Smoking, we now know is a vile habit that offers no benefit to those who engage in the habit. Unfortunately the nicotine habit is a hard one to break and while we have made strides like banning smoking in office buildings and public places, a solution to ending the habit is an impossible dream for those who would like a release from this addiction.
While advertising the risks associated with the habit is a step in the right direction, much more has to be done if the habit is lessened or eradicated altogether.
Let’s look at some of the ways a smoker can reduce his chances of suffering from the diseases that come with the habit if he can’t stop smoking:
- Exercise. It applies equally to everyone. A sedentary lifestyle promotes ill health even if you’re not a smoker. But the smoker needs to get more exercise outdoors. Brisk walks and outdoor activity can help clear the lungs of the chemicals accumulated from a lifetime of smoking. There have been those who have lived into their nineties and were smokers. The only difference lay in their outdoor activity levels.
- Diet. Most food today lacks the essential nutrients the body needs to function normally. Both smokers and non-smokers alike need to replace their diet of highly processed foods with natural whole fiber as found in fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Stress Reduction. Stress has its uses. It provides a way to cope with emergencies. But in today’s world, the constant stresses of life take a large toll on health. For many smoking, drinking and drugs offers the chance to relax from hard times. Unfortunately, that pack a day habit is sure to shorten life. Learning to meditate and prayer provide better alternatives and can help to reduce the dependence on a cigarette.
- Environment pollution and the toxic environment. From our food to the air we breathe and the water we drink, pollutants are everywhere. You can reduce the load placed on your body by eating organic foods and getting on a regular detoxification program. Drinking pure water is one of the best ways to flush out those toxins.
What should be done to prevent people from getting into the habit in the first place?
- Manufacturing of cigarettes should be limited to existing smokers and denied to juveniles. A pharmacy, rather than the corner store, should only sell to an existing smoker who can have a prescription from a doctor who is helping him quit the habit.
- Educate the public on the dangers of smoking. Advertising should focus on the damaging effects of a lifetime of smoking. It should impress upon the mind the distastefulness of lighting up with vivid pictures, video and audio. One of the tenets of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) is to heavily impress the distastefulness of a habit on the mind to the point that it “turns away” from the habit in sheer disgust. Imagine lighting up a cigarette only to find worms crawling into your mouth and down your throat! If that image is made so powerful, the urge to smoke is averted. Our schools must do a better job in educating the youth from ever lighting up just to be in the “in” crowd.
- Counseling for the adult smoker. Focus should center on the reason the habit was formed. There are many reasons why someone begins to smoke, both psychological and physical. Counseling should be mandatory. The costs required to treat a cancer victim due to smoking puts a great burden on society. Since the current answer to cancer treatment is chemotherapy and radiation, there is little hope for a prolonged life for the smoker.
Smokers alone should not bear the health risks of their habit. Much can be accomplished if there is a willingness in every sector of society to address the problem from the manufacturer to the retailer and finally the smoker. Smoking needs to be addressed at home, at school and at work. All of us must bear some of the responsibility.
Mr Magica is the author of several articles he has published her and at Helium. You can read more of his work at: http://www.helium.com/users/210594
