Sunday, July 28, 2013

What Type Of Smoker Are You? Four Types From Rashad J. Gober

 Stop Smoking In Chattanooga!  Nooga.com, their local online news source revealed there are only 4 types of smokers out there.  Not in terms of BBQ mind you, but in terms if cigarette smoking.  In my book, How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone, I'll tell you there are only two types of smokers, but let's see how Rashad J. Gober categorizes the smoker people out there and then we'll have a bit of my two cents on the matter!  Fair enough?

Rashad put forth an interesting look at the types of smokers based on the degree of smoking.  Basically when and how often an individual decides to lite up.  Remember, it will always be a choice you make.

There is the Social Smoker.  These are the occasional smokers.  The ones who light up only at the coffee house, outside the bar on a Friday night, at the BBQ with the boys standing around an actual smoker, etc.  If you're in this category, you're walking the fine line between hooked and "I can quit anytime."  This occasional smoking can quickly and easily turn into the next level of smoker according to Gober.

The Anxious Smoker.  The way I see it, if you're smoking socially, you'll soon recognize that this occasional activity really helps you chill out.  So you go from only smoking at parties to every time something stressful happens or is about to happen.  This is the gateway.

Here's what's happened so far, which you'll read more of in my book.  Nicotine crosses the blood-brain barrier and fires up the Dopamine in your body.  Nicotine can be very Pavlovian.  It makes you feel better, like you've been rewarded.  Stress becomes the bell and the cigarette the dog food and sorry to say, but this is how you become big tobacco's little bitch.

Rashad also introduces us to the Skinny Smoker.  There are people out there who use nicotine as an appetite suppressant.  I think about when I was evolving into a pack and half a day smoker, I'd bum one when I was hungry.  Many people, who are image conscious will light up as a way to curb hunger.  This in my opinion is the grand irony.  OK, so the scale looks good, but my teeth are yellow and my face looks like John Wayne's saddle from The Searchers or worse yet, Cosmo Kramer from the Seinfeld episode where he and Jackie Chiles try to sue big tobacco for how his face looks from smoking cigars!

The last type on Rashad's list is the Addicted Smoker.  This is where you cross over and cigarettes have become a part of your daily life.  They are your crutch, they enhance food, music, driving and sex.  Every time you have a pleasurable experience you need to make it a little better with a cigarette and every time life throws a curve ball, you need to handle it with a cigarette.

Keep in mind, this happened to you the exact same way someone gets hooked on crack or heroin.  In fact, it's also, as they say, as challenging to stop smoking as it is to kick heroin or crack.  I really like Rashad's types here as it also shows the downward spiral into nicotine addiction.

In my book, I'll tell you there are really only two types.  Smoker's and non-smokers.  Non-smokers are people who are tinkering with it yet still have a way out.  They don't even hold a cigarette right and they look awkward trying to smoke.  Smokers on the other hand are smokers, that's their identity and it has always been that way for them.  I am a smoker.  I am, however, a smoker who chooses not to smoke.  After 15 years of smoking and the last 11 not, I am still a smoker at heart.  It smells good, tastes good, looks cool and it is romantic.  It also is a passive aggressive form of suicide and highly toxic method of self-medication.  For many, especially in AA, once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.  You simply choose not to drink anymore.  And so it goes for me.  A smoker who doesn't smoke.  This can be you too.  You need to get your mind in the right frame in order to get back to the non-smoking section and you need to see smoking for what it truly is and then have a serious one-on-one with yourself about why you knowingly continue to choose to do something that takes out almost a half a million people a year.  How is that a good idea?

There will come a time for you to stop.  The time can be right now or shortly after your doctor puts you on oxygen and/or radiation therapy.  Mind you, you don't have to quit smoking to stop smoking.  I haven't quit yet!  I also haven't had a cigarette since 2002.  Maybe the time for you is now?  How do you plan on handling it?  I'm here to tell you that you can handle it, that you are already handling it and probably don't even know it.  There are some very simple strategies and mindsets you can adopt in a matter of minutes that will enable you and empower you to finally kick the habit....

[insert shameless plug - why?  because it's my blog, that's why!  =)]

...before the habit leads to you kicking the bucket and that is what my book is all about.  How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone.  Are you up for the challenge and the ride of your life?  How would you like to be able to tell someone, "I stopped smoking, it was the best thing I've ever done for myself and I came out a stronger person on the other side because I won the battle and the war."  

NOTE:  If you're about to leave a comment pitching e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to cigarettes and a link to buy some, read this first ( E-Cigarettes:  More Dangerous Than The Industry Wants You To Think) and then wake the eff up.  My book will always be safer and cheaper!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Iowa City Has A Butt Problem

Iowa City, Iowa - The University of Iowa college smoking ban stops smoking on campus but also sends smokers downtown to do the deed.  This is causing a distinct problem in downtown Iowa City.  Too many butts!

Original article:  http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/IC-Trying-to-Smoke-Out-Cigarette-Butt-Problem--214831431.html

So one easy fix will be more ash trays or a sign like what the city of Glendale did might be a nice humorous approach while throwing in the motherly guilt trip on top of it...

But in all seriousness, but the real deal here is this....

Dear Smokers,

As a smoker myself, who simply chooses not to smoke anymore, (in fact, I haven;t had a cigarette since 2002) I would like to humbly request that when you are finished with your cigarette, that you put it in an ash tray or drop the cherry in some water and chuck the butt in a trash can.

Look at that picture above!  It's nasty.  You smoking and enjoying a cigarette is not nasty.  It's simply you exercising a bad habit you have yet to break.  I get it.  But littering is littering   Knock that off!

Now, listen, I too used to flick a butt or two out the window of the car while driving because I didn't want to fill up my ash tray because I thought, even as a smoker, that a loaded up ash tray was nasty.

That little idiosyncratic move actually helped me decide to stop.  I was like, "hey, if I think these butts are nasty and they stink up the car, what the hell am I doing here anyway????"

Remember, this is where you live and share the streets with people.  Let's keep it nice for everyone.  No more butts, no more empty cans of coke and beer, no more Styrofoam and Mickey D's wrappers....  besides, your killing the squirrels and they never did nothing to no one!

If you're at that place where you no it's time for you to stop smoking, but just aren't sure how to go about it, take a look at www.StopDontQuit.com for resources and a little book you can invest in to help you get your mind right to finally kick the habit.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Say That Again? Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke linked to hearing loss!

 From New York - Did you know that exposure to tobacco smoke while being in the womb can lead to diminished hearing by teen age years?   Doctors at Langone School of Medicine in Manhattan have found in the first study ever to link tobacco use and hearing impairment.

This new research suggests that certain compounds contained in cigarette smoke cross the placenta and exert harmful effects on the auditory system.

The study looked at both maternal smoking and second hand smoke from other household members.

It appears that the smoking and second hand smoke has an affect on hearing loss due to nerve damage.

They site decreased blood flow and decreased oxygenation, or higher carbon monoxide levels.

In the study, moms and dads were asked about prenatal smoke exposure.  Sixteen percent of parents admitted to smoking.

There was also a threefold increase in the odds of low-frequency hearing loss in one ear, according to the research.

One doctor said "kids with subtle hearing loss perform poorly in school and tend to have behavioral problems because of their inability to adequately hear."

LINK TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE:  http://tbo.com/health/medical-news/prenatal-exposure-to-tobacco-smoke-linked-to-hearing-loss-researchers-find-20130706/

Monday, July 8, 2013

Would You Wear A Cage On Your Head To Stop Smoking Cigarettes?

Well?  Would you?  That's what Ibrahim Yucel of Turkey did!  He's 42 and have been a 2 pack a day
smoker since he was 16.  Inspired by motor cycle helmets and his own father's premature demise to lung cancer, Ibrahim now dons a cage over his head.

He's following advice I talk about in my book, How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone, which is to stop for a purpose greater than yourself.  Ibrahim's doing it for his family.

The average smoker tries and fails four times before getting it right, so I say wear your cage with pride Ibrahim my boy and more power to you!

Get the whole story here:  http://www.inquisitr.com/835104/smoker-wears-cage-on-head-to-stop-having-cigarettes/