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Posts created by Matt - Health Educator

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Cigars and Smokeless Tobacco....Some Misconceptions

Hi Everyone,

You may hear "I only smoke Cigars", or "I just do chew" (smokeless tobacco).

The fact is that they both, like cigarettes, are harmful to your health by exposing the user to carcinogens and nicotine.

Both are addictive and pose risks like lung and oral cancers.

So the next time you hear...."I only smoke Cigars" or "I don't smoke, but I do dip", know that they are risking harm the same ways a smoker does.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Introduction

Hi Aally,

A big welcome to the Stop Smoking Center and thanks for checking in and sharing your story.

As you have probably already seen by looking around in the forums, you will find a lot of good information, great support and some threads and stories that relate to you.

Congrats on your 1 month of quitting, and it is great to hear you have also been making other healthy choices in life to go along with the non smoking. Have you rewarded yourself at all yet?

Feel free to look into the program we have here as there are a lot of great tips and techniques to help you along. You are probably noticing your body responding to not smoking by now as you have gotten through the hardest stages of your quit.

Thanks again for checking in, feel free to post as often as you'd like.

Matthew - Health Educator

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Don't do this but it worked for me

Hey Hot Sio2(Jim),

Good call on bumping up this thread. We can all use some healthy diet reminders once and a while.

One main thing I can add, is that calories in = calories out is a great way to maintain your weight, and obviously, if you can burn more calories per day or week that you are taking in, you are on your way to weight loss.

Sounds simple enough, but can be tough with many of treats we love best and restaurant foods being packed with more calories than we may think.

Wishing you all good health. And Congrats Jim on your 5th bday of being smoke free.

Have a good weekend of good food and great fun.

Matthew - Health Educator

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Re-assessing Goals

Hi everyone,

As we are now into Autumn, it is a good time to reassess your goals. Having goals is an important step of personal development.

Setting and assessing your goals regularly helps to keep you motivated and driven to succeed.

By setting goals you know where to focus your efforts.

Remember the SMART principle when setting your goals.

That is, make sure your goals are:

Specific - have a clear and concise goal in mind, not a general one.

Measurable- you should be able to track progress/changes and answer how many?, how much?

Attainable - your goal should be achievable, make sure not to extreme nor to easy to achieve.

Relevant -realistic

Timely- make sure you plan how long you will take or intend to achieve your goal by

You can set goals in many different aspects of your life (e.g., education, family, physical activity, career, attitude, pleasure, financial)

So go ahead and reassess your goals or set some new ones. It is a motivating tool

Be well

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

September 26, 2012

Way to go KristenW88,

Great of you to come on here and make this public pledge.

You will definitely get the support you need here and can find a lot of great information.

Remember to check out the program again as well, as certain tools and information will help you along as you become smoke-free.

Keep checking in and letting us know how you are doing.

Good luck

Matthew - Health Educator

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Success

Everyday should be a success.
No matter what you go though, you can be learning from those experiences and making progress toward your goals.

SUCCESS!

What did you learn today?
Have you made any plans to make some changes?
Have you hit a milestone?
Did you reach a goal?

This is an amazing way to validate what you are trying to achieve on a daily basis.

What successes did you achieve this week?

No matter how big or small, they all count

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Electronic Cigarettes

Hey Bizz,

I'm not sure if you read my colleagues post in this thread,

but the Ecigarette hasn't been proven effective for those wanting to quit smoking, and is why it is illegal to sell them in Canada. I'm not sure to laws against them in America, but research is still lacking on their effectiveness as a NRT

I'm sure there is ongoing research and modifications in the works, but as of now, they are not proven to help with a quit and can be dangerous (poisoning) and so we do not advise buying/using them.

Thanks for sharing your experience with them,

Matthew - Health Educator

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Hello everyone

Hi Petya,

Thanks for sharing how things have been going. That is interesting how your cravings happen at different times and at different moments during your day. Everyone is different though, some people benefit from the quit diary/cravings diary more than others as they can start recognizing trends with when and in what context they have their cravings. They can then adjust accordingly. Others, like yourself, show differing patterns in your cravings.

Congrats on making the commitment to quit. Take a look at the program as well as there are a lot of tools that can help you out as you become smoke free. No need to be scared of this day, you have committed to quit, and are in the right frame of mind to do it.

Good luck going forward, and check in as often as you like and with any questions you may have.

Matthew - Health Educator

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Hey everybody

Hey Ryan3006,

Welcome to the stop smoking center forums.

As members have mentioned, the boards are a great place to get the support you are looking for and get a lot of great information from people you can relate to, so continue to look around and fine threads most relevant to you.

As for our program, there a lot of tools and tips you can use to aid with your quit and hopefully make it stick this time around. One example is to set up your emergency coping plan (ideas on how to distract, use self talk, avoid, delay giving in long enough for craving to pass) for when faced with cravings. You will see this and other tools within the program.

All the best as you work towards maintaining a smoke free life. Check in as often as you'd like

Matthew - Health Educator

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Nicotine Dependence Levels

Hi Everyone,

This post is more for those members who are currently planning to quit, but have yet to do so.

Most of this content comes from our friends at the Canadian Cancer Society.

As you know, the nicotine found in tobacco is a highly addictive drug and within a few seconds of smoking nicotine goes to your brain and gives you a temporary "high." Over time, your brain starts to adjust and you may need more and more nicotine to get the same effect. Eventually your brain adjusts and the nicotine no longer produces a high. It produces the feeling you would most likely call "normal".

If you suddenly stop, or significantly reduce your intake of nicotine, you won't have that normal feeling anymore and your brain and body will need a few days to re-adjust. This re-adjustment is known as withdrawal and there are different symptoms associated with it.

So, the power of nicotine comes from the repeated small doses you give yourself.
For example, if you take 15 puffs from a cigarette and if you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, that's 300 drug doses a day or 109,500 doses a year. That can be a powerful dependence to break, and your body is going to miss the nicotine once you take it way, so you must be prepared for withdrawal symptoms.

However, not all quitters develop the same level of addiction to nicotine, or experience the same level of withdrawal. It’s important for you to understand how addicted you are because someone who has a high level of addiction will usually have more withdrawal symptoms and more cravings.

To help you understand your personal level of nicotine addiction, complete the Nicotine Dependence Quiz found in your program within the 3rd trophy section.

Once you know about your dependency levels, you can better plan for the symptoms you may face.

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