Many people who smoke want to quit, but there are those who don’t. They have a variety of reasons for this, including the following. They may think that they won’t be able to follow through with it. Some people don’t want to stop smoking simply because they don’t think that they can. Perhaps they tried before and were not successful. Perhaps they just do not believe that they have the strength, the willpower or the discipline. In truth, there is no one that literally “can’t,” and even though it may be very difficult, it is possible. They like to smoke. Some people don’t want to quit because they like it too much. They may enjoy it and just feel that it is worth the disadvantages. Many of them have not yet seen the effects of lung cancer firsthand.

They do not think it is that bad for them

Some people do not want to stop smoking because they may not think it is that bad for them. They may mistakenly believe that they are immune to the ill effects of smoking, which of course is not true. They may think that lung cancer and the other problems of smoking could not occur to them. They may point to the person who lived until an old age while still smoking. Of course, they may not think of all of those who died earlier because they refused to give up smoking. Studies have shown numerous ill effects of smoking, from strokes to blood pressure problems to cancer and more.

They think that the smoking is tied into their weight

Some people fear that they will gain weight if they stop smoking. If instead of smoking you exercise and eat healthy then you are likely to be at a healthy weight. Not everyone automatically gains weight when they stop smoking.

They do it to fit in

Some people may smoke to fit in or to “look cool.” They may feel embarrassed to stop. They may feel that it fits in with their lifestyle or their friends. Obviously many will disagree that smoking looks cool, and true friends will accept you whether you smoke or not.

They think it is too late

Unless you already have a serious form of cancer or another disease, stopping smoking can make an amazing difference. The body’s ability to heal itself is astounding, and when one stops smoking, their chances of cancer and the other ill effects of smoking can go down dramatically. Many people feel much better for giving up the habit, no matter when it occurs.

Many studies have shown the ill effects of smoking, but some people do not want to quit. The reasons above are some of those cited.

From helium.com, by Suzanne Rose, June 29, 2010

MAPLE RIDGE, British Columbia, June 26 (UPI) — Canadian investigators found a body buried on a property in British Columbia where 1,000 marijuana plants were discovered in a house, police say. A 55-year-old man arrested during a raid Thursday at the house in Maple Ridge was scheduled to appear in court Monday on a charge of growing marijuana, The Vancouver Sun reported. A police dog discovered the body during the search Thursday but officers said part of the corpse was above ground.

Superintendent Dave Walsh of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the body was left buried until a forensics team could examine the grave.

“They’ll bring in some people with some expertise in unearthing bodies,” he said.

The man who was arrested is believed to be the only person living on the property, Walsh said, and is likely to face additional charges.

From upi.com, June 28, 2010

Adrien Brody smoked a specially created marijuana substitute for his role as a stoner in new movie “High School.” The Oscar-winner plays a pot-smoking dealer in the film, who unwittingly provides a high school with a high-strength drug. And director John Stalberg reveals the actor was able to smoke a special “fake weed” as his character gets high.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Stalberg tells WENN, “He was smoking this fake weed you can buy from High Times magazine called Fake Budz. It looks and burns like weed and it’s totally organic so if the actors don’t smoke cigarettes it’s not gonna hurt them. We even used it for props because it comes on a branch. Adrien said when he read the script he laughed so hard that he pulled a muscle in his neck!”

From sfgate.com, June 28, 2010

If уου аrе trying tο quit smoking, уου know јυѕt hοw difficult іt саn bе tο succeed. Bυt take heart bесаυѕе thеrе іѕ a way tο mаkе іt easier tο ѕtοр smoking. In fact thеrе аrе 3 factors crucial fοr success іn quitting.
Thе first factor іѕ having a strong desire tο ѕtοр smoking. Yου hаνе tο hοnеѕtƖу know thаt уου аrе ready tο quit. It’s іmрοrtаnt tο hаνе reached thе point whеrе уου want tο quit аt Ɩеаѕt аѕ much аѕ уου want tο smoke. If уου саn’t mаkе thе commitment, іt wіƖƖ bе harder tο succeed.
It mіɡht bе easier tο ɡеt tο thе point whеrе уου hаνе thіѕ strong desire bу thinking аbουt things Ɩіkе уουr health, уουr family οr уουr financial situation.

Thеrе іѕ nο disputing thе fact thаt smoking negatively affects health. In fact thе harmful effects οf smoking οn thе body hаνе bееn well documented. Smoking hаѕ bееn linked tο many types οf cancer, аѕ well аѕ heart disease.
Nοt οnƖу ԁοеѕ smoking affect уουr health, іt аƖѕο potentially affects thе health οf уουr children through second hand smoke. Anԁ thеrе іѕ proof thаt thе adult children οf smokers become smokers far more frequently thаn children raised іn a non smoking home.
Aѕ іf thаt’s nοt enough, buying cigarettes οr οthеr tobacco products costs a lot οf money. Thіnk οf whаt уου сουƖԁ ԁο wіth аƖƖ thе money уου аrе spending οn smokes іn a month.
Thе second key factor іѕ being confident thаt уου саn kick thе habit. If уου′ve еνеr quit smoking οnƖу tο ѕtаrt up again, уου mау bе feeling ѕοmе doubt instead οf feeling confident. Thіѕ doubt increases wіth each “failed” attempt.
It mау nοt bе easy tο ɡеt rid οf thеѕе negative, self defeating thουɡhtѕ bυt іt іѕ possible. Thе way tο ԁο іt іѕ tο change thе way уου thіnk аbουt уουr quitting attempts.
Rаthеr thаn beating yourself up fοr failing, give yourself ѕοmе credit. Aftеr аƖƖ, whеn уου wеrе trying tο quit уου ԁіԁ smoke less, didn’t уου? Thаt’s a success, nοt a failure. Anԁ bесаυѕе уου wеrе аbƖе tο ԁο іt before, thеrе′s nο reason whу уου саn’t ԁο іt now.
Whеn уου аrе learning tο drive, іt takes practice аnԁ уου mау even hаνе tο complete a driver’s training program іn ѕοmе areas, before уου аrе going tο bе аbƖе tο ɡеt уουr driver’s license. Yου hаνе tο learn thе rules οf thе road аѕ well аѕ thе actual act οf operating a motor vehicle. Thаt takes time. Smoking cessation іѕ kind οf Ɩіkе thаt. It wіƖƖ take ѕοmе time, maybe even a lot οf time.
Thе third factor whісh іѕ vital tο success іѕ tο ԁесіԁе οn a ѕtοр smoking method. Thеrе аrе lots οf ѕtοр smoking methods, frοm сοƖԁ turkey, tο nicotine replacement, tο hypnosis, tο herbal remedies tο mention a few.
Sο whаt іѕ thе best method tο ѕtοр smoking? Drum roll please! Thе best method іѕ whatever works fοr уου іn thе еnԁ. Yου mау hаνе tο try a few methods before уου find thе one thаt works fοr уου. It’s different fοr everyone.
Thе whole point іѕ thаt іf уου hаνе a strong desire tο quit, аnԁ уου feel confident thаt уου саn succeed, thеn аƖƖ уου need tο ԁο іѕ find thе rіɡht quit smoking method. Trying tο quit smoking mау nοt bе easy, bυt іt’s worth doing fοr ѕο many reasons.

From presssubmission.com, Posted by Brian Nic, June 28, 2010

IT IS not just misery that needs company – smokers need friends to help too. To quit, that is. Just ask Mr Michael Wong, a businessman and a smoker in his 40s who couldn’t quit smoking after taking his first puff at age 17. He said: “It’s hard to quit when you’ve been smoking for as long as I have. I’m so used to smoking 15 (sticks) a day to release stress, to take a break, to just space out. “I’ll need something else to take its place.”

He tried running, literally, from the habit.

He said: “That failed after about two months because I was stressed out by work and by some personal issues.

“Before I knew it, I was back to smoking.”

Even the nicotine patches he was using then didn’t work. He claimed he smoked even more. As it turns out, it would have helped if he did not have to go it alone.

In a study done in the US in 2003, only 3 per cent of those who quit without any help succeeded.

Now Mr Wong is keen to try out a new programme introduced by the Singapore branch of pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.

The company is using social media to give smokers a sense of companionship along the lonely road to quitting and kicking the habit altogether.

Like Mr Wong, four in 10 smokers here said they want to quit, according to a Health Ministry survey. Why not quit as a group?

Enter Facebook.

Smokers post their trying-to-quit efforts online on their Facebook pages.

The postings are then gathered on a special website (www.nicorettequitters.com.sg) where smokers trying to quit can log on to and find support among others in the same boat.

Johnson & Johnson’s marketing manager, Ms Lynn Yeo, who thought up the mutual-help website, said: “We recognise that smokers face different challenges.

“We want to help individuals overcome the physiological, psychological and behavioural issues of trying to quit smoking.”

Other than creating a sense of community, the website also customises individual programmes for quitters, giving smokers a chance to quit at their own pace.

“There’s no need to meet any quit counsellors face to face if they don’t want to and there’s no judgment made on their life choices,” said Ms Yeo.

The programme is based on scientific principles developed by experts of smoking cessation and behavioural therapy, she added.

Besides personal counselling, there’s also daily advice that participants will receive through the website. The website helps participants stay motivated by tracking their progress, sharing their thoughts and receiving encouragement from family and friends on-line.

“There is even a section which helps the quitting smoker to track daily how much money he has saved by smoking less or not smoking,” said Ms Yeo.

Said Dr Adrian Wang, a consultant psychiatrist at Gleneagles Medical Centre: “It’s like Alcoholics Anonymous. People are more likely to listen to someone who has been in their shoes or who are in their shoes than to a doctor or counsellor who may not understand what they are going through.”

Courage

He also thinks that blogs and Facebook allow people the courage to say what they may not be able to say in real life.

“It’s less intimidating,” he said.

“This technology also allows a multi-disciplinary approach, where psychologists, counsellors and others can come together to help the person trying to quit.”

The number of people who smoke in Singapore has remained fairly stable over the last few years.

A 2007 National Health Surveillance Survey on smoking found that about 13.6 per cent of Singapore residents aged 18 to 69 smoked daily.

Counselling plays a major role in helping smokers kick the habit.

For those who had nicotine replacement therapy and brief advice, 10 per cent were successful in quitting.

For those with nicotine replacement therapy and intensive support, the success rate went up to 20 per cent.

The Nicorette Quitters Campaign will kick off next Monday. The highlight of this campaign is a run for ex-smokers which will take place on Sept 18.

The website www.nicorettequitters.com.sg will remain open after the run.

If it works, it may be used in other countries as well.

From health.asiaone.com, June 28, 2010

Former prisoners warn that the coming ban on smoking in prisons will make jails even more dangerous. In July next year tobacco, lighters and matches will all be banned from prisons after a 12 month campaign to help smokers kick the habit. And prison officers and Corrections staff will have to smoke in outdoor areas away from prisoners. Corrections Minister Judith Collins says it will give prisoners a healthier environment, but people who have actually been behind bars say it could make prisons more dangerous.

In prison, cigarettes are used as currency and the government estimates up to two thirds of all prisoners in New Zealand smoke.

Former inmate Shenelle Ngatai says cigarettes are like gold in prisons and jails will be more corrupt if cigarettes are taken off prisoners.

Ngatai was released from prison last month after doing time for grievous bodily harm.
She says cigarettes are like medicine for inmates and in prison, tobacco is currency.

“I had no money when I was inside. I was swapping my food for cigarettes, not so much starving myself but I survived on them basically.”

She says inmates will be punching and killing one another because cigarettes are all they need and are “their fix”.

And if that fix isn’t freely available, prison reform advocate Kim Workman expects cigarettes will end up on the prison black market.

“The benefits, especially for long-term prisoners of not smoking, will outweigh that,” he says.

Stephen Kidwell, another former inmate, has done 14 stints behind bars.

“When they say to me if I’m going to go to jail I can’t smoke in jail, my God, that’s not going to be good,” he says.

Kidwell is a smoker and an occasional glue sniffer and is all too familiar with prison protocol.

He says inmates are not allowed their own TV or stereo and cigarettes are “like the last stand”.

And former inmates say losing that last stand could lead to more violence and less co-operation with prison guards.

“Inmates are going to get pissed off. They’re not going to be listening to no screws. I just feel sorry for the screws,” says Ngatai.

“There’s going to be more murders inside than out here. I’m telling you now.”

But Ngatai does admit a ban on tobacco is yet another reason to stay away from prison.

From tvnz.co.nz, June 28, 2010

After more than a decade of decline, Maine’s teen smoking rate is on the rise. That is cause for concern — and more investigation to find out what’s behind the upswing and what is the most effective way to reverse it. These efforts will be helped by a $750,000 federal grant that the state received earlier this month. In 1997, Maine had one of the highest teen smoking rates in the country when 39 percent of high school students said they were smokers. Through a variety of steps — including increases in the state’s tobacco tax, millions spent on anti-smoking education and tougher laws against selling cigarettes to minors — the rate dropped by 14 percent in 2007.

Then it jumped to 18 percent, according to data from the Maine Youth Behavioral Risk Survey. The survey was changed to include a larger sample in 2008. The survey that year included more high schools, including in more rural areas, so this could explain some of the jump in smoking rates.

State officials also say a new generation of teens may be more accepting of higher cigarette prices because they didn’t experience a time when a pack sold for less before taxes were raised. Maine last increased its tax — from $1 to $2 a pack — in 2005. Between 2001 and 2007, when the average price of a pack of cigarettes went from $3.53 to $5.28, Maine’s teen smoking rate dropped from 25 percent to 14 percent.

On the other hand, others speculate that the economic hard times — and the accompanying stress — could account for more teen smoking.

It would be good to know the reason behind the rise in smoking rates so that anti-smoking efforts carry the most effective message. Maine currently spends about $11 million a year in federal and state money on smoking prevention and cessation. Unlike many other states that have used the money — much of it from tobacco companies as part of a national settlement — to balance their budgets or to fund other programs, Maine has remained committed to earmarking funds for tobacco-related work.

Reducing youth smoking is important for health and economic reasons.

Eighty-five percent of people who begin smoking before the age of 19 become lifelong smokers, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Maine, more than $600 million is spent annually on health care expenditures to treat tobacco-related illnesses and more than $530 million is lost in productivity because of smoking, according to the national Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

Maine is one of the first states to receive a competitive grant from the Food and Drug Administration to increase the enforcement of state and federal tobacco laws. Under the contract administered by the Maine Office of the Attorney General, the state Department of Health and Human Services will receive more than $750,000 to increase enforcement of federal and state tobacco laws.

This, and a closer look at which prevention efforts work, could help reverse this troubling trend.

From bangordailynews.com, June 25, 2010

Sitting in a crowded cafe, 26-year -old “Astri” asks the waiter to bring her an ashtray before she puffs on her first cigarette of the evening. A group of college girls sitting at the next table recognize her as a celebrity and approach her on the pretext of borrowing her lighter. The girls light up their cigarettes too and start to smoke while chatting loudly about Astri. “You don’t mind me smoking, do you?” asks the once-famous child star, still a singer today.
Astri first started smoking when she was still a high school sophomore, taking up the habit because most of her girlfriends smoked.

“When I was in college I became addicted to cigarettes,” she said. “I tried to quit but it was so hard. Everybody in my clique was a smoker.”

Astri did manage to quit smoking once, when she was pregnant with her son until the time he turned 2, but relapsed as soon as she decided to go back to work.

“In the entertainment business everybody smokes, from veteran actresses to newcomers,” Astri said. “During shooting breaks we all smoke.”

Though she realizes that as a celebrity mother, smoking sets a bad example for her son and fans, she says she cannot quit and refuses to pretend to be a quitter just to please everyone.

“I have thousands of followers on Twitter and they know that I smoke a lot; my son knows too, and he sometimes drops big hints … He says things like, ‘I think I’m going to die prematurely because my mom won’t stop smoking,’” Astri said.

Astri is just one of tens of millions of female smokers in Indonesia. As smoking has declined in many Western countries, it has risen in Indonesia. Around 63 percent of all men light up and one-third of the overall population smokes, an increase of 26 percent since 1995. Smoking-related illnesses kill at least 200,000 annually in a nation of 220 million.

Toxic Lies

Today, May 31, marks World Without Tobacco Day. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Gender and Tobacco with an Emphasis on Marketing to Women.” The WHO proposed the theme because women, along with children, have become the new target for the cigarette industry.

“The cigarette market for men is played out. Customer numbers are stable,” Fuad Baradja, head of the education unit at the Indonesian Smoking Control Foundation, told the Jakarta Globe. “The industry is now looking to develop this new market. Our TV stations are bombarding us with cigarette advertisements for women.

“We are being inundated by these advertisements. Cigarette companies are using very attractive images and beautiful, sexy women. They are trying to imply that smoking is cool, fashionable,” Fuad said.

He added that many companies were trying to lure women into smoking by selling low-nicotine cigarettes to create the image that the cigarettes were less toxic than the regular ones.

“Guess what? You’ve been lied to,” Fuad said. “Smoking low-nicotine cigarettes won’t minimize the health risks. It just makes you spend more money.”

The Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the WHO from 2006 to 2009 found that 88.4 percent of Indonesian girls were exposed to cigarette ads on billboards and more than 87 percent of them were exposed to second-hand smoke in public places.

Changing Values

Prasenohadi, a pulmonologist from the University of Indonesia, said that a regular smoker was driven to consume a certain level of nicotine daily.

“When someone is addicted and needs two milligrams of nicotine a day, he or she will smoke twice as many low-nicotine cigarettes to compensate for his or her needs, which means he or she will spend more money on cigarettes,” Prasenohadi said.

“So don’t be fooled by the words mild, light or low.”

Sonny Harry Harmadi, chief of the Demographic Foundation, said that the cigarette industry had had women and children in its sights since the reform era began in 1998.

“Before the reform era, the stigma associated with females who smoked was so strong that a woman could be labeled as ‘wild’ if she smoked,” he said.

Now, Sonny said, Eastern values were no longer as binding in urban areas as in rural ones.

“That is why there are more female smokers in big cities; people in urban areas tend to be more permissive,” he said.

Fuad said smoking posed a greater threat to women than it did to men not only medically but also financially and psychologically because in a household, women usually took on the role of treasurer with the main task being to manage family spending. He said that since children tended to be closer to their mothers than fathers, they would tend to imitate their mothers’ actions.

Falling Sick

Uya, a mother of two in her mid-30s, said she was an active smoker from 1995 to 2001, but quit because her children started to grow up and questioned her a lot about her decision to smoke.

“They said that smoking caused a greater risk of cancer and they asked me whether I had the heart to put them in danger, day in and day out, as passive smokers,” she said. “That struck me and I decided to quit.”

Tricia Dewi Anggraini, an obstetrician, said that women faced greater health risks than men if they smoked. She said that most Indonesian women smoked during their “reproductive” years.

“There then arises the obvious infertility problem,” Tricia said. “They also tend to experience menstrual pain and irregular cycles. They also increase their risk of developing osteoporosis, early menopause, sexual dysfunction and even cervical cancer.”

Tricia said pregnant smokers also endangered their unborn children.

“Smoking will also affect a woman’s looks,” she said. “It damages the skin, the color of the eyes and nails.”

From thejakartaglobe.com, June 25, 2010

It’s not only male stars who were caught lighting the butt in the public but surprisingly the newly wedded actress Manisha Koirala has been captured in camera blowing the butt. Recently, Manisha Koirala was wedded to Nepali businessman Samrat Dahal with Hindu rituals. The snapshots saw Manisha dressed in bride was holding a butt in her hand.
This sensational picture of Manisha is currently doing the rounds and was widely searched on net. It was a three days long wedding ceremony and it seemed Manisha was having her time after the hectic days of wedding.

Manisha’s wedding was a low key affair and only few Bollywood celebrities attended the ceremony. Post marriage, she will continue acting and mostly in Nepali films. Manisha was addicted to smoking and she did not kick the butt during her wedding ceremony also.

From bollywoodmantra.com, June 25, 2010