Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture of chemicals produced by the burning of tobacco and the additives. Smoking raises blood pressure and heart rate. This puts you at a much higher risk of having a heart attack and can cause strokes. In chronic smokers this can cause heart disease.

Smoking also raises your risk of certain cancers. These can be lung cancer, stomach cancer, throat cancer, oral cancer and many more.

Smoking during pregnancy is a risky move. It can cause serious health problems for both mothers and babies.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Women who smoke during pregnancy expose their babies to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome as these babies are more likely to die from the harmful effects of smoking.

Stillbirth: Smoking has repeatedly been associated with risk of stillbirth. Smoking cigarettes or breathing in somebody else's smoke reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood stream. Your baby gets its oxygen supply from your blood, so less oxygen in your blood deprives your baby of oxygen essential for growth and development.

Low birth weight of the baby: The more a pregnant woman smokes, the greater her risk of having a low birth weight baby. Low birth weight can lead to many complications. Being born too small is the major cause of infant illness and newborn death.

Respiratory Infections: Your baby is more likely to have asthma and other respiratory diseases if you expose your baby to smoking or second hand smoke.

Premature birth: Smoking during pregnancy can lead to premature birth. The child can have underdeveloped bone structure and maturity level mentally. The baby can be deformed, with retarded brain functions and have problems during their learning period. It can also result in death of the newborn.

Miscarriage: It is known that mothers who smoke are at a greater risk of miscarriage if they continue to smoke during pregnancy. Since passive smoke is also dangerous, make sure no one in your household smokes during the pregnancy.

Most people who quit smoking use a combination of quit methods. You will need to find the combination of methods that works best for you. Here are some quit methods.

Cold Turkey
Cold turkey is the term used to describe quitting smoking with no help from quit aids of any sort. With this method, individuals abruptly stop smoking cigarettes. It is simple, self-managed and low cost. Withdrawal symptoms may be severe for some people, especially if they have been smoking a brand of cigarette with a high nicotine level.

Gradual Reduction
A slow gradual reduction in the number of cigarettes you smoke over time is a method that you may try. Try smoking only half the cigarette, waiting an hour longer each day before lighting up your first cigarette or smoking only during odd or even hours.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)
NRT refers to a number of quitting aids that ease withdrawal symptoms by delivering nicotine to your body in amounts you can regulate. There are several forms of nicotine replacement available such as patches, gums, lozenges, nasal spray and inhalers. Over time, you can reduce the nicotine dose, thus weaning your body from the addiction.

Using these products helps reduce the cravings for cigarettes and the withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting. NRT is much safer than smoking but if you have a medical condition, any health worries or are pregnant, it is important that you consult your doctor first.

Atropine and Scopolamine Combination Therapy
Some smoking cessation clinics offer a program using shots of the drugs atropine and scopolamine. You might want to talk to your physician or doctor before using this therapy as they may not be suitable for everyone. If you have chronic medical problems, take certain medications or are pregnant, then you shouldn’t use this therapy.

Hypnosis and acupuncture
Not everyone wants to take medicines to help them quit smoking. Techniques such as hypnosis and acupuncture may help some smokers to quit.

Quitting smoking can be really hard, but it is one of the best things you can do for your health!