Everyone has heard how difficult it is to quit smoking. When smokers try to quit, their family and friends would often like to know how they can help. Although smokers won’t quit until they have made the decision for themselves, once the decision has been made, a spouse can provide a great amount of support and encouragement.

The most likely candidates to become addicted to smoking are those who start in their teen years. If you’ve been smoking for years, it may be difficult to quit when you become pregnant. But quitting before, during, and after pregnancy offer significant health benefits to you and your offspring.

Many of those who smoke have the desire to quit smoking and break the habit that they have formed.  However, it has been found that women have a harder time kicking the smoking habit than men do.  While it has been found that smoking causes more health problems in women than in men, it has also been seen that smoking is harder to break with women.  This happens because of the different effects that the nicotine have on the brain.  This also happens because of the associations that women make with smoking, which often times differ from the reasons why men smoke. 

The best preventative measures that you can take as a parent is to have the knowledge available to give to your teen about smoking.  This will allow them to make a conscious decision about what smoking does and causes.  By talking to them about this bad habit, they will be less likely to fall into the peer pressure of smoking.

A new year has begun and you are ready to make good on that promise of all promises: you will finally quit smoking.  Or perhaps you are expecting a new addition to the family and there is no time like the present to get rid of that unhealthy habit.  Whatever your motivation may be, quitting cigarettes or any other tobacco product will quite possibly be the most far-reaching decision you are making. It will improve your overall health, reduce your risk for many illnesses, improve your outward appearance, and even save you a lot of money! 

“Do as I say, don’t do as I do.” This statement should make every parent wince and stop in their tracks, and rightfully so.  Not only does it smack of hypocrisy, but it also negates any sense of responsibility on a parent’s part, and you know that children learn by your example and not your words.  Many a smoker will confide that he or she does not what their children to take up smoking, and wish they had never started themselves.  Of course, wishing does little to change the situation, and any parent who understands the risks and dangers associated with smoking will do well to do everything possible to stop this filthy habit before it also claims the life, health and pocket books of their children.  Yet, as a smoking parent, do you really understand what secondhand smoke does to your children’s lungs?  You probably have heard that it is bad for them, but do you know why?

Most people know that cancer is associated with smoking.  Unfortunately, many don’t truly realize the increased risks and seriousness of this disease, let alone its preventability.  Smoking is a toxin and, as such, it causes damage to every organ in the human body.  Therefore, it has been connected to at least 10 different types of cancers, including pancreas, bladder, kidney, cervix, esophagus, larynx, lung, and stomach, and is responsible for approximately 30% of cancer deaths. 

One of the most difficult aspects of quitting smoking is overcoming triggers, which are certain events or situations that make you feel the desire to smoke.  Identifying these triggers, and figuring out how to overcome them, is one of the primary keys to smoking cessation success.

There are many reasons why you shouldn’t smoke, but what are the reasons why people do smoke?  There are a multitude of reasons, starting with why people start in the first place, to why they can’t seem to stop.