Did you know that those who quit smoking by the time they are forty can reduce the risk of premature mortality by ninety percent, reverse lung damage, and lower the risk for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and lung cancer?
Many who smoke do not have access to education concerning the practice's ill effects, nor to health care that supports quitting. So how can you and I help? There are many who can benefit from hearing the good news of Christ's power to set free, as well as from Christian love and support.
If you want to help someone who wants to be freed from the chains of addiction, help them take simple and effective steps. Do you want to quit smoking? Here is how to get started:
Set a quit date
To set the foundation for a successful quitting attempt, set a day to quit and pray that God help you in your efforts. Let family and friends know about your plan to quit and allow them to help!
Eliminate temptation
Throw away that half-finished pack of cigarettes! Avoid spending time with others who smoke.
Strategize to resist cravings
Cravings usually last two-three minutes. Find ways to distract yourself during times when the urge to smoke is the strongest or at times throughout the day when you would normally smoke. Drink a cold refreshing glass of water; go outside and take deep breaths of fresh air; call a friend, or spend time with God asking Him for help.
Exercise
Fifteen minutes of exercise every day naturally relieves anxiety and tension, which often accompany the craving for smoking. Once a quit date is set, adopt an enjoyable exercise routine to keep anxiety and tension at bay!
Hydrate
Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily. Water cleanses, refreshes, and energizes the body. Drinking half your body weight in ounces of water flushes out toxins and relieves cravings, unlike any other drink. Caffeine and alcohol, on the other hand, only help increase anxiety and tension, which do not help efforts to quit smoking. Stay away from drinks containing either of these substances as much as possible!
Let your diet help
Fresh fruits and vegetables should consist the majority of our diet. Try to eliminate all meat products for at least 30 days. A study published by the Oxford Journal showed that those who consumed more fruits and vegetables were able to abstain from cigarettes for much longer.
These are days of hope and opportunity. Perseverance and education, compassion, patience, and prayers will prove to be victorious tools.
"We need never feel that we are alone. Angels are our companions. The Comforter that Christ promised to send in His name abides with us. In the way that leads to the City of God there are no difficulties which those who trust in Him may not overcome. There are no dangers which they may not escape. There is not a sorrow, not a grievance, not a human weakness, for which He has not provided a remedy.
"None need abandon themselves to discouragement and despair. Satan may come to you with the cruel suggestion, "Yours is a hopeless case. You are irredeemable." But there is hope for you in Christ. God does not bid us overcome in our own strength. He asks us to come close to His side. Whatever difficulties we labor under, which weigh down soul and body, He waits to make us free.
"He who took humanity upon Himself knows how to sympathize with the sufferings of humanity. Not only does Christ know every soul, and the peculiar needs and trials of that soul, but He knows all the circumstances that chafe and perplex the spirit. His hand is outstretched in pitying tenderness to every suffering child. Those who suffer most have most of His sympathy and pity. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and He desires us to lay our perplexities and troubles at His feet and leave them there.
"It is not wise to look to ourselves and study our emotions. If we do this, the enemy will present difficulties and temptations that weaken faith and destroy courage. Closely to study our emotions and give way to our feelings is to entertain doubt and entangle ourselves in perplexity. We are to look away from self to Jesus," {Ministry of Healing, 249}.