There are many dangers of smoking you should be aware of before you light up. Smoking causes constriction of the airways and can lead to coughing, bronchitis and more serious problems like COPD, emphysema and even lung cancer. Smokers also experience premature skin aging and are on average not as physically fit as their doctors would like them to be. Not to mention, smoking is highly addictive.

Luckily the sooner you quit smoking, the less damaging the dangers of smoking will be for you. And even better, your body starts healing after its last cigarette. Within 72 hours all the nicotine is out of your system and you will experience cough and sore throat, this is part of the healing process. There are remedies that can help you deal with the side effects of quitting.

Some of the most useful remedies for alleviating the side effects of smoking cessation are natural herbal remedies. These days you will find a wide variety of remedies that help you avoid the dangers of smoking by helping you quit. This is truly the best thing you can do for yourself and your family, because secondhand smoke is dangerous also. The same effects that apply to smokers can apply to those who breathe in smoke as well even if they are non-smokers.

The dangers of smoking are ignored by many smokers who are addicted to nicotine and can’t kick the habit. If you are one of those people you should consider talking to your doctor about quitting and investigating the various products that can help you. The act of quitting smoking is not always easy but protecting yourself and those around you from the dangers of smoking is worth the effort.

Quitting smoking can be a difficult and challenging task, but when you do succeed in kicking the habit, your confidence in yourself will skyrocket! If you can accomplish a task as quitting smoking, you can certainly tackle many other seemingly-impossible tasks. However, apart from increasing your confidence in yourself, there are a number of other benefits you will gain by quitting smoking.

Listed below are some of them:

• Smoking is one of the leading causes of lung cancer and heart diseases. By quitting, you will dramatically reduce the risk of getting a heart attack or lung cancer.
• Since, smoking puts a strain on your heart, quitting will make you feel healthier, and your heart will function better.
• Smoking affects your immunity system and weakens it. By quitting, you will make yourself less prone to infections like common cold, cough, flu, etc.
• Smoking reduces lung capacity and makes you fall short of breath easily. When you quit smoking, you will find breathing easier, and panting due to breathlessness with decrease.
• Smoking is a drain on your system and smoking regularly can make you feel less tired and fatigued. By quitting to smoke, you can bring energy and vitality back into your system.
• Your sense of taste, which deadens after prolonged smoking, will return.
• The skin of smokers is usually starved of oxygen and becomes dry and grey. Quitting smoking can help return the natural glow to your skin.
• Smoking also adversely affects the gums and teeth of smokers, which can become blackened due to tar deposits. When you quit smoking, you can help start to undo the damage caused by smoking.
• Smoking by pregnant women is considered very dangerous for the unborn child. It is likely to be premature and there is a very high risk of fatalities. Quitting smoking when you are pregnant will help ensure the health and well being of your unborn child.

Smoking is one of the most difficult habits to quit. Highly addictive, it requires a great deal of will power which most people find difficult to muster. Hence, additional help is required. Now, apart from the standard commercially produced remedies like nicotine patches and chewing gum, people have realized that natural remedies are more likely to be effective.

Acupuncture

One of the more popular remedies is acupuncture, which involves the use of hair thin needles which are inserted into different points in and around the ear. For additional support between sessions, some acupuncturists offer tiny balls, about the size of a ball-point pen tip, that are taped to the ear with invisible tape. When the smoker experiences a craving for nicotine, pressure has to be applied on the ball, which in turn stimulates the acupuncture point.

Lobelia

The herb lobelia (lobelia inflata) is used in many anti-smoking products and has been found to help smokers tackle the effects of nicotine withdrawal. Lobeline, the active ingredient in lobelia, is considered to have similar effects on the body as nicotine.

Research has shown that lobeline possibly increases levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain as do cigarettes. Dopamine affects mood and induces feelings of pleasure.

St. Johns Wort

Although St. John’s Wort (Hypericum Perforatum) is primarily used for depression, some research on this herb has shown that it often helps people with quitting smoking.

Ginseng

Ginseng has been known to retard the nicotine-induced release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine helps people feel good after smoking which is a big part of the addiction process.

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy offers a psychological approach to fight cigarette addiction. During hypnotherapy, the patient is subjected to subliminal commands to the brain to fight the addiction to nicotine. Music is played to relax him/her, increasing susceptibility to the message.

Quitting smoking is one of the more challenging addictions to quit. Even though you see everyone doing it, it’s considered one of the most dangerous addictions. Cigarettes contain nicotine, which builds a physical dependence and makes it extremely difficult for the smoker to quit.  Nicotine also increases cholesterol levels in the body, and that can lead to a number of different heart problems. It’s important to give up smoking in order to preserve your health and reduce risks of heart attack and lung cancer. Quitting can be difficult, but understanding the entire process makes it easier to manage.

The consumption of nicotine impacts the nerve receptors in your brain that release chemicals like dopamine into your body. The introduction of these chemicals in your blood stream can give you a sense of energy and well being. When you quit smoking, the levels of these two chemicals decrease dramatically in your body. If you have been a heavy smoker, your body is used to very high levels of dopamine  in your system. A sudden decrease can cause many psychological symptoms associated with withdrawal. These symptoms include anger, irritability, anxiety and even depression.

There are a number of stop smoking aids available in the market today. One method comes in the form of a stop smoking pill. These pills not only help some of the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, but they also help with curing your craving for the long term. They work by stimulating the reaction nicotine has on the brain, which leads to the release of low levels of dopamine. This really can help the body not crave nicotine (and cigarettes) so much.

The most effective method to quit smoking will vary from person to person and will depend on the individual’s level of addiction. What works for one person may not necessarily work for another. But ideally, one should try natural methods to give up smoking because they are more likely to be effective. And of course, another vital ingredient is will power!

Hypnosis is one of the natural methods that involves tackling the problem at the psychological level. This is a good idea because smoking is an addiction. The process involves a hypnotherapist that guides the patient into a heightened state of awareness that is almost dreamlike.  In this state of consciousness, the patient is highly susceptible to suggestions and absorbs the subliminal message planted in the mind.

The hypnotherapist suggests a number of phrases that help reduce the smoker’s craving and dependence on nicotine.  Some therapists claim that the reduction in stress levels achieved through hypnosis is the primary reason for its effectiveness.  The smoker feels less stress and is therefore less likely to use cigarettes as a means to reduce stress throughout the day.

Another popular method is to use commercially produced herbs. There are a number of companies that sell stop smoking herbs that replace conventional cigarettes. These natural herbal cigarettes can be purchased in a variety of different flavors.  They are made using different herbs that have different effects on the bodies of those smokers who are trying to give up smoking.  For example, calming herbs help the smoker deal with the stress of quitting, or there are herbs that help with the irritability, depression or moodiness that accompany the attempt to quit.  Before deciding one should sample a variety of different herbs in order to find the one that works best.

These herbal cigarettes can be purchased over the counter and are easily available in smoke shops, natural food stores and online.