HealtyDayS

 To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did; I ought to know because I’ve done it a thousand times,” said Mark Twain. If you and Mark Twain have walked down the same road, it may be time for you to look at a new way to get ready to stop, as well as to really stamp out this unhealthy habit once and for all. For many smokers, getting ready to stop is the biggest step of all.

There certainly is no shortage of non-smokers or reformed smokers telling of the numerous reasons why someone should not light up, and sometimes the telling can get out and out nasty. The smoker often wonders why such a bad thing could be so enjoyable, and just as often, how one can enjoy some- thing that is so destructive. The other side of the coin is why someone would do something so destructive when there is no enjoyment whatsoever.

What does this really say about the inner self, the ability to act intelligently, and to be in control of one’s self. How about self-respect, and self-value? What does this say about the responsibility to oneself and family? Now, besides the detrimental physical manifestations caused by smoking, the smoker is left to deal with his inner essence and soul, which appears on the surface, to be out to destroy as well.

It helps the smoker to understand that there are several physical components to this addiction besides the nicotine, and when these are managed holistically, the smoker can be in charge of his health and well-being once again! A person smokes to alter physical feelings in the body. These feel ings are actually body sensations caused by the thought pro cesses, emotions and stored stress. The act of smoking hypnotizes the person, assisting in the release of the stress chemicals. It becomes obvious, therefore, that new ways of releasing the stress chemicals must be put in place before the nicotine is removed, making the transition to non-smoking smoother.

Addressing the fear of non-smoking

I have never met a smoker who wasn’t experiencing some level of fear when approaching the idea of quitting, and this is very understandable. The cigarette, or other smoking vehicle is actually perceived as a stress reducer, and for most smokers this is their only stress reducer. Unfortunately, while it does appear to reduce stress in the beginning, it is a very dangerous choice, and because of the mind/ body reaction to the over 4000 chemicals, there is a powerful re bound stress reaction from smoking.

As mentioned earlier, before the smoking devise can be re moved, the smoker needs some new and effective stress management tools. It is important for the smoker to learn how his body works in response to stress, and the part the smoking plays in reducing stress. It is easy to recognize when the person smokes, the mind/body goes into a hypnotic trance. The person is often unaware of the actual smoking, and before awareness hits, the cigarette is finished. Watch the eyes of any smoker, and you can easily see the trance state.

The mind is lost in the thought processes, and often very vivid pictures are played while the smoke dances in and out f the lungs. It is important for the smoker to learn how to effect this state without smoking. This is done by teaching the participant how to slow the brain waves consciously, thereby slowing down the production of stress chemicals, as the over-active mind slows as well. It takes only 1/200th of a second to effect this biochemical change in the mind/body. Actually, this is much quicker than lighting up.

Getting the nutrition in line for high-level functioning

I’ve met hundreds of smokers, but I have yet to meet a smoker who has great nutritional habits. The common pitfalls are no breakfast, or a one high in sugars, caffeine and other high-glycemic foods. The lunch is often just as sporadic, and grazing is a common habit. Favorite foods usually fall into the category of being highly refined, and beverages are often high in caffeine, artificial sweeteners, or alcoholic.

It helps if we understand that there is an underlying link to most addictions, and that is the addiction to sugar. It becomes very important for the smoker to be educated about this phenomena. If a person does not eat sufficiently for his lean body mass, and/or if there is a family history of ad dictions, adult onset diabetes, heart disease, certain can- cers, high blood pressure, and other circulatory diseases, that person may be very sensitive to high-glycemic foods. This over-sensitivity presents itself with uncomfortable body sensations which feel stressful. The smoker answers this biochemical feeling with lighting up a cigarette, in an attempt to stop the stress reaction.

Learning to quiet the mind and emotions

Once the fear of non-smoking is understood, and the food is in order, the smoker is already feeling better, and most likely not smoking quite so often. This usually comes as a surprise, because the smoker has never felt this level of calmness before.

The emotional states we experience are actually chemical re actions in the mind/body brought forward by thoughts. They end up in body sensations, but all originated in the thought process in the form of images. When we learn to notice our frequent “emotional visitors”, especially on lower levels, we can learn to release them, thereby causing a chemical change in our biochemistry. The act of self-awareness, fol lowed by choice puts us in control of our mind/body pro cesses. For most people, this is a completely new beginning, and breaks the hopeless-helpless cycle. We call these tools mindfulness, awareness, and insight meditative practices. They are extremely valuable in helping us learn to decrease stress hormones, and produce healing hormones. This is the basis of mind/body healing, not just for the smoker, but for everyone, with or without an actual disease process.

Learning the power of imagery, imaginology, visualization and self-hypnotic technique

We all have the power to access our subconscious mind. We do it all the time. The aforementioned techniques allow us to direct the images, instead of receiving them randomly, like an out of control computer. Once the mind is quiet, we can place images and suggestions directly into the subconscious. For those looking to stop smoking, these images should be based on the particular beliefs, and needs of the individual smoker. For some, health is a big issue, but for others this may not be so. It is important for the mind to really see the problem, and the goal completely finished.

The mind words backwards, and when it is well focused on the goal, and understands the problem very clearly, it will assist in designing the action steps for achievement. There are many tools and techniques for imaging, and deepening the hypnotic trance. They are easy to learn, and very natural for the mind/body. The body wants to be healthy. It is looking for homeostasis, or balance. When we engage the en tire system in working towards health, expect the very best.

 Is there any adventure or fun in smoking? Absolutely not! Don’t be fooled by the fun packed advertisements of the cigarette making companies. There is no taste, no fun and no adventure in smoking cigarettes. These are just the slogans of the cigarette making companies which are multiplying their profits at the cost of the precious human lives.

The greedy multi-national multi-billion dollar cigarette manufacturers are killing people quietly without being noticed by anyone. According to the WHO report, every 6.5 seconds a person in the world dies prematurely due to cancer, heart attack, respiratory or some other kind of tobacco related diseases. No doubt, the tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for diseases worldwide.

If you are a smoker then think seriously for a moment and decide whether you are mentally OK. I very much doubt because you are spending money on the purchase of an item which is not only risking your life by unintentionally inviting numerous diseases to attack your body but also risking the lives of other people who are forced to inhale second hand smoke, which is more dangerous than smoking. If you smoke inside your house then you also risk the life of your spouse and children. Is it a wise decision to keep on smoking?

Say no to smoking, if you want to live a normal healthy life free from diseases. Why not take a bold decision NOW and quit smoking immediately! Are you prepared to do so?

Tobacco use is going to kill nearly 10 million people each year, mostly in their productive middle ages. It is estimated that 75% of these deaths will occur in the developing countries mainly due to the high number of smokers and lack of medical facilities available there.

Due to lack of knowledge and education, the number of smokers in the developing countries and poor households is increasing at an alarming rate. The warning written on the cigarette packets is mostly ignored by the illiterate smokers. It is sad that the average amount spent by poor households on tobacco is nearly the same as the amount spent on education. A recent study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has proved that the more people are educated, the less they smoke.

Your health is your best asset. Protect your life from painful tobacco related diseases. Live a healthy and happy life and just say no to smoking.

One of the first obstacles we have when we want to quit smoking is our excuses for not quitting. I know I had a ton of them and I’m sure you have some, also.Once these excuses are in control, they really sound silly once you quit and look back on them.

Don’t let the excuses hold you back. Quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for your health right now.

In a recent 50 year study that was completed by Britsh Researchers, Richard Doll and Bradford Hill found that, on average, smokers die 10 years younger than nonsmokers.

They also found about 25 diseases that smoking seemed to cause.

The greatest finding from this study was that it mattered when you quit smoking. If you quit at the age of 60, you gained three years of your life. Quitting at 50 got you an additional six years. Those who quit at 40 gained nearly nine years of life. For those of you who quit at 30, well you hit the jackpot….your risk was avoided almost entirely.

The study also concluded, after 50 years of following their subjects that about two-thirds of them died from their smoking habit.

There will never be a better time than right now to stop smoking. Each day you smoke, you shorten your life.

So start dealing with your excuses that are holding you back. I was a 3-pack a day smoker so I definitely had a few. Here is one of my favorites:

“Every time I try to quit smoking, something terrible happens and I need to smoke”

Boy, this is my favorite. I can’t count how many times I used it. Remember Rosanne Rosanadana, the character Gilda Radner played on “Saturday Night Live?” Her line was, “It’s always something.” That was definitely true for me.

Odds are something is going to happen when you start to quit smoking. Life throws everybody curve balls - loved ones die, we lose jobs, we get married, we get divorced, our kids get into trouble. But what really matters in life is not how many challenges we receive, but how we handle them. When I smoked, cigarettes were what I used to cope. I could get away from everyone and everything to go have a cigarette. To stop using cigarettes as a crutch, I needed to learn different coping skills.

At the beginning of my book, I suggest you start observing how non-smokers handle life. Have you ever tried this? If so, you’ve probably seen people dealing with big life issues without having to inhale smoke in their lungs. What did they do? My friends and I do things like exercise, take yoga, get involved with spirituality or go to therapy. Some of them do all four. Whatever it takes to help us through a rough patch, we do it without smoking.

There’s something else to watch for as well - sometimes we create a crisis as an excuse to revert to old behavior. Just because you had a fight with your spouse or partner, your boyfriend or girlfriend didn’t call or you got a bad job review does not have to be a crisis. It’s all in the way you look at it. All those events are an opportunity to learn -how to more effectively discuss problems with your spouse or partner, that your boyfriend or girlfriend can’t be available to you 24/7 and that there are things you can do to improve your job performance.

Very few things are the end of the world. And even if one is, don’t smoke. There is absolutely nothing that can happen in your life that could be made better by smoking a cigarette. So stick with the plan and learn some healthy ways to cope.

I’m right behind you all the way. Email me with your successes or if you just need someone to help you make your way.

Your friend in staying quit,

Donna

Quit Smoking

Smokers make many excuses for not quitting.  One of them is the concentration con.  How many times have you heard a smoker say, “I would like to quit, but it helps me concentrate”.  Maybe you have said it yourself?

In reality, smoking doesn’t help concentration from a medical viewpoint. So the idea that smoking helps concentration is just a perception, or an imagined positive reason for not quitting.

It’s true that withdrawal symptoms, starting not long after your last cigarette, cause feelings of irritability and restlessness.  These feelings started because of cigarettes, and it’s strange that another cigarette should be the way to relieve them.

In fact, smoking makes concentration much harder, not easier.  Although another cigarette temporarily relieves the symptoms caused by the cigarette in the first place, the cigarette is not the aid to concentration which many smokers wrongly choose to believe.

Truth is, smoking another cigarette will make concentration progressively harder.  With any drug, you eventually need more and more of it to produce the same effect.  A smoker will never be able to concentrate as well as a non-smoker. The more he smokes, the less relief he’ll get from each cigarette.

Let’s look at the medical side of the concentration con.  Clogged arteries, caused by smoking, starve the brain of oxygen and reduce our ability to concentrate.  Carbon monoxide, produced by cigarettes, is well-known as a poison… not an aid to concentration.

The ‘concentration con’ is an example of the psychological addiction that makes a cigarette slave of so many people.

Among the many reasons Smokers use to justify their habit, the concentration con stands up to the least scrutiny. But it must be exposed as a con.  Once it’s exposed, then it’s no longer a threat.  Once the smoker is shown proof of the concentration con, and once he believes that proof, then this self-fulfilling belief disappears for ever.

This article has shown that lack of concentration is actually caused by smoking in the first place, and can be only temporarily relieved by another cigarette.  One of the greatest benefits of quitting smoking is a return to a clear head, and the ability to properly concentrate again.  Once you see the concentration con for what it really is, you are much closer to finally quitting smoking.

 Did you know that men who smoke raise their risk of lung cancer by more than 22 times? Did you know that smoking could affect more than just your lungs?

Not only does smoking cause lung diseases (such as lung cancer, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis), it can increase your risk for other health problems:

• heart disease: blood flow to the heart is critically reduced
• stroke: lack of blood flow to the brain from a blood clot, or bleeding in the brain from a broken blood vessel
• osteoporosis: thinning or weakening of your bones
• other cancers: such as cancer of the throat, mouth, esophagus (food pipe), pancreas, kidney, bladder, and prostate
• impotence and infertility: problems having an erection and getting your wife or partner pregnant
• wrinkles: damages the skin and causes wrinkling

Smoking around your wife, partner, or children can also cause serious health problems for them. They have a higher chance of developing lung cancer, asthma, allergies, ear infections, and other health problems.

Smoking around your pregnant wife or partner can also cause health problems for her and your baby. If your wife or partner smokes, it increases her chances of having a miscarriage (losing her pregnancy), stillbirth (the baby dying in her womb), infant death, premature or early birth, or having a baby with low birth weight.

Smoking also affects your baby when she breastfeeds. If she smokes and breastfeeds, your baby is exposed to the same harmful chemicals. Heavy smoking can reduce your wife’s or partner’s milk supply and can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea in your baby. But health care providers agree, if she has tried to quit smoking and can’t, it still is better to breastfeed your baby than to give your baby formula.

 You may think that “light” cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes. They’re not. Light cigarettes put smokers at the same risk for smoking-related health problems as regular cigarettes. Some cigarette packs say that light cigarettes have lower tar and nicotine. Don’t let these claims fool you. Tobacco companies use smoking machines to figure out the amount of tar and nicotine in the cigarettes. These machines “smoke” every brand of cigarettes the same way. However, people don’t smoke cigarettes the same way machines do. People may inhale more deeply, take longer or more frequent puffs, or smoke extra cigarettes to satisfy their nicotine craving. Smokers then inhale more tar, nicotine, and other chemicals than the smoking machine measures. Another way that tobacco companies try to make light cigarettes is by putting tiny holes in the filters to dilute the smoke with air. However, many smokers block the holes with their fingers or lips, and it’s the same as smoking regular cigarettes.

Steps You Can Take to Quit Smoking

You have the power to make the decision to quit and feel great.

Did you know that many people try to quit two or three times before they are able to give up smoking for good? Nicotine is a very addictive and powerful drug-it’s as addictive as heroin and cocaine. The good news is that millions of people have given up smoking for good. It’s hard work to quit, but you can do it!

Follow these steps to help you to quit for good:

Pick a date to stop smoking. Plan to quit in the next two weeks. Think about choosing a special day. If you smoke at work, quit on the weekend or during a day off, so you’ll be cigarette-free when you return.

Tell family, friends, and coworkers that you plan to quit. Let the people important to you in your life know the date you will be quitting and ask them for their support. Ask them not to smoke around you or leave cigarettes out around you.

Create a fund. Each time you would normally buy a pack of cigarettes, put that saved money in a special place, such as an empty jar or envelope. Set a goal for yourself. Once you reach your goal, reward yourself!

Help yourself by knowing when you’re tempted to smoke and how you’ll get through the craving without it. Write down the times you’re tempted to smoke and a list of things that you will do instead.

Plan for challenges. Think about when you might be tempted to smoke, and try to be ready for those times. For example, when you get the urge to smoke, try to do something different-talk to a friend, go for a walk, or do something you enjoy like gardening or going to the movies. Try to reduce your stress with exercise, meditation, hot baths, or reading. Have sugar-free gum around to help handle your cravings. Drinking lots of water or other fluids also helps. You might want to change your daily routine as well-try drinking tea instead of coffee, eating your breakfast in a different place, or taking a different route to work.

Remove cigarettes from your home, car, and workplace. Get rid of things that remind you of smoking. Get rid of all cigarettes, ashtrays, and lighters in your home, car, and workplace.

Talk to your health care provider about medicines to help you quit. Some people have symptoms of withdrawal when they quit smoking, such as depression; not being able to sleep; feeling cranky, frustrated, nervous, or restless; and trouble thinking clearly. Even though smoking doesn’t suppress appetite, you may also feel hungry. There are medicines to help relieve these symptoms. Most medicines help you quit smoking by giving you small, steady doses of nicotine, the drug in cigarettes that causes addiction. Talk to your health care provider about which of these medicines is right for you:?

• nicotine patch: worn on the skin and supplies a steady amount of nicotine to the body through the skin
• nicotine gum: releases nicotine into the bloodstream through the lining in your mouth
• nicotine nasal spray: inhaled through your nose and passes into your bloodstream
• nicotine inhaler: inhaled through the mouth and is absorbed in the mouth and throat, but not in the lungs
• antidepressant medicine: helps relieve nicotine withdrawal and the urge to smoke

Get more help if you need it. Join a quit-smoking program or support group to help you quit. Personal support is critical. These programs can help you handle withdrawal and stress and teach you skills on how to resist the urge to smoke. Contact your local hospital, health center, or health department for information about quit-smoking programs in your area.

 Every time I attempted to quit smoking was a valuable rehearsal, and every method I tried brought me that much closer to finding what ultimately worked for me.

Remember this, and keep trying. You will find YOUR best way to quitting smoking. Every time you quit and start again is one time closer to the final quit. If that hardly seems like a pep - talk, well a non-smoker reading this really doesn’t get the picture anyway - they never can. And nothing about quitting is peppy to a smoker.

Here are some of your choices if you’re looking at quitting smoking.

1. Cold turkey.

Some people do it successfully, but it’s a set-up for most of us. There are all kinds of triggers in your environment that will make it psychologically tricky to resist lighting up. You’ll have behavior patterns to overcome - cold turkey. Plus, you’re going to have physical withdrawal symptoms. But go ahead and use this strategy if you’re determined. Every time is a rehearsal of the final quit, so you win no matter what. Just consider this: why not set yourself up for some success instead?

2. Gradual reduction. You can accomplish this in different ways.

A. Get rid of one light-em-up trigger in your environment at a time. Make a rule about when and where you can smoke, and then stick to it. Start with a likely success. My first trigger to eliminate was to separate coffee and cigarettes by at least 15 minutes. I could have both of them, just not together. Eventually, I stopped associating coffee with smoking. Maybe your first trigger to eliminate will be having that last one before bed. Pick one that you’re pretty sure you can do. When you’re over that one set another, and so on.

B. Reduce the strength. This means going from a Camel straight to a filter to a light to a light 100 and by that point, it’s almost a why bother?

3. Nicotine replacement therapy.

A. Patches. These allowed me to create some new behaviors without also experiencing the physical discomfort of nicotine withdrawal. At the time I used them, they were by prescription only because there is the danger of over-dose. Nicotine is of course a powerful drug - that’s why it is so addictive, right? Now you can get the patches over the counter, and they’re expensive either way because insurance companies generally won’t cover the prescriptions for smoking cessation. They know that most quitters will quit a few times, and insurance companies don’t want to foot the bill while you practice your way to being a non-smoker.

B. Nicotine gum. Which you don’t chew, except just long enough to release the dose and then you “park” it between your gum and cheek, where the thin tissues there allow it to be gradually absorbed into your system. This worked pretty well for me when I was getting that tired feeling and unable to concentrate because of the lack of my usual dose circulating in my blood. What the gum didn’t really help was the behavioral stuff. Finishing dinner and sitting back with a chunk of gray gum “parked” against my inner cheek just didn’t have that same relaxing closure as lighting up.

4. Herbal remedies.

Well, I guess you could say tobacco is an herb. Still. There isn’t another “herb” on the planet that even comes close to the versatility and pure compatibility with your system that makes smoking tobacco so addictive.

Ginger cigarettes. Calming herb teas. Herbal supplements for helping you eliminate the toxins. These might help your speed of recovery. Might make it easier to quit. Try them and see.

Whatever quitting methods you’re using, drink lots and lots of water, as little alcohol, coffee and soda as possible. And hey, you might put on a few non-deadly pounds, but you can keep that to a minimum by having mostly wholesome foods lying around the house (leave the Cheetos and red licorice at the store).

5. Zyban.

My personal favorite, and the thing that finally worked long-term for me. Zyban has a generic name. Ask your doctor and the pharmacist. You still need a prescription for
this one, and here’s what’s interesting - it wasn’t designed for smoking cessation. It was originally an anti-depressant, and researchers found that people who were on this medication lost their desire to smoke; it was actually repulsive to them. I read that research, when to my physician and said, “Let’s go.” She wrote the scrip. I followed instructions. You take the medication for several days before quitting so that it has time to get into your system, and during those days I applied all the stuff I had already learned: eliminate the triggers, cut down on the intake, get some healthy food and some herb tea in the pantry.

It worked. I really didn’t want to smoke. I felt good. It was finally done.

One thing I read somewhere was the question, “How do you get to the point of enjoying life without smoking?” And the given answer was to go 6 months without smoking. “Very funny,” is what I thought at the time, but half a year is about how long before I really didn’t notice its absence in my life. I had smoked for 20 years. I grieved - but that’s a whole different article subject. Now it’s been two years, and I feel free. I won’t pretend it is easy, but I can say without hesitation that it is worth it.

Two notes:
A. I am not a doctor. I am a successful former smoker writing from personal experience. If you want to try some of these strategies, please see your personal physician for trained and professional advice.

B. There are support groups in most US states and many other countries as well. They are free. Go to your county health center or ask your librarian to help you find the resources and support you deserve and that is there for you. Each person has to find your own best way to quit, but you don’t have to do it alone. You can do it, though. You can.

 When you decide to stop or quit smoking the most difficult part is to resist the urges. It doesn’t matter that each craving lasts only 3-5 minutes. It’s still the whole 5 minutes to battle with your willpower. These 7 tips will help you to resist the urge to smoke one urge at a time.

1. Remind Yourself Why You Quit.

Every time you experience a craving remind yourself why you quit. It’s the excellent idea to take a blank index card and list all the reasons why you decided to quit smoking. List as many as you can, the more the better. If necessary, take the second index card. Carry them with you all the time. Every time you feel the urge to smoke take the index card and slowly read all your reasons why you decided to stop. After you finish reading your urge will pass (If not, read them one more time or come up with more reasons).

2. Reward Yourself.

Make it a habit to reward yourself at the end of each nonsmoking week. Think of something you want (it doesn’t have to be something expensive, a nice home made meal or hot bath will work). Take the index card and write down what would you give yourself at the end of the week. When the urge comes take a look at the index card with your reward. Isn’t it worth coping for 3 minutes?

3. Be prepared for your urges.

Get yourself prepared for the urge to smoke in advance. In most cases something triggers the craving (certain feelings, people, or places). You have to know what triggers the urge.

Lets do a really quick exercise. Take a blank piece of paper and divide it into 2 columns. On the one side list your triggers (like stuck in traffic, drinking morning coffee, arguing with colleague…) and in the second column write down the alternative course of action.

For example, instead of smoking while drinking your morning coffee you could read a newspaper. Instead of smoking after the hot argument with your colleague you can take a walk around a block or write down everything you think about this person, then tier this piece of paper in shreds and throw it away. Don’t be lazy, write it down! This exercise really works.

4. Call your friend.

This method works great. Call someone who can support you, who can talk with you for a couple of minutes. You can call your nonsmoking friend, or someone who’s trying to quit smoking too.

5. Distract yourself with a quick task.

Think of a small task you have to do, something what would take you 5-10 minutes. Make a call, send a fax, make yourself a cup of coffee, water the plant in your office. Anything! Your task is to distract yourself until the urge will pass. (Hint: Try to find activity that makes smoking impossible.)

6. Drink a Glass of Water.

Take a glass of water and drink it with a straw. First of all having something in your mouth to chew on will help, second it will take you a couple of minutes to drink the whole glass and the urge will pass. Plus, don’t forget that you’re supposed to drink 8 glasses of water every day!

7. Power Tip.

That’s the disgusting one, but it often works. Print a small picture of smoker’s lungs  and put it somewhere in your wallet. I know the view is not pretty, but something like this can stop you dead on your track from lighting up. Take a look! Really! THIS could be your lungs! You love yourself, and you respect your body. Why harm yourself?

Britain’s leading oral health charity has warned ethnic groups to reconsider their chewing habits, as tobacco, paan, gutkha and areca nut all increase a person’s chances of developing mouth cancer.

The British Dental Health Foundation issued the warning in the run-up to Mouth Cancer Awareness Week, which runs from November 7 to 13.

Mouth cancer kills one person every five hours in the UK and the number of cases is increasing faster than any other cancer.

Tobacco is the most common cause of the condition and people who chew tobacco are just as likely as smokers to develop the disease. Combining tobacco use with alcohol makes a person up to 30 times more likely to develop mouth cancer.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, commented: “Mouth cancer is a deadly disease that is killing more and more people every year.”

Many ethnic groups enjoy habits such as chewing tobacco or areca nut. Unfortunately these habits are very dangerous as they can significantly increase the likelihood of a person developing mouth cancer.

“The main problem with mouth cancer is that few people are aware of the condition, its symptoms and its main risk factors. In fact, a recent study in Scotland found that only six percent of people can demonstrate unprompted awareness of mouth cancer. Even more worryingly, due to a lack of information available in Asian languages, the figure is probably much less for ethnic groups.”

Early detection is the key to surviving mouth cancer, and a person’s survival chances increase from 50 to 90 percent if the condition is treated early enough – so it is important that people know what symptoms to look out for.

Dr Carter continued: “The first sign of mouth cancer is often an ulcer that doesn’t heal or a red or white patch in the mouth. Many people choose to ignore these symptoms but I would urge anyone who has had an ulcer for more than three weeks to get it checked by their dentist or doctor. You never know, it could save your life.”

The Foundation has recently launched a fundraising campaign that it hopes will pave the way for a range of initiatives, including the development of written and spoken information resources in a range of Asian languages.

Members of the public can show their support for the campaign by purchasing the Campaign Blue Ribbon. The standard ribbon is available for only £1 including postage, with the enamel ribbon pin badge costing £2 including postage. Ribbons can be purchased from the Foundation by calling 0870 770 4015. The money raised from the sale of ribbons will be used to expand the Foundation’s work on improving awareness of mouth cancer, which could save lives.

Mouth Cancer Awareness Week is co-ordinated by the British Dental Health Foundation, supported by Denplan, and backed by a wide range of leading national health organisations. These include Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), British Dental Association, British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists, British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Cancer Research UK, the health departments of the four UK countries, GKT, QUIT and Scope.

This year’s campaign will use the tagline ‘Conversation Killer’ to draw attention to the main risk factors and symptoms.

 Smokers love excuses.  They can’t quit because… (fill in the blank).  I covered one of the favorite excuses in another article, the “Concentration Con.”

Now here’s another of the main - can’t quit - excuses. Smoking helps relaxation. Most smokers claim it helps them relax.  But would you ever describe a smoker as relaxed? 

Their addiction (or habit) makes them nervous and jumpy. All things equal, a smoker will never relax as they once did before their drug.

Think about last time you ate in a restaurant.  Isn’t that a relaxing environment when you are eating your meal, in good company?  But that’s not enough for the smoker. They are still not relaxed.  They need a cigarette fix, even between courses, because they think that’s what they need to relax.

Then they associate a temporary relaxation with the cigarette, rather than the environment and company.  They don’t even consider their non-smoker friends enjoyment might get ruined by smoking.

Let’s look at the realities of the relaxation ruse. Nicotine is a stimulant, not a relaxant/depressant.  A stimulant speeds up metabolism, not slows it down.

The “smoking is relaxing” claim counts as yet another irrational excuse used by smokers who can’t face up to quitting.  The smoker genuinely feels a cigarette will relax him. 

In reality it’s the habit, expectation and association with relaxing situations that are the main reasons he feels relaxed.  Sometimes it’s even the deep breathing effect that helps relaxation.

Any sportsperson knows that deep breathing helps relax before an event.  Difference is he’s breathing fresh air, rather than poison.  Smokers actually credit their cigarette for a temporary benefit they get from deep breathing.

Most people agree stress and relaxation make two opposite conditions?  Many smokers think giving up will create more stress.  They think their cigarettes are actually relieving stress.

Amazingly, cigarettes actually cause the stress smokers think they are relieving. Continual craving for another cigarette; guilt, helplessness at their inability to quit; low self-esteem…  Any of this sound familiar?  At best, another cigarette temporarily reduces the stress caused by earlier cigarettes.

So we really should call the relaxation effect, the “relaxation ruse,” an illusion favored by uninformed smokers who wrongly credit their cigarette with relaxation.

Quitting smoking means a return to relaxation. Quitting smoking means a return to a clear head… among many other benefits.  Once you see through the relaxation ruse’, you’re much closer to finally quitting smoking once and for all.