A World Hooked on Smoking

BILL was a kind man, an intelligent man, a strong man. He loved his family. At an early age, though, he began to smoke cigarettes. Later in life he hated the habit. Even as he puffed on a cigarette, he earnestly warned his sons against smoking, saying how stupid it was. There were times when he would crush a pack of cigarettes in his powerful hands and fling it across the room, vowing that he had smoked his last. Soon, though, he would be drawn back to smoking—first secretly, then openly.

Bill died of cancer 15 years ago, after months of dreadful pain. If he had not been a smoker, he would possibly be alive today. His wife would still have a husband; his sons would still have a father.

Bill’s death, tragic though it was for his family, is not unique. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco-related diseases kill about four million people each year, or one person every eight seconds. Tobacco use is the major preventable cause of disease worldwide. If present trends continue, in 20 years smoking will be the world’s number one cause of death and disability, killing more people than AIDS, tuberculosis, maternal mortality, motor vehicle accidents, suicide, and homicide combined.

Cigarettes kill. Yet those who smoke them are everywhere. Worldwide, at least 1.1 billion people are smokers, states WHO. That means roughly one third of the world’s adults.

Analysts estimate that while tobacco companies now pay hundreds of millions of dollars because of lawsuits brought against them, this amount is small compared with their multibillion-dollar profits. In the United States alone, an estimated 1.5 billion cigarettes roll off production lines in tobacco factories each day. Worldwide, tobacco companies and government monopolies sell over five trillion cigarettes every year!

Why do so many people persist in a habit that is deadly? If you are a smoker, how can you quit? These questions will be answered in the following articles.

Why Quit Smoking?

SMOKING is not for those who want to live a long and happy life. The probability that a long-term smoker will eventually be killed by tobacco is 1 in 2. The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) stated: “A cigarette is . . . a cleverly crafted product that delivers just the right amount of nicotine to keep its user addicted for life before killing the person.”

One reason, then, to quit smoking is that smoking tobacco endangers health and life. Smoking has been linked to more than 25 life-threatening diseases. It is, for example, a major contributor to heart attack, stroke, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and various cancers, especially lung cancer.

Of course, a person may smoke for years before being stricken with one of these diseases. Meanwhile, smoking does not make a person more appealing to others. Advertising portrays smokers as glamorous and healthy. The reality is different. Smoking makes the breath stink and stains teeth and fingers a yellowish-brown. In men it contributes to impotence. It causes smoker’s cough and shortness of breath. Smokers are also more likely to experience premature facial wrinkling and other skin problems.

How Smoking Affects Others

The Bible says: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) Love for your neighbors—and your family members are your closest neighbors—is a powerful reason to quit.

Smoking hurts others. Until recent times a smoker could light up just about anywhere and expect no objection. But attitudes are changing because more people understand the dangers of breathing in smoke that drifts from the cigarettes of others. For example, a nonsmoker who is married to a smoker has a 30-percent greater risk of developing lung cancer than if he or she were married to a nonsmoker. Children who live with parents who smoke are more likely to develop pneumonia or bronchitis in the first two years of life than are children who live in homes where no one smokes.

Pregnant women who smoke endanger their unborn babies. Nicotine, carbon monoxide, and other dangerous chemicals contained in cigarette smoke enter the mother’s bloodstream and pass directly to the child in the womb. The consequences include a greater likelihood of spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and death among newborns. Moreover, the risk of sudden infant death syndrome is three times higher for babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy.

The Cost Is High

Another reason to quit is that smoking is expensive. A study by the World Bank estimated that the health-care costs caused directly by smoking amount to about $200 billion each year. That figure, of course, does nothing to convey the cost in suffering and pain to those who contract diseases caused by tobacco.

The direct cost of cigarettes to the individual smoker is easy to calculate. If you smoke, multiply the amount of money you spend on cigarettes in one day by 365. That will show you how much money you spend in a year. Multiply that figure by ten, and you will see how much cigarettes will cost you if you smoke for another ten years. The result may surprise you. Think about what else you could do with that much money.

Is It Safer to Switch?

The tobacco industry advertises low tar and nicotine cigarettes—promoted as light or mild cigarettes—as a way to reduce the health risks of smoking. However, those who switch to low tar and nicotine cigarettes crave the same nicotine dose as before. Consequently, smokers who switch usually compensate by smoking more cigarettes, taking deeper and more frequent puffs, or smoking more of each cigarette. Even for those who do not make changes to compensate, the health benefits are small compared with the advantages of quitting completely.

What about pipes and cigars? Though the tobacco industry has long promoted pipes and cigars as status symbols, the smoke they deliver is just as deadly as that from cigarettes. Even if smokers don’t inhale cigar or pipe smoke, they have an increased risk of developing lip, mouth, and tongue cancers.

Is smokeless tobacco safe? This comes in two different forms: snuff and chewing tobacco. Snuff is a powdered tobacco, usually sold in cans or pouches. Often, users place it inside the lower lip or cheek. Chewing tobacco is sold in long strands, usually in a pouch. As the name suggests, it is chewed, not sucked. Snuff and chewing tobacco both cause bad breath, stained teeth, cancer of the mouth and pharynx, addiction to nicotine, white sores in the mouth that can lead to cancer, peeling back of the gums, and bone loss around the teeth. Clearly, sucking or chewing tobacco is not a wise alternative to smoking it.

Benefits of Quitting

Suppose you are a long-term smoker. What happens when you quit? Within 20 minutes of your last cigarette, your blood pressure will drop to normal. After a week your body will be free of nicotine. After one month your coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath will begin to decrease. After five years your risk of dying from lung cancer will have dropped by 50 percent. After 15 years your risk of coronary heart disease will fall to that of a person who has never smoked at all.

Your food will taste better. Your breath, body, and clothing will smell better. You will no longer have the trouble or the expense of buying tobacco. You will have a feeling of accomplishment. If you have children, your example will reduce the likelihood that they will be smokers. You will likely live longer. Further, you will be acting in harmony with God’s will, since the Bible says: “Let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of [the] flesh.” (2 Corinthians 7:1) Don’t feel that it is too late for you to quit; the sooner you quit, the better.

Why Quitting Is So Hard

It is difficult to quit smoking—even for those who are highly motivated. Mainly, this is because the nicotine in tobacco is a highly addictive drug. “In a ranking of the addictiveness of psycho-active drugs, nicotine was determined to be more addictive than heroin [and] cocaine,” states WHO. Unlike heroin and cocaine, nicotine does not produce dramatic evidence of intoxication, so it is easy to underestimate its power. Yet the mild sense of euphoria it produces keeps most people smoking so as to experience the feeling repeatedly. Nicotine really does alter your mood; it does soothe anxiety. However, the tension the cigarette reduces is caused in part by the craving for nicotine itself.

It is also difficult to quit smoking because smoking is a behavioral habit. Apart from being addicted to nicotine, smokers develop frequently repeated routines of lighting up and puffing. ‘It’s something to do with your hands.’ ‘It fills time,’ some may say.

A third factor that makes it difficult to quit is that tobacco is woven into everyday life. The tobacco industry spends almost six billion dollars each year on advertising campaigns that depict smokers as glamorous, active, healthy, and intelligent people. Often they are shown riding a horse, swimming, playing tennis, or engaging in another appealing activity. Movies and television programs show people smoking—and not always the villains. Tobacco is legally sold and is readily available virtually everywhere. Most of us are never far from someone who smokes. You can’t escape these influences.

Sadly, there is no pill that you can take to eliminate the desire to smoke as an aspirin might eliminate a headache. To succeed in the difficult task of quitting, a person must be motivated. Like losing weight, it requires strong commitment for a long time. The responsibility for success lies with the person who smokes.

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Hooked Early

A study in the United States showed that 1 in 4 young people who tried cigarettes eventually became addicted. This was similar to the addiction rate of those who experimented with cocaine and heroin. Though about 70 percent of adolescent smokers regret having started, few are able to quit.

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What Is in Cigarette Smoke?

Cigarette smoke contains tar, consisting of over 4,000 chemicals. Of these chemicals, 43 are known to cause cancer. Among them are cyanide, benzene, wood alcohol, and acetylene (a fuel used in torches). Cigarette smoke also contains nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, both poisonous gases. Its main active ingredient is nicotine, a highly addictive drug.

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Helping a Loved One Quit

If you are a nonsmoker who knows the dangers of smoking, you likely feel frustrated when your friends and loved ones continue to smoke. What can you do to help them quit? Nagging, begging, coercion, and ridicule seldom meet with success. Neither do condescending lectures. Instead of quitting, the smoker may reach for a cigarette to ease the emotional pain these tactics may cause. So try to understand how difficult it is to quit and that for some it is much harder than it is for others.

You can’t make a person quit smoking. The inner strength and conviction to quit must come from the person who smokes. You need to find loving ways to encourage and support a desire to quit.

How can you do that? At the right time, you might express your love for the person and say that you are concerned about his or her smoking habit. Explain that you will be there to support any decision to quit. Of course, if this approach is used too often, it will lose its effectiveness and meaning.

What might you do if your loved one does decide to quit? Keep in mind that he or she may have withdrawal symptoms, including irritability and depression. Headaches and difficulty in sleeping might be problems too. Remind your loved one that these symptoms are only temporary and are signs that the body is adjusting to a new and healthy equilibrium. Be cheerful and positive. Express how happy you are that he or she is quitting. Throughout the withdrawal period, help your loved one avoid stressful situations that could lead to a relapse.

What if there is a relapse? Try not to overreact. Be compassionate. View the situation as a learning experience for both of you, making it more likely that the next attempt will be a success.

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The tobacco industry spends almost six billion dollars each year on advertising

How You Can Quit

LIKE learning to ride a bicycle, giving up tobacco is rarely accomplished the first time you try. So if you are determined to quit, you should be prepared to make repeated attempts until you are successful. Do not view a relapse as a defeat. Think of it as a learning experience, a small setback in what can be a successful program. Here are some suggestions that have worked for others. They may work well for you too.

Prepare Your Mind to Quit

■ First, you must convince yourself that quitting is worth the effort. List your reasons for wanting to quit, including all the benefits. After you have quit, reviewing this list will strengthen your resolve. A desire to please God is the greatest motive for quitting. The Bible says that we should love God with our whole mind, heart, soul, and strength. That is something we cannot do if we are addicted to tobacco.—Mark 12:30.

■ Analyze your smoking habits to figure out when and why you smoke. You may find it helpful to record on paper when and where you smoke each cigarette during a typical day. This will help you to foresee situations that may tempt you to smoke after you do quit.

Plan a Quit Date

■ Choose a quit date, and mark it on your calendar. It is best to choose a day when you will not be under undue outside stress. When that day arrives, quit completely—abruptly and totally.

■ Before the quit date arrives, get rid of ashtrays, matches, and lighters. Clean all your clothes that smell of tobacco smoke.

■ Enlist the support of coworkers, friends, and family to encourage you in your efforts to quit. Do not be afraid to ask others not to smoke in your presence.

■ Plan activities for your quit day. You might go somewhere where smoking is not permitted, such as to a museum or a theater. You could also exercise—swim or take a bicycle ride or a long walk.

Dealing With Withdrawal

If you are a heavy smoker, you will likely experience withdrawal symptoms, which begin within hours of smoking the last cigarette. These may include irritability, impatience, hostility, anxiety, depression, insomnia, restlessness, increased appetite, and a craving for cigarettes. Perhaps your doctor can prescribe medication that will help ease these symptoms. In addition, there are things you can do to help you win the battle.

■ During the first few difficult weeks, eat low-calorie foods, and drink plenty of water. Some have found it helpful to snack on raw vegetables, such as carrots or celery. If you exercise, you will help offset weight gain and soothe jittery nerves.

■ Avoid places and situations where you will be tempted to smoke.

■ Fight against bad reasoning that may tempt you to smoke. Here are some common thoughts during withdrawal: ‘I’ll smoke just today to get me through this tough time.’ ‘Smoking is my only vice!’ ‘Tobacco can’t be all that bad; some heavy smokers live to be over 90.’ ‘I’ve got to die of something.’ ‘Life is no fun without tobacco.’

■ If you are about to give in, delay. By waiting just ten minutes, the acute craving may pass. Sometimes the thought of never smoking again might seem overwhelming. If you feel that way, concentrate on quitting just for today.

■ If you want to serve God, pray for help. Our loving Creator can provide “help at the right time” for those who are striving to bring their lives into harmony with his will. (Hebrews 4:16) But don’t expect a miracle. You must act in harmony with your prayers.

Remain an Ex-smoker

■ The first three months are the most difficult, but even after that you should, when possible, avoid smokers and situations that may tempt you to smoke.

■ Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you can be an occasional smoker, even if you have stopped smoking for a year or more.

■ Resist the temptation to have “just one cigarette.” Just one may easily lead to others, and soon you will have undone all the hard work you put into quitting. However, if you do weaken and have a cigarette, there is no reason to smoke another. If you relapse, quit again.

Millions of smokers have successfully quit. With determination and persistence, you can too!