September 2008

The multi-national tobacco companies should continue to receive the utter scorn of the worlds population as science has revealed their product and practices border on the criminal. Without going into to much detail take a look at what happens from the production of cigarettes through to the toxic chemical created and released by the burning process and maybe you will begin to understand what the act of smoking is actually doing to your body.

Taking it one step further, consider what the effects of smoking during pregnancy are on both the mother and the child.  The effects range from mild to very extreme.  Also, the effects of smoking during pregnancy, has negative repercussions not only on the baby but has continual implications through childhood and possibly into adulthood.

Complications in the Mother

The complications that they mother may experience because of the effects of smoking during pregnancy are as follows:
1. The mother can be hospitalized due to excessive vomiting.
2. Develop urinary tract infections,
3. Have an ectopic pregnancy, which is when the fertilized egg does not grow in the correct place.
4. The placenta can separate from the uterine wall before delivery or there can be too much amniotic fluid. 

These complications can occur both during pregnancy and delivery.

Since the effects of smoking during pregnancy can cause the mother to have a miscarriage or a stillbirth, psychological problems, such as depression, can arise.  Finally, death of the mother can occur due to hemorrhage during childbirth.

Complications in the Child

The effects of smoking during pregnancy on a child can be assigned into four categories.  The four categories are:
1. Size of the baby,
2. Genetic abnormalities,
3. Illnesses possibly developed later in childhood,
4. Death.

The size of the newborn is greatly altered due to smoking for two reasons. 
1. Preterm delivery. 
2. Size is altered because rather than nutrients crossing the placenta, chemicals such as nicotine and carbon monoxide reach the baby.  Without the nutrients, the baby is thus often underweight, which increase his or her chances of becoming ill. 

The effects of smoking during pregnancy can also cause genetic abnormalities,  Such as cleft lip and cleft palate.  Also, bowel problems can be experienced.  Other abnormalities can occur in sensory systems such as the eyes and ears.  More severe consequences are also seen.  These include spinal cord problems, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation.

Consider your actions very carefully, do you want to risk the health of your unborn child?

Consequences can also develop later in childhood.

In early childhood, respiratory problems, such as asthma, can be seen.  Also, behavior disorders often develop in toddlers.  The worst consequence of the effects of smoking during pregnancy is sudden infant death syndrome, which is also known as SIDS.

The consequences can be seen in adolescents, which include increased likelihood of smoking themselves. 

The effects of smoking during pregnancy is a major issue that women, men, parents, and children have to deal with.  The effects of smoking during pregnancy have far reaching repercussions for the mother, fetus, baby, toddler child and adolescent  I hope that all parents to be take this information on board and act accordingly with the wellbeing of their newborn in mind.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

How a Hypnosis Seminar to Stop Smoking Can Help You Kick the Habit

A hypnosis seminar to stop smoking can be a great way to help you end the deadly habit. And why not? Many smokers go through fits and starts in trying to kick the habit, testing everything from special chewing gum to patches to yoga. What’s to stop you from trying a hypnosis seminar to stop smoking?

If you’re committed to quitting smoking, or at least convinced you have to give up the habit, there’s no reason you shouldn’t try a hypnosis seminar. They can be hugely beneficial and full of keen insight. Best of all, they might actually work for you.

A Hypnosis Seminar to Stop Smoking is Informative

That’s probably the single most important thing about a hypnosis seminar to stop smoking. Information! Ideas, concepts, statistics, techniques ? these are the things that help our minds make decisions. If it were a heart issue, I’m sure we’d all just carry on smoking. It feels too good to quit sometimes!

But the idea is to detach ourselves from feeling to start thinking about our situation. Seminars to stop smoking can provide us with enough practical tips and self-help approaches in focusing our minds to help us make progress. We can learn how to train our thinking, how to get to a place of confidence and relaxation that overrides our desire to light up.

And that’s a pretty good thing. Because smoking is largely about desire. As mentioned, a smoker’s desire is to continue smoking no matter how much his brain may object. Fortunately, our minds can be stronger than our hearts, as long as we train our minds to be fully resolved. And our thought processes can be greatly enhanced through an informative and enlightening hypnosis seminar to stop smoking.

Hypnosis Seminar to Stop Smoking - A Shared Experience

Quitting smoking is not at all easy and it helps when you’re with like minded individuals who want to rid themselves of the filthy habit. At a hypnosis seminar to stop smoking you’ll find many people who are willing to talk about their experiences, their struggles, and need for help. Talking is in itself hugely therapeutic. You’ll find great opportunities to share your life and listen to others at these seminars.

A Hypnosis Seminar to Stop Smoking Can Be Fun!

This is an important factor. Nobody likes hard work and quitting smoking is often harder than hard. The best way to deal with the process is to make it as fun as possible. That means doing things that are fun, be it taking up woodcarving as a distraction or attending a hypnosis seminar to stop smoking.

Because let’s face it, it’s likely that you’ve never attended a hypnosis seminar. You’re probably like many others, intrigued with the possibilities in hypnotherapy, but innocent to any involvement. If that’s you, then you’re bound to have fun with a hypnosis seminar to stop smoking. It may or may not be for you, but one thing’s for sure, it’ll be more memorable than sticking a patch on your arm.

More articles about Covert Hypnosis

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

quit smoking pill chantix is very effective. Many people fee a little ashamed of wanting to use something like a pill to quit smoking. Don’t be ashamed. That is what these smoking aids were created for - to help you kick the habit. Somewhere on the plane of life we’ve come to think that for things to be worth while they must be hard. Tough. Difficult or near impossible. But that is not true.

When it comes to smoking cessation you will have many opportunities to prove this to yourself. Consider just trying a simple task like monitoring how many times you want to smoke. This is a very revealing way to learn just what triggers you to lite up. Don’t despair because we all have triggers. Some people get the urge right after dinner. Others after having sex. Still others get the urge whenever the boss lays on more work on them so much so that the night away from the job will be lost. Spent staring at Excel spreadsheets trying to balance your departmental budget. So, what is your trigger?

Knowing this is an easier way to getting yourself to commit to quit smoking. Take a handy little fifty cent notepad around with your for a day. Just go on as usual. Smoking as much as you want. Whenever you want. But do one thing differently. I want you to note down when you get that urge to smoke and what triggered you. This will come in handy when you go to see your doctor to get your quit smoking pill chantix.

To give you some encouragement, think of the countless thousands of people who lived before there ever was a quit smoking pill? Do you think they did it relying on a pill? Of course not. They used the same will power that you still must muster, if you intend to truly be smoke free. You can do it.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

If you are not completely confident that you can resist the urge to smoke after you have quit
If you are not completely confident that you can resist the urge to smoke after you have quit, it may be necessary to remove any visual reminders of smoking from your living and work areas. Throw away or give away those leftover cigarettes, get rid of lighters, ashtrays, matches, and anything else that could be associated with smoking. Why should you force yourself to resist the urge to smoke when it is far simpler to just remove the reminders. If you keep a pack of cigarettes in your home or office, there is a good chance that you may pick one up. Just this one may be the cigarette that hooks you again.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Finding the best way to stop smoking is something that is almost impossible because every person reacts differently to various stimuli or triggers so there are very slight chances for someone to come up with the best way to quit smoking that will help everybody. Unless you know WHY you want to quit smoking you will find it difficult even if you are using an aid, write down all the reason you want to stop this list will help you during the hard times. If you ask ten persons who quit smoking what the secret is you will receive 80% different answers, this statistics simply shows how hard it is for science to develop the best way to stop smoking despite all the information and education that is available and the resources that have been thrown at the problem.. So practically everyone is encouraged to use whatever methods necessary to eliminate this problem. Fortunately there are a growing number of products now available to help anyone to become a quitter. Do you know that if you write down, and you must write down not just think about, all the reasons you want to quit smoking you are 90% of the way towards quitting for good.

Many smokers turn to patches, gum, lozenges or nasal sprays and discussion groups as the best way to stop smoking, some even choose to change all their life eliminating the activities that encourage smoking. Such decisions make the best way to quit smoking within a specific case, the chance to work the same way for another person is very low. You will find it easier to stop smoking if your are relaxed, self hypnosis is the ideal tool to help you. A prime reason for quitting is the risk of lung cancer or thrombosis or strokes, powerful reasons but not enough for many to kick the habit. When talking about classical medicine miraculous cures as the best ways to stop smoking don’t exist, so you shouldn’t believe claims that someone discovered the best way to quit smoking that works within a blink of an eye. Someone somewhere successfully stops smoking every 31 seconds, you are not alone in you effort just think of all the others who have decided to stop smoking today and join them.

They people who say they do not want to stop smoking for whatever reason they can think of are afraid of failure, failure can be removed by replacing it with a powerful reason for them to stop smoking. The weight problem is the main argument, though in fact doctors showed that overweight is more a metabolism problem that nicotine-related one. Just imagine you have beaten the habit, no more craving for tobacco induced addiction. Take one day at a time when you stop smoking, but as you feel better inside yourself each day becomes easier and easier and you feel motivated to carry on being a non-smoker. Goodbye to cigarettes and rooms of the blue fog of second-hand smoke. If you like searching the Internet for solution you can take a look over Stop Smoking in 17 Days or Less it might give you some valuable information.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

One of the common effects of quitting smoking is weight gain, usually from 5-10 pounds, sometimes more. But, though common, it’s not inevitable.

Weight gain from a stop-smoking program can have a number of causes.

For many individuals, it’s a natural response to cravings from nicotine withdrawal. They substitute food for smoking. Increase the amount of calories taken in, as snacks add up, and sooner or later you’ve gained several pounds.

At the same time, people coming off a long-term cigarette smoking habit don’t often immediately enter an exercise program. For a while, the effects of smoking linger on. The fatigue, shortness of breath and other common conditions of smoking don’t disappear overnight. Starting a healthy exercise program is tough enough for anyone. For smokers, the change is even more substantial.

There are also purely physiological effects. Smoking, at low dosages, elevates the heart rate. That stimulating effect plays a role in keeping weight off. But, longer term, the build up of fatty deposits in arteries and other changes induced by smoking will outweigh them.

For most people, the combination of increased food consumption and little or no exercise is the double-whammy that puts on the pounds.

Fortunately, that problem is solvable. As you start your stop smoking program, start on other lifestyle changes as well. Plan a healthy diet, outline an age-appropriate exercise program.

Like any other issue in a stop-smoking program, or life in general, some willpower is required. Popping a piece of fresh fruit is a good way to stave off the cravings for a cigarette. But be sure to balance out that extra consumption by cutting down somewhere else. Resist the urge to substitute high calorie foods in large proportions to compensate for the desire for a cigarette.

That will be particularly difficult the first two weeks as the compounds introduced by smoking are flushed out of the body. That’s a good time to lay out that diet and exercise program. It’s short enough that only modest weight gain is likely during that period.

Drink lots of water during this time. It will show up as extra weight on the scale. But it’s easily flushed out later when you taper off, so the effect isn’t permanent. It also has other added benefits. Extra water helps the body more quickly remove the remaining contaminants from smoking. And, it’s a zero-calorie way to react to cravings. Water isn’t fattening.

The main struggle will be, as it is for anyone concerned with diet and health, to maintain the commitment to a long term goal. It will help to visualize the results. Aid your willpower by imagining a healthier, better looking you. Think of not having shortness of breath, from smoking or obesity. Think of having more energy and being able to accomplish your other goals more easily.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

There are several different types of products on the market today to help smokers quit. Only about 6% of those who try to stop permanently succeed their first time. Using one or more of the products discussed below can help you be in that group.

One of the most popular products is the nicotine patch. It provides a steady, slow release of nicotine that helps reduce the craving to smoke. The nicotine slowly makes its way into the bloodstream through the skin.

Like any stop smoking aid, it has its pros and cons.

It can be attached discretely, on the upper arm, on the chest or anywhere else between the neck and waist. A patch has to be replaced about once every 24 hours, though some brands tout a longer period. It can cause skin irritation, but moving the location so the same spot isn’t used more than once every two weeks can minimize the chances.

Nicotine gum is another common method that, like patches, is available without a prescription. But it does require chewing in a careful manner. It should be massaged with the teeth in one spot until a peppery taste is sensed. Then it’s held between the cheek and gum until the taste or tingle disappears. The cycle is repeated every half hour until the gum is used up.

Lozenges work in a very similar fashion. Lozenges act quickly and you have some control over the dosage. They come in 2-4 mg dosage tablets and more than one per day can be used, up to about 24 pieces. But, like chewing regular gum, they can fatigue the jaw. Because of the special technique required, they’re less effective if not used properly. They can cause nausea, especially if accidentally swallowed.

Inhalers are preferred by some trying to quit smoking. It’s easy to control the dosage and the physical sensation is similar to smoking. The hand has something to do and the pull from expanding the lungs mimics smoking. But they’re not appropriate for those who have asthma or some other COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). It’s also very easy to overdose.

Nasal sprays have similar advantages and drawbacks. They supply nicotine very fast to the bloodstream, but they can cause irritation to the sinus and nasal passages.

All of these products share a similar negative, however. They continue to supply nicotine at a time when the smoker is trying to reduce dependency on that drug. Some may find them to be useful transition aids. But there are non-nicotine methods as well.

Some anti-depressants have been found to reduce the desire to smoke. Whether they treat the underlying anxiety and reduce incentive or act on the desire to smoke more directly is an area of active research. Bupropion (brand name: Zyban) is one example. Long term use of anti-depressants have their own possible side effects, however. Consulting a physician is required.

A newer prescription medication called Varenicline (brand name: Chantix) has found a favorable reception among some. It’s not addicting and contains no nicotine. It’s believed to act by blocking the nicotine receptors in the brain that release dopamine. That makes smoking ineffective for the ‘high’ it produces. It comes in pill form and may cause insomnia or nausea. Here again, it’s necessary to have a consultation with a physician.

All these products can help aid a smoker to quit. But each requires a commitment to a long-term goal: stopping permanently. Use anything that helps meet that goal.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!