It's hard to kick a bad habit, and it is even more difficult for women to quit smoking cigarettes than men.  Although federal data show that women and men have about the same success rates when giving up smoking, researchers have found that women have a much harder time throughout the process.

From her research, Carolyn Mazure, a psychology professor at Yale School of Medicine, believes women resort to smoking to help increase positive moods, manage the pressures of every day life, and control weight gain. She notes that women are more "vulnerable to the negative effects of stress and are more likely to relapse back to smoking in the face of stressors" as compared to men.

Actually, smoking creates more stress than it alleviates and essentially makes people feel emotionally inferior, says a December 2008 study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. So instead of coping with your stress by lighting up a cigarette (or binge eating or drinking alcohol), consider these tips that can help reduce your stress:

                1.    Go for a walk
                2.    Eat a well-balanced diet
                3.    Cut out caffeine
                4.    Practice deep breathing exercises
                5.    Seek professional help

More reasons to quit smoking

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