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The first tobacco plants are thought to have grown sometime around 6000BC. It was five thousands years later that men first started smoking and chewing the tobacco plant. This happened in the Central America, and the first people to smoke are thought to be the Mayans. More than 2500 years later, in 1595, appears the first book about tobacco, called 'Tobacco'. In 1600, the Pope himself forbade tobacco and smoking in any holy place. The recent history of smoking is marked by the firs lawsuit against a cigarette manufacturer, in 1983, by Rose Cipollone. He was dying from lung cancer at that time, but before his death he won $400,000. The latest major act against smoking, and smokers, of course, was in 2003, when the state of New York banned smoking in any public place.

Are YOU smoking?

If you don't know already, let me enlighten you: you are slowly dying, because smoking kills. The drug called nicotine is can be found in any cigarette you want and this drug is a very powerful one. It is very addictive and quitting it can be done only by will. It is hard, but it isn't impossible. Here is a fact: around 400,000 dye each year from smoking related diseases. The foremost is the lung cancer. Let's say you don't care about yourself, but do you care about the others, about your family, your friends, because you are hurting them as well. It is called secondhand smoke, and it is just as dangerous as smoking itself. You already knew these facts? Look at this as a remember.

Are you quitting?

Well, if you tried to quit and you just couldn't, it means you either didn't really want to or you didn't know how to proceed. I wrote a few tips, to help you achieve this goal. Good luck, and remember, the most important thing is WILL.

' Decide upon a day, and just stop smoking. The best way to do it is to find someone to quit with you. As the old saying goes: The more the merrier.

' When you get the urge of smoking, don't. Wait for a few minutes before. In the spare time, try to do other things, like eating peanuts or eating gum.

' The old switch trick always pays off. Switch to a brand of cigarettes you hate and buy just one pack at a time.

' Change your routines. When you eat dinner, don't sit in the same place. At the begging eat only at home, or at a non-smoking friend, so you won't be able to have a quick one after dinner.

' Always have with you other things to put in your mouth, like a toothpick, or candy (watch for those cavities), or, usually the best, bubble-gum.

' At first you will feel sleepier and more tired than usual. Also you will be more short-tempered. These things pass in a week or so.

' Talk about what you are doing. Many smokers want to know how it is possible. Explain to them; discuss it over a drink, in the non-smokers section, of course.

' If at first you fail, try again. Don't worry, there are fewer people then you think who made it the first time.

' If nothing works, visit your doctor.