Added to the bad news is that nicotine is as addictive for some people as heroin or cocaine. Hence the reasons it can be so difficult to quit smoking - you’re actually kicking a drug habit - you can expect relapses and withdrawal symptoms just as when trying to kick a heroin addiction.
The reasons for all this “nicotine backlash” are obvious - smoking represents such a health hazard, for smokers as well as those around them, that outlawing this habit is an obvious ultimate goal. Tobacco companies that once posed such a powerful threat at the federal government level have been hit by fines totaling billions of dollars over the past 20 years, and are resorting to expanding their overseas markets as the U.S. markets shrink.
The next part of preparing yourself mentally to quit smoking is to be aware that you’re facing a battle - perhaps the most important battle of your life. As with any battle, you’ll need tools and weapons to assist you. From support systems to medications, there are a variety of avenues open to you that will help you succeed.
Smoking has already been banned in federal offices, and many communities are copying that legislation with bans on local, city and state offices. Some communities are even attempting to pass laws that would forbid smoking in the privacy of one’s own home, although at present most of those laws are meeting with limited success.
When you take a puff on that cigarette, you’re inhaling approximately 4,000 chemical compounds contained within the smoke. From tar to nicotine, several of these compounds are known carcinogens, meaning they’re cancer-causing. If you ask most people what are the most common diseases caused by smoking they’ll say lung cancer and emphysema - but surprisingly, heart disease is the biggest killer of smokers, at almost twice the rate of lung cancer and emphysema.
When you quit smoking, you need to change your daily routine that included cigarettes. For example, if you normally had a cup of coffee and a cigarette for breakfast, change that to a cup of tea and read the paper. Or check your email. Or have a healthy breakfast and a quick walk before you begin your daily tasks. Change the environment around you so that it doesn’t include time for smoking.
Next, change the environment in your home or office - wherever you (used to) smoke. Don’t let other people smoke in your house, or office - don’t hang out in places where smoking is almost mandatory - such as bars or nightclubs. Repaint the inside of your house, clean the carpets, wash the drapes - in short, make it obvious that a non-smoker lives here. After all that work of cleaning up, you won’t want to relapse and return to the habit of smoking.
The variety of illnesses caused by smoking is amazing - throat and mouth cancer, lung cancer, bladder and liver cancer, brain tumors, macular degeneration (blindness), birth defects from stillborn infants to premature births, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), emphysema, heart disease and all it’s related complications - the list just goes on and on.
The bottom line? Smoking is bad for you. Is that a surprise to anyone? I don’t think so.