Essay on "How Can I Quit Smoking?"

Essay 4 pages (1187 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Smoking Cessation

Cigarette smoking is one of the most addictive habits of consumption, rivaling the addictive level of illicit drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine. Typically, the habit of smoking begins in adolescence but by the time they are adults, the vast majority of cigarette smokers share the desire to quit. They are usually unsuccessful in numerous attempts because they succumb to various impulses associated with smoking and because of some of the consequences associated with quitting. Specifically, behavioral conditioning in relation to unrelated associations linked to smoking make quitting difficult. Compounding the problem is the fact that nicotine is highly physically addictive. Finally, smoking cessation often triggers other unwanted urges and consequences that are perceived as negative by individuals attempting to quit smoking. They include the physical symptoms linked to substance withdrawal and the consequences of compensatory behaviors such as increased food consumption in general and so-called "comfort" foods in particular, leading to unwanted weight gain.

Therefore, a comprehensive approach to effective smoking cessation must address all three realms: it must dissociate behavioral components from smoking; it must address the physical addiction aspect of nicotine withdrawal and associated cravings; and it must provide guidance to mitigate the problems caused by unwanted indirect behaviors and consequences of smoking cessation.

Behavioral Components of Smoking

Smoking cessation is difficult because it is habitual in relation to other behaviors with which it frequently becomes associated. Typical examples of that behavioral association include smoking on first waking in the morning, after meals, with coffee during work breaks, and smoking while driving. For many smokers, their willpower to resist the impulse to pick up a cigarette becomes highest at precisely those times in those circumstances in which they used to smoke. Therefore, an effective approach to smoking cessation requires that the individual learn to identify those times and circumstances and then recognize the importance of resisting the smoking impulse associated with all of those potential behavioral triggers that could cause a relapse.

Physical Addiction to Nicotine

Nicotine is a tremendously addictive chemical when it is ingested. In the infamous court cases and testimony from former tobacco executives in the 1990s, information was revealed detailing the extent to which tobacco manufacturers had purposely manipulated the nicotine levels of their products to maximize their addictive quality. They added ammonia to the ingredients of cigarettes specifically because of its ability to alter the chemical structure of the nicotine molecule to enhance its absorption. This is the identical process used in creating free-base cocaine. Moreover, those processes were patented in Argentina instead of in the United States in order to minimize their publicity in connection with the annual release of the registration of all new patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Tobacco companies also manipulated the composition and design of their so-called "low-yield" cigarettes in a manner expressly intended to allow them to market their products as "low-tar" and "low-nicotine" without actually altering the dose of nicotine received by smokers. For example, they purposely placed the aerating holes in cigarette filters where they knew most smokers placed their fingers, thereby blocking them and increasing the nicotine yield to that of regular cigarettes. Meanwhile, the same cigarettes registered low enough yield in government tests to permit them to be labeled and marketed as "low yield" because they knew that the artificial smoking machines used to test cigarettes did not block those aerating holes, thereby allowing additional air to dilute the smoke.

Precisely because the amount of nicotine ingested through smoking is so important to the addition process, an effective approach to… READ MORE

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