Nicotine is the best friend of every person who inhales or absorbs it on a regular basis. It is what binds people together. It has become an intricate part of how vaping or smoking buddies bond. It defines us. There are those who use it and those who don’t, and we all know where we fall in that order of things. Like alcohol or caffeine, it is a social lubricant, and we form social attachments around the use of it. It is a way of life that appears to be working for us until the cost to our health and well-being begins to dawn on us. We try to put it down, but that doesn’t last very long. Bewildered, we need to figure it out, “But not just now. Now isn’t a good time. But soon!” That reasoning goes on for years. In most cases 70% of those who vape, or smoke want to stop and tried, but 90% of them don’t make it.
Nicotine is listed as being among the five most addictive drugs in the world, along with heroin, cocaine, alcohol, and barbiturates. But, here’s the thing: It’s legal and widely available. It hooks more than two thirds of those who try it. There are more than one billion smokers world-wide, and it will kill more than eight million annually by 2030. The health risks of nicotine use are widely known, but now smoking and vaping are linked to higher risks of severe Covid-19 complications and death. Nicotine in any form is a poison, an insecticide to be more exact. It is an indiscriminate destroyer of life. If even our pets have the good sense not to go near it, why do we humans mess with it?
To begin with, nicotine products are promoted by clever manufacturers as “relief giving” and “pick me ups”. E-cigarette flavors like “Candy Crush”, “Bubble Gum” appeal to the young and cigarette brands like Marlboro Lights for older folks soften the reality of the rampage nicotine has on our bodies, and souls. Nicotine therefore is regarded as being a friend that can calm us down. It becomes our “go to” coping mechanism. And best of all, our smokes deliver the fix fast: a good hit off one’s device, or a drag on a cigarette immediately shoots a hit to the brain and a familiar rush through the body, and “Aaaah! All is well!” That is what vapers and smokers live for – immediate relief from the discomfort of going without, just to “get by”. That’s what it means to be hooked.
Once hooked, the need for “just a hit” overtakes all else: needing it to study for an important exam, needing it before important tasks like getting food for the family, a “must have” with coffee to start the day, and definitely, before church. It provides a break from life: from a visit with a relative in the hospital, or a haven from the kids. The need for nicotine comes in front of keeping promises to loved ones that one will quit. In fact, there is not a person, place or thing in a vaper’s, or smoker’s life that does not come secondary to their need for nicotine, one way or another. If this sounds like you, join the club!
While the bad news may be that you have a problem and need support, the good news is that, provided you are teachable (able to take in some new ideas, make sense of and apply what you are learning), you can be 100% successful at stopping and staying off. You can overcome the odds of the 60% of the 70% who have tried and failed.
As an ex-smoker I am here to testify there is hope. My Choose a Smokefree Life Program offers a straightforward way one can regain freedom from this pernicious vice that is far easier than what you have probably already tried on your own. This is achieved without substitutions, weight gain, or misery, and in just 3 days. It is a matter of learning how to make positive choices from moment to moment, even for someone like yourself that you are convinced is permanently lost. Doubtful? Book a free consultation with me to find out how this program works and see if we are a fit. No pressure but, be careful, you just might find the path to a lifetime of freedom! Then, what will you do? Dream big…
Book a time at Chooseasmokefreelife.com or call 515-758-1910
As we approach Thanksgiving, I give thanks for all my past clients who have taken the risk on themselves and won. I am grateful for the opportunity to walk along-side them and to watch them flourish, having found a new lease on their lives. They inspire me with the blessings of their courage and trust.
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