The 29. Day

Yesterday S. said that as a result of the cigar he only had one lozenge. And when we went out in the evening he forgot the lozenges at home. And didn't seem irritated or at a loss. Just said that he left them at home.

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I continue to look for advice and ideas helpful to innocent bystanders such as myself. The American Heart Association has some Tips for Friends and Family of Quitters. According to their article I am doing pretty well. We both are.

Amazing how many websites there are giving advice about this. Have all these pages been written by non-smokers? Or are these people mostly ex-smokers or in the process of quitting? Are they doing this as part of their "treatment" to help them concentrate on something other than smoking? It would be good to have a bit of an insight on this, but it's unlikely to happen.

An article by the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, University of Wisconsin Medical School also has some interesting points, for example:

• Nicotine affects the pleasure pathways in the brain; affects serotonin/dopamine levels
• Smoking delivers nicotine to the brain in 7 seconds which causes a positive reinforcement for smoking
• Nicotine is both a stimulant and reduces anxiety.

And this website isn't bad either, just reading their "13 best ever tips to stop smoking" is helpful. Again, looks like we are on the right track.

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As you can see I did not decide to include the most cheerful bits of information here. Rather, I went for this one:

No. 13: Do it for your health

There's more than the financial reward to consider. Cancer Research UK says smoking kills five times more people than road accidents, overdoses, murder, suicide and HIV together. Stopping smoking has immediate health benefits. It lowers your blood pressure and reduces your pulse after only 20 minutes. Within eight hours, oxygen and carbon monoxide levels in your blood return to normal. After two days your sense of taste and smell start to return. Long-term benefits include reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other cancers.

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Today is the copter competition. And I don't get to see it! Never mind. I hope out little yellow friend survives the  encounter and will be back home safe and sound.

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We are off to another yoga class tonight. Wish us luck, it's been five days since we have last done yoga and it feels like a week or two already.