Tobacco related problems

Benefits of Quitting Tobacco

• Tobacco is responsible for cancer of various parts of body like mouth, throat, lungs, stomach, kidney, bladder etc.,
• Tobacco leads to Heart and blood vessel disease, Heart Attack, Chest Pain, sudden Cardiac Death , stroke (Brain Attack), peripheral Vascular Disease (Gangrene of legs)
• There is 'one' tobacco related death every 8 seconds
• Smoking / tobacco causes adverse effects in men and women

The Physical benefits of quitting tobacco

• Your risk of cancer and heart disease will go down.
• Stress on your heart will be reduced.
• Your loved ones will not be harmed by your smoke.
• Your smoker's cough (persistent cough and phlegm) will most probably disappear.
• Your teeth will become whiter and cleaner.

The Social benefits of quitting tobacco

• You will be the one in control - cigarettes will no longer control you.
• Your self-image and self-confidence will improve.
• You'll be a healthier parent for your children, now and in the future.
• You'll have more money to spend on other things.

It's never too late to give it up!

• Stopping smoking/tobacco even in middle age before having cancer or some other serious disease avoids most of the later excess risk of death from tobacco.
• The benefits of stopping at earlier ages are even greater.
• Once you give up tobacco the risk of heart attacks normalized to that of a non-smoker in 3 years.

Tips to Quit Smoking /Tobacco

• Hide ashtrays, cigarettes, paan, jarda. out of sight, out of mind. A simple, yet helpful step,
• Don't let cigarettes, paan and jarda be easily available. Keep cigarettes/ jarda, paans in a place where you have to make a real effort to get them. For example, another room of the house, places where you don't go to very often, locked in a cupboard etc.
• Figure out your "triggers" to smoke, or consume paan / jarda and ways to cope with them. Is it the company of people who smoke/eat jarda/paan? Try in the initial period to be away from smokers/paan eaters/ jarda eaters or rather when they smoke or eat pan/jarda.
• Try to put something in the mouth, like chewing gums, sweets, peppermints, lozenges etc. and practice deep breathing
• Whenever you have that craving, try deep breathing when either standing or sitting. Having a glass of water and exercising also helps to decrease the craving.
• When you feel like taking tobacco, think of your children and the effect on their future if you develop any of the dangerous diseases caused by tobacco.
• Set a stop date.
• Find a support person.
• Make plans for your first day without cigarettes/ paan/jarda.
• Use the 4 Ds when the craving for smoking/tobacco hits you:
1. Do something else
2. Delay smoking/tobacco consumption the next cigarette
3. Deep breathing
4. Drink water
• Use positive self-talk.
• Reward yourself.
• Practice relaxation techniques (yoga, walking, meditation, dancing, music etc.) every day.
• Limit the intake of caffeine and alcohol.
• Further, be active, and eat a healthy diet!

Source: Portal Content Team