subject: "I Choose To Smoke" [print this page] "I Choose To Smoke" "I Choose To Smoke"
"I choose to smoke". I always find this to be a ridiculous statement. It is usually from younger people or those people who are in denial. Actually, most heavy smokers who have wanted to quit for a while know better and that probably includes you. You know that you are addicted and need help, otherwise you would probably not be reading this book. But it's still worth thinking for a few moments about people who believe that they "choose" to smoke because it will give us a greater insight into knowing our addiction and conquering it.
The only thing that you or they ever chose to do was to start an addiction. You lit those first few cigarettes out of curiosity even though you knew that you risked addiction or perhaps you thought that addiction could never happen to you and only to other people or "the weak".
Most casual smokers and even some hardened smokers think that they "choose" to smoke every day. It's a defence mechanism when you discuss smoking with someone who tells you that it is an addiction. For some men especially, it's even an act of bravado, to say to people "I am in control".
No one likes to admit that they are not in control. Do you enjoy being out of control? Of course not, most people want to be in control of their lives. So it's only natural for an addict to not admit to being out of control. If you're smoking really is in control and you can choose when to smoke and when not to, then why do you smoke at all?
Maybe someone bought you this book to help you quit and you think that you are in control. You think that you can turn your smoking on and off like a switch. You've done it in the past. You've smoked for 6 months and then stopped for 6 months. Then again smoked for 3 months and stopped again for 9 months. Then why do you keep coming back and smoking again and again? Don't think you're fooling anyone if this is you because you're only fooling your addicted self.
Think again about the tricks that nicotine plays on your mind and use your powerful human brain and its powers of logic to overcome these tricks. You're better than that.
