I Will Quit Smoking – With Determination Anyone Could Do It!

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

March the 11^th sees the 25^th anniversary of No Smoking Day, a day of national recognition and support for those who want to try and give up. Over the past 25 years the campaign has grown from an awareness day organized by a group of individuals with an interest in health, to becoming a fully registered charity in 1991, and onward to employing a full-time staff and becoming one of the best-known days of its type. In light of the ongoing global economic difficulties and the ‘credit crunch’, this year the campaign is more geared towards how smokers can save money if they give up – alongside the well-known health benefits.

So how can giving up smoking at this time help you save money?

The first financial saving to consider, is what you might save on a day to day, week to week, or year to year basis, if you were to give up smoking now. According to myfinances.co.uk, the average packet of cigarettes costs £5.67 in the UK. If we assume that the average smoker gets through a packet a day, a week of non-smoking will save you £39.69, a month of non-smoking will save you in the region of £177.75 – yet over an entire year you will be set to save a massive £2,069.55. It is fair to acknowledge that not everyone who wants to give up smokes £5.67 worth of cigarettes everyday, but during these times of belt-tightening and cutting back, the prospect of saving over a thousand pounds after a year of non-smoking must sound tempting to anybody.

However, savings from giving up smoking don’t stop with the cost of cigarettes. As life insurance companies become more and more competitive whilst frugal customers threaten to cancel their policies, now is the best-time for non-smokers to benefit from slashed monthly premiums in comparison to their smoking peers. Savings of up to 50 percent on payments can be made for non-smokers, whilst comparison website moneysupermarket.com estimate a 30 year-old male smoker will spend over £8,000 more on life cover than a non-smoker of the same age.

The financial benefits of giving up around the 11^th March go even further though. With the growth of No Smoking Day year on year, many businesses, including supermarkets and shops, have tried to get a piece of the action. Supermarket giant, Asda are discounting prices of nicotine patches and gum in an offer to help their visitors stop at this time. It certainly seems that, in terms of saving money from stopping smoking, March 2009 may well be the perfect month to give it a try.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Popularity: 12% [?]

Why do some women feel like it’s right to smoke during there pregnancy? They say that it is too hard to quit so they just “cut down”…

Isn’t your baby your #1 priority and wouldn’t be pregnant actually make you quit cold turkey regardless how hard it was for the well being of your unborn baby?

Apart from smoking’s well-known dangers to anyone, such as increased risk for heart disease and cancer, women who smoke during pregnancy are at greater risk for giving birth to low-birthweight babies.

On average, babies born to women who smoked during pregnancy are significantly smaller than those born to women who don’t smoke. Low birthweight is one of the main causes of infant illness and disability, and of stillbirth.

The evidence that cigarette smoking may have other harmful effects on the fetus is more controversial, but some problems associated with smoking include ectopic pregnancy (where the fertilised egg implants outside the womb), miscarriage, premature labour and birth, placental abruption, vaginal bleeding, and cot death.

Some studies have shown that smoking during pregnancy may harm a child’s mental development and behaviour, leading to a short attention span and hyperactivity. Other research shows that certain birth defects may be more common in babies whose mother smoked during pregnancy. For example, a number of studies have shown a strong link between smoking in pregnancy and babies born with a cleft lip and/or palate.

The further into pregnancy you smoke, the greater your risk of complications. For example, if a pregnant woman stops smoking during the first half of her pregnancy, her baby will most likely be born a normal weight. If she continues to smoke throughout the pregnancy, she’ll probably have a low-birthweight baby. So if you’re a smoker and have not succeeded in quitting so far, stopping now, or at the very least cutting down on the number of cigarettes you smoke a day, can still benefit you and your baby.

Many women find they need help to give up or cut down. Talk to your midwife or doctor. They’ll be able to give you help and advice, and put you in touch with your local stop-smoking support scheme.Call the free and confidential NHS Pregnancy smoking helpline on 0800 169 9169. It’s staffed by trained counsellors who know how hard it is to quit, and who will listen and offer support and advice. Alternatively, you can contact www.quit.org.uk, an independent charity which also offers free phone counselling to help you quit.

Popularity: 11% [?]