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I figured it might be a little fun to list the top ten slogans I found over the internet about anti-smoking. These are fun to use on a smoker, to convince yourself to quit, or to simply just enjoy. In no particular order, here we go:

1. Tobacco: the day- and night-time, cancer causing, throat clogging pollutant drug, to help you look uglier the next morning… medicine
2. I don’t mind you smoking, if you don’t mind me farting up your nose
3. A kitten dies every time you light up
4. Be smart, don’t start
5. The marlboro man died of cancer
6. Too much smoke will leave you broke
7. Cough twice for Philip Morris
8. If you can’t stop smoking, cancer will
9. Put it out before it puts you out
10. Smokers don’t get to smoke, they have to smoke

Nicotine Gum is very similar to the nicotine patch, in the sense that it aids the smoker quit by supplying him/her with the nicotine they are addicted to. The nicotine is absorbed through the tissues in the mouth, and into the bloodstream, satisfying the smoker with nicotine while preventing them from smoking all the toxins in a cigarette.

Each cigarette contains around 1mg of nicotine, and nicotine gum usually contains between 2mg-4mg of nicotine (the equivalency of 2-4 cigarettes). Before the late 1990s, nicotine gum was only available through a prescription, now you can buy it over the counter at almost every pharmacy in North America and Europe.

There is a method to using the gum which will increase its potential. First, you should only chew the gum whenever you are absolutely craving a cigarette. You chew the gum until you notice a “peppery tingle”, and that is when you press the gum between your cheeks and gums. This is to allow the nicotine to enter your bloodstream through the tissues in your gums and cheeks, rather than your tongue (it is a lot more difficult for the nicotine to travel through your tongue to your bloodstream, than your cheeks/gums to your bloodstream). When the “peppery tingle” stops, you must start chewing again to get it back. Once it is back, once again you press it against your cheeks and gums but this time in a different area of your mouth. You repeat this method until there is no more “peppery tingle” senstation (usually about 25-40 minutes after you begin chewing), and this means that there is no more nicotine left in the gum.

While using this method, you are still addicted to nicotine and in the end, your will power is still what will make you overcome your addiction. There is a potential to becoming addicted to the gum itself because the gum does not eliminate your nicotine addiction. With proper doses of the gum, and some will power, you should be able to overcome your addiction.

**NOTE: These are general guidelines on how to use the nicotine gum. KickSmokingASAP.com is not responsible for any mishaps that may occur by using the nicotine gum. Make sure you consult a doctor before using the gum.

As a parent, one of the worst things that can happen is finding out that your teenager smokes. You feel that you are supposed to be protecting them from harm, and somehow they started smoking. You may immediately feel anger, or you may feel guilt. You also may feel hopeless and not know what to do.

You do not need to worry however, this is a common problem. Most people start smoking in their teen years. Some are just undergoing a phase and quit, and some grow to be addicted for decades to come. Studies show that most teenagers believe that they can quit whenever they want to, and they will quit within five years. Luckily, most of these teenagers do end up quitting, however some end up addicted.

As a parent who knows that their child smokes, your responsibility is to help them overcome their cigarette addiction (or phase if they are not addicted yet). The first thing you will NOT want to do is yell at or demoralize them. Teenagers already feel as if their parents don’t understand them and cannot relate, so you do not want to push them away. It is much better if you actually talk to them, try to understand why they started in the first place.

Remind your teen the consequences of smoking but do not simply just tell them “smoking is bad, it causes lung cancer, etc.” One of the scariest parts about teen smoking is that teens are AWARE of the hazards of smoking but they still do it. Teenagers live in the “now” not the future. The best way to remind them the consequences is not to focus too much on the future (but still mention the serious health effects). Try to speak in terms they will understand.

Start with talking to them about all the money they spend on smoking. If they even buy one pack a week, that’s one night out at the movies that they miss a week. Tell them that their breath and clothes stink and that guys/girls won’t want to be near that smell, and that their teeth are going yellow. Ask them if the plan to quit within the next five years. If they do, remind them that the longer they smoke that harder it gets. If your teen is a “rebel” or politically conscious, tell them about how the corporations exploit teens into getting them to smoke and how buying cigarettes is evil big business.

Rather than punishing your child for smoking, try rewarding them for NOT smoking. If they do not smoke for X amount of time, you will reward them with a gift. Tell them that all the money they save from NOT buying cigarettes, you will match that amount after X amount of time. Your teenager doesn’t hate you if you understand them. Odds are that if they are interested in the gifts and trust you, they will actually quit smoking to gain your trust back.

Lay down ground rules such as they cannot smoke in the house, porch, driveway, etc. or whenever you are around. Understand your teen is old enough to make these decisions. If you can work WITH them to have them quit smoking before they are addicted, you will be more successful than if you put pressure on them to quit by being an “enemy”.

Nicotine patches are one of the most common and, arguably, effective methods used to quit smoking. By using a nicotine patch, you allow your body to take in the nicotine, which you would normally recieve from smoking, in order to eliminate the cigarette cravings you may experience. Although the goal is to get rid of the nicotine addiction altogether, the patch allows you to quit tobacco one step at a time, with the first step being to actually stop smoking.

The nicotine patch generally comes in several different doses between 5-25mg. It is recommended that you leave it on between 14-24 hours (at least while you’re awake). It is most effective when used while you’re awake, so put it on first thing when you wake up, however some people choose to leave it on for 24 hours. If you have trouble sleeping at night with the patch, remove it before you sleep. You can apply the patch anywhere on your body, but most people choose to place it on their hips or upper arm (make sure there is no hair in the area you place the patch).

Depending on how long you’ve been smoking and how much you smoke a day, you will need to determine which dose of the patch you should start off with. For the average smoker, who smokes between 3/4 – 1 whole pack a day, you should start off with a patch between 15-25mg and work your way down to 5-15mg after 6 weeks, and as soon as you feel you are not craving cigarettes any longer, you can stop using the patch.

A general guideline between how many milligrams of a nicotine patch you should take are how many cigarettes you smoke in a day. 1 cigarette is usually 1mg of nicotine, so if you are smoking a pack of 20 cigarettes a day, start off with a 20mg patch.

**NOTE: These are general guidelines on how to use the nicotine patch. KickSmokingASAP.com is not responsible for any mishaps that may occur by using the nicotine patch. Make sure you consult a doctor before going on the patch.