
choice to stop - It will just feel right!

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 Stop Smoking Tips - Get Angry
Get angry at the fact that Governments make
many billions from smoking tax and then spend a
few million on scary adverts supposedly to make
you stop. Get angry with tobacco companies for
spending billions on highly effective marketing
campaigns to start people smoking and to keep
them smoking. Get angry about people saying
you should be at the back of the cue for hospital
treatment when your smoking tax has paid for
that hospital. When you've finished being angry,
just stop smoking, then you don't need to be
angry any more. These things won't concern you.
You can just think about your positive and
healthy future.

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 'Quit Cigarette Smoking Today'

We hope you have enjoyed reading this book and

found it a positive help. It is our sincere hope
that you have not found it patronising or
negative in any way. We have tried simply to put
across facts and helpful ideas. Smoking has
killed more people than any war or famine,
probably all of them put together. We think
putting an end to that is worth getting
passionate about. We with you all the best for
your future as a happy and healthy non-smoker
and all that means to you.

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