Smoking? - Just STOP!

As I have said 1000 times, I don't think intermediate remedies, such as gums, patches, etc., are the best type of intervention to stop the act of suicide-by-cigarettes.

#1, I truly believe that the pharmaceutical companies do NOT want people to stop smoking and get on the path to better health. And the tobacco companies certainly don't want people to stop smoking either.

Since I stopped smoking TWICE, I have the lived experience. Of course, individuals are different and stopping smoking is a unique experience for each person.

I always think that the problem with stopping is that the common perception (gleaned from various sources)is that stopping is going to be UNBEARABLE.

This is the same regarding pain, such as when people go for a dental procedure or have surgery. In psych, I was taught that much of experiencing pain is LEARNED. And then a fear of pain develops.

A friend recently had a root canal, which used to be a major ordeal. Now, the minute a root canal is done, there is no pain because the root is dead; I have had 6 of them. But my friend took Lortabs for 48 hours after because he feared pain. He figured that if the dentist gave him the pills, he must need them - all of them - for the excruciating pain that must be coming.

This is so common with all sorts of minor procedures. - I take nothing and there has never been any pain. After major surgeries, I took nothing (because of sensitivity) and it was not unbearable.

The point is that we are conditioned to think that we will suffer if we have surgery --- AND if we stop smoking.

By TV commercials, we are told that we need the lozenges, gum, patches and pills to gradually wean ourselves away from the nicotine addiction.

NO WE DON'T.

And I smoked A LOT! Even as an RN, I worked in psychiatry, the only part of the hospital that, years ago, allowed nurses to smoke while on duty. It was considered therapeutic to sit and smoke with the patients, 99.9% of whom smoked, as well. It was certainly not a place for non-smokers because with no ventilation, there was a constant haze of cigarette smoke that affected everyone.

So I know about being addicted and about the difficulty of quitting.

COLD TURKEY IS THE WAY TO GO and in THREE days I was fine. It was ONE DAY AT A TIME but, honestly, it was OK, and the three days were NOT unbearable.

I had stopped for about 10 years and then made a choice to start again... maybe because I knew I could quit when I wanted to. The second time, I smoked for about 2 years and then my mother died and I quit.

Having said this, I do accept that some people simply don't seem to be able to stop. Maybe it is a matter of having a strong enough conviction about what is important in your life. If you want to live to see your children grow up, marry, have children, then you have to do whatever you can to be healthy.