Tag Archives: quit smoking

Secondhand Smoke and Pets

There’s a lot of evidence out there that secondhand smoke is bad for you. It can cause issues with fertility, your heart, your lungs, and more. But it’s not just people who are in danger — secondhand smoke is also bad for your pets. When you inhale secondhand smoke, you’re getting all the bad stuff that’s in cigarettes… without the benefit of the cigarette’s filter. The same goes for your pets! Their lungs are in danger from the same stuff, for the same reason. But there’s a secondary danger with pets and secondhand smoke. Many animals groom themselves — and … Continue reading →

Frugal Challenges with Friends

Having a frugal challenge with online or offline friends can be a lot of fun and a great way to save money. You can cheer each other on, brag about your accomplishments and meet your goals together. Having a friendly community at hand really does make a different when it comes to being frugal Interested? Don’t have a community ready and available? Check out the Families.com forums, where there are plenty of new friends waiting to be part of a frugal challenge. Here are some frugal challenges that you can join or start. Pantry Challenge Cook only from your pantry … Continue reading →

Alternatives to Smoking During the Great American Smokeout

The Great American Smokeout is just a few days away. Are you ready to give up smoking for just one day? Even if you are only quitting for a day, you may be worried about cravings and other symptoms of withdrawal. Distraction can be key! Here are some things you can do on Thursday when the cravings hit. Take a walk. Exercise can release endorphins — the happy chemical in your brain. Call a friend. Get yourself involved in a conversation and you might just find the cravings fading into the background. Chew a piece of gum or have a … Continue reading →

The Great American Smokeout: November 15th

One week to go. Mark your calendar for the third Thursday of November. The Great American Smokeout is coming! Since the 1970s, the American Cancer Society has encouraged people to take part in the Great American Smokeout. Sure, quitting entirely would be great for your health. But if you aren’t ready to take that step, maybe you can commit to not smoking for just one day? Show yourself that you can stop for just one day… maybe that will be the first step to a new, smoke-free life. The idea for the Great American Smokeout started in Minnesota. A newspaper … Continue reading →

Why Do You Smoke? (And Why Don’t You Quit?)

There are many reasons why people smoke. Let’s look at a few. Smoking as meal replacement. Nicotine is a proven appetite suppressant, reducing a person’s desire for sweets and carbs. It may also speed up your metabolism. Some people are wired for addiction. In the case of nicotine, women (and girls) are more likely to become addicted quickly and stay dependant longer. Symptoms of dependence can develop in three weeks or less in girls; the average is more like twenty-six weeks in boys. The comfort factor. Satisfying that nicotine craving creates feelings of comfort or relaxation. It can be very … Continue reading →

Seven Hundred Dollars in Your Wallet

Are you a smoker? Quitting smoking means an extra seven hundred dollars — or more — in your wallet in the next year. The average American smoker spends more than seven hundred dollars each year on tobacco products according to a study from Ohio State University. That same study looked at smoking and wealth in people born between 1957 and 1964. Why? That is the first generation that was warned against smoking and tobacco use by the U.S. Surgeon General. Non-smokers had a much higher net worth — almost fifty percent higher — than people who smoke less than a … Continue reading →

It’s Time to Quit: Let’s Get Together

Are you a smoker? Do you want to quit? I know that may sound like a stupid question because I don’t know many smokers who don’t want to quit, but they avoid it because honestly it seems impossible. Who wants to go through the jitters, the frustration and the pacing? I’ve tried quitting before, in fact, just a couple of months ago, I made another attempt at quitting and actually made it a few weeks, but that’s not enough – what I need to do is to quit all together. I need to be a non-smoker. Not a former smoker. … Continue reading →

Smoke Break – Back in the Saddle

Many of you were here a few weeks ago when I made an attempt to stop smoking. I lasted only a few weeks and then fell promptly off the wagon. I can attribute the cause to a number of things including my husband’s hospitalization, but the truth is – I didn’t make it. Well, don’t let it be said that I’m giving up. In an effort to quit smoking again – I’ve gone back to the drawing board and I’ve started researching stop smoking methods, inspirations and more. One of the first places I found with tons of information is … Continue reading →

New Year’s Resolutions – Where Do You Rank?

Are you ready with your New Year’s Resolutions? In just three short days, we bid farewell to 2006 and welcome 2007 into our lives. It seems like just yesterday we were facing the Y2K crisis as we prepared to roll the calendars over from 1999 to 2000 and now, we are just three years shy of turning it to 2010. I remember reading an article in 1999 that described the fact that we were living in an age when science fiction was no longer a fairytale, but becoming fact. No, we don’t have bases on the moon, but we are … Continue reading →

Day 11: Falling off the Horse

You know, I knew it was a mistake somewhere in the back of my head when I just let myself off the hook for that slip on Day 7. So that one cigarette wasn’t satisfying, I slipped again on the 8th and on the 9th day, I smoked 5 cigarettes during the day. Yesterday, which was day 10, I sat down to re-evaluate my plan for quitting and realized that because I kept saying they didn’t matter, I was still smoking them without paying attention to them. New Beginnings So I guess today is a day of second verse, same … Continue reading →