Don't Try to Cut Down – Just Go Cold Turkey

If you want to quit smoking without drug and patches, you can use two approaches. The first is to quit gradually by cutting down the number of cigarettes you smoke until you are not smoking at all. The second way is to quit cold turkey.

Which is the better method to quit smoking? Statistics have shown that those who set a quit date and then quit cold turkey have a much better success rate than those who try to cut down on their cigarette consumption daily.

The reason that quitting smoking cold turkey might work better than cutting down gradually is because once the smoker strikes the quit date they are in a invariable position with their craving. They cannot just say, "Oh, one more today is not going to hurt."

In addition, smokers who are cutting down the cigarettes are still surrounded by all the triggers for smoking including the lighter and the cigarette pack. This is like telling a heroin addict not to do heroin while at the same time giving them a needle and ounce of the drug.

Cutting down on cigarettes before an actual quit date seems to help. Also, to reduce your smoking before quit date try to buy only one pack at a time, change brands each time, and give your cigarettes to someone else to hold, so that you have to ask for one every time you want to smoke.

Already Quitted? What's your next goal?

Goals are dreams with deadlines.

When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.

Many ex-smokers forgot about their struggle with smoking, all quitting smoking drama, and finally forgot their pride of leaving this unmitigated evil behind not long after smoking cessation process. There is no doubt that it's not good to forget any experience, and it's not good to stop self-perfection process.

Do you remember a man that gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food? He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself. So, maybe, it is not good idea to implement new great life changes for ex-smoker, who quitted smoking three or less months ago, it is too early to make some other movements. However, it's not good if you can't praise yourself for something more than one year old quitting smoking triumph. You must have some further ideas of self-development.

First, ex-smoker needs to give priority to personal goals, but, certainly, one of the most important goals is health. Many of ex-smokers not have the time in their busy schedule (or have strong enough reasons) to implement a balanced and healthy lifestyle, but ex-smoker should try to follow through plain health principles such as enough sleep, a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.

Goal setting is a powerful process that helps ex-smoker choose where to go in life. By knowing exactly what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. Decide what you want to do with your life, and what major goals you want to achieve, and then divide these into the smaller and smaller aims that you must strike to reach your lifetime goals. Finally, once you have your plan, start working on it.

When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so, as you did when finally quitted. With the experience of having achieved this goal, observe the progress you have made towards other goals. Adjust your goals regularly to reflect growth in your knowledge and experience, and if some goals do not hold any magnetism any longer, then let them go.

Goal setting is an important technique of motivating yourself; deciding what is important for you to achieve in your life; separating what is important from what is irrelevant, or a distraction; and building your self-confidence, based on successful achievement of goals. If you don't already set goals, do so, starting now. As you make this method part of your life, you will wonder how you did without it!

by the courtesy of Quit Smoking Pro

Companies Forbidding Smoking in Private Lives

A growing number of companies in Florida are forbidding their workers from smoking not only at work, but also in their private lives. Westgate Resorts, the largest private employer in Central Florida, has banned smoking and won't budge from a policy of not hiring smokers and firing employees who do smoke.

"When I found out it was legal to discriminate against smokers, I put the policy in place. If you are too stupid to understand that smoking is going to kill you, then we are going to tell you that if you want to work for our company, you will not smoke," Westgate president and CEO David Seigel said. Seigel also said that the policy was prompted by the death of his close friend - a heavy smoker who died of cancer.

Seigel said his policy is cost effective and said since it went into effect, health insurance claims have gone down significantly - making insurance more affordable for employees. The concern for privacy groups is that policies could extend beyond health issues. "Anything we can do that is legal and not discriminatory, we will do," Seigel said. "If you are an alcoholic and we have the right to fire you, we will do so. And if you are obese and there is a way for us not to hire you or to fire you, we will do that, too."

Several Westgate employees were found leaving his building and smoking in a nearby strip mall. Seigel said if those smokers will be disciplined and assisted to quit smoking, when the non-smoking policy initially went into effect he gave employees a year to stop smoking and opportunities to receive counseling, patches and other smoking cessation programs.