We’re all aware that smoking cigarettes is one of the most harmful things we can do to our bodies so why do so many of us find it so difficult to stop?
Researchers reckon that 60% of people have a genetic variance that makes them susceptible to nicotine addiction. Those that start smoking in their teens and have two copies of this variance can trigger a lifelong addition to nicotine.
In an article published in the UK’s Independent Newspaper, a 30-a day smoker tries out the e cigarette and asks if smokers will be tempted to change from their regular smokes. Now nearly 18 months on from the inception of England’s controversial indoor smoking ban, you would think smokers would be embracing the e cigarette in droves just to prevent them from having to go out in the cold to relieve their craving. As the article states, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
As you can all see I haven’t been updating this blog recently. The main reason is that I have had other things in my life that I’ve been concentrating on, mainly associated with trying to make a living.
The other, perhaps more important reason why the blog has gone to the dogs is that I’ve finally become totally nicotine free. I no longer smoke cigarettes and I’ve even punted my trusty e cigarette. How did this come about? Well to be honest, after a few months of puffing away on my electronic cigarette I had a moment of clarity where I came to the realisation that nicotine wasn’t adding anything to my life. Of course I had known for years that nicotine was doing nothing for me except keeping me smoking but at that moment I truly realised the reality of the habit. We don’t enjoy cigarette, they don’t taste good and they are not cool, the only reason we smoke is because we are addicted to nicotine!
I happened to be rereading Allen Carr’s “Easy Way To Stop Smoking” when I had my epiphany so I think that definitely helped things along. Anyway, the day after this took place my electronic cigarette was in the trash and I’ve been nicotine free ever since. This exciting episode happened a couple of months ago and I’m happy to say that in general I’m not missing my old friend one bit. The only time I’ve felt like picking up a cigarette has been when drinking, but considering I drink alcohol so rarely these days its not much of a problem.
I’m going to get this blog back up and running, filling it with information on how to quit smoking in the hope that it will motivate others to take the first steps to a nicotine free life. Its really not that hard when you get yourself in the right frame of mind and things are so much better when you life don’t revolve around cancer sticks.
There is a lot of stop smoking help available on the market today but they can mostly be categorized as either pharmaceuticals or nicotine replacement therapies. What both pharmaceuticals and NRT have in common is that they are produced by the world’s biggest drug companies. Now call me a conspiracy theorist but I’d don’t believe that these companies are creating stop smoking aids for the benefit of humanity. They are huge companies with a crowd of shareholders to keep happy after all.
For this reason I was always wary of using drugs when I attempted to stop smoking, of course in the end I was using an electronic cigarette made without regulation in China, so you could say I’m slightly crazy. The thing is, I’ve recently been hearing about all the nasty side affects caused by one stop smoking aid drug in particular known as Champix.
Champix has been a phenomenal success since it was introduced to the market, with an incredible 9 million people using it as a stop smoking aid and the drug raking in almost $900 million for Pfizer in its first year on the market. However, in the 12 months there have been a number of alarming reports about users suffering from severe depression and even suicides while taking the drug.
Pfizer denies any relationship between the drug and the psychological problems suffered by users, it says that “Stopping smoking, with or without treatment, is associated with nicotine withdrawal symptoms and the exacerbation of underlying psychiatric illness”. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t convince me much. I’ve certainly never experienced, or heard of others experiencing, suicidal thoughts due to nicotine withdrawal.
The choice is yours if you want to use these products but I’m glad I decided to give them a miss and stick with my trusty e cigarette and my copy of “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking”. 
Just a little E Cigarette article from a newspaper in Honolulu.