If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try, Again
How many times have you made a serious commitment to quit smoking? More than likely, the answer is less than you can count on 10 fingers. Most long-term smokers think about quitting all of the time but rarely go beyond thought to action. In fact, statistics tell us that approximately 70 out of 100 people who smoke want to stop but go on puffing, day in and day out, seemingly powerless to quit.

Why?

In great part, the answer lies in the insidious nature of nicotine addiction. Over time, the habit of smoking weaves its way through all of the activities in our lives, and we come to think we can't be happy or productive without cigarettes. We tell ourselves that we'll quit next week, next month, by the end of the year... definitely before we do permanent damage. All the while, time marches on and we are no closer to quitting than we were last week, last month or last year. Nicotine addiction has a way of overpowering good judgement and twisting an otherwise rational person's priorities way out of whack.

Healthy Monday and Smoking Cessation

By choosing Monday as your preferred quit date, you are building 52 opportunities into your year to commit to quitting smoking and celebrating your progress as you move ahead with your quit program. No longer will you be stuck in the limbo of indecision when thinking about smoking cessation. Your fresh start comes around once every seven days. Not a bad deal!

Take The Monday Pledge
As a proud participant of the Healthy Monday initiative, About.com Smoking Cessation uses Monday to bring you quit tips and motivational messages geared toward helping you construct the quit program that lasts a lifetime.

We all have the ability to quit smoking successfully, and we all deserve a life that is free of addiction. Honor your life by choosing Monday as the day to start and reinforce your quit program.

You can quit smoking ... and we’re here to help you, one simple Monday at a time.

_{Image © healthymonday.org}

Cigarette smoking increases a person's metabolic rate in part by forcing the heart to beat faster. When a cigarette is inhaled, the smoker's heart may beat 10 to 20 times more per minute for a period of time. This causes extra stress on the heart and plays a role in heart disease, the most common cause of smoking-related death.

Think about this: A smoking habit of 20 cigarettes a day puts approximately the same amount of stress on the heart as 90 pounds of extra weight would. When we stop smoking, heart rate slows down somewhat, causing metabolism to dip a bit as well. This can in turn trigger a slight weight gain.

Let's take a look at what you can do to keep your weight under control as you move through the process of recovery from nicotine addiction.

Related:

• The Chubster

• 12 Weeks to Weight Loss - A Free Email Course

Photo © Stockxpert

The facts and figures regarding tobacco use around the world are staggering. For instance, did you know that worldwide:

• approximately 10 million cigarettes are purchased a minute
• 15 billion cigarettes are sold each day
• 5 trillion cigarettes are produced and used on an annual basis

Did you know that the filters alone from 5 trillion cigarettes weighs 2 billion pounds? Staggering to think about, isn't it.

Smoking is a deadly pastime that damages our bodies and our environment. There is absolutely nothing to recommend it. It kills and pollutes - period.

If you're looking for some motivation to stop smoking, or have just quit and need to build your resolve to keep going, use the facts in this article to fuel the fire in your belly to kick this destructive habit, once and for all.

Related:

• COPD Statistics

• Smoking and Cancer Statistics

• Smoking-Related Heart Disease Statistics

_{Image: Stockxpert}

Up in Smoke
Employers score victory as workers face reduced compensation benefits
Smokers beware. There is yet another reason to quit. Employers recently scored a major victory when the Connecticut Supreme Court’s eight-justice panel ruled that an individual’s lifestyle choices can be taken into account when determining liability for a work-related illness.

Growth Market For Death
With U.S. sales in decline, tobacco firms push their product in developing countries, particularly in Asia
In 1964, when the U.S. surgeon general's office published the famed report that officially confirmed the link between smoking and cancer, nearly half of American adults smoked. To understand just how smoky life was back then, watch any episode of Mad Men, the TV series set on Madison Avenue in the early 1960s. Without a second thought, almost every character lights up regularly, at the office, at home, in restaurants, bars, cars, even at the dinner table in front of the kids.

Smoking Threatens Millions in China
Tens of millions of Chinese will die of lung diseases over the next 25 years unless the government takes action to combat smoking and the indoor burning of fuel, scientists have warned. The study, published on Saturday in the British journal, The Lancet, said chronic respiratory illness would kill 53.3 million, while lung cancer would leave another 13.5 million dead.