subject: Quit Smoking - Your New Years Resolution [print this page] It is estimated that there are some 70 million smokers in the United States, despite the fact that more than 400,000 Americans (which is over 18 percent of all deaths nationwide) die each year because of cigarette smoking. Doctors say that secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 of them.
With the ever increasing cost of cigarettes (as much as $6 per pack in some areas) as well as the proven toxicity of the carcinogens in them, it's no wonder that the most popular new years resolution every year is to kick the nicotine habit.
But why is it so hard to quit smoking? Why do so many people try each year and yet so many of them fail? There are two addictions associated with smoking cigarettes and both of these addictions must be addressed and conquered. One is obvious which is the physical addiction to nicotine. The other is the addiction to the smoking habit itself. This is the mechanical addiction related to the process of lighting up and puffing away. To some, the simple act of smoking is as much a habit as the physical addiction to the nicotine. To be a successful ex-smoker, you must kick both of these habits. Address only one, and your chances of quitting cigarettes are greatly reduced.
You don't have to go through the process alone. There is help out there. From nicotine replacement aides such as the various patches, nicotine gum, and other nicotine delivery systems to the numerous drugs that can be prescribed by your family doctor, one should never try to quit smoking cold turkey.
One of the newest inventions is the development of the Electronic Cigarette. This remarkable device delivers the nicotine to the smoker without the tar, carbon monoxide, or other toxins found in tobacco while still satisfying the mechanical addiction to the smoking habit. E cigarettes look like the real thing, and the smoke they produce looks and tastes like the real thing as well. The nicotine is delivered to the user all the while satisfying the mechanical addiction to smoking as well.
Although electronic cigarettes have not been approved by the FDA as quit smoking aides, they are reputed to be much safer than cancer causing tobacco. Most people don't know that there are more than 50 cancer causing agents in tobacco, and that nicotine is not one of them.
If your new years resolution is to kick the smoking habit this year, be sure to take advantage of one or more of the many stop smoking aids available to you so that you may join the more than 200 million Americans that are tobacco free. Your life depends upon it.
