Quitting Smoking For Dummies
Author: David Brizer MD
The decision to quit smoking is far from a casual one. Quitting smoking involves your complete commitment; it must become your number-one priority. Mustering all the support you can get, you need to decide to turn up the flame on your survival instincts, your belief in a healthy future, and your will power and faith that you can and will quit.
The sooner you stop smoking, the better your chances of avoiding some of the unwelcome consequences of smoking. You body and brain begin to recover almost immediately. Cigarette cravings aside, your body wants to stop smoking, and the moment you cut loose the smokes, your respiratory system begins to clear itself out. Here are just a few of the benefits you can reap from kicking the habit:
• A longer life with a lower risk of cancer and other deadly diseases
• No more sore throats, congested lungs, and persistent cough
• The ability to exercise and "get back into shape"
• Kissable breath and clothes that don't smell like you just came home from a bar
• Being able to really taste good food
• Pleasing your family and friends and no more being the outcast
Like all smokers, you've probably tried to quit a half dozen times, only to relapse. Perhaps you'd given up all hope of being able to quit, but now you're getting pressure from others, such as family members, to end your smoking career completely. But how do you take those first steps? And how do you follow through with your commitment to quit smoking? Quitting Smoking For Dummies can help.
Quitting Smoking For Dummies takes a total approach to help youquit smoking – short of yanking the cigarettes from your hands. It gives you the cold, hard truth about why you're addicted and how smoking harms your body – and it helps you develop a plan for finally quitting. Here's just a sampling of the topics you'll find covered:
• Understanding the various forms of tobacco – and their effects
• Figuring out why you're addicted
• Analyzing the health risks of smoking
• Developing a strategy to quit smoking
• Exploring nicotine replacement therapies
• Staying clean: Avoiding the relapse
• Getting help from support groups and programs
• Special considerations for pregnancy and teen smoking
So, the question to ask yourself is, "Why wait to quit?" You're going to have to eventually; why not start now? With Quitting Smoking For Dummies, you can start your recovery today, and look forward to a long and healthy life.
Table of Contents:
Introduction | 1 | |
About This Book | 2 | |
Conventions Used in This Book | 2 | |
Foolish Assumptions | 3 | |
How This Book Is Organized | 3 | |
Icons Used in This Book | 5 | |
Where to Go from Here | 6 | |
Part I | Taking Stock: your Decision to Quit | 7 |
Chapter 1 | Calling It Quits | 9 |
Making the Call | 9 | |
Visualizing the New, Healthy You | 10 | |
Getting a Fresh Start | 12 | |
Coming to Terms with Your Addiction | 14 | |
Knowing When You're Ready to Stop | 17 | |
Finding Quitting Aids to Help You | 17 | |
Prescription and over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) | 19 | |
Alternative quitting methods | 20 | |
Chapter 2 | Filtering Out the Many Forms of Tobacco | 23 |
Naming Your Poison: Different Smokes for Different Folks | 23 | |
Cigarettes | 24 | |
Smokeless tobacco | 24 | |
Pipes | 27 | |
Cigars | 28 | |
Breathing Deep: The Lowdown on Low-Tar and Low-Nicotine Cigarettes | 30 | |
Getting the Effects of Tobacco | 30 | |
Physical effects | 31 | |
Mental effects | 33 | |
Social effects | 33 | |
Financial effects | 35 | |
Legal effects | 36 | |
Political effects | 37 | |
Cultural effects | 37 | |
Chapter 3 | Knowing Why You Get Addicted | 39 |
Looking at the Benefits and Risks of Smoking | 39 | |
Naming Your Poison | 42 | |
Understanding What Addiction Is | 43 | |
Defining addiction, dependence, and abuse | 44 | |
Defining other key terms | 45 | |
Knowing How Neurotransmitters Function--and How Substances Like Nicotine Mess Things Up | 48 | |
Analyzing Drugs (Including Nicotine) and Why People Use Them | 49 | |
What do drugs do? | 51 | |
Why do people use drugs? | 51 | |
Looking at the Various Theories of Addiction | 53 | |
Chapter 4 | Figuring Out Why You Smoke | 57 |
Smoking Out the Smokers: Who Smokes? | 57 | |
Recognizing Why You Started | 58 | |
Understanding Why You Smoke Now | 59 | |
Smoking to be cool (cigarettes aren't!) | 60 | |
Smoking to control weight | 61 | |
Smoking to control stress | 63 | |
Understanding the Addictive Personality | 65 | |
Seeing Your Brain on Nicotine | 67 | |
Smoking 'til You Choke | 69 | |
Chapter 5 | Evaluating the Health Risks of Smoking | 71 |
Breathing: A Mini-Primer | 71 | |
Looking at Smoking's Effects on the Respiratory System | 74 | |
Smoking Out the Health Risks of Tobacco | 77 | |
Smoke gets in your eyes (and mouth and heart and lungs ...) | 78 | |
Cigarettes and cancer: A match made in heaven | 79 | |
What nicotine does to your body | 80 | |
Evaluating Your Own Health Risk | 81 | |
Quitting While You're Ahead | 82 | |
Chapter 6 | Adding Up the Damage | 85 |
Evaluating the Actual Cost of Smoking | 85 | |
Adding up what a pack a day costs in a year | 86 | |
Adding up what each pack costs society at large | 87 | |
Realizing the triple savings of quitting | 88 | |
Probing Public Health Issues | 88 | |
Debates in the United States | 89 | |
International issues | 89 | |
Massaging the Media: Advertising and Cigarettes | 90 | |
The impact on kids | 91 | |
The impact on families | 93 | |
Scanning the Statistics | 94 | |
Smoking around the world | 94 | |
The U.S. smoking scene | 95 | |
Smoking Even if You Don't Want To: Secondhand Smoke | 96 | |
The stir about secondhand smoke | 96 | |
Getting smoke out of public places | 98 | |
Appreciating the Ripple Effects | 99 | |
The morning after | 99 | |
Recognizing the guilt | 100 | |
I've quit a thousand times | 101 | |
Rejecting rationalizations and looking inside yourself | 101 | |
Part II | Packing It In: Taking the Leap | 105 |
Chapter 7 | Breaking a Bad Habit | 107 |
Looking in the Mirror: Analyzing Your Smoking Patterns | 107 | |
Realizing that there is no such thing as a seasoned smoker | 110 | |
Recognizing common smoking patterns | 111 | |
Evaluating What Went Wrong Before | 112 | |
Identifying common triggers--and the specific ones that get you | 112 | |
Staying positive about past failures | 115 | |
Overcoming Your Fear of Failure | 116 | |
Chapter 8 | Taking Your First Steps | 119 |
Quitting Time | 119 | |
Leafing the Nostalgia Behind | 120 | |
Letting Go | 121 | |
Putting Smoking to Rest | 123 | |
Doing Without: The Cold-Turkey Method | 125 | |
Cutting Back Gradually | 125 | |
Varying Your Nicotine Routine | 127 | |
Giving It Up--and Getting Something Else Instead | 127 | |
Dealing with the Changes You'll Be Going Through | 128 | |
Inner Strategies for Success | 130 | |
Chapter 9 | Using Nicotine Replacement Therapies | 133 |
Clearing the Air about Nicotine Replacement Therapies | 133 | |
Comparing Success Rates | 135 | |
Playing It Safe with NRTs | 136 | |
Patching Things Up with Over-the-Counter Nicotine Patches | 136 | |
Chewing Cravings Away with Nicotine Gum | 139 | |
Giving Nicotine Lozenges a Try | 140 | |
Talking It Out with Your Doc: Prescription-Only Options | 142 | |
Considering nicotine inhalers | 142 | |
Using nicotine nasal spray | 142 | |
Trying out anticraving medication (Zyban) | 143 | |
Combining Quitting Aids | 144 | |
Chapter 10 | Trying Alternative Methods for Quitting Smoking | 147 |
Getting By with a Little Help from Your Friends: Support Groups | 147 | |
Trying Hypnosis to Get Yourself to Stop | 149 | |
Contemplating Meditation or Self-Hypnosis | 150 | |
Learning to appreciate and control your breathing | 151 | |
Letting go: How to meditate | 152 | |
Exorcising Nicotine with Exercise | 154 | |
Trying Acupuncture | 155 | |
Experimenting with Vitamins, Herbs, and Supplements | 155 | |
Getting in Touch Spiritually | 157 | |
Checking Out Other Methods | 158 | |
T'ai chi | 158 | |
Yoga | 159 | |
Feng shui | 159 | |
Aromatherapy | 160 | |
Part III | Sticking with Quitting | 161 |
Chapter 11 | Fighting on All Fronts | 163 |
Psyching Yourself Up to Quit | 163 | |
Creating a strategy for success | 164 | |
Sticking with your decision | 166 | |
Preparing Yourself for the Change | 166 | |
How your body may change | 168 | |
How your emotions may change | 169 | |
Surviving Your First Week | 170 | |
The first 24 hours | 170 | |
You've made it through the week! | 174 | |
Chapter 12 | Staying Clean | 175 |
Practicing Early Relapse Prevention | 175 | |
Assessing your relapse risk | 176 | |
Recognizing relapse rationalizations | 176 | |
Nailing stinkin' thinkin' | 178 | |
Handling Relapses | 180 | |
Losing the battle, but winning the war | 180 | |
Catastrophizing | 180 | |
Tackling Triggers | 182 | |
Putting smoking cues on disconnect | 183 | |
Learning from your (and others') mistakes | 183 | |
Identifying common relapse mistakes | 184 | |
Understanding recidivism and denial | 184 | |
Staying Focused | 185 | |
Focusing your energy on other things | 186 | |
Taking charge: You are king of your thoughts | 187 | |
Seeing the Big Picture | 189 | |
Reframing Relapse: A Day without Nicotine Is a Successful Day! | 190 | |
Handling Secondhand Smoke When You're a Quitter | 191 | |
Conquering the Dragon: Cognitive Skills for Success | 192 | |
Taking the High Road: Will Power versus Kill Power | 193 | |
Chapter 13 | Getting Help from Support Groups and Programs | 195 |
Finding a Quitting Buddy | 195 | |
Making Networking Work | 196 | |
Supporting Your Success with Nicotine Anonymous | 197 | |
Overcoming your fears of fitting in | 198 | |
Learning to scrutinize your behavior and its effects | 199 | |
Adjusting to the group mentality | 200 | |
Embracing the 12 Step (or some other) approach | 200 | |
Sampling Smokenders | 201 | |
Starting Your Own Support Group (or Finding Peace by Keeping to Yourself) | 202 | |
Discovering Sources of Inspiration | 202 | |
The Cigarette Papers | 204 | |
The Passionate Nonsmoker's Bill of Rights | 204 | |
Locating Helpful Web Sites | 205 | |
The American Lung Association | 207 | |
The American Cancer Society | 207 | |
Other great sites | 208 | |
Joining in the Great American Smokeout | 210 | |
Chapter 14 | Self-Medicating Mood Swings | 213 |
Deciphering Depression | 213 | |
Situational (reactive) depression | 214 | |
Major depression | 215 | |
Unipolar and bipolar mood swings | 216 | |
Alleviating Anxiety | 217 | |
Putting down panic | 219 | |
Understanding the Principle of Drug Karma | 220 | |
Managing Mood Swings | 221 | |
Undergoing cognitive therapy | 222 | |
Combating panic and depression with medication | 223 | |
Chapter 15 | Getting the Skinny on Weight Gain and Healthy Living | 227 |
The Truth about Quitting Smoking and Weight Gain | 228 | |
Understanding Obesity and the Factors That Cause It | 229 | |
Genetics or environment: Which makes you fat? | 230 | |
Saying bye-bye to bingeing | 231 | |
Mouthing off on quick-fix foods | 231 | |
Getting a Handle on Weight Gain | 232 | |
Managing weight gain medically | 233 | |
Doing your part by exercising regularly | 233 | |
Eating right | 235 | |
Supporting Your Health Habit | 235 | |
Exercising your way to a new you | 235 | |
Practicing self-care | 236 | |
Part IV | Looking at Special Groups | 237 |
Chapter 16 | Focusing on Smoking, Fertility, and Pregnancy | 239 |
Monitoring Mom's Health | 239 | |
Smoking and Sex | 240 | |
Smoking and Fertility | 241 | |
Smoking during Pregnancy: Everyone Loses | 242 | |
Reviewing the risks to the fetus | 244 | |
Looking at smoking-related complications to the pregnancy and the mother | 245 | |
Quitting Smoking during Pregnancy | 246 | |
Thinking about nicotine replacement therapy | 247 | |
Being aware of depression's role | 247 | |
Smoking and Breast Feeding | 248 | |
Maligning Marlboro Moms: The Long-Term Effects of Maternal Tobacco Use | 248 | |
Chapter 17 | Smoking and Teens | 251 |
Examining the Evidence | 251 | |
Imitating What They See | 253 | |
"Do what I say, not what I do" | 253 | |
Peer pressure and low self-esteem | 254 | |
Preventing Your Teen from Picking Up the Habit | 254 | |
Sizing up your teen's attitudes and tendencies | 256 | |
Getting across the gateway idea | 257 | |
Helping your teen realize that nicotine is a drug | 258 | |
Forming healthy family attitudes toward smoking | 259 | |
Helping your teen say no to tobacco | 260 | |
Aiding Teens Who Smoke | 261 | |
Chapter 18 | Helping Someone You Care About Quit | 263 |
Convincing Someone to Quit | 263 | |
Finding Out Whether a Person Is Ready to Quit | 264 | |
Helping Someone Implement a Quitting Plan | 265 | |
Providing support | 266 | |
Being a quitting buddy | 267 | |
Staying Ahead of a Stalemate: How to Rescue Yourself | 268 | |
Identifying codependency | 269 | |
Avoiding codependency | 270 | |
Dealing with Secondhand Smoke | 271 | |
Part V | The Part of Tens | 273 |
Chapter 19 | Ten Signs That You're Ready to Quit | 275 |
Catching Your Breath | 275 | |
Watching Your Wallet | 276 | |
Walking a Mile for a Camel | 276 | |
Feeling Like a Social Misfit | 277 | |
Being Unable to (Fill in the Blank) without a Smoke | 277 | |
Catching Criticism from Others | 278 | |
Smoking More and Enjoying It Less | 279 | |
Reacting to Comments from Others | 280 | |
Missing Your Senses of Smell and Taste | 280 | |
Wanting a Healthier Future | 281 | |
Chapter 20 | Ten Rationalizations That Keep You Hooked | 283 |
I'll Quit When I'm on Vacation | 283 | |
I'm Not on Vacation | 284 | |
My Life Is Too Stressful | 285 | |
Smoking Helps Me Eat Less | 286 | |
Smoking Calms Me Down | 287 |
Interesting book: Best of the Best from South Carolina Cookbook or Nell Hills Entertaining in Style
Prostate: A Guide for Men and the Women Who Love Them
Author: Patrick C Walsh
This year, 200,000 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. An even greater number will seek help for problems caused by prostate enlargement and inflammation. This book is for them--and for the wives, sisters, and daughters who often take responsibility for educating men about health matters and encouraging them to see a physician. Written by the world-renowned Johns Hopkins surgeon who devised the new, nerve-sparing surgical procedure for treating prostate cancer (generally known as the "Walsh procedure") and an award-winning medical writer, here is an accessible and authoritative resource about the three most common prostate disorders: prostate cancer; benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, commonly known as enlarged prostate); and prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate).
The good news of the book is that effective treatment--and relief of symptoms--is available for all of these disorders. It's especially good to know that prostate cancer, when caught early, is curable. By alleviating men's fears about treatment and assuring them that many men can lead normal, active lives after prostate surgery, the authors hope to encourage men to seek medical attention for their prostate problems and help them to understand the options that are available.
Library Journal
"Every three minutes, a new case of prostate cancer is diagnosed in the United States. Every 15 minutes, a man dies from it." Thus, the message of this book that "most prostate trouble can be preventedand, if caught early enough, all prostate problems can be cured, even cancer"is good news indeed. State-of-the-art medical knowledge is provided by Johns Hopkins Urologist-in-Chief Walsh, clearly written by science writer Worthington, and informatively illustrated by Leon Schlossberg. The authors acknowledge that "medical care in this country is uneven," so their goal is "for you to come away from this book informed, prepared and able to discuss your situation intelligently with your doctor." This comprehensive reference on the prostate and its disorders complementsand surpassesSylvan Meyer and Seymour C. Nash's recent case study approach in Prostate Cancer: Making Survival Decisions (LJ 11/15/94).James Swanton, Albert Einstein Coll. of Medicine, New York
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