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Stop smoking: Follow the President's exampleThe White House says President Obama has kicked the habit and stopped smoking. "It's been probably about nine months since he last smoked a cigarette," says Robert Gibbs, the President's press secretary, in an interview with CNN. "He's done enormously well in quitting. It was a commitment that I think he made to himself at the end of health care and with his two daughters in mind." Mr. Obama, like a lot of smokers, has quit before and started back up again. This time may be different. Gibbs says this is the longest he's known the President to go without a cigarette. Research shows people who stop smoking for three months often don't relapse. Gibbs says President Obama quit by chewing Nicorette gum and exercising a lot of will power. You can follow the President's example. 1. Set a target quit date: "Make it a week or two in advance," says Glen Morgan, a clinical psychologist with the National Cancer Institute's Tobacco Control Research Branch. "Think about what the challenging situations are to prepare for." 2. Get rid of all cigarettes: "Get them out of the house," Morgan says. You want to remove the temptation. 3. Tell your friends and family: You want to be sure they know, so they can support you in your effort. 4. Talk to your doctor about anti-smoking medications: "Get guidance from them," says Morgan "They may suggest trying medication in addition to behavior changes." Nicotine replacement products like Nicorette and Commit lozenges, as well two drugs without nicotine, Chantix and Zyban, are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to help smokers quit.
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LETS FACE THE FACTS: THE #1 KILLER OF ALL AMERICANS IS SMOKING RELATED ILLNESS, LUNG CANCER, THROAT CANCER, MOUTH CANCER....SAVE YOUR LIFE, HELP SAVE OTHERS LIVES, SMOKING KILLS AND LUNG CANCER IS USUALLY NOT DIAGNOSED UNTIL SOMEONE IS STAGE 4 W/A FEW MONTHS TO LIVE. WAKE UP, LETS ERADICATE THIS DRUG NOW.
We need to eradicate the real #1 killer ( ALCOHOL and Alcohol related accidents )
Speaking of "facts", heart disease is the #1 killer of Americans, not tobacco-related disease. I am an ex-smoker and am not advocating smoking. People can be loose with the truth just to push their POV. As JOHN stated below, smoking is a personal choice for adults with very well-known risks since the 1960's. I am against the government eradicating anything because "they" know what's best for their citizens.
No matter what the Number 1 cause of death in America, heart disease is related to smoking, as is macular degeneration. Hello, out there! Smoking affects EVERY organ in your body, not just your lungs, throat and mouth. You can look it up if you have doubts.
I smoke, I love smoking. I'm gonna keep smoking. The health nazis just make me want to smoke more and blow it in your face. You've got to die of something. 100 percent of non smokers die. It only robs the adult diaper years from you anyway. One of the consolations of dying is getting away from the health nazis.
@SmokerANDproud...you are just so wrong on so many different levels, it's not worth explaining. Enjoy your smokes while you can...I can't think of a better way to shave off the last 20 years of your life. I will make one point about government and their no smoking agenda. Smokers pay for their cigarettes, while all Americans, pay for their health care expenses. As far as this republican is concerned, government can't do enough to eradicate smoking.
Who give a crap if Obama smokes or not?
Ok im sorry but this whole thing is BS most of you know little. Sure cancer kills but smoking related cancer deaths are much lower then alcohol related deaths do your homework. Second there are almost as many non smoking related lung cancer deaths as there are smoking related ones so No the second hand smoke wont kill you its called breathing outside air. Sure if your locked in an a room full of smoke it can kill you that much is common sense but the whole second hand smoke thing its no more dangerous then the smoke coming from your grill when your hosting a barbeque or the exhaust fumes you and your children inhale while your sitting in your car in traffic. Learn the facts people. Also @usmcjohn there was nothing wrong with what smokerandproud said. Instead of being all PC he was honest with his feelings. Being politically correct is whats wrong with the world all it does is hide a persons true feelings and as such does nothing to solve the problems at hand. infact it makes them worse.
Smoking is a terrible addiction and it has taken me many times trying to quit until I finally was able to and I am glad I did. I smoked for nearly 40 years and have yet to see if I beat the odds...this ghost may come back to haunt me yet. Ultimately it is a personal choice and I feel compassion for those who want to quit. That said, the government has absolutely no business deciding who should quit and not. Making something unlawful does not make it go away, are they so stupid not to know that yet? For example, the Govenment vs. the drug war-who's winning that one? Plus, didn't Bush once say they hate us for our freedom? So let freedom ring and allow people to live their lives without government intervention.
They are heading towards banning smoking and I cant wait!!
Good job Mr. President! Keep it up!
Mr. President, just don't get caught smoking those good cigars from Havana, Cuba.
The best defense are Cigarette filters like: NIC-TAR-OUT.COM or NICTAROUT.COM
These filters actually reduce Tar intake by 80% ( tar is the killer ). Cigarette filters are like a condom for your lungs !!
I encourage my sons and every else in my family to not use tobacco. However, I do not want the government to tell me I can't smoke if that is what I choose to do. It doesn't matter that it is stupid. Keep the government out of my pockets, my home, and let me make the decisions. People in this country have the right to Live, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness as they see fit.
You really felt the need to comment on a post about no smoking? Really?
They also have the right to die
I work hard for my family. I volunteer at shelter's and help others when I can. I also have chronic pain. It is very difficult to work and function but I still work hard at it. Yet, the precious FDA found it vital to pull off a pill that helped me to help others that had been around for decades: Darvocet. Yet, cigarettes kill hundreds of thousands each year. It is a drain on health care and hurts others. I hope some day soon they ban cigarettes. There is absolutely ZERO health benefits to smoking and it is an incredibly hateful act. I would never dream of hurting someone by smoking near them. My own grandmother smoked around me and now I have asthma from it. I applaud him for doing this and showing love to not only himself but those around him. More people need to quit.
I don't care if you smoke in solitude. I do care if you smoke around me and I have to deal with your filthy second hand smoke. I believe if you smoke or drink or do drugs or are 20 or more pounds overweight, you should pay at least double for health insurance just like bad drivers pay more. I don't want to subsidize your stupidity. High risk, pay more, lots more.
Hey Jim X you moron. Do you know what insurance is? it's money pooled so that when YOU need two hundred grand worth of surgery and you don't have it, that 200 grand gets taken from the pool of money I paid into. I pay tobacco taxes that you don't pay too. Not to mention this living forever kick you're on is pathetic. What's the point of living long when most people just waste their lives anyway?
For all I know you could be a waste of space. You certainly sound like a health nazi? should we ban families with genetic diseases from our insurance company too? Or how about we set up rival insurance companies, one for the smokers, one for the families with genetic diseases, and one for the deluded clowns like you who think you're going to live to 120.
I'd be happy with that. Anything to get further away from you in every way possible.
This is a quote from you Jim X "I don't care if you smoke in solitude. I do care if you smoke around me and I have to deal with your filthy second hand smoke. "
My response is please drive your car in solitude in your own garage with the door down. Carbon emissions are carbon emissions pal. You've never owned a car that pumped fumes into my air conditioner vent? Never? I highly doubt it you inane health nazi.
You CHOOSE to smoke ? Is that not really just an excuse to try to minimize your addiction ? Lets see...the threat of deats via cancers or other diseases, the cost of a non essential like cigarettes, the stink of tabacco hanging onto you, the wheezing, the coughing, the reduced life expectancy. Why exactly would one "choose" to smoke ? Like AA's step....perhaps you should consider admitting your addiction instead of trying to justify it.
@John Where in this article does it talk about smoking bans or any law that puts the government in your pockets??? lol
Are you kidding me? This is such a crock of BS. The president chain smokes & wears patches while he is in public. He has not quit for 9 months, ask anyone who has guarded him in any city & they will tell you this is pure BS.
Not to mention Michelle sneeking cookies and other good stuff while being the face-person for a healthier America. Sometimes, you just have to laugh.
Oh, YOU'VE personally seen him smoking. Yeah, right. Let me guess.....you were anti-Obama regardless of whether he smokes or not. Maybe you got tired of spending your time lookin' for that foreign birth certificate and decided to spew venom here instead.
I highly doubt he has quit. What really scares me is that I am a recovering cocaine addict and a Professor that went to scholl with Obama said in a meeting of Cocaine Anonymous that Obama was "the biggest cocaine dealer and abuser" on campus. Now maybe its not true or maybe it is.......Nobody will ever know the truth
People, President Obama is a real person with real live issues. What do you want, a pnoney movie star with star power and no intellect or intellectual curiosity...I always believed my country had many intelligent, thoughtful, caring citizens and I know there are many...but what has been done to our President over the last two years shames me....America today is not the America my father fought for in WWII.....please try to think for yourselves and do some reading...and some research.
Use the brain cells, few I gather, for the good instead of for the negative. Wake up. Shake your heads, open your eyes and oh by the way turn off the TV and Talk radio.....you are being brainwashed.
@Sparky: There's nothing wrong with "sneaking" the occasional cookie if you eat healthy food and exercise most of the time.
Smoking is the "Scapegoat" for every known ailment known to man kind , From dandruff to toe jam...
I obey. *bows*
The longest I've quit is for a year and a half.. This year I quit for 5 months and I'm back smoking. Try again next month and see what happens. Evil product cigarettes are and having worked at RJR I should know better. Bio-engineered to be the most addictive substance on the planet.
I don't buy the bio-engineered theory. I smoked a pack-a-day for 6 years. I quit cold turkey the first time I tried. It's a matter of how much you really want to quit. It's been over 20 years since my last one. And believe me, I enjoyed smoking. Nothing like going to a bar and having a beer and a smoke with your friends. Ahhh, the good ole days!!
Robert, research shows that the more times you attempt to quit, the more likely you are to succeed. Keep on trying!! It took me several tries, but I have been smoke-free for almost nine years now. And it's not a matter of how much you want it or willpower - most smokers are NOT successful the first time they try to quit. You will eventually find what works for you and be able to quit once and for all, which is all that matters.
DAMM, HATE TO SEE HIM QUIT.....
Or just switch to e-cigarettes. Kinda working for me. Smokewithoutfear dot com.
What do you mean "Kinda working". Is it worth the money or not?
This is pure spin. Gibbs said he hadn't SEEN him smoking and in any case he's still addicted to nicotine in the gum, even if you believe Gibbs, who respun it to "yeah, he's quit" - how many times does this make? Why doesn't the big O announce it himself? Just more PR.
something is going to take you out – rather you smoke or not!
It's not just about you, Christina. It's about the children and other family members whose health you are affecting. Yes, of course, everyone is going to die someday; but shouldn't it be later than sooner? If a child has a weakened immune system from exposure to smoke, he or she will be less likely to be able to recover from common illnesses, such as pneumonia. Don't just think about yourself, Christina. Think about those you love and those who love you!
Bee-Bee...quit making assumptions. Where, in her post, did she say that she smoked in the presence of her loved ones? Second-hand smoke is not an evil demon that follows smokers around harming others when the smoker is not smoking. Though I myself am a smoker, I make a concerted effort not to smoke around not only my loved ones but people in general. Subsequently my life is the only one endangered by my bad habit.
shut up bee bee. I am smoking a cig right now. In front of me are ten baby cribs filled with the neighbors babies.
THE NUMBER ONE #1 CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE U.S. IS CANCER AND SMOKING RELATED ILLNESS. GO TO http://WWW.AMERICANLUNGASSOCIATION.COM PEOPLE BETWEEN THE AGE OF 45-70 ARE GETTING LUNG CANCER AND AS LONG AS 25 YEARS AFTER THEY HAVE QUIT SMOKING. THEY ARE DIAGNOSED IN STAGE 4 A MAJORITY OF THE TIME DUE TO LACK OF SYPMTOMS, WITH ONLY A FEW MONTHS TO LIVE. TOBACCO DESTROYS LIVES, DESTROYS FAMILIES AND SHOULD PLAIN BE BANNED. 2ND HAND SMOKE IS JUST AS DANGEROUS IF YOU LIVE WITH SOMEONE WHO SMOKES. PLEASE WAKE UP AND SAVE YOUR LIFE OR SOMEONE ELSES LIFE.
TAKE YOUR CAPS LOCK MORAL CRUSADE AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR PIE HOLE
The number one KILLER IS ALCOHOL and DRUGS ,two of the SAME,Alcohol users are JUNKIES too
This is exactly how my mother died. She quit smoking when she was about 40 then died 19 years later. She went into the ER one day with flu like symptoms, found out a week later it was cancer. She died just a few days after that, in agonizing pain. While I don't believe the government should get more involved than they already are (great steps towards reducing 2nd hand smoke) I do wish people would wake up and quit smoking. She didn't just lose her "diaper years" or whatever some previous poster called it, she lost her golden years. She died at 59. She never got to see her grandchildren.
I'm an ex smoker myself. I quit cold turkey one day (before mom died, so no extra incentive there). It was hard, but doable...
If I quit smoking using the methods he did, will I be as useless and incompetent as he is, also??
Correct
GREAT! So, if I quit smoking I won't die?
No it gets better than that. You won't die and you won't ever eat any tasty food ever again because you'll eat what they tell you to too. You won't ever drink again either. You will spend your days mainlining the party's latest 'health news' (edicts) and you will need the extra 20 years you live because that is how much time you'll have to spend sifting through the contradictory health advice that gets pumped into your home.
Smoke it up and think of the fact you'll never see the face of anyone who ever told you how to live again after you die.
Smoking is self-destructive behavior; same as pointing a gun at your head and pulling the trigger, only it takes longer. Why would anyone ever vote for a person who knowingly engages in self-destructive behavior? If they have that little regard for themselves, why would they have regard for others?
You're a moron. Only half of smokers die from smoking. It is a risky pastime yes, but not guaranteed to kill you. You're dying anyway. Driving is risky. Working in a dead end office job your whole life is 'self destructive behavior'. Eat it.
No MORON, not everything is risky. Comparing one thing to another thing is NOT AN ARGUMENT! Could you be any more of a moron? Anyone who smokes deserves to die from cancer. I say put all smokers together in a large stadium with no ventilation. Take em all out.
So why did he wait 9 months to announce that he had "quit"?
Funny he announced this just days before John Boehner, a heavy smoker, takes over as Speaker of the House.
Guaranteed Obamas bunch will bring this up.
Just more nonsense!
try the upinsmoke app on android and iphone, counselors to help
up in smoke... who are the counselors cheech and chong?
I wish they wouldn't pronounce those guidelines for quitting as if they were gospel. Every person who quits ultimately comes up with a strategy that works for him or her. For myself, it worked best NOT to tell family and friends (because I didn't want their self-righteous "atta girls"), and to actually KEEP cigarettes around...giving myself permission to smoke if I really, really needed to. Sometimes, it's the absolutist approach...the thought that "this is my last cigarette ever"...that works AGAINST successfully quitting. For some of us, taking it minute by minute, cigarette by cigarette, understanding that if it gets too bad we can lapse and then try again, is what gets us through the withdrawal.
I've been off cigarettes since 2004...and it never would have happened if I'd followed the advice in this article. If you're trying to quit, think about what is most likely to motivate you. But most importantly, realize that you're embarking on a difficult journey, and be kind to yourself. Give yourself permission to fail and then to try again.
I have to agree with you Audrey. Your approach to quitting makes a lot of sense. Congratulations for being smoke free since '04!
Audrey that's not good, that's phenomenal! At least you won't be feeding Pelosi's SCHIP scheme.
As far as the Prez quitting..... Gibbs is as clueless and he is self-deprecating. You'd think that if Obama had indeed not 'snuck a drag or two' in boys restroom, Michele would be touting it left & right. At least Bohner is honest enough to admit it and tell everybody to buzz off.
You have to question the drug company financial ties to CNN ad revenue when they recommend GSKs ineffective NRT products and Pfizers (Become an EX) Chantix.
It's sad to see Doc Sanjay push these chemicals like a common talking head while others do substantive reporting:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/18/MNUB1GQ9OE.DTL
No wonder CNN stands for Chicken Noodle Network.
I watched my mom slowly die of lung disease and then lung cancer, all the while not having the strength to give up smoking while having a lethal container of oxegen tethered to her body. I have also watched my father and brother fight this addiction, off and on. My two sisters were able to quit cold turkey in their 40's and 50's. My dad and brother are on the electric cigarettes. The nicotine is the addiction...the smoke is causing less damage to their lungs now, and the lungs and demeanor of the family who loves to spend time with them, especially my parents 5 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. I live on the opposite side of the coast from my family. I cheris coming home to the house I grew up in. I leave with a sinus and ear infection every time I visit – due to the smoke. Chantix is being pulled off the market by the FDA, so I have heard.. please check this out before heading down this road. For the love of your life and family...give it up.
I like smoking. Non smokers get lung cancer all the time. Christopher Reeve's wife a non smoker died of lung cancer. How do you tease out the smokers who were genetically going to get lung cancer anyway?
I'm not going to stop doing what I love just because you say I should.
Only 20 per cent of non smokers get cancer of the lungs, so how do you know that they did not get it from second hand smoke.
If no one smoked, lung cancer would be very rare.
Frank, there is no science behind your statement.
Sparky - Lots of science behind my comment.
SmokerANDproud is a TOOL. GO kill yourself. No one cares about you anyway.
If you have to smoke, even occasionally, do not smoke in the house, especially if you have a baby or small children in the home. The second- and third-hand smoke will affect all their organs, as it does yours, and their immune systems. If you can't control yourself, at least go outside; and change your clothes and wash your hair frequently. Smoke clings to clothing and hair so you bring it back inside with you. Have pity on your children! They are the innocent victims of your addiction.
Is that what you'd say to the president if he leaned over to kiss your baby? Clean your clothes Mr. President there is magic smoke residue on it that kills? Magical thinking more like it? What about camping, do you keep your kids way from camp fires or shock horror! people who have recently been near camp fires and have smelly sweaters on? You're a paranoid moron unworthy of taking seriously.
HAHA Obama must be quitting cigarettes to take up marijuana smoking lol.
We are expecting a second death in the family this year due to lung cancer. It is gut wrenching and destroying a family before my eyes. The terminal illness is announced suddenly, near without warning to those close, The only advance symptons, were the pack of butts always with them, Now, we watch her ln the cancer ward, while we wait for her chemo . It is expected to give her a few more months before the cancer moves from the lung and liver, to her brain.
My sister in law is 53 years old, and given 2-24 months to live upon first diagnosis of TERMINAL LUNG CANCER.
I think any one that witnesses this would take pause with the leader ship of our nations lack of common sense
in smoking.
Good for Mr. Obama for quitting smoking. But is this really news, or is it just another small brick in the wall being built towards banning tobacco, and thus setting it up to replace marijuana as the most profitable agricultural substance in the country.
There's no doubt that a tobacco ban is the goal of the Lung Society, the Cancer Society, and who knows how many other non-profits out there. But think about it...
Is banning tobacco going to accomplish anything good or useful? To think it won't be immediately and easily available on the black market is naive beyond the concept of intelligence.
It will create a whole new group of organized criminals, who will fight for decades to come with existing organized criminals in a gang war beyond the scope of anything we've seen so far. The loss of tax dollars to the feds and, especially, the states, will rise into the hundreds of billions very rapidly, and will not be offset by reduced health care costs – the majority of smokers die of something other than smoking, so that care will be paid for anyway. Policing costs will rise, prison costs will rise, police powers will be increased, freedom will be even further diminished – and for what? People will still smoke, and probably in approximately the same percentages as they do today.
Look at alcohol, look at marijuana, and ask yourself if there is really even the slightest bit of wisdom in asking, or allowing, the federal government to regulate smoking. Advise against it? Absolutely, in the same vein as campaigns for seat belts and against drunk driving. Tax it? Sure – but don't kill the golden goose. But ban it? What an outrageous act of overwhelming stupidity to even consider.
Nonsense.
Switch to cigars.
Huh?
why is the president permitted to smoke in the white house, yet, the citizens of the united states can't smoke any where? i could care less if he smokes, but i don't like the fact that he is "allowed" to do this, and no one else is...
Filthier things have been done in the oval office.
In many public and private places smoking is prohibited. These include bars, malls, museums, workplaces and in some instances housing associations have prohibited homeowners from smoking in their own homes.
Being the the White House is not only public building but owned by the People of the United States. I see no problem with the People prohibiting the tenant (the 1st Family and their guests) from smoking inside. The tenant and guests that want to smoke should be permitted to smoke at an outside designated area.
smoker&proud i agree with you 100 percent. it's all so unfair. non-smokers ought to have the joy of living with a drug addict. and turn on your tv, the drug companies tell you exactly what to go tell your dr to get the drugs you want. this is all so incredible! the fda pulls their drugs off the market, and no one sues them, they are not taxed more, etc., etc... as for the health care bullcrap, our cigarette taxes are supposed to be paying for your health insurance. but, i bet, that's not where the money is going!!
mmmm... I generally smoke when I'm at work, and don't think about it the rest of the time... but reading all of these comments has made me want a smoke!
"Stop smoking: Follow the President's example"
NO. I am putting my foot down. Ain't no one going to tell me what to do anymore, least of all the President!
Ooooo, you're so Indie and non-conformist. I wish I was rebellious like you!
Oh wait. Shut up.
The most sickly people I have ever known were health nuts. And they would never allow second hand cigarrette smoke within a twenty mile radius of themselves, for fear of keeling over and dying, wich these people probably would from the placebo affect. It's this kind of obsessive compusive thinking that is truly ruining peoples lives and families.
especially vegans. They look like they have AIDS.
Skinny healthy people live the longest. How many fat people have you seen over the age of 80?
People usually lose alot of weight when they get older especialy after they are 80 years old. So that doesn't really prove anything.
For those of you advocating "banning" cigarettes...just wait until the government starts trying to ban your favorite foods like twinkies, brownies, fast food, etc. It's a slippery slope once they start banning things that we should consider personal liberties to enjoy. Those of you who are anti-smoking who feel that you hold the moral high ground on the issue, I implore you to put your money where your mouth is and volunteer with or donate to American Cancer Society and American Lung Association. Do your good work that way, but don't tell me I can't have a cigarette if I want one. You don't have that right anymore than I have the right to tell you you're fat and you should put down the bon bons.
I also forgot to add–with regard to Obama "quitting," that's only so far as we're being told. I've tried to "quit" before. Basically I quit letting people see me smoke and I washed my hands and forearms really good to get rid of the smell as well as to brush my teeth constantly. Check his desk in the oval office–I'll bet you there's at least one toothbrush and several packs of gum laying in one of those drawers...
Oh yea and DRINK ALCOHOL INSTEAD...real SMART Move,Oh and show it on National TV "the BEEER PARTY" good for KIDS TO SEE
99.9% of HEART DISEASE is Not From SMOKING YOU PEOPLE.........I know 5 BYPASS Friends That never smoked in their LIVES,But they DID DRINK ALCOHOL
Man are you so addicted and ilogical.
Like there isnt another thousand different things in life that isnt good fo you. People that are so worried and whine about second hand smoke have a mental problem. Just breathing your everyday air and drinking your city water will kill you. Get a life people.Your killing me with your stupid opinion.
Silly comment.
Let's paraphrase:
STOP SPENDING! Improve the health of our economy.
1. Set a target quit date: Decide that you are going to make a concerted effort to get rampant government spending under control. Start with small appropriations just to get the feel.
2. Get rid of all PORK in legislation. Veto any bill that crosses your desk with earmarks.
3. Make sure your party understands, that while a difficult task, limitations in spending will help the health of the economy.
4. Talk to the business leaders, chamber of commerce and all wealthy contributors, to make them understand that unrestrained regulations/deregulation of businesses are the first step towards corporate ownership of our country.
5. Lastly, stop the onslaught of offshore industry and import/export of our jobs to foreign workers. We need the jobs, not India.
Don't start: Follow the majority of the people's example. How's that for a headline?
I don't want the man whose finger is on the nuke button to be suffering from nicotine withdrawals. I remember how nasty and angry I was when I quit, but I didn't have the fate of the world in my hands. Let Obama smoke!
I quit over a year ago on Labor Day. I wasn't even planning on it, I just had 2 left in the pack and suddenly thought that they should be the last 2 I ever smoked. I had urges for a little while but didn't use any crutches like the gum or patches. One thing I don't get is that people say they are the #1 killer. I would agree that they cut your life shorter but if you never smoke your still going to die and probably spend the last however long being in a hospital for something or another. I don't even know how people can say it costs everyone so much. My dad never smoked and now rely's on medicare. I'm sure the quad bypass all the taxpayers paid for wasn't cheap and a smoker might not have even needed one.
The President's policies make me want to smoke more.
Obama can smoke himself to death....I don't think anyone would care. As for those who do smoke....they know the consequences that could happen and if they choose to ignore them, they have no one to blame but themselves. I never smoked in my life...can't even stand being next to someone who does. I have no compassion for those who are diagnosed with lung cancer due to their smoking....they've been warned and chose to continue anyway.
sorry but i don't believe he quit. he may not smoke as much but i bet he does sneak one here and there
Many people have quit and never touched a tobacco product ever again.
I did it the same way Obama did it. I quit in July of 1982, using Nicorette (which I got from a friend in Canada; it wasn't yet available in the USA). By the end of August, 1982, I no longer needed Nicorette. I haven't had a smoke (of any kind) since July of 1982.
And I was a 2 pack a day man.
I thought winners never quite?
Anyone that defends smoking is just nuts or so addicted they do not even knolw it. I have been quit for 2 mnths now and I am now seeing that it is the addiction that keeps me smoking and not the pleasure of tobacco. Think about when you first started smoking and how awfull it was to get used to it.
If we suspect a product in the market place that may cause ill effects, the people demand that it be banned. We KNOW tobacco kills almost halve it's usres over the long term. and yet it is still legal. Alcohol, if not abused is actually good for you.
It's not about knowing and whatnot. From my point of view, it's the same as hate speech – Whether we like it or not, it comes with the whole freedom of speech package.
Tobacco is awful for your health. But, so is alcohol and a whole lotta other things. It's about choice. Smokers choose to smoke. That's pretty much that. Unless you're near one and exposed to second hand smoke, it doesn't have a direct impact on you. There are plenty of indirect effects, but everything has that.
On alcohol... Yes, studies have shown that it MAY have some benefits. But, in the big picture, it's still better to not drink than to, and I seriously doubt any medical professional will advise someone to take up drinking for the potential benefits. After all, if you want to take about benefits, I can easily bring up how cigarettes calm your nerves.
Forget chewing Nicorette because the nicotene goes to your stomach. The gum is for people who chew tobacco. Instead, use the Nicorette inhaler which contains nicotine. Then wean yourself from the inhaler. Here, you can use the gum, but cut it into quarters. I went from 3 packs a day to nothing overnight. Too bad Nicorette is a prescription item. In most other coountries it is not.
It is sad to see so many stupid people posting. Yes, cigs do kill and kill many. Yes, people that do not smoke will get sick and die also. The thing that you are doing if you do not smoke is reducing your chances of not getting a smoking related illness and if you read the stats over that last 50 years, then you would understand.
You need to give smokers more credit. They're smart enough to know all the stats. There are some things that you don't seem to understand. Mainly, on addiction and priorities.
Chemical reactions in people vary. A person can sniff cocaine for the first time and go, "Is that all?" another can go, "Not bad" and another can go "!" Same thing for the weaker drugs. Some people, if not instantly then over time, get addicted to tobacco. So, it's not as easy as to say, "Stop." If it were that easy, we wouldn't have a lot of issues we do today. We wouldn't have a big problem with STDs, since people would stop and say, "Got to use protection." But, it doesn't work out that way. For many, the biological/chemical urge simply overrides their will and logic.
You can count every calorie, workout till you drop, shop exclusively at Whole Foods, and one day you can be jogging and a drunk driver can end it all. Life is short. That's the approach that many have on life and it's a legitimate one. If I enjoy tobacco and place a lot of value in it, then I may as well take a shot at the roulette. Health issues are all but guaranteed, but, again, I may value tobacco above those issues.
Cole - you are so addicted.
Um... Addicted to facts? I guess. As for tobacco, I've never had any tobacco product (outside of second hand) in my life. So, if your foolish statement was that I'm addicted to tobacco, I'm pretty much as far as a person can get from that point.
Cole - Then you must work for the tobacco company. I just do not understand then, how you could defend such a deadly product?
We should treat smoking like an decease, most people do not choose to smoke for good reasons. I have seen very few people over the age of 18 start smoking.
Americans have been so misled on smoking, due to the powerfull tobacco lobby, they hold back a lot of information. You check out the info form other countries, like Canada to get an accurate picture of just how bad tobacco is for you and check out the pictures of people sick with tobacco related illness.
People stopped smoking and they became fat! Now fat is the #1 killer (in the form of resulting heart disease and cancers)!
Quiting is difficult. However; that being said, just quit, I did. Addiction 101, if you are addicted to the drug, DON'T DO THE DRUG. That includes nicotine gum, etc. Your addiction will continue to follow you no matter what form you take the drug. Nicotine gum, etc, is just a denial method of quiting and is not quiting. Here are the facts regarding quiting, first 72 hours is a living hell, first 7 days, crave, crave crave, after that it gets better. So set your sites on 7 days, (one day at a time) and you will be amazed how much better you feel after 7 days. Then just keep doing it.