Can E-Cigarettes Help You Quit Tobacco?
If you're a martial arts practitioner, then you know how important it is for you to maintain your physical health if you want to succeed at taekwondo and jiu-jitsu, or any martial arts for that matter. Being in good health consists of so much more than just exercising. It's also important to make sure that you engage in healthy habits. One habit that is particularly detrimental to martial arts students is smoking. Tobacco smoke severely inhibits cardiovascular health which can negatively impact taekwondo performance. Therefore, if you're a smoker, you're cheating your Taekwondo and jiu-jitsu game by smoking.
Change it up
Fortunately, you don't have to remain a smoker. While it can be difficult to quit smoking, that doesn't mean that it's impossible. Smoking is addictive because of what it contains: nicotine. Nicotine is one of the most addictive types of substances on the planet, and it can be difficult to quit using it cold turkey. That's why there are aids and other products out there that can help you wean off of nicotine.
E-cigarettes have become more and more popular ever since their invention. As their name implies, they are a type of electronic cigarette. The way that they work is by running off of a battery power source to convert liquid nicotine into a mist that you inhale rather than inhaling the nicotine through burning tobacco. With e-cigarettes, you're not exposed to fire, ash or smoke, and you also aren't exposed to the other harmful toxins contained in traditional cigarettes, like carbon monoxide and tar. E-cigarettes are reported to be much healthier for you to smoke than regular cigarettes, and it makes sense. Since you won't be inhaling the smoke and ask that you would get from regular cigarettes, you'll be able to breath better than you would have otherwise.
Use it to Wean Off Cigarettes
Likewise, while e-cigarettes aren't as detrimental to your health as regular cigarettes, they are also marketed as excellent tools for quitting smoking altogether. If you don't have the strength or willpower to quit smoking cold turkey, then you can use e-cigarettes to wean yourself off of cigarettes. Many people report that there's more to the smoking habit than just the nicotine rush. They state that it's the act of smoking a cigarette, having something to do with their hands and so on that is comforting. If that is partly the case for you, then smoking an e-cigarette will allow you to still engage in that morning smoke over coffee or after every meal while even helping you not inhale as many of the harmful chemicals that will result in your martial arts performance being hindered.
Just like it's sometimes necessary to wean yourself off of certain medications so that the withdrawal symptoms aren't so severe, sometimes it might be easier to wean yourself off of nicotine via e-cigarettes.
If you're a martial artist who smokes, you could be limiting your potential in the field. Quitting smoking will contribute to your overall health (with the addition of a proper diet, of course), which will certainly add to your martial art performance.
