Future Success Solution | Success Life | Make Money Online

9 Tips on Managing Online Shop

2010-07-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

This time I will discuss what if we become businessmen Online Store, How to manage it when it already has a lot of visitors / lots of traffic and want to turn it into a high profit?

Well, here's 9 Tips on Managing the Online Store to get a higher profit:

* 1. Frequently update the product
* 2. Sell a unique product, exclusive of many people looking for other people and rarely sold | for example, selling shoes and there are quality hand painting whose image can be ordered by a prospective buyer, this is a unique and rare, if you sell shoes like this usually there will be many orders of various regions in Indonesia and even overseas.
* 3. Granting Special Price | Giving these special prices to increase sales, such as special pricing in order Valentine's Day, etc..
* 4. Bonus gift or Facilities Free | example 2 Bonus Buy 1, Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Free Delivery, Free Installation etc.
* 5. As much as possible to receive all forms of payment | Payment can be made a bank transfer, credit cards, paypal etc..
* 6. Not too many Form to be filled and made dizzy prospective buyers | Filling try just briefly and quickly, and please be assisted with the service your customer service.
* 7. Maintain good service, through YM or tel. | Face complaint with the friendly, they are repeat buyers who can do more or purchase order over again.
* 8. Design an attractive header | header earned an attractive display that can enhance your image more professional and more trustworthy.
* 9. Use web design that can Multi Language and Currency Exchange two minimal Rupiah (IDR) and U.S. Dollar (U.S. $) | This is necessary because you want to increase profits and sales up overseas, as did www.tanah-abang.com

In conducting its Online Store, the problem is not necessarily the product of our own products but can other people's products, could be the product of other stores, can be another company's products, or products can be anyone who wants our help to us jualkan on the internet and we as a marketer or owner of the shop Online it will get the fee proceeds.

OXIS : Advancing Oxidative Stress Technology

2010-06-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Oxis is an international company engaged in the health sector with products - products that are provided as anti-aging, antioxidant, glutathione, penny stocks & free radical. several countries around the world have recognized the efficacy of this product

OXIS International, Inc. is engaged in the research, development and sale of products that counteract the harmful effects of “oxidative stress.”
We focus on naturally occurring protective substances since they are more likely to be both safe and efficacious. Our primary products incorporate and emphasize the multifaceted “super antioxidant” compound, L-Ergothioneine (“ERGO”), as a key component. We own several patents and pending applications related to ERGO that cover current and planned products relevant to our nutraceutical and cosmecuetical businesses. Our patents and patent applications address ERGO’s protective effects and activities and the ERGO manufacturing process.

This only can I have to say about this Oxis company, hopefully this small article useful to you, and do not forget to visit their official website at www.oxis.com

5 Ways To Improve Your Adsense Earnings

2009-05-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

If webmasters want to monetize their websites, the great way to do it is through Adsense. There are lots of webmasters struggling hard to earn some good money a day through their sites. But then some of the “geniuses” of them are enjoying hundreds of dollars a day from Adsense ads on their websites. What makes these webmasters different from the other kind is that they are different and they think out of the box.

The ones who have been there and done it have quite some useful tips to help those who would want to venture into this field. Some of these tips have boosted quite a lot of earnings in the past and is continuously doing so.

Here are some 5 proven ways on how best to improve your Adsense earnings.

1. Concentrating on one format of Adsense ad. The one format that worked well for the majority is the Large Rectangle (336X280). This same format have the tendency to result in higher CTR, or the click-through rates. Why choose this format out of the many you can use? Basically because the ads will look like normal web links, and people, being used to clicking on them, click these types of links. They may or may not know they are clicking on your Adsense but as long as there are clicks, then it will all be for your advantage.

2. Create a custom palette for your ads. Choose a color that will go well with the background of your site. If your site has a white background, try to use white as the color of your ad border and background. The idea to patterning the colors is to make the Adsense look like it is part of the web pages. Again, This will result to more clicks from people visiting your site.

3. Remove the Adsense from the bottom pages of your site and put them at the top. Do not try to hide your Adsense. Put them in the place where people can see them quickly. You will be amazed how the difference between Adsense locations can make when you see your earnings.

4. Maintain links to relevant websites. If you think some sites are better off than the others, put your ads there and try to maintaining and managing them. If there is already lots of Adsense put into that certain site, put yours on top of all of them. That way visitor will see your ads first upon browsing into that site.

5. Try to automate the insertion of your Adsense code into the webpages using SSI (or server side included). Ask your web administrator if your server supports SSI or not. How do you do it? Just save your Adsense code in a text file, save it as “adsense text”, and upload it to the root directory of the web server. Then using SSI, call the code on other pages. This tip is a time saver especially for those who are using automatic page generators to generate pages on their website.

These are some of the tips that have worked well for some who want to generate hundreds and even thousands on their websites. It is important to know though that ads are displayed because it fits the interest of the people viewing them. So focusing on a specific topic should be your primary purpose because the displays will be especially targeted on a topic that persons will be viewing already.

Note also that there are many other Adsense sharing the same topic as you. It is best to think of making a good ad that will be somewhat different and unique than the ones already done. Every clickthrough that visitors make is a point for you so make every click count by making your Adsense something that people will definitely click on.

Tips given by those who have boosted their earnings are just guidelines they want to share with others. If they have somehow worked wonders to some, maybe it can work wonders for you too. Try them out into your ads and see the result it will bring.

If others have done it, there is nothing wrong trying it out for yourself.

3 Reasons Why Adsense Is Essential For Content Sites

2009-05-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

To know why Adsense is essential for your content sites is to know first how this works.

The concept is really simple, if you think about it. The publisher or the webmaster inserts a java script into a certain website. Each time the page is accessed, the java script will pull advertisements from the Adsense program. The ads that are targeted should therefore be related to the content that is contained on the web page serving the ad. If a visitor clicks on an advertisement, the webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the money that the advertiser is paying the search engine for the click.

The search engine is the one handling all the tracking and payments, providing an easy way for webmasters to display content-sensitive and targeted ads without having the hassle to solicit advertisers, collect funds, monitor the clicks and statistics which could be a time-consuming task in itself. It seems that there is never a shortage of advertisers in the program from which the search engine pulls the Adsense ads. Also webmasters are less concerned by the lack of information search engines are providing and are more focused in making cash from these search engines.

The first reason why Adsense is essential for content sites is because it already has come a long way in understanding the needs of publishers and webmasters. Together with its continuous progression is the appearance of more advanced system that allows full ad customization. Webmasters are given the chance to choose from many different types of text ad formats to better complement their website and fit their webpage layout.

The different formatting enables the site owners the possibility of more click through from visitors who may or may not be aware of what they are clicking on. It can also appeal to the people visiting thus make them take that next step of looking up what it is all about. This way the people behind the Adsense will get their content read and making profit in the process.

The second reason is the ability of the Adsense publishers to track not only how their sites are progressing but also the earnings based on the webmaster-defined channels. The recent improvements in the search engines gives webmasters the capability to monitor how their ads are performing using customizable reports that has the capacity to detail page impressions, clicks and click-through rates. Webmasters and publishers can now track specific ad formats, colors and pages within a website. Trends are also easily spotted.

With the real-time reporting at hand, the effectiveness of the changes made will be assessed quickly. There would be time to sort out the contents that people are making the most clicks on. The ever-changing demands would be met while generating cash for the webmasters and publishers. The more flexible tools are also allowing webmasters to group web pages by URL, domain, ad type or category, which will provide them some accurate insight on which pages, ads and domains are performing best.

The last and final reason is that the advertisers have realized the benefits associated having their ads served on targeted websites. Thus increasing the possibility that a prospective web surfer will have an interest in their product and services. All because of the content and its constant maintenance. As opposed to those who are no using Adsense in their sites, they are given the option of having other people do their content for them, giving them the benefit of having successful and money-generating web sites.

Adsense is all about targeted content, the more targeted your content is, the more target the search engines’ ads will be. There are some web masters and publishers who are focused more on their site contents and how best to maintain them rather than the cash that the ads will generate for them. This is the part where the effectiveness is working its best.

There was a time when people were not yet aware of the money to be achieved from advertisements. The cash generated only came into existence when the webmasters and publishers realized how they can make Adsense be that generator. In those days, the content were the most important factors that is taken quite seriously. It still is. With the allure of money, of course.

Using Other Peoples Info To Increase Your Adsense Cash

2009-05-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

Adsense is really making a huge impact on the affiliate marketing industry nowadays. Because of this, weak affiliate merchants have the tendency to die faster than ever and ad networks will be going to lose their customers quickly.
If you are in a losing rather than winning in the affiliate program you are currently into, maybe it is about time to consider going into the Adsense marketing and start earning some real cash.

Google is readily providing well written and highly relevant ads that are closely chosen to match the content on your pages. You do not have to look for them yourselves as the search engine will be the doing the searching for you from other people’s source.

You do not have to spend time in choosing different kind of ads for different pages. And no codes to mess around for different affiliate programs.

You will be able to concentrate on providing good and quality content, as the search engines will be the ones finding the best ads in which to put your pages on.

You are still allowed to add Adsense ads even if you already have affiliate links on your site. It is prohibited, however, to imitate the look and feel of the Google ads for your affiliate links.

You can filter up to 200 URLs. That gives you a chance to block ads for the sites that do not meet your guidelines. You can also block competitors. Though it is unavoidable that Adsense may be competing for some space on web sites that all other revenues are sharing.

Owners of small sites are allowed to plug a bit of a code into their sites and instantly have relevant text ads that appeal to your visitors appear instantly into your pages. If you own many sites, you only need to apply once. It makes up for having to apply to many affiliate programs.

The only way to know how much you are already earning is to try and see. If you want out, all you have to do is remove the code from your site.

The payment rates can vary extremely. The payment you will be receiving per click depends on how much advertisers are paying per click to advertise with the use of the AdWords. Advertisers can pay as little as 5 cents and as high as $10-12, sometimes even more than that too. You are earning a share of that money generated.

If your results remain stagnant, it can help if you try and build simple and uncluttered pages so that the ads can catch the visitor’s eyes more. It sometimes pay to differ from the usual things that people are doing already. It is also a refreshing sight for your visitor once they see something different for a change.

Publishers also have the option of choosing to have their ads displayed only on a certain site or sites. It is also allowed to have them displayed on a large network of sites. The choice would be depending on what you think will work best for your advantage.

To get an idea if some Adsense ads you see on the search engines has your pages, try to find web pages that have similar material to the content you are planning to create and look up their Adsense ads.

It is important to note that you cannot choose certain topics only. If you do this, search engines will not place Adsense ads on your site and you will be missing out a great opportunity in making hundreds and even thousands of dollars cash.

It is still wise to look at other people’s information and format your Adsense there. Just think about it as doing yourself a favor by not having to work too hard to know what content to have.

Topic to be avoided includes gambling, firearms, ammunition, tobacco or drugs. If you are being offered more cash in exchange of doing Adsense with these kinds, it is just like signing your own termination paper.

With all the information that people need in your hands already, all you have to do is turn them as your profits. It all boils down to a gain and gain situation both for the content site owners and the webmasters or publishers.

Make other people’s matter your own and starting earning some extra cash.

Google Adsense - The Easiest Money To Make Online?

2009-05-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of months, Google Adsense has dominated forums, discussions and newsletters all over the Internet. Already, there are tales of fabulous riches to be made and millions made by those who are just working from home. It seems that Google Adsense have already dominated the internet marketing business and is now considered the easiest way to making money online.

The key to success with Adsense is the placing of ads on pages that are receiving high traffic for high demand keywords. The higher the cost-per-click to the advertiser, the more you will receive per click from your site. Obviously, it does not pay to target low cost-per-click keywords and place them on pages that do not receive hits.

With all the people getting online and clicking away everyday, it is no wonder why Google Adsense has become an instant hit.

For some who are just new to this market, it would be a blow to their pride knowing that their homepage is buried somewhere in the little ads promoting other people’s services. But then, when they get the idea that they are actually earning more money that way, all doubts and skepticism is laid to rest.

There are two major, and clever, factors that some successful webmaster and publishers are learning to blend together in order to make money easier using Adsense.

1. Targeting high traffic pages on your website. If you check on your logs, you will discover that many of your visitors are taking advantage of the free affiliate marketing resources and ebooks that you are offering on your site. In simple words, your ads are working effectively and are generating more clicks. It also means more money for you.

2. Placing Adsense links on pages that are producing little, or better yet, no profit. By placing Adsense on a free resources page, you will reduce the amount of potential customers being lost to other sites. Tricky, but effective nonetheless.

When learned to work effectively, these two factors are actually a good source of producing a minimal amount of revenue from a high traffic page. Many people are using this strategy to pick up some extra and cash with Adsense. This is also especially rewarding to informational sites that focus their efforts on delivering powerful affiliate link free content to their visitors. Now they can gain a monetary return on their services.

With the many techniques that people are now learning on how to make the easiest money by their Adsense, it is not surprising that Google is trying everything to update and polish their Adsense in order to maintain their good image.

The possibility of adding is 2nd tier in Adsense is not impossible. With all the people spending more time in their Adsense now and still more getting into this line of marketing, there is no doubt about the many new improvements yet to be made. Imagine the smiles on the faces of the webmasters and publishers all around the world if ever they sign up for sub-affiliates and double or even triple the amount that they are already earning.
The one particularly handy money-making feature that is available with Adsense now is the ability to filter out up to 200 urls. These gives webmasters the option to block out low value offers from their pages as well as competitors to their websites. Talk about taking only those that are advantageous and discarding the ones that seem “useless”.

With Google Adsense, the possibilities are limitless. Yet there is also the possibility of someone taking advantage of the easy money process that this internet marketing is doing. If you think more about it, these negative factors may force Google to break down and thrash Adsense in the process. If that happens, people would have to go back to the old ways of internet marketing that does not make money online as easy as Adsense.

For now, however, Google Adsense is here to stay. As long as there are people wanting to earn some easy cash online just using their talents, the future ahead is looking good. Besides with all the strict guidelines that Google is enforcing over Adsense, it will take awhile for the Adsense privileges to be spammed and even terminated.

Tips to Get Repeat Web Traffic

2009-05-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

you can read indonesian version of this article here

1. Update the pages on your website frequently. Stagnant sites are dropped by some search engines. You can even put a date counter on the page to show when it was last updated.

2. Offer additional value on your website. For affiliates and partners you can place links to their sites and products and ask them to do the same for you. You can also advertise their books or videos, if these products relate to your industry and are not in competition with your own product.

3. You can allow customers to ‘opt in’ to get discounts and special offers. Place a link on your site to invite customers to ‘opt in’ to get a monthly newsletter or valuable coupons.

4. Add a link to your primary page with a script ‘Book Mark or Add this site to your Favorites’.

5. Add a link ‘Recommend this site to a Friend’ so that the visitor can email your website link, with a prewritten title, “Thought you might be interested in this”, just by clicking on it.

6. Brand your website so that visitors always know they are on your site. Use consistent colors, logos and slogans and always provide a ‘Contact Us’ link on each page.

7. Create a ‘Our Policies’ page that clearly defines your philosophy and principles in dealing with your customers. Also post your privacy policy as well so that clients know they are secure when they visit your site.

8. Create a FAQ page which addresses most of the doubts and clarifications about your product or your company that are likely to be asked. This helps to resolve most of the customers doubts in their first visit to your site.

8. Ensure that each page on your website has appropriate titles and keywords so that your customer can find their way back to your site if they lose the book mark.

9. Never spam a client, who has opted for newsletters, with unsolicited emails. Later if they decide they want to ‘opt out’ of the mailings, be sure you honor their request and take them off the mailing list. They may still come back if they like your products. But they will certainly not come back if you continue to flood their email box with mails they no longer wish to receive.

7 Surefire Ways To Increase Your Traffic Starting Yesterday

2009-05-15T04:23:00.000-07:00

Internet. Business. Profit. To fully integrate all of these words into a successful merging you will need another word. Traffic. Every article you will find about making your site or company successful would always include the importance of generating traffic.

So, we all know that in the core of it all, traffic is the most essential thing to a successful internet based business company. Aside from ensuring that you have a great product to sell, and you have your company’s internal organization well taken core of, it would be time to get to the nitty gritty of things, generating traffic.

If you already have a site and you want think that you're not getting the traffic that you're supposed to be getting, then its time to reconsider. If you are contending in these very competitive business, you should always be a step ahead of your competition, increasing your traffic flow should have been done starting yesterday.

Timing is essential, that’s an old adage known to everyone. But with generating traffic, you should always be on your toes and be a day ahead of everyone. Never think of today and tomorrow as a starting point for making your site traffic laden, it should always have been yesterday.

To help you out in generating more traffic for your site, here are some seven surefire ways to increase your traffic starting from yesterday.

1) Invest in good advertising with search engines

Google’s Adwords and Yahoo’s Overture provide great advertising schemes that are very truly popular and assures great traffic. Although with this surefire way to increase your traffic would cost some money. While some would shy away from spending money to increase traffic, it is imperative in this case to do so because Adwords and Overture is the top surefire way to increase your traffic.

You could see for yourself the success this search engine advertising methods have reaped rewards for so many companies. Lots of site feature these advertising system and many have signed on to reap the benefits. Do not be left behind. Every penny is worth it with using Google and Yahoo’s advertising.

2) Exchange or Trade Links with other sites

With exchanging links with other sites, both of you will benefit from the efforts both of you do to enhance your sites traffic. When one site features another sites link, they could provide one another with the traffic one site generates. The efforts are doubly beneficial because it would seem like both of you are working to generate more traffic. The more links traded with more sites the more traffic could be expected.

3) Use Viral Marketing

Viral marketing allows you to spread the word about your company and product without any costs or if ever low costs only. This is a marketing method that can be quite sneaky; you can attach your company’s name, product or link to a certain media such as a funny video, entertaining game, an interesting article or a gossip or buzz. With this method, people get infected with the creativity and entertainment of the medium that they will pass it on to many people.

4) Search and use proper keywords or keyword phrases for your sites content

Search engines look for certain keywords that they would show in their results page. In doing so, having the right keyword and keyword phrase is a high requirement in ranking in high in search engine results. You could write your own content or you could hire someone to do it for you.

5) Write Articles that can lead traffic to your site

Submit articles to sites that would contain the same subject that your site deals in. If you sell car parts write press releases and articles about cars and car parts. Attach your sites description and services at the end of the article as well as the link.

6) Join forums and form online communities

Capture a market and show your expertise and credibility. When you found a good foundation for your site, people will trust you and your site and will pass on to many people their trust. Traffic will certainly increase because they know that you can provide what they need.

7) Lastly, Offer newsletters.

If many people know what you are about and your existence is shared with many others, you will find a loyal traffic that can provide you with more traffic by recommendation. If you arouse the curiosity of your customers they would be pushed to help you with your traffic.

Work From Home Typing Jobs

2009-05-06T03:44:00.000-07:00

Work from home typing jobs are almost all scams. However there are some very rare honest jobs that will offer you work ad pay you accordingly. I have written this article about work from home typing jobs to help people who are curious and making money online. I do this because I too once looked into work from home typing jobs and data entry to make money and suffered greatly in time and money because of it. Hopefully these rules will steer you clear of the traps that I fell into wen I was making my way online.

Rule 1: Never Pay To Apply For An Online Job

Now hopefully this is obvious for most people but it is very easy to be sucked into scams. For example sites that claim to give you everything you want for a small fee have been designed very well to appeal to our emotions and get us into a buying state. Never reason with yourself by saying, "oh it's only $30" because even if you only lose that amount, they also have your contact details and personal information which they can do some pretty sinister things with.

Rule 2: Never Allow Untrusted Sites To Deposit "Test Cheques" In Your Account

Scam sites sometimes ask user's to allow a cheque to be sent to their account. This process will consist of you banking the cheque, keeping a small amount for your time and then sending the rest back from your account. This process can obviously vary but most of the time their cheque will bounce and you will be stuck with a huge fee that you must pay back out of your own pocket.

Rule 3: Limit The Amount Of Personal Information You Give Out When First Joining

Keeping this information to a minimum obviously reduces the potential risk of being scammed by using your personal information. If your going to leave something else at first make sure its your cheque account and social security number, avoid giving these at all costs until your familiar with the site and trust them completely.

Rule 4: Be Wary Of The Ads You Click On

Even the most trusted and respected sites you visit don't have complete control over the ads that are placed on their page. these ads could be and most of the time will be illegitimate and dangerous.

As you can see work from home typing jobs are a dangerous place to look for money. If this is all I have taught you by reading this article then you've learnt something very valuable. Don't let these scams take over the net, the only reason they are there is because many people are being taken in by them. If everyone is educated about these sites, they will cease to make profits and will eventually be weeded out of the internet (well hopefully). I would of course recommend staying away from work from home typing jobs and if your still considering a career online Internet Marketing would be your best option.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

making money from home?

2009-05-06T03:34:00.000-07:00

Indonesian Version? KLIK HERE

Have you ever asked yourself "Can you really make money from home?" The answer is yes! No, the ability for anyone to make money from home is not a scam. There are people out there who will scam you, but the truth of the matter is any one can do it, and you can begin making money from home today, and that's why it is important to sift through the junk to get the real information you need!

Now, let's talk about some of the "Make Money From Home" business models to avoid. First of all there's the earn money from "reading" emails. I've tried this and it is not worth the time spent. You earn up to a few scents for each email you receive (which could be hundreds) every time you click on the sponsor link. This takes an incredibly long time and is not worth the money you earn from it.

The second is Paid Surveys. I'm sure plenty of you have heard of this, and maybe even tried it. I've tried it myself, and while you can earn money from filling out surveys I have never come to anything close to making a living off of it. At most I've gotten maybe a couple hundred a month, and that's from being in with several different companies and working a good portion of the day everyday. A lot of survey companies will only pay you after certain terms have been met, or only offer reward items and not cash rewards.

The third is somewhat a combination of the two above. You visit advertisers and get paid for either "Free" trials, signing up, or filling out a not so very short survey. These can pay a little higher, but often times they end up costing you money as often times you have to make a purchase before you get a reward.

If you really want to start making money from home then you need to look for the best options available. There are a few things you can do to earn yourself a passive income. Passive income is income that earns on it's own. What this means is that you do a little work, and then watch as you start earning income which then increases over time earning you more and more!

There are 3 types of passive income. The first one is PPC or Pay Per Click. If you've ever searched for something on Google you'll notice on the right hand side a bunch of links. These links are advertisers PAYING to have their ads shown on Google to searchers. These ads usually lead to merchant sites where they sell products or services. This has the potential to earn Affiliate Marketers TONS of money. However this can also cost TONS of money as you have to pay each time someone clicks on your ad.

The second is PPL or Pay Per Lead. This is usually tied in with PPC as affiliates like to promote their websites to get visitors. What PPL does is, advertisers pay affiliates for leads. Ever go to a website and fill out a quick form with your name and email? These are often PPL forms. A lot of Mortgage and Loan companies have this type of service. PPL is great because customers never have to buy a product or service (most of the time) and you get paid for sending that customer to the company. However, as stated before these are usually tied in with PPC and can cost you money as well.

My last option is Blogging. Yes, Blogging. The majority of people view blogging as a form of expression. You write out your ideas, thoughts, rants or share your knowledge with others. However, few people realize the power of blogging in earning an income. Blogging is a great way to make money at home.

With blogging you set your own hours, you can write about anything! The amount you earn is dependent on your blog and how many you have, making blogging a viable option not just for passive income, but as your sole income! Making money from home has never been easier. Done right, blogging can earn you income 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is easy to do, and once fully set up can run on auto pilot for months. Some of the top professional bloggers earn more than $5,000 a month. The best part is...anyone can do it!

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Five Star Payments;New way payment solution

2009-03-25T06:38:00.002-07:00

are you a businessman? use online payment, try to offer payment by credit cards? this is a new revolution way in using online payment provided by five star.
WHAT IS FIVE STAR PAYMENTS
this is the way to boost your profits and to increase your sales? If you currently do not offer credit cards as a payment option, you will be glad to know that Five Star Payments can help! Or, if you already do offer credit cards as a payment option, you might be able to save a significant amount of money by switching to a new credit card processor.
What are 5Star Payments can do?

Make Big Changes for Your Business!
With Five Star credit card processing solutions, you can bring about some major changes for your business. Our professional and knowledgeable experts will review your individual business needs in order to determine exactly what your business needs. No matter what type of business you own, we can help you increase your profits by reducing your credit card processing fees and by increasing your sales. After all, customers are more likely to make purchases from your website if you are able to accept credit cards for payment.

Get Approved – No Matter Who You Are!
Sadly, many business owners have found it difficult to get a credit card processor to accept them. Or, if they do find a credit card processor willing to work with them, the processor wants to charge ridiculously high fees. At Five Star, we are confident we can find a processor that will work with you and that will provide you with a fee schedule that you can afford. Even if your business is considered “high risk” we can help!

Lower Your Fees With the Help of Five Star
If you are an established business, you might be shocked by the amount of money you are losing each month and year because of interchange fees. At Five Star Merchant Providers, we are certain we can help you reduce those fees so you can put more money back into your business where it belongs!

These are Some Advantages By Joining 5Star Payments

> Highest level of customer service
> Professional staff
> Expertise and knowledge
> Lowest prices for your type of business
> Credit processing services
> Specialize in helping businesses

For Further Information you can browse in their Website http://www.fivestarpayments.com/

Make Money Blogging

2009-01-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

Blogging is great fun. It’s exciting. You start out with great ideas, full of motivation and inspiration. After a while, though, you run out of steam. The muse isn’t so amused any more and you start hunting for content, things to write about.
There are two aspects of finding content for your blog. First, it is to find the inspiration that generates original content on your blog. This can come from a variety of sources. Basically, it can be a news story, fellow blogger’s post, an interesting web page you stumbled across, something a friend said, or anything that interests you enough to research and write about it.
The second aspect is to find links. A lot of bloggers seem to specialize in finding interesting content and providing a link and maybe a few words to recommend to their readers that they check out the original content on someone else’s blog or site. While this isn’t so much about finding original content for your blog, it is about finding information and resources that is helpful to your readers.
Either way, when the well runs dry, where do you go to find more content to keep the river of babble flowing on your blog?
I’ve put together a huge list of content resources for you to peruse and investigate for possible blog content. It certainly isn’t a list of all the content, resources, and information out there, but it is designed to get you thinking about all the content, resources, and information out there for you to blog about. And there is a lot out there. If I have missed a favorite resource of yours, please add it below in the comments. I love looking up new avenues of inspiration.

Do you want to make money blogging? If you do - you’re not alone. More and more bloggers are finding that blogging is a profitable medium. Whether it be to earn a few extra dollars a week to feed their coffee habit, or making enough money to stop them having to get a part time job to get through college, or whether they’ve got it to a point where they are able to make a full time living from their blogging - there are tens of thousands of bloggers making money from blogging.
In this page I want to share some information for beginners on making money from their blogs.
I will start by sharing my own top Money Making Methods (updated regularly) but below that point you to some great resources and teaching on how to increase your income from blogging.

there are several steps to moneytizing the blog
1. Registering Adsense
Google adsense is from google that giving money when someone click text link provided by google.
2. chitka
Chitka continues to be a great performer for me on my blogs. They work best on product related blogs although their recent announcement of their Premium ad unit is exciting as they now offer ads with a non product focus that I’m hearing great conversions on (I have one reader who is getting $28 CPM on this ad unit).Chitika offers a range of ad units that I experiment with. I find their eMiniMalls work best and that Related Product Units are also good. Their Shoplincs product isn’t performing as well as it once did for me - mainly because I’ve been promoting it less and have driven less traffic to it. Over the time I’ve been using Chitika they’ve now earned me over a quarter of a million dollars - I can’t recommend them enough!
3. Private Ad Sales/Sponsorships
Private ad sales directly to advertisers have continued to grow over the last few months and as a result they’re now my third highest income stream. I expect them to overtake both Chitika and AdSense in the coming months. This includes ad sales of the 125 x 125 ads here at ProBlogger as well as a campaign or two at Digital Photography School.

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2009-01-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

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Is Islam Permitted Smoking ?

2008-12-06T00:11:00.000-08:00

Most Muslims are aware of and try to avoid the major sins in Islam - murder, suicide, adultery, alcohol, gambling, usury, etc. Muslims are forbidden to harm themselves or others. Yet millions of Muslims all over the world are doing just that - harming, even killing themselves and their families. Islamic scholars have historically had mixed views about tobacco, and until recently, cigarette smoking has not been unanimously forbidden or even discouraged.

The mixed views on the subject came about because cigarettes are a more recent invention and did not exist at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an in the 7th century A.D. Therefore, one cannot find a verse of Qur'an or words of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saying clearly that "Cigarette smoking is forbidden." However, there are many instances where the Qur'an gives us general guidelines, and calls upon us to use our reason and intelligence, and seek guidance from Allah about what is right and wrong. In the Qur'an, Allah says, “...he [the Prophet] commands them what is just, and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good, and prohibits them from what is bad..." (Surah al-Ar’af 7:157). So what are the evils of tobacco use, for your health and for your deen (religion)?

1. Danger to your health

Allah says, "...make not your own hands contribute to your destruction..." (Surah al-Baqarah 2:195); "...nor kill yourselves..." (Surah al-Nisaa 4:29). It is universally understood that cigarette smoking causes a number of health problems that often ultimately result in death. Men who smoke contract lung cancer at 22 times the rate of non-smokers. Smokers are also highly at risk for heart disease, emphysema, oral cancer, stroke, etc. There are hundreds of poisonous and toxic ingredients in the cigarette itself that the smoker inhales straight into the lungs. In an authentic hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that "Whomsoever drinks poison, thereby killing himself, will sip this poison forever and ever in the fire of Jahannum (Hell)." Over 3 million people worldwide die from smoking-related causes each year.

2. Danger to your family's health

In the Qur'an, Allah says: "Those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly bear on themselves a glaring sin" (Surat al-Ahzaab 33:58). And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that "there should be neither harming, nor reciprocating harm.” In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not hurt his neighbor." Those around the smoker inhale what is known as "second-hand smoke" - the unfiltered, poisonous waste that goes in the air around the smoker. There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, over 40 of which are known to cause cancer. Second-hand smoke causes or aggravates asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems, especially in children.

3. Addictive

The addiction to tobacco is a physical response that often interferes with one's life and worship. For example, smoking is clearly forbidden during the daytime fast of Ramadan. Many addicted smokers spend their fasting days sleeping, cranky, and short-tempered, just counting the hours until they can have their fix at sunset. The most severely addicted will wait outside the mosque door for the adhan, and break their fast by lighting up, before taking even food or water.

4. Noxious Smell

Muslims are advised to refrain from eating raw onions and garlic - simply as a courtesy to those around them because of the awful smell. The same goes even more so for the reek of cigarettes, which permeates everything around the smoker - hair, clothing, home, car, etc. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever has eaten from such greens as garlic, onions or leek should keep away from our mosque.” Many smokers try to hide the smell by using breath mints or perfume. This does not get rid of the smell, it only masks it. Often the combination of smells is even more nauseating.

5. Waste of Money

Allah says, "...But spend not wastefully (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift. Verily spendthrifts are brothers of the devils...” {Surah al-Israa’ 17:26-27} And in an authentic hadith the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that: "Allah hates for you three things: gossiping, begging, and wasting money." In the U.S. and other countries, cigarettes are taxed heavily in order to discourage this habit and reimburse the government for the overwhelming health care costs to care for those afflicted with diseases caused by smoking. Smokers often spend thousands of dollars a year that literally just go up in smoke.

Recent Opinions of Scholars

In more recent times, as these dangers of tobacco use have come to be proven beyond any doubt, scholars have become more unanimous in pronouncing tobacco use clearly haram (forbidden) to believers. They now use the strongest terms to condemn this habit. For example: "In view of the harm caused by tobacco, growing, trading in and smoking of tobacco are judged to be haram (forbidden). The Prophet, peace be upon him, is reported to have said, 'Do not harm yourselves or others.' Furthermore, tobacco is unwholesome, and God says in the Qur'an that the Prophet, peace be upon him, 'enjoins upon them that which is good and pure, and forbids them that which is unwholesome'" (Permanent Committee of Academic Research and Fatwa, Saudi Arabia).

For a comprehensive look at smoking in Islam - the history, the rulings, and a full explanation with citations from Islamic resources, the best online article is Smoking: A Social Poison by Muhammad al-Jibaly.

How to Quit?

As mentioned, one of the dangers of tobacco is that it is so addicting. It causes a physical response in your body when you try to give it up. Therefore, quitting is often difficult. However, with the help of Allah and the personal commitment to improve yourself for the sake of Allah, and for your own health, it is possible. It is first recommended to make the firm intention, from deep in your heart, to give up this evil habit. Trust in Allah's words: "...When you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah. For Allah loves those who put their trust in Him. If Allah help you, none can overcome you; if He forsakes you, who is - after that - that can help you? In Allah, then, let believers put their trust" (Surah Al-'lmran 3:159-160).

Secondly, one must avoid situations where you are used to smoking, and people who do so around you. For example, if you have certain friends who gather together to smoke, make a choice to stay away from that environment for the time being. At a vulnerable stage, it is too easy to get sucked back in by having "just one." Remember, tobacco causes a physical addiction and you must stay away completely. Drink a lot of water and keep yourself busy in other endeavors. Spend time in the mosque. Play sports. And remember the words of Allah: "And those who strive hard in Our Cause, We will certainly guide them to Our Paths, for verily Allah is with those who do right” (Surah al-Ankabut 29:69)

Effects 0f Passive Smokers

2008-11-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

Effects of passive smoking on
children’s health: a review
A. Hawamdeh,1 F.A. Kasasbeh1 and M.A. Ahmad1
1King Hussein Medical Centre, Amman, Jordan.

Since the mid-1980s there has been increasing interest in the effects of passive smoking on the health of children. As children spend much of their early life in the presence of their parents, children who have parents that smoke will have a prolonged and close exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
More than 4000 substances have been identified in cigarette smoke. Of these, nicotine is a highly toxic alkaloid that is both a ganglionic stimulant and depressant. Carbon monoxide is known to interfere with oxygen transport and utilization.
The local context
The estimated overall rate of smoking among the Jordanian population is 31.7%. Of concern is the estimated rate of smoking among Jordanian doctors (63%), a figure considerably higher than that of the general population. Moreover, in one study 27% of doctors in Jordan did not explain smoking hazards to patients and 36% even smoked in front of patients. In Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, the overall smoking rate among the parents of schoolboys is 18% (32% of fathers and 4% of mothers). This is in spite of the fact that Saudi Arabia has no contribution to the world’s production
of tobacco.
Measuring exposure to smoke
Considerable work has been undertaken to identify ways of measuring the extent of tobacco smoke exposure in non-smokers. Of these nicotine and cotinine levels in the body have received the most attention. Cotinine has become increasingly accepted as a short-term marker because of its relatively long half-life (approximately 20 hours, compared with approximately 2 hours for nicotine). It also is less susceptible to fluctuations during exposure to tobacco smoke and can be conveniently measured in blood, urine and saliva. Cotinine measurements can provide an assessment of recent exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, but they do not indicate the duration of exposure nor do they indicate the intake of other components of tobacco smoke that may be more important.
It has been estimated from cotinine measurements that the total nicotine dose received by children whose parents are smokers is equivalent to their actively smoking between 60 and 150 cigarettes per year. Salivary cotinine concentrations measured in schoolchildren have been found to correlate strongly with the smoking habits of their parents, particularly their mothers. The measured cotinine levels correlate closely with atmospheric nicotine levels measured within the home and with
the results of questionnaires about household smoking. However, Strachan et al. also found significant levels of cotinine in children from non-smoking households.
This indicates that children are exposed to tobacco smoke from sources other than their parents and that simply inquiring about parental smoking will underestimate a child’s exposure. So-called ‘unexposed’ persons have been found to have on average 8.5 mg of cotinine per mL of urine. Since the only source of cotinine or nicotine in body fluids is tobacco products, primarily through exposure to smoke, it follows that ‘unexposed’ persons are also exposed to environmental tobacco smoke.
Active smoking during pregnancy
Smoking during pregnancy is associated with a 10% increase in prenatal mortality and an increase in the incidence of premature labour and placental abruption. Smoking may also cause congenital damage to the developing respiratory system of the fetus, either to the bronchial tree or
to the developing lung vasculature, as has been shown in the umbilical vessels.
Another possible effect on the respiratory system caused by smoking in pregnancy is interference with the immune system that predisposes the infant to respiratory infections. Cigarette smoking is immunosuppressive both in vivo and in vitro. Abnormalities of leucocyte function have
been measured in the children of parents who smoke and in immune function in cord blood from mothers who smoke. More recently, smoking during pregnancy has been associated with mild neurodevelopmental handicaps.
Poor growth

Infants born to mothers who have smoked during pregnancy are lighter and shorter than infants of non-smoking mothers. Berkey et al. assessed the association between passive smoking and attained height and growth rate. Children of mothers who smoked were found to be shorter than those of non-smoking mothers. There was also a negative correlation between the attained height and the number of cigarettes the mother smoked daily. Rona et al. studied children enrolled at birth into the National Study of Health and Growth. Children whose parents smoked more than 10 cigarettes a day were on average 0.6 cm shorter than those of non-smoking parents. Whether the effect of passive smoking on height is indirect, e.g. by increasing respiratory infections in early childhood or direct in its toxic effect, was not investigated.

Respiratory illness

Children are particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of passive smoking, as their respiratory systems are structurally and immunologically immature and are developing rapidly. The mechanism by which passive smoking increases respiratory symptoms and decreases lung function
in children is not known. Parental smoking has been shown to enhance allergic sensitization in infants and schoolchildren with a close family history of atopic disease. In adult smokers, tobacco smoke damages the number and the function of alveolar macrophages and polymorphs and causes goblet cell hyperplasia and increased mucus secretion. Changes in antibody and cell-mediated immune responses have also been documented. In a prospective study of 850 infants, the number of episodes of wheezing and non-wheezing lower respiratory illness were significantly increased if the mother smoked. The overall odds ratio was 1.5 if the mother smoked at all and 1.8 if she smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day. Infants of smoking mothers developed respiratory illness earlier than those of nonsmokers. Infants who did not attend daycare nursery were at increased risk from maternal smoking, perhaps because they have more prolonged exposure to maternal smoke. Taylor and Wadsworth and
Evans and Golding in retrospective analyses of data from the British National Child Health and Education Study confirmed these findings.
The increase in lower respiratory disease in infancy caused by passive smoking may have important implications for the child in later life. Barker and Osmond, in an important series of studies of the relationship between infant and adult disease, have found strong evidence of a direct causal link between acute lower respiratory infection in early childhood and chronic bronchitis in adults. Children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have more lower respiratory illness, more middle ear effusion and more viral respiratory illness than unexposed children.
The Harlap and Davies study of 10 672 infants showed a definite dose–response relationship between maternal smoking and hospital admissions for bronchitis and pneumonia. Infants of mothers who smoked had an admission rate that was 28% higher than that of infants of nonsmokers.
Colley et al. in a study of 2200 children found that the incidence of pneumonia and bronchitis was significantly associated with the parents’ smoking habit:
if both parents were non-smokers, the annual incidence was 7.8%; if one parent smoked, it was 11.4%; and if both parents smoked, it was 17.6%. As in the Harlap and Davies study the effect of smoking was independent of birth weight, socioeconomic class and family size.
An innovative French study used the prevalence of tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy
as indices of repeated respiratory infection in early childhood; 42% of children with one smoking parent and 51% of those with two smoking parents had tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy or both as compared with 28% of the children of non-smokers.
Persistent middle ear effusion (glue ear) is the most common cause of deafness in children and an important cause of delayed language development. Persistent middle ear effusion is the most common indication for surgery among children in the UK. In a population based study of 736 schoolchildren aged 7 years, one third of cases were statistically attributable to exposure to tobacco smoke.
Many factors influence the development of persistent middle ear effusion, but Iversen et al. found that parental smoking was the only home environmental factor that influenced the prevalence of middle ear effusion. By calculating the attributable risk, they estimated that parental smoking accounted for 15% of effusions in children aged 1 to 7 years and 36% of cases in children aged 6 to 7 years.
The mechanism by which passive smoking causes middle ear disease is unclear. Tobacco smoke may have a direct effect on the mucosa of the middle ear causing oedema, abnormal mucociliary clearance, blockage of the Eustachian tube and impaired ventilation of the middle ear. There may be an indirect effect by adenoidal enlargement or by increasing susceptibility to infection.

Atopy and asthma

It has long been known that atopy runs in families and that this is likely to be due to a genetic susceptibility. More recent studies have implied that atopy has a dominant inheritance pattern and that the gene locus is in chromosome 11. Airway growth is adversely affected and wheezing illnesses are more prevalent in households where an adult smokes. Salivary cotinine levels, which are a reasonable marker for passive smoking, correlate inversely with small airway function.
Passive smoking increases the frequency and the severity of symptoms in children with asthma. Weitzman et al. In an analysis of data from 4000 children aged 0–5 years found that maternal smoking of more than 10 cigarettes a day was associated with higher rates of asthma (odds ratio 2.1), an increased likelihood of using asthma medication (odds ratio 4.6) and an earlier onset of asthma (odds ratio 2.6).
A study of asthmatic children showed that asthma-related visits to the emergency department were significantly (63%) higher in smoking households than households without smokers [34]. Controls for other household irritants and the subjects’ own smoking did not affect the result. When compared with asthmatic children whose mothers did not smoke, the children of smoking mothers had lung function indices that were 13%–23% lower and had a fourfold greater degree of responsiveness
to an inhaled histamine challenge, indicating airway narrowing and bronchial hyperactivity [35]. In these studies, children with atopic dermatitis were particularly susceptible to the adverse effects
of maternal smoking, which increased with the duration of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and the age of the child.

Coronary heart disease
Cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of mortality in the USA and most other developed countries, is strongly associated with several risk factors including smoking. A study by Neufeld et al. showed that children of smokers had an 11.2% (4.9 mg/dL) reduction in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels relative to children of non-smokers. Adjustment for confounding variables reduced this difference to 8.5% (3.7 mg/dL). This reduction was larger than that reported in other studies of environmental tobacco smoke exposure in children [40,41]. However, the effect was comparable to the effects of active smoking among adolescents.

Sudden infant death syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is currently defined as the sudden death of an infant that remains unexplained by clinical or autopsy evidence. It is likely that the immediate cause of death in SIDS is a functional one acting through the cardiorespiratory system. A number of risk factors have been identified by epidemiological studies. Prone sleeping position, overheating and parental smoking
have been targeted as the most important modifiable factors for public health action.
The earliest study to examine the association between maternal prenatal smoking and SIDS was carried out in Canada in the early 1960s.Haglund and Cnattingius examined maternal smoking as a risk factor for SIDS in a prospective study of 99% of all births in Sweden over a three-year period.
There were 190 cases of SIDS among 260 000 live births (0.7 per 1000), representing 27% of all infant deaths between 1 week and 1 year of age. Maternal smoking was the most important preventable risk factor for SIDS. The authors estimated that if maternal smoking could be eliminated,
the number of cases of SIDS would be reduced by 27%.
Maternal smoking is an important and potentially avoidable risk for death in early life. It may be that smoking is associated with abnormalities in brain development and that one manifestation of this might be a tendency to central apnoea.

Conclusion
Pediatricians should not be complacent about the hazards of passive smoking. The smoking habits of parents may be the most important influence on whether the children will themselves become active smokers in adolescence. Pediatricians and everyone responsible for the health of children should routinely ask parents about smoking in the home and inform them of the risk to their children that smoking represents.
Given the available evidence, parents can be told that avoiding smoking during pregnancy and after their child is born offers an opportunity to reduce significantly the risk of illness in their children. Parents who already smoke but wish to give up need to be offered informed guidance
and continuing support. This will require liaison between Pediatricians, general practitioners and local community services, such as smoking cessation clinics. Despite evidence of satisfactory knowledge about smoking among doctors and parents, efforts in public health information should continue.
References
1. Working Party of the Royal College of Physicians. Smoking and the young.London, Royal College of Physicians,1992.
2. Poswillo D, Alberman E, eds. Effects of smoking on the fetus, neonate and child. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1992.
3. Holbrook JH. Nicotine addiction. In: Braunwald E et al., eds. Harrison’s principles of internal medicine, 14th ed. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1998:2516.
4. Ajlounie K, Jaddou H, Batieha A. Obesity in Jordan. International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders, 1998, 22:624–8.
5. Shalan H. Are Jordanian doctors good health models? Smoking and weight as examples. Jordan medical journal, 2000, 34:20–4.
6. Al-Dawood KM. Pattern of smoking among parents of schoolboys. Saudi medical journal, 2000, 21:735–9.
7. Khan SA, Khan LA. Cigarette smoking —a dangerous trend in Saudi Arabia [editorial]. The practitioner: Eastern Mediterranean edition, 1999, 10:399.
8. Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of involuntary smoking: a report of the Surgeon General. Washington, DC, Government Printing Office, 1986 (Publication no. DHHS (CDC)87-8398).
9. National Research Council, Committee on Passive Smoking. Environmental tobacco smoke: measuring exposure and assessing health effects. Washington, DC, National Academy Press, 1986.
10. Strachan DP, Jarvis MJ, Feyerabend C. The relationship of salivary cotinine to respiratory symptoms, spirometry and exercise-induced bronchospasm in seven- year old children. American review of respiratory disease, 1990, 142:147–51.
11. Wald N, Ritchie C. Validation of studies on lung cancer in non-smokers married to smokers. Lancet, 1984, 1:1067.
12. Candy D, Davies EG, Ross E. Clinical paediatrics and child health, 1st ed. Philadelphia, WB Saunders, 2001:15.
13. Asmussen I. Fetal cardiovascular system as influenced by maternal smoking. Clinical cardiology, 1979, 2:246–56.
14. Holt PG, Keast D. Environmentally induced changes in immunological function: acute and chronic effects of inhalation of tobacco smoke and other atmospheric contaminants in man and experimental animals. Bacteriological reviews, 1977, 41:205–16.
15. Paganelli R et al. Maternal smoking and cord blood immunity function. Clinical and experimental immunology, 1979, 36:256–97.

The Effect Of Smoking

2008-11-20T03:21:00.000-08:00

The Effects of Smoking: Death Toll Will Double by 2020
Health Conditions

By the year 2020, 10 million people will be dying each year from smoking-related health causes. That staggering estimate is approximately double the current worldwide death rate from the effects of smoking, and may rise even higher in subsequent years if current trends are not reversed. The primary culprit, according to researchers, is the surprising popularity of smoking among teens and young people
According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, teen smoking rates stand at approximately 9% worldwide. In addition, 11% of young people around the world report using chewing tobacco, hookah pipes and other tobacco products. Also troubling to researchers was that, for the first time, the "smoking gap" between the genders appeared to be narrowing. Past studies of the side effects of smoking had estimated that young males were approximately four times more likely to smoke than girls. However, more recent research by the Centers for Disease Control and others shows the disparity to be much more narrow and growing smaller by the year. In some countries included in the survey, male and female teen smoking rates were roughly identical.
Facts About Smoking: Family and Peer Pressure
So where are all these new teen smokers coming from, given that awareness campaigns about the side effects of smoking are more prevalent than ever? New facts about smoking show that many teen smokers may simply be following in the footsteps of parents, older siblings, friends, and other role models. In conjunction with the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, a study published in the British medical journal Lancet takes aim at the relationship between teen smoking and teens' relationships with family and friends. More than 40% of teens worldwide say that they have been exposed to secondhand smoke and other effects of smoking in the home. Most often, secondhand smoke is the result of parents and older siblings lighting up indoors. In addition, a full half of teens report exposure to smoking and secondhand smoke among their peer group. However, peer pressure appears to be a stronger influence among some teenage cohorts than others. Among adolescents from the Indian subcontinent, sixth graders were up to four times more likely to smoke than eighth graders. That finding was particularly shocking to the study's authors, as it indicates that smoking may be more popular among younger adolescents. If so, even the 10 million death toll quoted by researchers may be too low of an estimate of the true side effects of smoking.

2008-11-17T01:36:00.000-08:00

Tips for Breaking the Bad Habit of Smoking

For some, saying farewell to a habit is a very simple task. They have enough of commitment and will power to just put it behind them. For others, breaking bad habits is one of the most challenging endeavors that they will ever attempt.

Two of the hardest habits that people find themselves trying to overcome are addictions to alcohol or drugs and smoking. Those addictions may be more than just a bad habit – they may require some professional assistance in breaking them.

Other bad habits that people can overcome on their own, but with the want and need to commit and change are things such as: biting their nails, using offensive language, overeating or not exercising. While change typically cannot happen overnight, it is possible to overcome your bad habits with some gradual changes.

It is usually not recommended to simply go about breaking bad habits “cold turkey”. People who quit smoking cold turkey tend to return to this bad habit a lot more quickly than those who stop smoking gradually.

The very first step that you must take in breaking bad habits is becoming committed. Wanting to break bad habits is simple. Actually going the distance to break the habits requires commitment. Until you’re aware of what you’re actually doing and how much you’re doing it, changes can’t be made too easily.

Once you know what you want to accomplish and have some goals set – you will find that it is much easier to begin and succeed. Just remember though, that breaking bad habits doesn’t happen overnight. And taking baby steps is the best way to accomplish your goals. Before you know it, your bad habits will be distant memories.
Filed under Stop Smoking Tips by Jean.

The time in your life where you decide it is time to quit smoking for good is a very important step. It represents the time in your life when you have decided that it is time to regain complete control over your body, and actually take charge of your decisions.

Of course, you made the decision to start smoking, but ultimately this choice is much harder to break, than it ever was to start. Knowing how to break the habit is very important to being successful and this means you really need to take some time to review all of your options.

In general, while it may seem like a great idea to start trying to quit tomorrow you need to take a bit of time to set out a plan of attack. If you are working towards a plan which includes several well laid out goals you are going to be much more likely to succeed.

However, simply taking a chance and hoping for the best may be your best option. Typically, the hope and wait method is not effective though, so having a plan will ensure that you have something to fall back on.

You should review all of the options for stop smoking aids that are on the market. There are literally dozens of products that all claim to help stop smoking.

Some really do not work at all, but in general most do really work, but only for certain people. This means if you are not well suited to the product, it will not be very effective for your venture.

Finding something that is well suited to your needs is critical to ensure your own personal success. Just because the product has helped 1,000’s of other former smokers does not mean that you will find success with it.

You need to then look at a calendar and pick out a date to quit. This is very important because having a date picked out gives you something to look forward to.

You should also look at it as an exciting adventure, rather than the day you decided to drive yourself insane and attempt to quit smoking. Looking forward to the specific date that you pick with excitement and joy will make the overall experience much better.

As you are picking out dates on the calendar, pick out additional dates for smaller goals as well. For instance, if you decide to quit smoking on August 1st you would want to select August 2nd as your 24-hour victory and then August 7th as your first no smoking week.

Avoiding negative people is very important. If you are surrounding yourself by people who all think that you are just acting like a baby in your struggles to quit smoking your self-esteem is going to take a huge hit.

Additionally, your self-confidence in yourself to actually succeed in your quest to quit smoking will start to wane. This is a huge disaster since you need to believe in yourself in order to actually quit smoking for good.

Surrounding yourself with positive people who support your efforts to quit will make it much easier for you. After all, the friend who encourages you is the friend you should want to be around more anyways.

Someone who is doing nothing but cutting down your efforts probably is not the greatest friend anyways.

2008-11-17T01:20:00.000-08:00

Step to Quit Smoking

2008-11-17T01:05:00.000-08:00

Helping A Smoker Quit: Do's and Don'ts

General hints for friends and family

Do respect that the quitter is in charge. This is their lifestyle change and their challenge, not yours.

Do ask the person whether he or she wants you to call or visit regularly to see how he or she is doing. Let the person know that it's okay to call you whenever he or she needs to hear encouraging words.

Do help the quitter get what she or he needs, such as hard candy to suck on, straws to chew on, and fresh veggies cut up and kept cold in the refrigerator.

Do spend time doing things with the quitter to keep his or her mind off smoking -- go to the movies, take a walk to get past a craving (what many call a "nicotine fit"), or take a bike ride together.

Do try to see it from the smoker's point of view -- a smoker's habit may feel like a cherished friend that has always been there when times were tough. It's hard to give that up.

Do help the quitter with a few chores, some child care, cooking -- whatever will help lighten the stress of quitting.

Do celebrate along the way. Quitting smoking is a BIG DEAL!

Don't judge, nag, preach, or scold. This may make the smoker feel worse about him or herself. You don't want your friend to turn to a cigarette to soothe hurt feelings.

Don't take the quitter's grumpiness personally during his or her nicotine withdrawal. The symptoms usually pass in about 2 weeks.

Don't offer advice. Just ask how you can help with the plan or program they are using.

If your ex-smoker "slips"

Don't assume that he or she will start back smoking like before. A "slip" (taking a puff or smoking a cigarette or two) is pretty common when a person is quitting.

Do remind the quitter how long he or she went without a cigarette before the slip.

Do help the quitter remember all the reasons he or she wanted to quit, and forget about the slip as soon as possible.

Don't scold, nag, or make the quitter feel guilty. Be sure the quitter knows that you care about him or her whether or not he or she smokes.

If your quitter relapses

Research shows that most people try to quit smoking 5 to 7 times before they succeed. (It's called a relapse when smokers go back to smoking like they were before they tried to quit.) If a relapse happens, think of it as practice for the time he or she will succeed. Don't give up your efforts to encourage and support your loved one. If the person you care about fails to quit or starts back smoking:

Do praise him or her for trying to quit, and for whatever length of time (days, weeks, or months) of not smoking.

Do encourage him or her to try again. Don't say, "If you try again..." Say, "When you try again..." Studies show that most people who don't succeed in quitting are ready to try again in the near future.

Do encourage him or her to learn from the attempt. Things a person learns from a failed attempt to quit may help him or her quit for good next time. It takes time and skills to learn to be a non-smoker.

Do say, "It's normal to not succeed the first time you try to quit. Most people understand this, and know that they have to try to quit again. You didn't smoke for two whole weeks this time. You got through the worst part. Now you know you can do that much. Now that you know you can get through the worst part, you can get even further next time."

If you are a smoker

Do smoke outside and always away from the quitter.

Do keep your cigarettes, lighters, and matches out of sight. They might be triggers for your loved one to smoke.

Don't ever offer the quitter a smoke, even as a joke!

Do join your loved one in his or her effort to quit. It's better for your health and might be easier to do with someone else that is trying to quit, too!

Call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 (1-800-227-2345) to find out what resources might be available to you for your quit attempt.

Last Medical Review: 10/24/2008
Last Revised: 10/24/2008

stop to smok right Now...!!

2008-11-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

How to Stop Smoking

Want to quit smoking? Don't plan on it, and don't despair.

Recent research finds that a snap decision to quit smoking cigarettes is actually two to three times more effective than planning ahead for the big day.

Some smokers want to quit, but lack the motivation. Others have tried and failed. The trick, according to Robert West of University College London, is to let the motivation build ("This costs too much money," "I don't want to smoke around the kids," "I'm afraid of cancer" and so on) and then seize the day when a trigger to put down cigarettes suddenly emerges.

"It very much goes against conventional wisdom in the field," West told LiveScience.

His research is based on interviews with 1,900 smokers and ex-smokers in England. He found that half of attempts to stop smoking involved no planning ahead and that unplanned attempts succeed for longer than planned attempts.

Sick and tired

About 23 percent of Americans smoke (the figure is 25 percent in England) despite the fact that quitting smoking extends life expectancy by up to 10 years.

Effective triggers to quit can be small, in West's view, such as just being sick and tired of being sick and tired from smoking. Or large, such as a physician's delivery of news of precancerous cell growth or high cholesterol.

Many experts have thought that the stopping occurs in stages that start with thinking about stopping, then planning an attempt to actually try to quit.

West's research found that unplanned attempts to quit succeeded even after adjusting for study variables such as age, sex and socioeconomics. Quitting is not a cost-benefit game in the minds of smokers, he says. "It depends on how people feel and that is a whole different ballgame."

West's work suggests a tipping-point approach to anti-smoking campaigns. He says public health workers should capitalize on smokers' latent desire to quit by putting the idea of quitting in their minds, raising smokers' motivational tension momentarily to a level that can overcome their resistance to quitting and then lowering the barriers to action—such as helping them to think, "Why not quit?".

(West's smoking research led him to write a recently published theoretical book on motivation and addiction.)

West also encourages the use of nicotine patches and other treatment and counseling to help quitters stay in remission. Recent research by Lawrence An of the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center shows that smokers who receive encouragement via telephone counseling sessions are more successful at quitting smoking than those who do not.

The surgical approach

Surgery is also an effective trigger to quitting, other research shows. In fact, surgery is often one's best chance to quit smoking for good, according to David Warner of the Mayo Clinic.

Doctors have long known that nonsmokers and recent quitters recover better from surgery than smokers.

Warner's review of research also shows that patients who stop smoking prior to surgery have better success withdrawing from cigarettes.

"For people who have thought about quitting smoking, the time of their surgery is a good opportunity to do so," Warner said. The anesthesia used during surgery and recovery probably helps with the nicotine withdrawal and other discomforts associated with quitting.

"This increases the chance for long-term success with smoking cessation," Warner said.

It's still unclear if kicking the cigarette habit is within reach for everyone. Some smokers try to quit hundreds of time and never succeed for very long.

"However, we cannot say whether that is because the conditions for stopping were not right for them," West said, "and whether under different circumstances they might have succeeded."