Smoking is a common yet bad habit that contains many health risks. You might be aware about health risks of first hand smoke and second hand smoke. But now, another hand is added to smoke known as third hand smoke, which can affect anyone who comes to a place where a smoker has smoked a cigarette. Third hand smoke is in the form of all the residual toxins that are left in the air after a cigarette has been extinguished.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already issued warnings that Smoking is injurious to health. This statement is also imprinted on every pack of cigarettes. However, paying no heed to these warnings, the majority of people go on smoking for many years.

Effects of Smoking

Do you know that one or two cigarettes a day are enough to cause lung cancer? Smoking has become the leading cause of preventable deaths among people worldwide. It is associated to many serious diseases that are preventable.

Apart from lung cancer, smoking can cause cancers of the bladder, mouth, stomach, kidneys, and cervix. It can also cause other conditions such as diabetes, peptic ulcers, vision problems and even back pain.

Smoking can cause health risks among women. It can increase the risk of heart disease among women smokers. This risk increases by 30 times if they combine smoking with any contraceptive pill. Smoking can also cause early ageing. Both men and women smokers are exposed to early wrinkles and thinning of the skin.

How to quit smoking?

Many regular smokers may find it difficult to quit using the 'cold turkey' method, without the help of any external aid. It is quite natural because not all are equally strong willed to overcome the effects of withdrawal symptoms and strong nicotine cravings. However, there are some effective quit smoking aids that can help you to quit, provided you have made up your mind. Before taking any suitable quit smoking aid, you should do a little bit of homework.

You can prepare a personal quit smoking plan and decide upon your quit smoking date, afterwards which you won't smoke at all. You have to prepare your mind for a life as a non-smoker, for which you should make a list of pros and cons of smoking. You should get motivation from whichever way it comes, not to smoke again. You can even take support from your friends, family members, and the GP.

Quit smoking aids

If you have made a firm resolve to quit, then you may find many quit smoking aids available on the market. There are fewer people who manage to quit smoking by going cold turkey than those who use additional aids. Others can take quit smoking aids like Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs) including nicotine gums, nicotine inhalers, nicotine lozenges, and nicotine nasal spray. All these quit smoking aids inject small doses of nicotine to the body to overcome nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

There are some non-nicotine aids as well that can help you quit. These include bupropion and Chantix. The former is marketed with a brand name, Zyban and is primarily an anti-depressant that helps to reduce withdrawal effects of smoking. However, it is less popular than Chantix, which was approved by the FDA in 2006.

Chantix contains an active ingredient, Varenicline tartrate that works by reducing the strong nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms among people who quit. It also reduces their desire for cigarettes slowly until they completely quit smoking. Chantix treatment is generally recommended for a period of 12 weeks. Most of the people quit smoking successfully during this period. However, those who are unable to quit can be asked to repeat the treatment for another 12 weeks by the doctor.

Chantix is a proven and safe treatment for smoking cessation. It is available in all licensed pharmacies in the US. Chantix is also available online and you can buy it from any licensed online source that provides professional services of selling prescription drugs online.