Basic HTML Version
ing: "We smoke because we're
physically addicted to nicotine.
Period."
And, as many people who have
tried to kick cigarettes know, there
can be withdrawal symptoms: anx–
iety, nervousness, etc. But they are
certainly mild and nonlethal coro–
pared to withdrawal from heroin or
alcohol dependence.
A Def lnlte Health Hazard
Its psychic-dependence potential
aside, nicotine remains an extremely
dangerous drug for human con–
sumption. "Nicotine is one of the
most toxjc drugs known and is usually
thought of as a poison, being used as
s~ch
in insecticide sprays and ranking
w1th cyanide in rapidity of action"
(The Pleasure Seekers,
p.
155). In
loxic doses it can cause death by
paralysis ofthe respiralory muscles.
Of course, the amount of nicotine
in one cigarette is far below lethal
levels. But it is enough to affect lhe
central nervous and cardiac systems
in ways detrimenlal to health. And
tobacco smoke has scores of other
dangerous chemicals. Tobacco
smoke is a mixture of gases and
minute droplets in which nearly one
thousand compounds have been
identified. Sorne of the more haz–
ardous include lar, arsenic, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, am–
monia, benzene, formaldehyde and
hydrogen sulphide. How much of
lhese chemicals does the smoker
take into his system? In the case of
lar, a person who smokes a pack of
nonfilter cigarettes a day for ten
years inha les eighl quarts of tar, ac–
cording to Dr. A. C. Ivy of the Uni–
versity of lllinois.
The Pure Food and Drug laws of
lhe United States permit 1.43 parts
per million of arsenic in our foods.
Tobacco has an arsenic content 50
!imes lhe amount legally permitted
m food. Much ofthat is inhaled into
the lungs through tobacco smoke.
This potent combinalion of chem–
icals has been clearly demonstrated
to be a major cause of emphysema,
chronic bronchitis, lung and throat
cancer, and heart disease- to name
a few. "Cigarette smoking is now as
important a cause of death as were
the great epidemic diseases such as
typhoid, cholera, and tubercu–
losis .... Holocaust (is] a reasonable
The
PLAIN TRUTH July 1977
Kicking
the
HabH
According to most surveys, the
overwhelming majority of smokers
now concede that smoking is
harmful- yes, even harmful to
their
health. And a majority of
these same smokers will admit that
they would like to quit smoking,
but over half sáy they probably
neverwill.
How can a smoker who wants to
quit ove!OOme the equally strong,
or seemmgly stronger, desire to
light up?
First of all, a smoker must real–
ize that he finds it hard to quit
because he has become enslaved
or addicted to tobacco. Most
smok.ers would never consider
themselves drug fiends
in
the same
class as, say, marijuana smokers or
heroin junkies, but they
are!
They
have formed a dependence for the
drug nicotine. (For more informa–
tion about the relationship of
to–
bacco use to other forms of drug
abuse, write for our free booklet
The Dilemma ofDrugs.)
Since most smokers would like
to quit- but can' t- it's obvious that
simply wanting to quit is not
enough. You have to come up with
a good reason to stop, and you
must
be
thoroughly convinced of
your reason.
The most important motivation
to quit
is
for the sake of your
health. Another is the desire not to
see
your children acquire the same
habit . Children are more im–
pressed by what you practice than
what you preach, so don't expect
them not to smoke if you yowself
do.
Then there are ftnancial consid–
erations, especially as the price of
tobacco continues to
rise.
lf
you
smok.e 20 cigarettes a day, tbe cost
adds up to over $3.50 a week, and
over $180 a year. Small change,
perhaps, in these inJiationary
times, but smaU change that, none–
theless, is Dice to have in the
pocket at times.
OK, so you've got the motiva–
tion to quit. What will
be
your
plan of attack? The psychology of
pleasure gratification through
smoking
is
complex; people smoke
for different reasons and under
different circumstances. Some
smoke as a mlltter of
ha
bit and are
almost unconscious of whether or
not they are smoking at any given
moment. Others are more likely to
smoke under pressure or tension.
Some lite to smoke at certain
times of the day- for example, af–
ter a meal.
For whatever reason you smoke,
you must be flexible and experi–
ment with techniques to determine
what best fits your situation.
Some quit cold turkey; they put
out their last cigarette and resolve
never to smok.e again. Others find
it easier to stop gradually. They
cut back on the number of ciga–
rett~
smoked each day over a
penod of days and weeks until
they are down to zero. Or, using a
series of commerciaUy available
filters, they may smoke the same
number of cigarettes each day, but
receive decreasing amounts of tar
and nicotine until they are able to
stop smoking altogether.
Some like to quit smoking in
com~any.
They find it helps to go
to Wlthdrawal or cessation clinics
or groups where they have the
moral support of other people. Or
they use the "buddy system," find–
ing a friend to quit with them.
Others, particularly those with
an . immediate medical problem,
enbst the help of their physician
who may prescribe a nicotine sub–
stitute, tranquilizing agent , or
both, to tide them over the first
weeks ofno smoking.
Again, it is important to empha–
size that there
is
no surefire
method that will work. for every–
one. There are many diJferent
kinds of smokers, and each has
their
own
set ofproblems and their
own best ways ofquitting. Govem–
ment agencies and cancer and lung
associations have many useful
booklets and other information to
help the would-be nonsmoker pick
bis
method ofquitting.
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