How to Quit Smoking: A guide for Teens

[Done-With-It!]

How to Quit Smoking:
A Guide for Teens

If you are reading this, then you have already taken the first step. You are thinking about how you can stop smoking! The decision to stop smoking can seem overwhelming, but with help from this guide and support from your family and friends, you can do it! Half of all the people who have ever smoked have quit, and so can you. If you've tried to quit smoking before and it didn't work, you can use what you learned before so you can be successful this time. It can be very difficult to quit, but once you do, you'll look better, smell better, feel better, and be healthier!

Why should I quit smoking?
Everyone knows that smoking can cause cancer when you get older, but did you know that it also has bad effects on your body right now? A cigarette contains about 4000 chemicals, and at least 43 of those chemicals are known to cause cancer in humans. Some of the other chemicals are found in products that are known to be poisonous. Some of the worst ones are:

• Nicotine: a deadly poison
• Arsenic: used in rat poison
• Methane: a component of rocket fuel
• Ammonia: found in floor cleaner
• Cadmium: used in batteries
• Carbon Monoxide: part of car exhaust
• Formaldehyde: used to preserve body tissue
• Butane: lighter fluid
• Hydrogen Cyanide: the poison used in gas chambers

Every time you inhale smoke from a cigarette, small amounts of these chemicals get into your blood through your lungs. They travel to all the parts of your body and cause harm.

Okay, I've decided to quit... What can I do so I will succeed this time?
That's great! This is a very positive step. There are some things you can do before you stop smoking to help increase your chances of success:

• If you've tried to quit before, think about why it didn't work. What can you do this time to help yourself succeed?
• Tell your family and friends that you are quitting. Ask them to not tease you about it, because you are serious. Ask them to support you by not smoking around you and not offering you cigarettes.
• Throw out all your cigarettes, lighters, and ashtrays. If you're going to be a non-smoker, you won't need these things again.
• Talk to your doctor about nicotine replacement methods. Nicotine gum, patches, spray, and some new medications can really help people to stop smoking. However, for these products to work, it is important to use them the right way. Make sure someone explains to you how to use them correctly.
• Join a support group at your school or in your community.
• Find someone you can call for those times when you feel like you are having a weak moment and might smoke a cigarette. This person should know that you are trying to quit and can remind you of all the reasons why you decided to give up cigarettes.

What can I do so I won't smoke again?
The hardest part about quitting is breaking the habits that go along with it. For example, if you are used to smoking with your friends when you are hanging out together, it will be hard to hang around with them and not smoke. The best way to keep from smoking is to not put yourself in situations with people who smoke and to stay away from places where you are used to smoking.

• Avoid places and situations where you normally smoke.
• Spend a few days or a week away from your friends who smoke.
• Go to non-smoking places with your friends, like the mall or the movies.
• Don't drink alcohol. Alcohol will likely lower your willpower and increase your chances of having a cigarette.
• If your family smokes, ask them to not smoke in your room.
• Exercise. It will take your mind off smoking, make you feel better, and keep you healthy.
• Plan activities during the first couple of weeks to take your mind off smoking. It will be easier to quit if you keep yourself busy.
• Buy lots of carrots, celery, and other healthy foods so you can munch instead of smoke.

How will I feel when I'm quitting?
If you are a regular smoker, your body has gotten used to having nicotine and other chemicals around all the time. You will probably feel some symptoms of withdrawal when you stop smoking. This means that you may crave cigarettes, or you might just feel uncomfortable or nervous. Many people mistake nicotine craving for hunger. You need to listen to your body, so you won't eat when you're not actually hungry. Do something to keep yourself busy. If you must eat, snack on something healthy like carrots or celery.

When will the nicotine craving go away?
Within a week or two, the nicotine craving will go away and you will feel more like yourself. In the beginning you also might feel frustrated, moody, or depressed. It may seem like you are all alone in your suffering and that no one understands what you are going through. Although this will be hard, these feelings will go away with time. After a couple weeks, you will be over the hardest part of quitting - the physical addiction, when your body feels like it needs nicotine. However, it may still be hard to resist having a cigarette. The habit of having a cigarette in your hand and smoking while you do certain activities, like talking on the phone or hanging out with friends, can be difficult to break.

After I quit can I have a cigarette once in awhile?
Many people get through the toughest part of quitting and mistakenly think that they can start smoking a cigarette once in a while again. Very soon, their old habits come back and they find themselves addicted once again. Quitting is difficult for most people so once you quit, make a commitment to yourself that you won't light up again!

Oops! I had a cigarette. I guess quitting is too hard for me.
If you give in and have a cigarette while you are trying to quit, don't worry! This doesn't mean you can't quit. Quitting is a very hard thing to do, and it is not surprising that you might break down and have a cigarette at some point. The important thing is not to use this as a reason to become a regular smoker again. Think of it as a mistake and tell yourself that you won't let it happen again. You can do it!

What happens if I really start smoking again?
If you try to quit and it doesn't work, don't give up. Quitting is very hard. Think about why quitting didn't work for you. Only YOU know why you like to smoke, and only YOU can figure out what it will take for you to quit. Start thinking about what you can do to help yourself quit for good. Try quitting again in a few weeks and use what you learned from your first experience to make it work the second time.

Remember, millions of people have quit smoking, and you can too! You just have to believe you can quit. Quitting will help you to look and feel your best, and keep you healthy! Good luck!

[Done-With-It!]

nformation About Smoking:
A Guide for Teens
Do you smoke? Have you ever stopped to think about how smoking is affecting your body and your life? Most teens are aware that people who have smoked for awhile can get lung cancer and emphysema and eventually die, but many don't know about all of the bad things that smoking can to them right now. If you smoke, you owe it to yourself to find out about the effects of smoking on your life now. This guide provides some information about what smoking is doing to your body and some of the common reasons why people keep smoking even though they know it's bad for them. These are important things to think about to help you decide if you should continue smoking.

Why is cigarette smoking bad for me?
Everyone knows that smoking can cause cancer when you get older, but did you know that it also has bad effects on your body right now? A cigarette contains about 4000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous. Some of the worst ones are:

• Nicotine: a deadly poison
• Arsenic: used in rat poison
• Methane: a component of rocket fuel
• Ammonia: found in floor cleaner
• Cadmium: used in batteries
• Carbon Monoxide: part of car exhaust
• Formaldehyde: used to preserve body tissue
• Butane: lighter fluid
• Hydrogen Cyanide: the poison used in gas chambers

Every time you inhale smoke from a cigarette, small amounts of these chemicals get into your blood through your lungs. They travel to all the parts of your body and cause harm.

What do all these chemicals do to my body?
As you might imagine, even small amounts of the poisonous chemicals in cigarettes can do bad things to your body. Here are some facts about what smoking cigarettes does to you:

• Smoking makes you smell bad, gives you wrinkles, stains your teeth, and gives you bad breath.
• Smokers get 3 times more cavities than non-smokers.
• Smoking lowers your hormone levels.
• When smokers catch a cold, they are more likely than non-smokers to have a cough that lasts a long time. They are also more likely than non-smokers to get bronchitis and pneumonia.
• Teen smokers have smaller lungs and a weaker heart than teen non-smokers. They also get sick more often than teens who don't smoke.

What happens to my lungs when I smoke?
Every time you inhale smoke from a cigarette, you kill some of the air sacks in your lungs, called alveoli. These air sacks are where the oxygen that you breathe in is transferred into your blood. Alveoli don't grow back, so when you destroy them, you have permanently destroyed part of your lungs. This means that you won't do as well in activities where breathing is important, like sports, dancing, or singing.

Smoking paralyzes the cilia that line your lungs. Cilia are little hairlike structures that move back and forth to sweep particles out of your lungs. When you smoke, the cilia can't move and can't do their job. So dust, pollen, and other things that you inhale sit in your lungs and build up. Also, there are a lot of particles in smoke that get into your lungs. Since your cilia are paralyzed because of the smoke and can't clean them out, the particles sit in your lungs and form tar.

I know smoking is bad for me, but I really like it.
Many teens like the feeling that smoking gives them. This good feeling is from the nicotine in the cigarettes. Some teens think smoking will help them lose weight or stay thin. Many teens also feel like smoking gives them a sense of freedom and independence, and some smoke to feel more comfortable in social situations. If this sounds like you, you should stop and think about whether the things you like about smoking are really worth the risks.

• Nicotine can make you feel good, but is feeling good (a feeling you can also get from healthy activities like playing sports) really worth all the bad things cigarettes do to you? If you smoke, you'll get sick more often. You also have the chance of getting lung cancer or emphysema, which will make you really sick for a long time before you die. If you are very sick, that good feeling from nicotine won't seem so important anymore.
• Smoking doesn't really help people lose weight. If that were true, every smoker would be thin.
• Smoking lowers your hormone levels.

Do you think that smoking is a sign that you can do what you want? That you are in control of your life?
Think about it this way: When you decide to start smoking, you are doing exactly what tobacco companies want you to do. They spend millions of dollars every year on advertising to try to get new people, especially teens, to smoke. Once they have you hooked, THEY are controlling YOU. You are forced to buy their products in order to support your addiction. Do you really want a big corporation controlling your life and telling you how to spend your money?

Why should I stop smoking if I'm not addicted?
Many people don't realize they are addicted to smoking. They think they can easily quit any time they want. But when they try, they forget it is extremely difficult. Unfortunately, it is very easy to get addicted. Cigarettes are just as addictive as cocaine or heroin. Even if you only smoke one or two cigarettes a day and even if you've never bought a pack of cigarettes yourself, you are at risk. Stressful situations or hanging out with friends who smoke might cause you to smoke more and become addicted. Try going a whole week without smoking at all. If you find this difficult, you are probably addicted to cigarettes.

If I quit smoking, won't I gain weight?
Many people are afraid to quit smoking because they think they will gain weight. In reality, many do gain a little but not enough to change how they look. People don't gain weight because they stop smoking. They gain weight because they start eating more. Often, people confuse the feeling of craving nicotine with hunger and eat to try to make this uncomfortable feeling go away. Smokers are also used to having something in their hands and in their mouth, so they may pick up food to replace holding a cigarette. To keep from gaining weight, try these things:

• Drink sips of water instead of eating when you feel uncomfortable.
• Eat carrot or celery sticks or other healthy, low calorie foods.
• Exercise. This will also help take your mind off smoking and make you healthier.
• Keep busy. You will be less likely to eat when you're not really hungry if you are doing other things.

I'll quit in a year or two when I'm ready.
A lot of people put off quitting smoking, thinking that they'll do it when the time is right. Only 5% of teens think they will still be smoking in 5 years. Actually, about 75% of them are still smoking more than five years later. If you smoke, it will never seem like the right time to quit and quitting will never be easy. The longer you smoke, the harder it will be to stop and the more damage you will do to your body. Here are some reasons to quit sooner rather than later:

• Most teens would rather date a non-smoker.
• You'll save money if you quit smoking. A pack of cigarettes costs about $5.00. Even if you only smoke a couple packs a week, you're spending about $40 per month and $480 per year on smoking. Think of all the other things you could use that money for.
• You only have one pair of lungs. Any damage you do to them now will be with you for the rest of your life.
• The longer you smoke, the better your chances are of dying from it. One out of 3 smokers die from smoking and many more become very sick. Think about your friends who smoke. 1/3 of them will die from smoking if none of you quit

Smoking can have serious effects on your life. The longer you smoke, the more damage you do to your body and your health. Most people who begin smoking as teens say that they wish they had never started. The decision to start or continue smoking is all up to you and no one can make you stop, but you should think really hard about whether it is the best thing for your body and your life.

Written by the Center for Young Women's Health Staff

[annihilate_me]

Thanks a bunch Done, I'm glad you find these extremely informative articles. Especially this one.

[Done-With-It!]

Your welcome!~ I hope it helps you when your ready.

[annihilate_me]

I'm absolutely positive it will.