Aug 02, 2001 05:01 AM
2214 Views
Smoking is a habit, it is a matter of opinion as to whether it is a bad habit.
Cigarette smoking is not an addiction - that is my personal opinion. You may as well say that the sexual act is an addiction, not that I am saying that that is a habit. The two actions are disparate. You develop a habit because you like doing something or it appears to help you through the daily grind. A cigarette contains soporific drugs which give you a feeling of calmness, they mask agitation and stress, this becomes enjoyable and then becomes a habit. It is an excuse to call it an addiction, you are just telling yourself, like a naughty child might do that you enjoy smoking and don't want the good feeling to stop.
I smoked cigarettes from the age of 13 until the age of 55. When I decided to give up cigarettes it was because the taste in my mouth in the morning and the smell in the house was awful - I had stopped enjoying smoking cigarettes. I stopped immediately, one minute I was smoking and the next I wasn't. Yes it was somewhat difficult to continue but will power and persistence paid off.
I do not believe that patches, imitation cigarettes or anything like that actually work. I wouldn't have tried them in any case. Apparently you get a dose of nicotine that is supposed to kill the craving for the cigarette, how is it, if the nicotine is harmful that the patches are considered OK? The pharmacist thinks that they are OK of course, he/she sells them and they cost a packet. In UK they are now letting you have the patches on the NHS on prescription - another burden on the taxpayer?
I am a firm believer in the, 'Magic in believing'. If you believe anything strongly enough, you can make it happen. I have proved this on many occasions about many subjects.
To help me give up the habit of smoking I had to find something to do with my hands and found that carrying a pen about with me, a top click ball pen was best as you could continually click the button when agitation sets in. Next I used to speak to the monkey on my shoulder, as I called the whisper in my ear, you know the kind of thing, 'Go on, light up a cigarette, you know you want to, one little puff won't do you any harm'.
People thought that I was mad when they caught me trying to keep the monkey quiet when sitting in a bus or train, talking to the little blighter, telling him to shove off!
A year after I stopped smoking cigarettes, my brother in law offered me a cigar - I replied, 'I don't smoke any more'. He entreated me to, 'Go on, these are not habit forming'. I took a cigar, smoked it - manna from heaven, I enjoyed it so much but'Knew' that I didn't have to smoke if I didn't want to. I said, 'John, how much are these?''Oh! I only buy them one by one in the pub when I feel like one', he said. I found out that they cost £1.00 each but if I bought a packet of five at the tobacconist they were only £1.50. I decided to buy five the following morning as I'Knew' that I could then smoke one just now and again, they were so great. Yes, you're ahead of me, I smoked the packet that day and was, 'Hooked' and started buying a packet every day. I enjoyed every puff of those cigars and a habit had started once more.
I realised that I had fallen but was enjoying the cigars so much that I convinced myself that I was addicted. The Magic in believing was working in reverse. When I realised this and that I was fast approaching poverty I stopped again as with cigarettes. What they call, 'Cold turkey'. This time it was painful, I really enjoyed the cigars and I became aware that giving up cigarettes was easy because I didn't enjoy them any longer. I then convinced myself that I really didn't enjoy cigars either. Using the power of positive thinking I convinced myself that my clothes, my car and my house stank of cigar smoke. I listened to friends that confirmed that smoking was a dirty, filthy habit. I stopped completely. That was 14 years ago and I have never looked back.
To say that I would not like to smoke a cigarette today would be a downright lie. I enjoyed them, as I have said and know that I would enjoy one today, but I have made a conscious decision to not want to smoke. I have not given up, I have just, consciously, decided that the time is not ripe for me to start up again.
