Be Smoke Free

These days there are many kinds of stop smoking aids available. This article considers nicotine replacement aids and whether they help in the drive to quit smoking.

Smoking is an addiction and it is often said that the nicotine in cigarettes and cigars is as addictive as heroin, or even more. This is a real physical addiction, not just a habit. If you woke up tomorrow with total amnesia so that you could not remember anything about your life until now and even had no clue what a cigarette was, you would still feel the effects of nicotine addiction.

Some ways of quitting smoking involve supplying nicotine to the body in other ways to reduce these physical effects. For example, you can get nicotine gum, patches and inhalers. The idea is that by gradually reducing the nicotine intake, you reduce the body’s dependency until it reaches zero.

At the same time, you quit the habit of smoking (holding a lit cigarette, inhaling, always smoking with a coffee, etc) on day one, so that is dealt with separately from the physical addiction.

These aids have a good success rate - around twice as many people are successful at quitting than those who go ‘cold turkey’. It is hard to say exactly why, but if you think of other comparable situations, you can start to understand.

For example, using the idea of reducing dependency, you would think that a good way to quit would be to slowly reduce the number of cigarettes that you smoke each day until after 20 days or whatever you reach zero, and then you have quit. No problem, right? Wrong. You probably know this because you tried it already. Most everyone did, because it seems like it should be such a great method. In fact, it sucks.

Why? Because at some point, you must actually stop smoking. At that time you need a big boost of motivation. You have the motivation now - but will you still have it 20 days from now? Probably not. Somewhere along the way you are likely to start thinking that in fact, you would be happy if you just halved your intake. So you decide to do that instead, and then pretty soon it starts to creep up again.

Nicotine patches and gum are a lot better than the ‘cutting down’ method because they do require you to quit smoking the cigarettes right away.

Another big advantage that nicotine replacement has, is that it reduces the withdrawal symptoms. This is very important for some people and probably is the main reason why these aids really do help many people to quit.

Two things that bother people about giving up smoking are the tendency to put on weight, and increased irritability. Many people, even those who genuinely want to stop, would prefer to keep on smoking than to quit and gain weight. Others are afraid that stopping will make them so irritable that they may lose a relationship or a job.

Often they have had past experiences of trying to quit, with these consequences. For other people these fears are unconscious, but they are there all the same and they are a big motivation killer. Patches or gum can help with both of these.

So quitting aids can help people to quit in some circumstances, but you do still need motivation. The aids are not going to work by themselves. Combining them with other methods is the best way.

Nicotine is a dangerous substance. The sale of these products may be restricted in some jurisdictions. Always read the instructions on any medication and consult your doctor for advice before using stop smoking aids.

We hear so much about the dangers of smoking, but instead, here we are going to take a look on the positive side and consider the benefits of quitting smoking. These apply to a person who is in good health apart from being a smoker.

There are many benefits to stopping smoking, and the good news is that a lot of them start right away.

Almost as soon as you put out a cigarette, the nicotine levels in your body and in your bloodstream start to decrease. When you are a smoker, after a few minutes or hours the levels will drop lower than you like and you will start to think about lighting another. But when you quit, the nicotine in your body keeps on slowly reducing until soon it is completely gone and the addiction is broken.

One of the health benefits that kicks in almost right away is an improvement in blood pressure and pulse rates. The blood becomes cleaner and the circulation is more effective. The heart can work more efficiently, getting more oxygen around the body with less work.

At the same time, your lungs begin to clean out. This process takes a few weeks. During this time you may cough more than you did when you smoked, but do not use that as an excuse to start again. Any prolonged cough should be checked by a doctor, but generally this is a healthy sign that your body taking the chance to get clean again after all those years.

The lungs never clear out completely because we live in a world where there are other types of pollution, but they will soon become much cleaner than a smoker’s lungs. Provided you did not already start to develop one of the serious diseases that smokers often get, you have a good chance of living out your natural lifespan as a non-smoker now.

You will notice that you can take exercise more easily. Your heart rate stays slower while you exercise. Your lung capacity will begin to improve, so you do not get out of breath so easily. If you had any minor respiratory problems like frequent colds and coughs or sinus infection, you may find that these do not bother you so often.

The risk of developing major smoking-related diseases begins to reduce within a few months of quitting. These diseases include cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, esophagus and many other types of cancer. The risk of developing coronary heart disease also decreases.

There are other advantages to quitting smoking in addition to the health benefits for the person who quits. First, there are benefits for your family and anyone that you spend a lot of time with, in not having smoke in the air that they must breathe.

Second, it becomes much easier to get along with non-smoking strangers. Most people in the Western world these days are non-smokers and a lot of them dislike the smell of smoke. They will know if you smoke, even if you do not light a cigarette in their presence. If you are dating or trying to make new friends, or if you work in any situation where you need to influence people such as sales, you will get along much better as a non-smoker.

Third, you have more time and money. A lot of money is wasted on smoking, but people often do not think about the time that is wasted too. You will begin to notice how great it is to be able to do something for several hours without even thinking about going outside for a cigarette.

Bookmark this page and come back often while you are stopping, to remind yourself of some of the benefits of quitting smoking.

In recent years many countries have introduced a ban on smoking in public places and/or all workplaces. In many more countries that do not yet have a ban, the issue is hotly debated. Smokers maintain their right to smoke; non-smokers maintain their right not to.

Commercial interests mainly sided with the smokers. Apart from the tobacco companies themselves, many large and small businesses from coffee shops to bars, restaurants and nightclubs were concerned that banning smoking will lose them customers. Perhaps bars and nightclubs are the most affected. Smokers almost always like to smoke along with an alcoholic drink and they may be more likely to stay home and drink if they cannot do this in their neighborhood bar.

The fact that the ban has been introduced in so many countries in spite of strong lobbying by commercial interests is a sign of the growing strength of feeling among non-smokers about being subjected to second hand smoke. The number of smokers in most Western countries has been steadily declining over the past few decades as the health risks have become more and more widely publicized. As the number of non-smokers grows to a large majority, they are more strongly voicing their feelings against the air that they breathe being polluted with tobacco smoke.

Results from many countries have shown that contrary to expectation, most businesses have not suffered from the ban. While there may be fewer smokers in coffee shops and bars, there are more non-smokers taking their places.

The Ban

The ban, of course, is really just another step in a gradual change from a situation 50 years ago where almost all buildings were constantly filled with smoke. It used to be that you could not clearly see a movie from the back row of the theater because of the cloud of tobacco smoke that hung in the air. Slowly, smoking sections and non-smoking sections were introduced in most premises and on public transit, then some began to be entirely non-smoking.

In most countries that have instituted a smoking ban, the result is that no smoking is allowed in any indoor location where people work, or where the public are admitted. The definition of ‘indoor’ may vary but might include any building with at least 3 walls, or anything that has a roof, regardless of the number of walls. Temporary structures like tents may or may not be included.

In some cases, if a smoker is running a business from home that involves staff working there or clients visiting, the smoker’s own home may have to be smoke-free.

It might be thought that smokers would just go ahead and smoke in these places despite a ban. It is true that many people do things that are illegal, especially where addiction is concerned. However, smoking is a different issue because it affects non-smokers too. In any public place there will be non-smokers who will police the ban by challenging anybody who does dare to smoke, and because they are now the majority, they are able to do this very effectively.

Some people say there is no easy way to stop smoking. Yet people who have successfully quit will often tell you that it was easy, when they look back. Often, they tried many times before and failed - they went back to smoking after a few days, weeks, or months. But that one time, they stopped without much trouble, and never started again. So what made it easy that time?

Most smokers want to stop and if there was a magic method or supplement that worked for everybody, there would probably only be a couple of smokers left in the world. So it’s pretty clear that whatever methods may be suggested, they do not work for all of the people who try them, every time.

Finding the easy way is often just a matter of doing it at the right time. This means that instead of deciding you will quit tomorrow, or next week, or on January 1st, you should act any time when you feel a strong desire to quit.

This moment may come when you are sick, when your kid says something to you that makes you feel ashamed, or just one day for no apparent reason. It might be right now. It will not just be a vague wish that you didn’t smoke, but something stronger, a real emotional motive.

For most people that is what makes it easy one time when it never was before: they simply did it at the right moment. You have probably had these times in the past and ignored them. This time, do not push this moment away and try to forget it, but act on it. When it comes, stop right now.

Your motivation may still go up and down but you can be sure that you can make it through. You need to keep on thinking positively. Remind yourself how great it is to be a non-smoker. After a few days, you will find it is easier to sit through a long movie or plane journey without getting anxious and wishing for the end so that you could smoke. Be aware of how much more enjoyable your life is getting, and remind yourself of it often.

People who use aids like nicotine replacement, hypnosis, or any kind of therapy or support group usually do better than those who do not. It may be that their willingness to spend money on these things is a sign of higher commitment. These things can help you to keep your motivation high.

Most people have activities that remind them of smoking. Go ahead and avoid these activities for a couple of weeks if it helps. It is a good idea to give up alcohol temporarily, not only because you probably associate it with smoking, but because your motivation will be much lower when you have had a couple of drinks. You may also need to avoid certain places or even certain friends.

At the same time, you should not stay home alone with nothing to do. Quitting smoking can be a little like losing a friend: you will grieve, and you need to try to occupy your mind, your hands and your time. Take up a hobby that involves using your hands, such as woodworking or quilting, or make a list of things that need fixing around the house and do them one by one.

Drinking a small glass of water every time you have a craving is a great way to avoid overeating. Or simply notice how quickly a craving disappears. You may be surprised. Even if you do nothing to satisfy it, the strongest craving will vanish within 90 seconds. Sure it comes back, but 90 seconds is not long to hold out each time.

If you have a lot of anger coming out and you are taking it out on your friends and family, do not use that as an excuse to give up your resolve. Your irritability is only temporary. It may seem that your friends would be better off if you started smoking again, but that is not true. They are way better off without you blowing smoke into the air that they breathe.

In the end, the easy way to stop smoking is any way that works for you - when you do it at the right time.

The benefits of a smoking ban are widely debated now as more and more countries institute a ban on smoking in workplaces. Of course this does not only mean offices and factories, but any indoor place where people work, including airports, malls, coffee shops and bars. Here we consider the benefits to both non-smokers and smokers.

Benefits for Non-Smokers

The benefits for non-smokers of this type of ban are very clear. They get to escape the second hand smoke that used to be present in all of these places, affecting their comfort and their health.

Many non-smokers have always hated that the day after an evening spent in a smoky nightclub and bar, their hair would smell and their clothes would require cleaning. In addition, during the evening a non-smoker in a smoky place may suffer from irritated eyes, a cough, and possibly shortness of breath and asthma. In the past these were seen as disadvantages that non-smokers had to accept if they wanted to spend an evening out with their friends. Now, this is no longer true.

The greatest benefit must be for non-smokers working in these places. Formerly they had to work all day or all evening breathing in tobacco smoke, year after year. Now they are completely free of that.

Benefits For Everybody

Apart from questions of health, the ban benefits everybody in reducing the risk of fire. A large number of fires are started by cigarettes that have not been properly extinguished. Fires in nightclubs and on public transit systems are much less likely if this type of ban is in place.

Does The Ban Benefit Smokers?

The argument for the ban in relation to smokers is that it will help them smoke less or quit, and so even though they may not like it, it is better for them.

Smokers are usually skeptical about arguments like this which remind them of many they have heard before. For example, the high taxes on tobacco products in many countries were supposed to help smokers quit, but generally they don’t. Very few people give up smoking because of the cost. They are much more likely to give up something else that is not addictive, so they can afford to keep on smoking.

The ban, however, works in a different way because in most cases it does break the habit of smoking in certain circumstances. A guy who always liked to smoke with a beer will certainly smoke less if he has to leave his friends and go outside in the rain every time he wants to light a cigarette. So the habit of always having a cigarette with a beer is broken.

The ban also means that it is easier for a smoker who is trying to quit, to stay quitted. Most smokers do want to quit. One of the most dangerous times for a recently stopped smoker is when they go out and have a few drinks in a situation where other people are smoking. Their will power is lower because they are a little drunk, and they are seeing and smelling people smoking all around them. Take away the temptation and it is much easier for them to get through the evening without having a cigarette.

It seems very likely that the ban will help smokers to smoke less and to quit. It also helps to change the image of smoking, from something that every cool person did 50 years ago, to something that only a few pitiful addicts do. The tide of social pressure has definitely turned toward non-smoking in most Western countries, and this probably helps more smokers to quit than any other consideration, even their health.

The effects of smoking are wider than many people realize. Everybody knows about how smoking contributes to many cases of lung cancer, but there are many other effects too. Some of these start as soon as a person begins to smoke.

Immediate Effects

• The blood pressure and heart rate go up immediately, with the first inhalations on a cigarette.
• Smoking begins to have effects on the lungs immediately too. Even someone who only smokes occasionally or has only smoked for a short time will find that they are more likely to develop coughs and sinus infections when they have a cold. They will probably also stay sick longer.
• The effect on the blood vessels means that you are more likely to suffer headaches if you smoke.
• Smoking also has effects on the teeth. The cocktail of chemicals in cigarettes attacks the teeth, discoloring them and causing cavities.
• Smoking makes you smell bad to a non-smoker - which is most people these days. Your breath, hair and clothes will smell the worst. You will not be pleasant for a non-smoker to kiss.
• Most people do not like having smoke in the air that they breathe, so many people may avoid your company when you are smoking.
• For both of the above reasons, you will be a less popular date than you would be if you didn’t smoke.

Longer Term Health Risks And Other Effects

Smoking contributes to many diseases that involve years of pain and suffering, or repeated bouts of falling sick over many years. These are some of the problems that can occur:

• lung cancer and many other cancers
• emphysema
• chronic bronchitis
• cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes
• erectile dysfunction in men
• fertility problems
• less healthy babies
• bloodshot eyes, cataracts, and macular degeneration of the eyes leading to blindness
• wrinkles

Keep in mind that these diseases can start sooner in some people than in others. It is true that a few people live to be 90 and still smoke, but they are unusual. Maybe they still would have lived another 10 years, if they had not smoked. The average person who smokes will be sick more often and have a greater risk of developing any of these diseases than if they did not smoke.

The average life expectancy of a smoker is around 8 years less than a non-smoker. However, it does not work out this way in practice. This figure does not mean that an individual smoker will die 8 years sooner than if he did not smoke.

The truth behind the numbers is that some people are more affected by the toxins in cigarettes and other tobacco products than others. So while you hear of some smokers living to a good old age, the people who do develop serious smoking-related diseases die much younger, often in their 40s and 50s. These diseases can cut 30 or 40 years from a person’s life.

Therefore, it is clear that the effects of smoking can be very serious indeed.

The major health risk smoking facts are well known. Smoking is not just bad for your health, it can kill. There is plenty of information out there about the main risks and if you didn’t know that lung cancer and heart disease are associated with a higher risk in smokers, you must have been living under a rock for the past 20 years.

However, there are other facts about smoking that are less well known. Some of these may be essential motivators for you or those close to you who want to quit smoking.

Maybe lung cancer seems like something that would never happen to you, or not for so long into the future that it is hard to care. When we are young, we may feel this way. Life holds so many uncertainties, it may be hard to get motivated about something so far away. But some of the other hazards of smoking may be right around the corner, or even affecting you right now - even if you are young.

The first thing to know is that cancer can hit younger people too. Smoking-related cancers are more likely than some others to affect people in their 40s, for example. That is an age when many people still have kids at home who are dependent on them. It’s not a great time to die.

As well as lung cancer, smoking is associated with higher risk of cancer in the mouth, throat and esophagus (the passage that leads to the lungs) - and also the colon, stomach, kidneys and many other parts of the body.

It is not just about smoke clogging up the lungs. There are a huge number of possible problems that can result from nicotine and other chemicals getting into the bloodstream. A commercially produced cigarette contains thousands of different chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic - i.e. poisonous. They can do untold damage when they build up in the body over a few months or years.

Other problems are caused by the organs being deprived of the oxygen that they need to function correctly. One example of this is the skin. The skin is fed by the bloodstream just like any other organ. When the blood does not contain enough oxygen to nourish it properly, it becomes wrinkled and unhealthy looking, causing a premature aging effect.

Smoking also affects the sexual organs. In women this can reduce fertility and make it harder to get pregnant. Of course it also affects the growing fetus if the woman does get pregnant and continues to smoke. So the best thing that you can do if you want a baby, is to stop smoking.

Male fertility may also be affected and in addition, smoking often contributes to impotence. Men in their 30s and 40s who smoke have a 50% higher chance of erectile dysfunction (impotence) than non-smokers of the same age.

Children are very sensitive to smoke and if you smoke in the house, your kids are likely to get more respiratory infections than the children of non-smokers. These infections are also likely to be more serious than for other kids. Their immune systems are lowered and they have a hard time recovering from disease.

Smoking can also have a bad effect on your career. For example, most people know that smokers take more time off work sick than non-smokers, plus they see smokers spending time in the parking lot taking a break while non-smokers are working. This creates a bad impression on the boss and resentment among colleagues.

Many companies prefer not to hire smokers even if they never take a cigarette break in working hours, just because of the sickness rates. In other companies, workers miss out on promotion or bonuses because they do not have the good health record of their non-smoking colleagues.

So the financial cost of smoking is not limited to the cost of cigarettes - which you already know is very high. When you quit, you will have a lot more money in your wallet or purse right away. You will also notice improvements in your health almost immediately.

Bookmark this page to come back and remind yourself of these smoking facts from time to time to keep your motivation to quit sky high!

More and more people are choosing stop smoking hypnosis when they want to quit. Does it work? And if so, how?

There are several different theories for how hypnosis works. One is dissociation, which suggests that the subject’s behavioral control sector is temporarily partitioned off from ordinary awareness. Another theory suggests that the subject is in fact in control the whole time but has made an unconscious decision to act as if he were not.

Some people are more easily hypnotized than others. When people’s brains are studied under hypnosis and in a normal state, researchers have found that different areas of the brain are more active in people who are easily hypnotized while they are under hypnosis, compared with people who are less susceptible to hypnosis. When they were not hypnotized there was no difference. This suggests that there is a difference in the way that the brain works when it is hypnotized.

Hypnosis for stopping smoking involves the hypnotist making suggestions to the quitting smoker, while the smoker is hypnotized. It does not require any control of his behavior. This works because during hypnosis the brain will not censor what is said: it accepts everything it is told without question.

So if the person is told that he no longer wants to smoke, when he wakes he will know, for certain, that he does not want to smoke. There is no ‘Do I want a cigarette or don’t I?’ He may feel cravings from time to time, but he will know they are just the effects of a former addiction that is no longer relevant to him.

Unlike other methods of quitting, hypnosis can tackle the question of weight gain at the same time. Many people do gain weight when they stop smoking, but as hypnotism can also be used for weight loss, the hypnotist can easily tackle both of these questions at the same time to prevent the subject gaining weight when they quit.

If avoiding weight gain is important to you, check whether this is included before you book a session with a hypnotist or buy a CD.

Scientific research on the success of hypnosis for quitting smoking has not been entirely conclusive, but some results claim a success rate of up to 80%. Success probably depends on three factors:

- whether the person is easily hypnotized
- the strength of their motivation to quit
- the hypnotist’s technique.

There is no way to know if you will be a good hypnotism subject without trying it, but you can certainly work on your motivation. Try to choose a time for your appointment when you will be relaxed and feeling positive, not when you are under a lot of stress for any reason. For women, it is better to avoid the premenstrual time of your cycle.

If the hypnotist suggests a follow-up session after a few weeks or months, be sure to attend even if you do not think you need it. People sometimes go back to smoking even after a long time, and this will help you avoid that. If you bought a CD, it may include follow-up recordings that you should listen to.

If you are considering hypnotism to get over your tobacco addiction, you would be wise to ask for recommendations in your area for a good hypnotist. Your doctor or other health practitioner may have some advice to give. Generally, people who attend any kind of quit smoking therapy do better than those who do not, and stop smoking hypnosis can be one of the best kinds.

There are probably as many different ways to quit smoking as there are people who have quit - and that is a lot of people these days. If you are trying to give it up, you have the comfort of knowing that millions of others have been successful over the past decades and there is no reason why you should not succeed too.

If you think about it, you will see that there are always gaps between cigarettes. Even the heaviest smokers have an average 7 hour gap between cigarettes every night. Although nicotine is a physical addiction, it is also true that most people’s bodies do not wake them up every couple of hours during the night to have a cigarette. So most people could go for much longer between cigarettes than they think.

Some of the most popular ways include hypnosis, medications and nicotine aids, as well as the very popular cold turkey. Going cold turkey, where you simply stop, sounds the most difficult but many people are successful with it. However, having some help can ease the pressure and help with the cravings and other withdrawal problems such as irritability.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is something that many people find helpful in their goal of quitting smoking. A hypnotist will hypnotize you and then give you an instruction or suggestion telling you that you do not want to smoke any more, have no need to smoke again, or something similar. They will not usually tell you exactly what they say in case you unconsciously set up a barrier against the words.

A suggestion made under hypnosis can be very convincing. Some people are easier to hypnotize than others, but it is thought that once the hypnosis is successful, the command should work on anybody. It can help minimize or even abolish cravings.

You do need to want to stop, of course - you would not be spending money on a hypnotist or a hypnosis CD if you didn’t. It is also best to choose a time when you are not under heavy stress.

Aids

Quit smoking aids are designed to reduce the withdrawal symptoms from the nicotine itself. They include nicotine patches, gum and inhalers. There are also some medications available from your doctor or pharmacist. It is best to have medical advice before taking any of these.

These aids can be helpful, especially if you have strong withdrawal symptoms such as bursts of anger which could have a negative effect on your life and relationships during the first few days. The success rate of these is higher than just quitting. You should not need to take these aids for more than a couple of weeks.

Just Quit

If you decide to simply stop, you will need a lot of motivation. It may help to think of all the reasons that you want to stop, and write them all down. Keep adding to them even after you have stopped.

Try to think of positive reasons - for example, ‘My breath smells good now’ (not ‘My breath doesn’t smell bad any more’ - that is a negative reason). Do not worry if any of them seem stupid. Sometimes the stupidest reasons are our most powerful motivators.

It can also be helpful to use affirmations. This works a little like hypnosis except that you do it yourself. Because you are conscious, you have more resistance so you have to do it more often. Pick out some of the positive reasons from your list that mean the most to you, and repeat them aloud in front of the mirror at least three times each day. Smile while you do it!

Remember that almost every smoker wishes that they did not smoke, but there are no non-smokers that wish they were smokers! You can be a happy non-smoker too. In the end, the fact that you want to quit is more important than which you choose out of all the ways to quit smoking.

Teenage smoking is on the decrease. While around 25% of teenagers across the USA smoke either regularly or occasionally, this number is going down steadily. In New York, the number of teenage smokers was cut by half between 2001 and 2008.However, many teenagers still do start smoking. If you are the worried parent or sibling of one of the 25% that smoke, you may not care about the others who don’t. Still, it is good news - even for your kid. If fewer of his or her friends are smoking, that is going to help when he or she decides to quit.The vast majority of smokers start before they are 25 years old, and most start in their teenage years. Some of the reasons for this are clear. Teenagers love to experiment, and they want to do what adults do - although not necessarily the same things that their own parents do. They want to be themselves as adults, right now. In order to get the impression that this is happening, they like to do things that make them feel older, such as drinking, wearing makeup, and smoking.It is a good idea to educate children about the risks of smoking but trying to talk to a teenager who has already started, about the health problems that they may develop in 20, 30 or 40 years’ time, is usually pretty pointless. It is a rare adolescent who can think that far ahead. Think back to when you were that age. Could you ever even imagine being 50 years old? How can they be expected to care about some disease that might happen to that ‘old’ person that they may one day become, if they don’t die of something more exciting first? Your kids may act adult in a lot of ways, but don’t be fooled. They are only a few steps along the path from being those little children for whom time was divided into today, tomorrow, next week or forever. It is much better to focus on the disadvantages of smoking right now - and preferably, let them experience those for themselves. Show, don’t tell.Don’t pretend not to notice that they are smoking. Secret smoking can lead to other problems. You can let them know that you and other family members would be happier and would worry less about them if they didn’t smoke, while always accepting that right now, they smoke.If you don’t smoke yourselves, it is reasonable to ban smoking in the house for your own comfort, including in the teenager’s own room. You can make them go in the backyard. This is what most adults visiting your house would probably do. It may help to point out some of the negative effects that smoking could have on their lives right now. For example, if they enjoy any kind of sports, their performance is likely to decrease if they smoke regularly. It affects dental health too, increasing the number of cavities.Even young smokers get sick more regularly than non-smokers. Constant colds and coughs are not very attractive to the opposite sex. At the same time, keep in mind that they will probably quit sometime, and there is a good chance that they will do that before they develop any serious disease. More and more people are quitting every year. Any time they try to quit, be sure to give them your full support. This could involve accepting that they will be very hard to live with for a few weeks if they become more than usually irritable during this time.Although it does have long term dangers, smoking is not the most immediately life-threatening thing that your kids could be doing. The best thing that you can do about teenage smoking is to make them aware of the disadvantages that it might give them right now, and help them if they want to quit.