Health Expert Anne Mitchell shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/88905/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/88905/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/88905/index http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/113613/smoking-drinking Mon, 21 Jun 2010 08:13:00 -0400 Anne Mitchell It's been said that quitting smoking is harder than quitting alcohol, cocaine, and other addictions. As a recovered alcoholic and a former smoker, I can tell you from first-hand experience that this was true (at least for me). It was much harder for me to quit smoking than it was for me to quit drinking.   Once I admitted I was powerless over alcohol and that my life had become unmanageable, I was on the road to recovery from alcoholism.... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/113613/smoking-drinking http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/104264/ten-tips-stay-quit Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:12:00 -0500 Anne Mitchell If you’ve recently become a quitter - as in quitting smoking - then you are probably  feeling some of the challenges of staying quit. As one wise humorist once quipped, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times” (Mark Twain).When I was struggling to quit (over a period of what turned out to be many years), I was sure at times that I would never succeed. It seemed... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/104264/ten-tips-stay-quit http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/101161/resolve-fail-succeed Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:54:00 -0500 Anne Mitchell When we first decide to quit smoking, we are usually excited about the prospect and thinking about all the ways our lives will be better without cigarettes. We may tell our friends and family about our new resolution and bask in their encouragement.After getting through the first few rough days, we find that life can place many obstacles in our way that threaten to interfere with our resolve to stay smoke-free. We let our thoughts turn to the... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/101161/resolve-fail-succeed http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/92514/american-challenge-24 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:01:00 -0500 Anne Mitchell The Great American Smokeout was started by the American Cancer Society in 1977. It is held on the third Thursday in November each year. This year, the big day falls on November 19th.The challenge is for smokers to quit for 24 hours. The hope is that if you can make it without a cigarette for 24 hours, then maybe you can make it for another 24 hours. If you do it yet again, eventually you will find that you have quit smoking for good.Recently, I... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/92514/american-challenge-24 http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/84052/finally-quit-smoking Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:51:00 -0400 Anne Mitchell I was a smoker for over 25 years. I smoked about a pack a day and maybe inhaled another pack when I went out drinking. I started smoking when I was 15 years old. I first tried to quit when I was 18.   About 13 years ago, a series of events occurred that finally forced me to face my growing problem with another addiction: alcohol. I also came to realize that I would never quit smoking if I didn’t first stop drinking. And for a long... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/84052/finally-quit-smoking http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/74197/smoking-image Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:53:00 -0400 Anne Mitchell Do you wish for more out of your life? Have you ever thought about how smoking might be holding you back? Our horizons become limited by this addiction and by the physical and social consequences of feeding that addiction. If we find ourselves unable to quit smoking no matter how many times we’ve tried, perhaps we are subconsciously seeking a perverse kind of safety net or a way to avoid disappointment. This kind of logic says, “If I... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/74197/smoking-image http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/69038/quit-smoking Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:38:00 -0400 Anne Mitchell When you try to quit smoking, you have to deal with many negative forces including your physical and emotional addiction, the tobacco industry, advertisers and publishers who help market cigarettes, and your smoking friends.   It’s possible that you’re smoking because you want to. It’s far more likely that you’re smoking because you have to. Your brain feels threatened with the prospect of losing its drug, so it... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/69038/quit-smoking http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/65979/quitting-tips Sun, 05 Apr 2009 07:26:00 -0400 Anne Mitchell It’s important to remember that the whole business of becoming an ex-smoker is a process, and not an overnight one at that. You begin by removing the cigarettes and not smoking anymore. After a short while, the physical addiction and cravings start to leave. Finally, you plateau and reach the maintenance stage. But to get to this point, you must work on the triggers, the things that make you want to break down and have a cigarette.... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/65979/quitting-tips http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/62167/pregnancy Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:52:00 -0400 Anne Mitchell Having a child is usually a time of joy and anticipation. But if the woman is a smoker, she will be forced to deal with her nicotine addiction in addition to all of the physical changes that pregnancy brings. She is sure to know that smoking is not healthy for her or her baby. But what if she simply can’t find a way to quit? Smoking among pregnant women has been declining in recent years. Increased awareness of the harm smoking causes to... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/62167/pregnancy http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/60591/thoughts-quit Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:06:00 -0500 Anne Mitchell As you read this article, keep in mind that at least one person is dying every minute in this country because they smoked. Others are dying because they lived or worked with someone who smoked. Some of these secondary victims are children. Some of them are unborn infants.   Not all of the adults who die of smoking are old either. Because more people are starting to smoke at a younger age, when lungs are still maturing, lung cancers are... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/88905/60591/thoughts-quit