I am stronger than my addiction

One man's quest to give up smoking:

by Lionel Wijesiri

We all know that cigarette smoking is enormously harmful to our health. Cigarettes contain about 600 ingredients. When they burn, they generate more than 7,000 chemicals. Many of those chemicals are poisonous and at least 69 of them can cause cancer. The same ingredients are found in cigars and in tobacco used in pipes.

According to Sri Lanka Health Ministry statistics,the government spends about Rs 4,500 million per year to treat those diagnosed with various diseases related to smoking. Reports also indicate that if smoking among males was to be stopped in Sri Lanka, 84% of lung cancer cases could be prevented.

If you smoke, you've likely heard the pleas from friends and family to quit. Most probably, you would have come to know about long-term risks of smoking. But that itself may not be enough to nudge you to quit, especially if you're young. It can be hard to feel truly frightened by illnesses that may strike decades later. And quitting smoking is hard and it takes the average smoker five to ten attempts before successfully quitting.

How?

Yet, hundreds of people break the cigarette habit each year. How do they do it? Months ago, I decided to find out how. I read books containing success stories. I managed to talk to thirty people who became ex-smokers. Amongst them, one person has an exceptional story to tell us. This is his story. "At the age of 16, I began to sneak cigarettes with other kids. Years later, when I enrolled for a degree on Journalists, I was burning up a pack a day.After qualifying myself, I joined a newspaper company. Smoke-filled newspaper rooms completed my addiction."

"Years later, during my spare time, I worked in a special Committee for Health Education, assigned by the Ministry of Health to inform the public about the dangers of tobacco. Two days after the briefing sessions, I asked myself how I could advise others to stop smoking when the ashtray in my office overflowed with cigarette butts at the end of each day. So I decided to try to give up cigarettes."

"The briefing and subsequent medical studies encouraged me to quit smoking. I learnt that even in my small country smoking kills 60 people per day, five times more than the number who die in road accidents; nine out of ten lung-cancer victims are smokers and smoking a pack of cigarettes a day lops eight years off average life expectancy. Reading such figures always made me stamp out my cigarette at once. But a few hours later, I would mechanically light another, the warning already forgotten."

"Finally, in April 2012, armed with determination, I programmed my final separation from my poisonous vice. It was to take place on my birthday... then when I left on vacation ... then when I returned from vacation - the 'D-Days' followed one another in futile succession. I kept saying "no" to smoking but apparently I didn't really mean it."

"In my job, I learned that millions of smokers go through such tobacco- rejection crises. A survey showed that one out of two smokers in our country would like to swear off smoking.Many attempt it. Twenty percent succeed. Eighty percent fail. 80/20 formulae."

"How do the successful ones do it? By questioning ex-smokers, doctors and various specialists, I discovered that there are three categories of ex-smokers: those who stop on the first try; those, more numerous, who by great effort work out methods based on analysis of their addiction; finally, those who use an anti-tobacco cure chosen from among the panoply available."

"All smokers dream of joining the first group - those who abandon cigarettes on sheer will power. Ex-smokers in this group confirmed that this step - deciding to stop smoking - is the hardest.But once they make up their minds, these smokers are surprised at how easily they get along without tobacco.Some see it as a challenge to prove that they are stronger than their addiction; others make bets with friends, and pride prevents them from losing the wager. These people learn aboutlatent resources they never suspected they had."

"In most cases, however, the desire to give up smoking is reinforced by a deeper motive: the desire for a healthier and longer life. For some, it is a yen for fresh air, a persistent cough or prolonged fatigue habits and way of living - to figure out how to avoid smoking."

"When I launched my final assault on smoking, I adopted a program that combined techniques used by a host of ex-smokers. First, I rearranged my schedule to avoid, as much as possible, the circumstances in which I smoked. For example, instead of drinking five cups of coffee a day, I drank fruit juice and did deep-breathing exercises". "Also, I gave up my favourite pepper steak and boycotted parties.I stopped watching television, because I was used to smoking as I watched. Instead, I spent more time with my family and attended evening gymnastics classes.

I replaced collecting my thoughts by smoking with calm breathing, concentrating on my subject, and gradually eliminating all extraneous considerations. In a few weeks I was able to not smoke while writing."

"It has been more than three years since I last smoked. I can attest to the joy of awakening without the old morning cough and fuzzy smoker's brain. Each day I savour the feeling of fresh air in my lungs. But most importantly, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I am stronger than my addiction."

I will quit

Psychological studies have shown that tobacco responds to certain desires and character traits in smokers. Stressful smokers puff to find solace or stimulation. Shy smokers try to hide their lack of self-confidence behind a smoke screen. Nervous people are calmed by the ritual gestures that give them something to do with their hands.

Being aware of such circumstances can help you change your behaviour and find ways to distract yourself from having a cigarette.

Anyone eager to stop smoking should learn about the option which is best fitted to his own case. No matter which approach one takes, the important thing is to strike out boldly and not to lose sight of the goal.