Don't Quit Smoking....Yet

[PattayaOneTeam]

SMOKING ROOM

Don't Quit Smoking!

Smokers of the world unite. Aren't you sick and tired of all those do-gooders telling you about the dangers of smoking? (Like you didn't already know.) Haven't enough people told you that it's a dirty, stinking habit? (As if that doesn't occur to you each time friends shrink back to avoid your dragon breath or whenever you look at your yellowed fingers.) Haven't you read too many articles advising you to quit or how to quit or why you should quit?

Don't do it.

Remember: smoking makes you feel good. It's satisfying. It fills a physical and a psychological need. How else would you have access to a legal substance--nicotine--that so effectively changes the levels of brain chemicals like dopamine, which is known for producing pleasure and dulling pain? Unfortunately, the nicotine in one cigarette doesn't provide lasting satisfaction. After several minutes or hours, the urge for another cigarette develops. Even more unfortunate is the fact that in time your brain adjusts to those extra surges of dopamine. Before you know it, what used to feel like a high dopamine level begins to feel normal to you. If that supply of nicotine ceases, your dopamine plummets. (Now you know what causes a nicotine fit.)

Are you thinking of lighting up now? Don't. Instead, test yourself by not smoking for just a few hours and watch what happens. In some ways, your body celebrates by bringing your blood pressure and pulse rate back to normal (in as little as 20 minutes). But in other ways, your body protests. That jittery irritability that makes you long for another cigarette is a withdrawal symptom. Keep the butts at bay for another eight hours or so and more nasty annoyances will erupt. Some, like dizziness or headaches, last only a few days; a few, like fatigue and sleeplessness, might last several weeks.

You can avoid those discomforts totally just by lighting up. Or, if you are one of those health nuts or a weirdo who wants to add a few more years to his life, you can opt for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Things like nicotine patches, inhalers and gum not only reduce withdrawal symptoms, they also seriously increase your chances of getting smoke-free. Statistically, about 2% of people manage to quit smoking cold turkey; NRT users have a 60% success rate, and they usually gain less weight after quitting.

Wait a minute. This column topic was 'Don't quit smoking.'

Actually, the headline should have read: Don't Quit Smoking Now. (Our editor erred.)

The fact of the matter is, you wouldn't quit smoking now in any case. You know that quitting would be the best thing for you. You know that's what a smart person would do. You don't need yet one more person telling you to put out that cigarette and never light another. In fact, you probably quit smoking on 1 January and didn't smoke again until 2 January. [Ed Note: our 'Fool in Paradise' correspondent Neil Hutchison has indeed taken the non-smoking pledge, and, as of this issue going to press, had managed to avoid the cancer sticks for just over two weeks!! Will miracles never cease?]

Quitting is an intellectual and emotional decision that requires preparation. Most successful quitters don't wake up one morning and say, 'I quit,' and then never light up again. Most smokers take years to weigh the pros and cons. Some make the decision to quit because of the onset of a smoking-related ailment. Some because they want to live long enough to enjoy retirement or to see their children or grandchildren grow up. Your reason for quitting is not nearly as important as the resolve to stay smoke free. And that resolve--that commitment to improve your life, your health, and even your self-esteem--will be formulated over the next month. So don't quit now. Wait 30 days, then you will quit forever.

To read the rest of this article download the PDF here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/files/download/666-pattaya-one-issue-9/

Enjoyed this article? Why not go to our poll and vote for it at:

-- Pattaya One 2011-02-07

[patrickinpattaya]

Couldn't really make much sense of this article, needed to smoke a couple fags and read through twice. Then realised it was pointless which wound me up so had to have another fag.

[malzy]

Hmmm... My government makes millions of dollars revenue from smokers, if they all gave up all us non smokers would have to pay more tax to help cover the lost taxes. Yeah forget about giving up