Browse >
Home / Archive: September 2008
Everyone who has tried to quit smoking have experienced the quit smoking symptoms, withdrawal symptoms, that makes you want to start again. In that situation you need some extra motivation to stay on the right track. You already know of the stop smoking benefits, but what happens when you stop smoking is that when the withdrawal symptoms are the strongest, you might forget all the good reasons to quit smoking.
One tool to remind you and help you remember all the is a Quit Smoking Meter or Quit Smoking Calculator. The quit smoking meters comes in many different shapes and colors, but what they basically do is to keep track of how long time you have not smoked, how much money you have saved not smoking and, most importantly, how much your life has been prolonged due to your smoking cessation. None of them take into account the costs of quitting smoking. How much does a quit smoking pill costs? Or other quit smoking medication? Or quit smoking acupuncture?
Some of the quit smoking meters are free, while others costs a small amount. A lot of quit smoking websites offer a quit smoking meter when you sign up their quit smoking program.
In the following I’ll go over the best quit smoking meters.
Quit Keeper
Quit Keeper is a free quit meter that tracks various statistics as you quit smoking.
The statistics it tracks include:
- How long you have been quit.
- How much money you have saved.
- How many cigarettes you haven’t smoked.
- How much of your life you have saved.
- Listing your anniversaries and those of your buddies.
Features
- A quit meter that is absolutely free!
- Use a hot-key to put your quitting statistics into an email message, a forum posting or a chat room.
- Tracks the increasing price of cigarettes
- (the only quit meter that can do that).
- Tracks your milestones and those of your buddies.
- A great tool to help you as you quit smoking.
- Easy to install – easy to use.
- Small, fast and efficient.
- Easy to customize.
- Quick, small download (about 100k!)
SilkQuit Meter v2.60
The current version of SilkQuit calculates the time you have been quit, the total amount of money not spent on your habit, and the time you’ve saved by not smoking. Your quit duration is shown in years, calendar months, weeks, hours, minutes and seconds. By using a configurable hot-key combination you can paste detailed quit information into any document, handy if you’re involved with an online support forum.
Features
SilkQuit v2.60 has the following features:
- Designed to be unobtrusive by minimising to a small icon on your taskbar
- The only meter in the world that calculates calendar months correctly
- Tracks your true quit time; does not add/remove an hour during daylight savings and standard time changes
- International currencies and time formats supported automatically
- One-touch operation to “hot-paste” your quit details into any document
- Calculates time quit in years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds
- Calculates number of cigarettes not smoked since you quit
- Calculates money saved in your local currency
- Calculates time saved by not smoking
- Customise the text which appears in your quit details
- Single click access to SilkQuit Chat
- Multiple users supported
http://www.tobaccofreeguam.org/meter.htm
A great online quit smoking meter, which help you track
- How long you’ve been smoke-free
- How much money you’ve saved
- How much your savings could be earning
- How much time you are adding to your life by not smoking
So go ahead – find your favourite quit smoking meter and quit smoking today!
Tweet This Post
Tags: amount of money, anniversaries, calculator, current version, long time, milestones, motivation, price of cigarettes, quit smoking calculator, Quit Smoking Forums, Quit Smoking Meter, Quit Smoking Pill, quit smoking pills, reasons to quit smoking, shapes and colors, silkquit, smoking cessation, statistics, stop smoking, withdrawal symptoms
There are many methods to quit smoking, but one of the more overlooked quit smoking medication are herbs. Herbs have been used for ages against a variety of diceases, but only recently herbs has been used to quit smoking. The traditional quit smoking drugs, like Zyban and Chantix (Champix) are artifical, but the herbs to quit smoking described below are all pure natural products.
Quit Smoking – with quit smoking herbs
The most common reason for a quit smoking faliure are the withdrawel symptoms – the craving for nicotine, depression, irritability, anxiety attacks, sleeping difficulty, body ache, and a general discomfort. There are many herbs to quit smoking, but the one decriebed below are the most popular. The herbs can be combined to fight the deadly habbit smoking is. Consulting a homeopath to get advice on how to mix the products might be a good idea.
Lobelia inflata (Indian Tobacco) – is an herb whose pharmaceutical properties are similar to nicotine. It is dual in its activities, acting as both a relaxant and a stimulant.
Cinchona officinalis (Peruvian Bark) – treats edginess, nervous exhaustion, indigestion.
Daphne indica (Spurge Laurel) – helps with tobacco cravings and inability to sleep.
Plantago major (Plantain) – produces disgust for tobacco in those who chew it and cures neuralgia resulting from tobacco.
Calcarea phosphorica (Calcium Phosphate) – used to treat headaches, hoarseness, burning throat and cough which can be made worse from tobacco and tobacco smoke. Smokers are usually deficient in calcium.
Nux vomica (Poison nut) – is an herb used in minute amounts as a restorative preparation. Used to treat insomnia and irritability as well as coughing and scraping in the throat made worse by smoking tobacco.
These herbs are all found in the quit smoking herbs from CigArrest – CigArrest Homeopathic No-Smoking Tablets, Gum or Lozenges contains the above mentioned ingredients, designed to help reduce irritability and tobacco cravings, relieve nervous tension and detoxify.
Try it here – for Free (it really works!):

Other herbs include:
Avena Sativa – this is a very old herb which has been used to overcome very serious drug addictions (such as opium) with massive success for a very long time. This herb , fights anxiety attacks and diminishes the craving for and dependency on nicotine, and is an execellent quit smoking medication.
Gotu Kola – this herb clears the head literally and it makes your mind razor-sharp. It is also valuable in the quit smoking procedure as it battles quit smoking symptoms such as anxiety attacks and raises the concentration level.
Garcinia cambogia – is an exceptionalappetite regulator, and this herb can be used to fight the weight gain that often happens when you stop smoking. The herb increases the metabolishm and raises the fat burning. So in fact it is one of the best herbs to quit smoking, since it both reduces the appetite and also the weight.
Remember always to consult you doctor before starting to use any kind of quit smoking medication – herbs, quit smoking pills or any kind of quit smoking drugs.
Tweet This Post
Tags: addiction, anxiety attacks, avena sativa, body ache, cambogia, champix, Chantix, concentration level, depression irritability, execellent, fat burning, gotu kola, herbs to quit smoking, homeopath, massive success, medications, Methods To Quit Smoking, nicotine, opium, peruvian bark, quit smoking pills, zyban
Zyban and Chantix are two different pills that can be used as an aid to smoking cessation. The pills must be prescribed by a doctor after detailed evaluation. They both increase the chance to become smoke-free, but they are not miracle cures.
Along with the growing interest in smoking cessation, several pharmaceutical companies launched quit smoking pills to stop smoking. In 2001, Zyban, which contains bupropion, and in 2006 came Chantix, which contains varenicline. Several new drugs are on the way.
Zyban
Zyban is a pill that works by reducing the urge to smoke and reducing withdrawal symptoms by a cessation. The pill contains no nicotine, but instead the substance bupropion. It affects the nervous lanes in the brain, which usually triggers symptoms of a cessation. Bupropion was originally developed and approved for the treatment of depression, but it turned out that some of the subjects quit smoking. Subsequently, Zyban been tested and approved for smoking cessation.
Chantrix
Chantix is a quit smoking pill like Zyban, which works by reducing the urge to smoke and reducing withdrawal symptoms by a cessation. The active substance in the pill is varenicline. The substance works by blocking the places in the brain which is affected by nicotine. This will minimize withdrawal symptoms. Varenicline is the first quit smoking pill, which is designed specifically for smoking cessation
Effectiveness
Smoking cessation pills are much newer than nicotine replacement, and is therefore not so many studies of effectiveness. In the studies that have been made, all smokers – in addition to the pills – also received advice on their cessation. Approximately one in four smokers are smoke-free after one year. Some studies suggest that quit smoking pills, and particularly Chantix, is slightly more effective than nicotine replacement, but others conclude that there are no major differences.
Recommendations
Cancer Society recommends that smokers who wants to quit smoking takes part in a smoking cessation course or gets individual advice of a smoking cessation by a counselor. Advice should include knowledge about medicines for smoking cessation, how they function and side effects in the short and long term. Recent research shows, that the risk of HPV transmission increases significantly in smokers, which increases the risk of developing cancer.
Since nicotine replacement is the most proven drug for smoking cessation, you should try it first. Quit smoking pills are good alternatives, but they both require a prescription. Physicians should consider whether there may be circumstances that talks against the use of medication.
Before using the quit smoking pills, visit one of the many quit smoking forums and ask for other peoples experiences with the different quit smoking aids.
Tweet This Post
Tags: cancer society, champix, Chantix, Chantrix, medications, miracle cures, new drugs, nicotine, pharmaceutical companies, pills, pills to stop smoking, quit smoking effects, Quit Smoking Forums, quit smoking pills, replacement, smoker, smokers, smoking cessation, treatment of depression, varenicline, withdrawal symptoms, zyban
What are the benefits of quitting smoking?
There are a number of advantages you can gain from quitting smoking – here are just some of them:
After about.
- 8 hours – Oxidation of blood again at its normal level.
The risk of getting a heart attack begins to decline.
- 24 hours – Carbon monoxide is about to be removed from your body.
- 48 hours – Nicotine may no longer detectable in your blood.
- 1 week – your sense of taste and smell are markedly better.
- 3-9 months – Respiration becomes noticeable better (which means less coughing, more air into the lungs)
Lung function is improved by approximately 5-10%.
- 1 years – risk for a heart condition (eg. A blood clot) has been halved in relation to risk to smokers
- 10 years – risk of getting lung cancer is halved compared to a smoker.
- 15 years – The risk for a heart condition (eg. Embolism) represents now the risk in people who have never been smokers.
Tweet This Post
Tags: benefits of quitting smoking, blood 1, blood clot, carbon monoxide, embolism, heart attack, heart condition, lung cancer, lung function, lungs, nicotine, oxidation, Quit Smoking Timeline, respiration, risk, sense of taste, smokers, stop smoking, stop smoking benefits
If you are a smoker and are considering to quit smoking, you have probably had a lot of thoughts about how it best be achieved. A smoking cessation is not an easy thing to do, but fortunately there are a lot of different tools you might consider to try, both in the classical form of nicotine products, but also a variety of offers of alternative treatment.
You’ve probably heard of quit smoking acupuncture, homeopathy, NLP, quit smoking hypnosis, crystal therapy and other exciting expression.
Generally speaking you who smoke are to fight two things, both physical dependence on nicotine, but also dependence on the mental level.
Popular products such as nicotine preparations in the form of inhaler, chewing gum and quit smoking pills have the advantage that they are clinically tested and thus there is evidence for the effect.
But they work only against the psychical urge and addiction to nicotine, you will still have to fight yourself on the mental level, there are unfortunately no medications that can make you completely forget that you have ever smoked.
So even after the physical addiction has slowed, typically after 3 months’ time, there will come situations where you are close to fall in again.
Therefore, many consider alternative medicine and alternative methods as a second approach, as it may seem a bit illogical that they should quit the nicotine addiction be in fact using the usual nicotine products, but also because some of these therapies are working with the mind, the mental level.
And many have had good experience with quit smoking acupuncture, for example, where both physical and mental urge for nicotine disappears a few weeks into treatment. Others report that hypnosis can affect one’s subconscious so that you completely lose the urge to smoke. Some resort to NLP, which is a way to learn to identify and map your mind, and with that understanding develop control over their lives.
Homeopathy is based on a holistic philosophy where the whole individual, both in body and psyche, can be cured by small doses of extract from the plant, mineral and animal kingdom. Crystals supposedly radiate energy waves and these should be able to heal.
Roughly speaking, there is a plethora of different therapies in alternative medicine, and you can not be 100% sure that a single treatment works for you.
All people are, although we are of the same species, extremely different in many respects. So use your common sense. Perhaps you know someone who already has been through a stop smoking with the help of hypnosis or something else? If not, then check the various therapies.
If you do not really believe that a crystal placed on your TV works as smoking cessation, then it probably does not. If you are interested in NLP, and believes that it could help you in other contexts other than just a smoking cessation - well then you’re already well under way.
Combining the more traditional stop smoking methods; like quit smoking cd, quit smoking books, quit smoking pills or other quit smoking drugs is not a bad idea either.
What counts for you is to get the right tools so you can successfully implement your stop smoking – and stay smoke-free, alternatv treatment or not.
Tweet This Post
Tags: acupuncture, addiction, alternative medicine, alternative methods, alternative treatment, chewing gum, crystal therapy, good experience, homeopathy, hypnosis, medications, nicotine, nicotine products, physical addiction, physical dependence, popular products, quit smoking acupuncture, Quit Smoking Books, quit smoking cd, quit smoking pills, smoker, smoking cessation, subconscious
There is not only “one right way” to quit smoking cigarettes. But the experience of the following advice, is that it makes it easier (or rather: less difficult) for you to stop.
In any case, you must prepare yourself thoroughly, as a smoking cessation is an important project that you should not just jump into carelessly.
Follow these 14 steps to quit smoking:
Quit Smoking Tip 1: Be TOP Motivated
You need as a basic rule No 1 be really motivated to stop. You must have agreed with yourself that NOW is the time to quit smoking cigarettes. The decision to stop smoking must be your own, so that you really “want” it inside yourself. It will not work if you’re just feeling the pressure to try to quit smoking because somebody else (your doctor, your partner, etc.) talks to your guilty conscience.
Quit Smoking Tip 2: No sudden whim
If your smoking cessation is a sudden whim, it is doomed to failure. Smoking cessation requires careful preparation, so that you through a period of time have prepared you and developed the right motivation, so that you “will” keep up.
Quit Smoking Tip 3: Choose a stop date
When the idea of stopping smoking have matured in you, are you are ready to choose the day you want to quit. The Stop Date is the first day, that you do not smoke. Set a date 2-4 week in advance, giving you time to make you completely ready. Choose a date when there is something else in your life that can distract you. For example, when your holiday begin. But do not select a day when you can expect special stress or temptations, such as examination, family gathering or similar.
Quit Smoking Tip 4: Clarify your personal reasons to stop
Write a list of stop smoking benefits. Be precise and keep always list ready, so you can read it if the urge to smoke gets too strong. You should update your list of quit smoking benefits whenever you think of another benefit.
Quit Smoking Tip 5: Understand your smoke addiction
Before you stop smoking, write a diary in a week of when and why you smoke. Consider what you can do in each situation instead of smoking. Pay particular attention to the so-called trigger situations. Think of what you would do if other people are trying to entice you to smoke again.
Quit Smoking Tip 6: Nicotine preparations
Consider in advance whether you want to use a patch, gum or other products with nicotine as an aid to lessen the symptoms. Or if you want to talk to your doctor about getting prescription for drugs that discourages smoking (see below). Other things to consider are: herbs to quit smoking or using a quit smoking pill.
Quit Smoking Tip 7: Cutting back
In the days leading up to your stop date try to cut back slightly on your consumption. Drop example, the redundant cigarettes that you really do not feel is necessary, but just smoke as a habit.
This is also the phase where you could consider listening to a quit smoking cd, read quit smoking books or maybe try quit smoking acupunctur.
Quit Smoking Tip 8: Stop completely
On the stop-date you stop COMPLETELY. The cutting back is over and do not just smoke in the evening. No, now it is over.
Quit Smoking Tip 9: Throw out the cigarettes
From now on it is forbidden to have cigarettes or other tobacco available at home or at work.
Quit Smoking Tip 10: Wash your clothes
Get rid of the tobacco smell in clothes, bedding and curtains. If you smoked in the car, it should also be cleaned. Remove ashtrays, matches and lighters, which makes you think of smoking.
Quit Smoking Tip 11: Avoid triggers
Watch out for the trigger situations that you know makes you to smoke again (or use quit smoking pills). Is there a clear pattern in situations in which you are particularly tempted to “fall into the water”, then make an extra effort to avoid them.
Quit Smoking Tip 12: Get support in your surroundings
Tell family, friends and colleagues that you have stopped smoking. This help to put pressure on keeping your smoke stop. Ask your surroundings, not to tempt you unnecessarily to smoke, including by not smoking you up in my head. You might also consider joining quit smoking forums and using a quit smoking meter (see this article for a review of the best quit smoking meter).
Quit Smoking Tip 13: Move you body
Be sure to keep you going. The more you move, the more you will be derived from thinking about smoking, and the less you experience the urge to smoke and feel the quit smoking symptoms. Exercise and physical activity gives you more energy, and help against that “quit smoking weight gain” many experience.
Quit Smoking Tip 14: Reward yourself
It is really hard to quit smoking! So Reward yourself along the way. You will save a lot of money when you stop smoking, use some of them on something special you always wanted. You deserve it!!!
Tweet This Post
Tags: 14 steps, benefit, careful preparation, cigarettes, diary, failure, guilty conscience, motivation, period of time, personal reasons, Quit Smoking Pill, quit smoking pills, smoke addiction, smoking cessation, steps to quit smoking, stopping smoking, stress, temptations, time to quit smoking, urge, whim
After just two years on the market, the quit smoking pill – smoking cessation -product Chantix has beaten the record in the most serious side effects, says the report, but Pfizer rejects proven causal connection.
Many people are using the quit smoking pill Chantix, when they get medical help to stop smoking.
Now a U.S. investigation, shows that there are indeed a great many side effects associated with using Chantix according to Swedish Läkemedel world. The article is based on a report of May 2008 from the American non-profit organization Institute for Safe Medication Practice.
Quit Smoking Medication
According to researchers, there is never actually registered so many side effects of a drug after such a short time on the market.
Of the 3,000 reports of serious side effects that researchers have reviewed, are reports of patients who lost consciousness while driving, while others experienced sudden muscle spasms.
Besides the side effects of accident reports, there are mountains of reports of vision loss, changes in heart rhythms, seizures, severe skin reactions and diabetes.
1000 side effects reactions in the quarter
Each quarter researchers examines the side effect register to see what medicines have more side effects.
Most drugs are about five serious side effect events per quarter. Chantix was last year record, by having more than 1,000 reports in a single quarter.
One of the authors behind the American study, Curt Furberg, estimates that from 40,000 people in the U.S. alone are affected by the severe adverse reactions to the product.
Pilots are prohibited to use Chantix
Earlier the pilots in the U.S. Air Force has recommended the use of Chantix, when they were with the bad smoking habit. But after this study publication, prohibits the Air Force now its pilots and traffic controllers to-use pill.
Medicines Agency in the United States, the FDA says that the report is a signal that there must now be carried out new studies on the product.
The Producer defends its product
According to the researchers behind the study for Pfizer knows the many serious side effects, because many of the reports in the study come from them.
Pfizer comments in a message on its website surveys. It states:
“The authors acknowledge, however, that not in the light of these adverse reaction reports can see that there is a causal link between the use of Chantix and the reported adverse events – because most of those involved patients used other drugs while the use of Chantix. ”
No drugs without side effects
Pharmaceutical company also lays down that it is impossible to make drugs without side effects.
“But the goal is obviously to create products with so few and mild side effects as possible. This also applies to Pfizer’s smoking cessation agent Chantix. And most users of Chantix experienced no significant side effects. But anyone experiencing side effects. It may be in the form of migraine headaches, sleeping difficulties and nausea or fatigue and dizziness. There may also be uncommon in the form of, for example, in vision, neck pain, muscle tension, tremor and difficulty speaking. ”
In the United States alone is expected that 3.5 million people have used the quit smoking pill since its launch in 2006.
Tweet This Post
Tags: accident reports, adverse reactions, causal connection, cessation product, champix, curt furberg, force, heart rhythms, medical help, medicines agency, muscle spasms, non profit organization, pfizer, Quit Smoking Pill, seizures, skin reactions, smoking cessation, smoking habit, traffic controllers, vision loss
Not all nicotine rehabilitation means is nasal spray, inhalers and patches and gum. In fact, there are also quit smoking pills or smoking cessation pills as a means against relapse on stopping smoking, and this must be attempted basalt to explain a little about them.
The first thing we look at is a tablet that you can put in the mouth, and here is delivers the gradual nicotine, which then is absorbed by the mucous membranes in the mouth. The nicotine is not delivered and taken in as fast as if you smoke a cigarette, but it helps to gradually lower your consumption and hence dependence level, just as many of the other nicotine aids.
Usually when you smoke a cigarette, it takes only a very few seconds for the nicotine to be transported from the lung tissue and into the bloodstream, and up to the brain – “the reward”, in the form of nicotine, you receive very quickly in this case. But with the nicotine tablet, the nicotine must first pass through the bloodstream from the mucous membranes of the mouth, and up to the brain, and it is a much slower process. It is comparable to taking the stairs instead of the elevator, you can not carry as much (nicotine) and it is more slowly to go up.
Number two on the list is anti depressive pills. There are many cases where smokers have had good experience using the pills, which, in most cases stimulates the mood in a positive manner, and formes a counterweight to stop smoking, because sopping to smoke at times can be accompanied with some reluctance and depression.
However, this is not something you just can buy in the supermarket, it must be prescribed by your doctor – but if you have tried other means and believe that they are not as effective, it may be an idea to have a consultation with your doctor and discuss whetheranti depressive pills might be the solution.
The last item on the list is a fairly new quit smoking pill on the market, by the name of Champix. This should encourage the production of dopamine in the brain (which is the brain’s reward substance). If you do something good for yourself, dopamine is released (go for a run, etc).
Unfortunately smoking is eventually rewarded with dopamine, and this is certainly not the intention. So, in addition to stimulate the dopamine production, the product also fights nicotine so it is not quite the same pleasure as before.
Champix, however, is a relatively new product, and in fact only on prescription, so here you must take a talk with your doctor. He or she can also help to reveal what tools are generally best for you.
Generally it is very good with tools, but remember that it is not enough to take a smoking cessation pill and then “it is probably over.” It is not the headache you must fight, but a change of lifestyle you actually need.
All means can be used, for instance a quit smoking pill, but the real battle be fought in your mental home, and careful preparation it is the alpha and omega. Remember also to finally use your social networks, and use experience from someone who havesuccessfully quit smoking.
Tweet This Post
Tags: bloodstream, champix, counterweight, dependence level, dopamine, good experience, inhalers, lung tissue, mucous membranes, nasal spray, new quit smoking pill, nicotine, pills, relapse, reluctance, smokers, smoking cessation, stopping smoking