by Paul Lloyd

Created on: May 08, 2008

The person who smokes isn't weak-willed. He's simply unable; unable to accept the fact that he's an addict. Yep, he's got a monkey on his back, and right now that monkey ain't so heavy that he can't bear it. Society has tried to shame and shun the smoker by designating "smoking areas" for his habit. Ostracism, society thinks, may be the way to shake the monkey loose. Get the smoker off by himself and maybe he will realize his mistake and want to rejoin the rest of society, but that hasn't worked. It's not that he likes being kept in a cage, but pleasure from that smoke flows easily, and he always has a few smoking friends there who enjoy the habit with him. Heck, now the "area" is getting a little more crowded these days because cigar smokers are joining the group. But the real smoker, the deep drawing, two pack a day guy, knows these new folks are just posers, dilettantes, they won't stay the course. Now there's the medical patch and the chewing gums. Both are over advertised, just like cigarettes of old, and unreliable. When closely examined, you see the patch and gum are just gimmicks, new ways to get that sweet nicotine into the systems of the addicted. Now, I'm not condemning the patch and gum makers, because they do have a success rate, albeit very low. No, the drug companies are just trying to make a buck, and what easier way to make that buck than to take advantage of an addict. The drug makers know that addicts are suckers for sympathy, and can be convinced by sincere sounding ad campaigns that they can quit. And truly they can, it's just not this way. After all, what are the drug companies going to do with all those patches if they actually cure smokers of the habit? I've tried to debunk two of the best known ways of getting the addict to change his life style. There are other methods. Tobacco addiction clinics that specialize in curing the poor, unfortunate ones (sympathy again); doctors with amazing system cleansing elixirs and who knows what else. All have different success and payment rates, but just like the drug companies, what are they going to do if they are 100% effective? They are out of business. So what's the answer? The addict himself. He has to admit that he is in fact an addict. Admit that all things about him reek of cigarettes and the latent signs of smoking. From the yellow tint of his fingers, to the same shade of ocher on the walls in his apartment (look closely, you'll see it). Its the stench of his breath that people recoil at when he gets too close, or the stale odor of his clothing, car and furniture. It's cigarette smoke, and it's what controls his life. Cigarettes are the first thing he reaches for in the morning, and what he craves so often throughout the day. Cigarettes run a smokers life, and they will kill or at least shorten and diminish the quality of that life. Oh, and don't blame the tobacco makers because you have known from day one that cigarettes would kill you or cause you pain. Remember how hard it was just to become an addict? The pain of drawing that noxious fume into your lungs. No, buddy you had to try hard to become what you are, so finally admit to it. The sooner you admit to your problem, the sooner you get the great ape off your back, and you quit. And that's it, you quit.

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