Smoking Cessation Community

There are many people who tell you rules about how to give up cigarettes. Here are mine:

• Don't believe anything anyone has told you about this subject.
• Relax.
• Don't worry.
• It's not the most difficult thing in the world.

All you can see on the internet about giving up is, generally, very serious. Pick a "quit date" ... Keep a diary ... Tell your friends. It's all very stressful. It's very focussed on a moment of achievement in the future and not about the present. Human beings don't work that way. We evolve moment by moment. I gave up smoking by concentrating on the present not by stressing about a "quit date". I would love to see these so called "experts" "prove" that "quit dates" are a good idea.

I'm facing an uphill struggle with the ... deep breath ... smoking cessation community. I don't want to sound cynical but they seem to be as honest as the tobacco industry. "Our practise is to only endorse or link to official quit sites or methods approved by independent research published in reputable journals." Yeah, research no doubt sponsored by drug companies. Its funny how research suggests that success with giving up smoking is more likely with pharmacological aids and yet heresay and those who work in the field say the cold turkey approach is best.

We have been here before. It was clearly spelled out in the 1964 US Surgeon General's Report that cigarette smoking was not an addiction and he only came round to the idea in 1988. Nowadays the Surgeon General is advocating the use of pharmalogical aids in quitting smoking.

If you have any questions then please contact me.