Jack, this is slightly off topic, so please excuse me, but when would someone who had smoked a pack of cigarettes a day all his or her adult life need to quit, on average, to avoid the really nasty diseases caused by smoking? I was really surprised that my father developed COPD in his seventies, since he had quit about fifteen years earlier, and is an athletic, physically active man who otherwise is a vegetarian and takes excellent care of his health.
I realize this question involves a lot of averages, and I know that anytime is a good time to quit, but it really is quite discouraging.
I totally agree with you about giving nicotine addicts less dangerous drugs. Unfortunately (in some cases), there is actually a stigma in the United States about drugs in general, and most doctors are very conservative in prescribing them. I did understand your point about the association of pleasurable events in life and cigarette use, and I remember these from when I did smoke. However, I do think people without underlying psychological issues still can quit much more quickly and easily. In California, much smoking is done outside now, at work and at home. I think this is a wonderful assist to quitting, since the pleasurable associations like after sex, after dinner, on the phone, etc. are broken away, and the smoker is left to simply contemplate the outdoors, which may be cold and rainy, and the act of smoking itself, without association or distraction. |
