My fiance has been smoking on and off for probably 15 years. He’s successfully quit a few times, only to eventually end up smoking again. He smokes about half a pack a day right now. He knows how much I can’t stand it because I don’t want to lose him to cancer or heart disease in 20 years, but this doesn’t seem to deter him enough. He wants to stop, or at least he says so, and he has tried the gum and the lozenges with a little success, but he doesn’t seem completely motivated (sometimes he’ll choose the cigarette over the lozenge, for example). What can I do to help him stop for good? Do you have any ideas, or ways that you’ve helped someone stop smoking?

Smoking used to be cool. It was a way to be independent, to be rebellious, to show your strength. But since the medical world has linked smoking to so many health issues, it has lost favor in society. More and more, smokers are being made aware that though they may be welcome in public places, their habit of smoking is not.

You used to be able to smoke on airplanes, in restaurants, even in some offices. But those days are gone, and many smokers are ready to quit, freeing themselves from a habit that costs them time, money and health.

There are many options to help smokers quit – nicotine patches and gum are sold at most every grocery store and drugstore, supposedly helping smokers wean themselves from the nicotine in the cigarettes. Do they work? According to the Shiffman “Real-world” study, only 3% of those using the Rx nicotine patch and 9.2% of those using the OTC patch were not smoking at six months. In the nicotine gum groups, only 7.7% of the Rx gum group and 8.4% in the OTC gum group were not smoking at six months. Sadly, the average for the four groups was just 7%.

Then there are the stop smoking pills that have become available…according to studies, they can be effective for a small percentage of people, but the side affects are a bit dramatic. People taking Chantrix, for example, can suffer from anxiety, nervousness, tension, depressed mood, unusual behaviors and thinking about or attempting suicide. I think I’d rather smoke.

Many studies have proven the effectiveness of counseling and hypnosis for smoking. In many study groups, counseling along with another treatment method boosted results noticeably, and counseling or therapy on it’s own has been show to be effective with smokers trying to quit cold turkey.

Hypnosis has been proven very effective for smoking cessation, citing reports of 40% to more than 60% success, even after 6 months and beyond. Yes, there are side effects…let’s see. Increased self esteem, improved health, sense of well being, decrease in anxiety and nervousness. That sounds a lot better than unusual behaviors and depression!

There are a few things you should know about hypnosis. It’s easy, you’re totally in control, and it can be a profound experience. Hypnosis is simply a relaxed, meditative-like state where you can access and change your inner beliefs – and habits, like smoking. Habits come from your inner, subconscious mind, so doesn’t it make sense that you can change habits by visiting that part of your mind? Your hypnotist is simply your guide.

Many people think they can’t be hypnotized, but they just don’t understand what hypnosis really is. Most people go into a state of hypnosis every day, while reading a book, watching TV or even driving a car (ever heard of highway hypnosis?). It’s simply a focused state of awareness where your subconscious mind is accessible.

A good hypnotist will spend time with you, helping you understand their program, which can range from one to more than twelve sessions. When you choose a hypnotist, you’ll want to find one that does more than just read you a script. More seasoned hypnotists will help you find the reasons that you are compelled to smoke, and help you resolve them. They will have techniques to help desensitize you from smoking, and retrain your brain for success as a non-smoker.

To be successful in a hypnosis session, you’ll want to find a hypnotist that makes you feel comfortable and at ease, and one with a structured stop smoking program. Find out how many sessions they usually recommend for smoking cessation, and whether they charge by the session or the program. One hypnotist may charge $200, and have a reputation for helping you quit in just one session, another may charge just $50 per session, but sell you a 12-session program. Either way, however, you win. Just consider how much money you’ll be saving when you quit! You’ll be doing your body, mind and wallet a favor.

I’m quitting smoking, and I’m currently suffering from a horrible cough and a bout of acne. A friend told me that stopping smoking has temporary bad effects, but could not tell me what they were or how long they last.

I have quit smoking for a while before and the same thing has happened. After a week or so of not smoking or smoking less I get a really bad sore throat. Why is this? And what can I do to help it?

Sat, Aug 1 04:05 PM
London, Aug 1 (ANI): A retired senior Brit banker has decided to live on a deserted island for a month in a bid to quit smoking.
Geoff Spice, 56, from Surrey, started smoking 43 years ago while working as a paperboy, after stealing some cigarettes from the shop where he was working.
Spice has now decided to become a castaway on Sgarabhaigh, a 40-acre uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides, and the former managing director for NM Rothschild, the top London investment bank, will have to camp outdoors as there are no houses.
Sgarabhaigh, which means Cormorant Island in Gaelic, also has no electricity or water supply, and so he will rely for fires from driftwood and a camp stove and bottled water.
The island has plenty of sheep on it, but is free of rabbits, and Spice has decided against fishing.
“I’m a bit apprehensive now that the time is almost here about spending the month on the island by myself but I’m determined to see it through,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.
“Today I’m going to have one last cigarette and give the rest of the packet to my wife and get on the boat to the island.
“This is my last chance. I’ve been smoking 30 a day as usual but I think I can crack the habit.
“I am taking plenty of midge repellent though ironically they say that smoking helps keep the insect away,” he said.
In order to do away with boredom, he hopes to be able to learn to play the guitar, and he will be taking with him an iPod that contains the text of 120 books.
The other items of necessity that he will be taking are a mobile phone and a computer, and both will be powered by a photovoltaic solar cell, which will also have a wind-up handle as a back up to generate electricity.
Dave Hill, the island’s owner, has arranged for Spice to be dropped off on Sgarabhaigh and picked up a month later.
“If he rings to say he cannot stand it without a cigarette we will ignore it until it gets to three calls. He must have time to reflect on his decision,” Hill said.
Spice had previously tried nicotine patches and gum, a self-help book and going cold turkey in an effort to kick the habit, but nothing worked.
The former banker first considered staying on an uninhabited island a decade ago, when he was living in Australia, but was worried about the spiders and snakes there.
He found Sgarabhaigh by Googling ‘Uninhabited Scottish Islands’.
“I will miss my wife Elena, my children and my family very much but I understand that my mobile phone will work on the island so we can speak that way,” Spice said.
“I’m hoping that my plan will work, I’ll stop smoking and my month on the island may lead to many years of extra life that I’ll be able to spend with them,” he added. (ANI)

The internet has become a wonderful thing. That is for sure. With that, you can look for almost anything. Have you ever found that when you look for something in the stores you can never find it? If you are looking for meditative music, you find that you can’t locate that in stores. They want you to know a person and such for online meditation music.

Online search with tools such as Google has become a great tool. People can share music and all sort of things, obviously taking care that no copyright is broken otherwise that would be bad karma. One of the things that you can do is find music for yourself. One of the types that many are looking for are online meditation music.

One thing is that while you can do a basic search for meditation music and find a number of things, you can also locate an artist that you can find in bookstores and such. This might be a lot easier.

Once you have found the music you want, you can find them online then. By doing a search, you can find places that allow you to download them for a fee. Sometimes you can download the music videos if you have an iphone or some way to watch those videos.

On places like You Tube and so forth you can just book mark the page and instead of downloading the site you can just have it there that with just one click you can watch the video. It’s also possible to download the audio from You Tube videos but please be aware of any copyright implications if you go down that route. Other times, you can just save the file to your computer.

So, when you are looking for music to soothe your soul, give online meditation music a chance. It can soothe you into fitful sleep. It also helps with driving and other instances that fears might just consume you. Seek your music today and feel the power of music as it heals you.

For one of the best selections of online meditation music, just click here. This and other unique content ” articles are available with free reprint rights.

Jump matters a lot in sports especially in sports like basketball. How high you can jump is a significant factor in your performance. That is why athletes as well as those people who wants to increase the way they jump continue to search for ways to increase their jumping height. How To Increase Jumping Height? Let us find out how and what things to do in order to achieve the highest jump that we can do as well as how high can we jump.

Jumping high is not only a matter of jumping. It takes a lot of methods, practice and techniques in order to reach the highest jump possible. How to increase jumping height needs a lot of effort, determination and patience. One can start through stretching. Stretching makes one flexible. Aside from being flexible, it also prevents one from injuries.

Your calf and quad muscles is so important in your jump, so it is better if you do exercises to strengthen it. You can do calf raises, squats and crunches. The muscles that support your legs are important so it is very important to strengthen the muscles that support it.

Now, after these exercises, you can do your small,mini jumps then slowly jump high as you can. After which, stretch. Rest if you need to. One must also keep in mind to rest, avoid overdoing the stretching and jumping. You can record your jump height, do this everyday so that you can monitor your jump’s improvement. Continue to jump, do it everyday. After a month’s time you will see the improvement in your jump.

If you want to know more about how to increase your jump height, be willing to learn from your instructors as well as books, manuals and videos that can help you with it. Start practicing your jump now and see the improvement. Do not stop jumping, stop if you need to.

This author writes about Basketball Cards For Sale at How To Run Faster And Jump Higher

Cosmetic dermatology, plastic surgeons, medical spas and their patients will be hearing more and more about fractional skin resurfacing technologies like ActiveFX, DeepFX, Starlux 1540, Starlux 2940, Fraxel Repair.

To grasp the significance of these new laser skin resurfacing devices some minor understanding of the technologies of cosmetic laser skin rejuvenation treatments as well as older cosmetic laser skin treatments is a good start.

Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing History

Fraxel was the first non ablative fractional laser for the cosmetic medical market. It’s been upgraded since first being introduced and has been followed by a number of other fractional laser skin resurfacing technologies including the DeepFX and ActiveFX from Lumenis and the Starlux 1540 and Starlux 2940 from Palomar Medical.

Laser skin rejuvenation is a rapidly advancing field that intersects cosmetic dermatology and traditional plastic surgery. Rapid advancements and new breakthroughs in technology are occurring frequently and will continue. The benefit for patients is an increase in the effectiveness of fractional laser treatments and less down time or potential side effects.

Fractional laser technologies new applications are expanding into associated cosmetic areas like skin tightening where fractional treatments compete with radio frequency treatments like Thermage, and eventually into fat and cellulite treatments and removal.

Old, full face CO2 laser resurfacing treatments to treat wrinkles using the Ultra pulse CO2 laser, now compare poorly when faced with new fractional laser technologies. CO2 laser resurfacing created a very traumatic “burn wound” that literally vaporized the top layers of the dermis and took many months of recovery in addition to the need for general anesthesia. The additional problem of the skin turning white with hypo pigmentation as the pigment cells were destroyed fair poorly as well. Because of the risk of negative side effects, few patients choose this procedure.

The Newest Fractional Skin Resurfacing & Rejuvenation Technologies

Within the last few years the technologies around cosmetic Fractional Skin Rejuvenation or Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing has changed to eliminate many of the older technologies shortcomings. The erbium laser used in the Starlux is divided or ‘fractionated’ into many tiny micro-beams which treats only a portion of the skin (think tiny pin pricks) and leaves the surrounding skin intact and greatly improves the healing time.

These ‘fractionated’ treatment areas are referred to as micro-treatment zones and cause just enough injury to the layers of the dermis to trigger new collagen production and stimulate the replacement of collagen damaged by aging and sun exposure. This production of new collagen ‘fills in’ or ‘plumps’ the underlying dermal tissues and smoothes wrinkles. The surrounding, untreated skin speeds the healing process to a mere 3-4 days. Since most of the pigment cells remain intact, hypo pigmentation is effectively prevented.

Starlux 1540: Palomars New Fractional Non-Ablative Laser Resurfacing Technology

The Fraxel and Starlux 1540 are new non-ablative lasers (ablate means to “surgically remove) which means that the skin is not removed by the laser. Instead, the laser instantly heats the skin, causing new collagen growth.

With these new treatments, skin laxity and wrinkle smoothing results are less dramatic than with ablative lasers, but the benefit of reduced recovery time and reduced side effects mean that non ablative laser treatments are often the first choice.

Starlux 2940: Fractional Ablative Laser Resurfacings Future

Starlux 2940 fractional ablative lasers now provide the benefits of fractional treatments (less down time and reduced complications) with ablative skin resurfacings benefits (better wrinkle removal and facial rejuvenation) offering patients the best of both worlds.

These newer fractional ablative lasers remove tissue in the micro treatment zone instead of just heating the dermis like the old Fraxel or Starlux 1540.

The benefit of this new form of fractional laser ablation is that more wrinkled, sun damaged skin is removed than with the older laser technologies, and a better cosmetic result is attained. There is some increase in recovery time with redness and pink skin for around 5-6 days. The Starlux fractional ablative lasers still require much less recovery time than the old non fractional erbium and CO2 ablative lasers which actually burned off the top layers of the dermis.

Starlux 2940: Competing Fractional Laser Technologies

Reliant: (the company that makes Fraxel) CO2 fractional laser called Repair

Lumenis has released a CO2 fractional ablative laser called ActiveFX and DeepFx

Palomar: Starlux 2940 – Erbium fractional ablative skin resurfacing laser.

Medical Spa MD is a cosmetic medical community of Plastic Surgeons, Cosmetic Dermatologists, and Aesthetic Physicians with more than 2,000 physician members and offers current physician discussion forums on Starlux 2940 Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing and nonsurgical cosmetic medical technologies and treatments.

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