Quitting Smoking For Dummies [Paperback]

David Brizer M.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2003

The decision to quit smoking is far from a casual one. Quitting smoking involves your complete commitment; it must become your number-one priority. Mustering all the support you can get, you need to decide to turn up the flame on your survival instincts, your belief in a healthy future, and your will power and faith that you can and will quit.

The sooner you stop smoking, the better your chances of avoiding some of the unwelcome consequences of smoking. You body and brain begin to recover almost immediately. Cigarette cravings aside, your body wants to stop smoking, and the moment you cut loose the smokes, your respiratory system begins to clear itself out. Here are just a few of the benefits you can reap from kicking the habit:

• A longer life with a lower risk of cancer and other deadly diseases
• No more sore throats, congested lungs, and persistent cough
• The ability to exercise and "get back into shape"
• Kissable breath and clothes that don't smell like you just came home from a bar
• Being able to really taste good food
• Pleasing your family and friends and no more being the outcast

Like all smokers, you've probably tried to quit a half dozen times, only to relapse. Perhaps you'd given up all hope of being able to quit, but now you're getting pressure from others, such as family members, to end your smoking career completely. But how do you take those first steps? And how do you follow through with your commitment to quit smoking? Quitting Smoking For Dummies can help.

Quitting Smoking For Dummies takes a total approach to help you quit smoking – short of yanking the cigarettes from your hands. It gives you the cold, hard truth about why you're addicted and how smoking harms your body – and it helps you develop a plan for finally quitting. Here's just a sampling of the topics you'll find covered:

• Understanding the various forms of tobacco – and their effects
• Figuring out why you're addicted
• Analyzing the health risks of smoking
• Developing a strategy to quit smoking
• Exploring nicotine replacement therapies
• Staying clean: Avoiding the relapse
• Getting help from support groups and programs
• Special considerations for pregnancy and teen smoking

So, the question to ask yourself is, "Why wait to quit?" You're going to have to eventually; why not start now? With Quitting Smoking For Dummies, you can start your recovery today, and look forward to a long and healthy life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...practical advice written in plain English..." (Men's Fitness, Jan 04)

From the Back Cover

Conquer your smoking triggers and cravings

Break your bad habits, be healthier, and breathe easier!

Ready to be smoke free? This friendly, practical guide helps you through the entire process of quitting smoking step by step – from understanding your addiction and reducing your desire to smoke to resisting temptation and handling relapses. You’ll evaluate the various medical quitting aids and alternative treatments and find people and programs to support you over the long haul.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (September 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764526294
• ISBN-13: 978-0764526299
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Recovery > Smoking

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book giving a clear recipe for stopping smoking, October 20, 2004

By 

QuitAbility "John" (Moutain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quitting Smoking For Dummies (Paperback)

To successfully stop smoking you need to do 2 things: beat your addiction to nicotine and break your smoking habits. (quitting smoking is about skills not willpower - if you had willpower, would you be smoking?). Quitting Smoking for Dummies shows you how to do both. Brizer reviews the medicines out there that can help you quit, so you can select what is best for you. He then goes through how to break your smoking habit, how to select a support group if you need one, and how to stay clean (prevent the relapse). The book is well written, engaging, and the clever/witty in the usual Dummies way. The book is comprehensive -- now this is a requirement I guess for a mainstream/book-for-everyone, but it is too long for the average smoker? For example, are you pregnant? Do you chew? Etc. If not, don't read those sections. I would recommend reading over the Table of Contents and finding the information you need to help you quit. In short, this book is well written, correct, and comprehensive information. Good luck.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smoke-Free 3 years, 2 months and 25 days, August 24, 2009

By 

A. Amy (Schaumburg, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quitting Smoking For Dummies (Paperback)

This book saved my life. Yeah that was a bit of a dramatic statement but it did. I was a chain-smoker, I smoked close to two packs a day since I was 14 years old. I was addicted since the first time I inhaled. I used this book along with Wellbutrin. When I would get cravings, I'd go back to reading the book.

I do want to warn people who are quitting smoking that you may unleash a depression that you didn't know you had. Smoking cigarettes is a sort of anti-depressant (It's been proven) and I had serious depression when I quit. I was determined not to go back so I went into counseling, started eating better and stayed on the Wellbutrin for a year (it's also an anti depressant). I also started journaling. The thing is that I could have easily gone back to smoking but that would just mean I wasn't facing my problems. Since I've stopped my chronic bronchitis is gone, my allergies are less severe, I have more energy and no, I did not gain any weight (actually lost some while taking Wellbutrin).

This was just my experience. Everyone is different and you may not even experience depression. It will take effort and you need to be prepared and ready. I read the book for a few months before I actually made an attempt to stop.

Good luck. :)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING, August 16, 2009

By 

M. B. McDade "Eclectic taste" (the deep south) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quitting Smoking For Dummies (For Dummies (Psychology & Self Help)) (Paperback)

i DON'T KNOW IF THE TIME WAS RIGHT, IF IT WAS DIVINE INTERVENTION, OR IF IT WAS THE BOOK, BUT I AM ONLY HALF-WAY THROUGH AND HAVE NOT HAD A CIGARETTE IN OVER FOUR WEEKS. I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD QUIT, BUT I APPARENTLY HAVE AND WITH INCREDIBLE EASE. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!