NaturalMedications

For Those Who Want to Quit Smoking

Quitting whether you are a light or heavy smoker, needs preparation, planning and persistence, if you want to succeed. One way to curb the urge is to eat foods that are high in alkaline (the opposite of acid). This works by changing the preference of your taste buds. In India, boiled oats have been used for many years to treat opium addiction. A welcome side effect of this alkaline treatment was that addicts often lost interest in cigarettes as well as opium. Other foods that will make it easier for you to quit smoking by increasing your body alkalinity are spinach, beet greens, raisins, figs, dried lima beans, dandelion greens, and almonds.

When a Chinese smoker wants to quit, he or she tries this traditional remedy: Mix grated fresh radish with 2 tsps. of honey and drink it like a juice.

Natives of the West Indies like to chew on licorice sticks or on sugar cane stalks. Inspired by this, one doctor recommended that his patients chew licorice sticks to break the smoking habit. The idea has apparently been very successful. Ex-smokers like having something to chew on or hold in their mouths. The licorice stick is a safe substitute for a cigarette.

In the southeastern United States, particularly in Appalachia, people who want to stop smoking chew on a birch branch to help curb the oral fixation related to the smoking habit.

Smoking began with the Indians. They smoked tobacco for ritual and spiritual purposes, not as an everyday habit. And because they added botanical s and flavored herbs to the tobacco in their pipes, they cut down on the nicotine content. The more you add to tobacco, the less nicotine it will have. Although you can buy herbal cigarettes in some natural food stores, here are a few

roll-your-own fillers for you to try: rosemary, (used in tobacco mixtures for centuries in England), beech tree leaves (smoked by Germans during WWI), corn silk, tonka beans, myrica gale (used by Norwegians), licorice, sage, or morjoram.

Lick a little salt with the tip of your tongue whenever you feel the urge to smoke. This is said to break the habit within one month.

Lobelia

Reduces the body's craving for nicotine

Staphysagria

Increases will power and helps break the smoking habit

Tabacum

Controls the body's desire for tobacco

Remove smoke smells from clothing Add a cup of vinegar to a bath tub of hot water. Hang clothes above the steam.

If your New Years resolution is to quit smoking here's a tip for you. You may have heard about offices in Japan circulating essential oils of Lemon, Peppermint and Cypress through the air conditioning systems to keep office workers alert. Well, an interesting side effect, it seemed to reduce their urge to smoke...

U.S. scientists say grapefruit juice may help some smokers stave off cancer. Researchers stress smoking is an unhealthy, potentially fatal habit that should be avoided. However, they found drinking grapefruit juice may help reduce the risk of developing cancer from tobacco use. In a small study of 49 smokers, researchers at the University of Hawaii found drinking three 6-ounce glasses of grapefruit juice a day reduced the activity of a liver enzyme called CYP1A2, thought to activate cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. The findings were presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS: MARSHMALLOW, MULLEIN, COMFREY LEAVES, LOBELIA and CHICKWEED. See BRONCHITIS. Avoid smoking, air pollution and dust. Also avoid sugar, flour and other refined foods. For respiratory problems due to mucous blockage: FENUGREEK and THYME.

For those who are trying to quit smoking this may help:

8d. cedar

4d. lavender

5d. lemon

5d. orange

6d. tea tree

Mix into 16oz of water & use as an air spray.

Quit smoking - talk to your heath care professional about smoking cessation programs Family History of Premature Heart Disease - Give your health care provider with a complete medical history. Obesity - Consult your doctor about a diet and exercise routine that will work for you. Physically Inactive - Discuss an exercise program with your doctor. What's the most potent preventative measure? Be sure to see your health care professional on a regular basis. If problems do show up, you and your doctor can work together to improve things before they get out of hand

Be Prepare

• Tell your work colleagues, friends and family, as you will find great help and support.

• You will be saving a lot of money. Set aside a jar where you can physically see the money you are saving.

• Set yourself realistic goals, on a daily basis to begin with, and then weekly and monthly. It’s important to reward yourself when you have reached each goal and recognize your achievements.

• Avoid places and situations that might tempt you to smoke.

• Write a list of reasons why you want to quit smoking and refer to it each time you feel yourself weakening.

To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did. I ought to know because I've done it a thousand times.

~Mark Twain