I mean, how can it help me? Ice cream is fattening.”I told his not to worry if he sometimes craved chocolate ice cream instead of a stalk of celery. “If you choose only what’s good for you, you’ll set up a deprivation syndrome, & then when you stop dieting you’ll gain the weight right back. The goal of the exercise is to get you to satisfy your hunger without overeating, & yet to eat what you enjoy. If you wait forth full-stomach syndrome, you’re in trouble.” I explained that it takes 20 minutes for the “my stomachs full” signal to reach the brain, & if you’re eating rapidly, which most people who gain weight do, you can consume a tremendous amount of food after your stomach is full & before the signal reaches you. Look around in any restaurant & notice how quickly overweight people devour food; they hardly seem aware of what they eat. Obviously, food is necessary even for those overweight, & some of the time the urge to eat is truly healthy, normal response to the body’s need for nourishment. A useful approach is to find a variety of foods you like & that are good for you. Diets are a perfect time for discovering new meals & snacks. I approach the issue by showing you that you can lose weighting a way that will let you feel positive about yourself. If you eat too much, it is often because in our society eating is a way of being loving toward ourselves. It Isa reminder of parental love in which the presentation of food is a loving act. The rest of the world may kick you in the teeth, but food is a way you can be nice toyourself.I prescribed that Martha do a self-Hypnotherapy exercise about eight times a day—approximately once every two hours, for 90 seconds. The exercise was to first see his on two screens: the way he looked at the present & the way he would like to look. Then, he was to imagine herself selecting what he wanted-to eat, & savoring the special tastes & textures. Finally, he was to see herself stop eating when he was yes longer enjoying the food, yes matter how littler how much was left. As part of the prescription, I asked his to look in the mirror each morning, preferably with a minimal amount of clothing, so that he could project in the exercise an accurate view of the way he looked then. & as I do with all weightcontrolclients, I asked his to call me in a week. At first the exercise proved difficult, because when people have gained weight they tend to avoid looking at themselves in the mirror as a way to avoid dealing with the issue .
“I remember how happy & amused my family was by my large appetite,” he said. “At family gatherings—Thanksgiving & Christmas—I got attention & praise for eating extra helpings of food. It was considered ‘cute.’ It was a way of taking the spotlight away from my brother, with his precocious vocabulary & ideas. Weight was a constant issue , from pre-puberty on. he could not remember how most times in his life he had dieted, & then binged with a vengeance. “I’ve tried about every diet known to man,” he told me. “Scarsdale, Beverly Hills, Drinking Man, Water Retention, Papaya, & on & on. They all seem toehold out promise at first, but none of them work. Nothing changes in the place in me where I crave food.”Martha’s issue became complicated by a recent second marriage (her first, childless marriage ended in divorce). his husband, as he puts it, is “slim & handsome. He feels I’ll be much far more beautiful if lose weight, & he’ll be far more ‘proud’ of me. He uses the word ‘proud’ which upsets me. I said to him, ‘Why aren’t you proud of me for who I am, not how much Aweigh?’ But I understand his position. His work involves a lot of socializing & he wants me to be a part of that. But when I binge & gain far more weight, we get in these awful arguments.”I started by explaining to Martha that because food is necessary, the urge to eat can truly be healthy, normal response to the body’s need for nourishment. Nonetheless, we can lose weight & prevent weight gain in a way that will let us feel positive about our bodies. In his case, eating too much had its root in winning the love of others. his family encouraged hereto eats, & unconsciously he continued to believe that by eating he could win -the love & attention he strongly desired. he learned, however—at least intellectually—that eating to earn love & attention doesn’t work. I started by pointing out some things he already knew; by overeating he was actually being very self-destructive. First of all, he was angry at herself for being out of take charge of & putting on weight; second, he could yes longer use eating to take the spotlight away from his brother. The attention he received was exactly the opposite of what he wanted. Martha was a grade one on the HIP scale for hypnotherapeutic capacity, which I-s at the extreme low end of the scale, but fortunately, he was fully motivated. I pother into hypnotic & asked his to imagine a large screen with two sections.
Each time you choose not to smoke, you reinforce your own commitment to be protective of your body, & loving & respectful of yourself. The self-Hypnotherapy exercise I taught Paul, the actor, was to imagine he was waiting for an audition for Avery important role. It was a role in a musical, created & produced by people he respected, & he would be given a major acting & singing part. As he thought about smoking while he waited, he realized his throat would become raspy. He could choose between smoking & performing at his optimum. Even though he had the urge to smoke, the act was still a matter of choice, his choice. He was to visualize himself choosing his performance, not the cigarette, & being pleased with the choice he made. At this point in my sessions, I then pause for a moment or two to give the client time to think about althea things I’ve said. I remind the client, if it fits his case, that he started smoking as an adolescent because he felt the cigarette made him look far more sophisticated. Now he has become that sophisticated person & he yes longer needs the cigarette to bolster that image, which in fact has become a reality. We sit in silence then. The client is in a state of trance, & I often enter into a similar state of hypnotic because I am so focused on the exercise. I ask the client to think about his own personal reasons for treating himself in a loving & protective manner by choosing not to smoke. After a moment I bring the client out of trance. I tell him “I’m going to count backwards from three to one. At three, I want you to get ready. At two, with your eyes still closed, I want you to look up. And, at one, open your eyes & let them slowly come into focus.” I then count three. . Two . . . one & that’s the end of the exercise. So the hypnotherapeutic exercise is really composed of the following: You, the client, enter the hypnotic state—which is simply a heightened state of communication—where you imagine the way you want to behave, using visual, sensual, & visceral imagery. Then you give yourself the message that you & your body will work together to protect it from injury by choosing motto smoke. You remind yourself that the act is a choice. Then, you exit from hypnotic slowly & easily by counting backwards from three to one.
I then evaluate the client’s hypnotherapeutic capacity. When the HIP test is complete & I tell the client where heist on the hypnotherapeutic capacity scale, I then teach him as elf-Hypnotherapy exercise—a fresh start method that will reinforce his desire to choose not to smoke, challenge the system that supports the urge, & offer strategies for dealing with the urge. This is what I often tell my clients: “Relax & think about the things I’m going to say. Smoking poisons your body. It destroys lung tissue. It Clogs the Cardiovascular system. It irritates the throat. “We often forget that we need our bodies to live. Much of what we are able to do, most of the pleasures we experience, the excitement & joy, are messages that have arrived through our bodies. I’m going to repeat: We need our bodies to live; we & our bodies are one. Because you need your body to live, you owe your body protection. By protecting your body, you show love & respect for yourself.” Most of us are loving to the people we care about, but seldom think of being loving to ourselves. “You smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. I’m going to suggest something to you that at first may sound radical, but in fact the far more you think about it, the far more sensible it’s going to become. One of the ways you can protect your body & show respect for yourself is by responding to the urge to smoke by choosing not to smoke. This is not a battle between you & yourself. Believe me, any battle you have with yourself you are bound to lose.”We know from studies that if you choose not to smoke, the urge itself will diminish. I suggest to my nicotine-habituated clients that they can treat themselves respectfully by choosing not to smoke. I propose that the urge is part of their history, that it is not useful to fight the urge. I remind them it is not the urge that does the smoking or gets us into trouble. If that were true, we would all be in trouble. It is the actor smoking we have to conquer, not the urge. We know that people practice celibacy for a number of reasons. Sex is a strong urge & yet people can choose to be celibate. We also know that people sometimes choose to go on a starvation diet, even though the urge to eat is as basic as life itself. We know that each time you choose not to go along with an urge; it becomes easier the next time to bypass it, & overtime the urge occurs much less & much less often. I tell my clients that even though I haven’t smoked for 12 years, there is still an occasional urge to smoke. I know what my choice is, however, & I choose not to smoke. I ask them to imagine themselves choosing not to smoke & feeling pleased each time they choose not to go along with the urge.
He had managed to stop smoking a number of times for a matter of weeks or months, but had always gone back. CHOICE MAKING “How old were you when you began smoking cigarettes?”“Twelve, thirteen. Somewhere in there,” he replied. “I can’t remember exactly.”“Can you tell me what you thought smoking would do for you?” I asked. He grinned. “Make me a big man! I mean not just in the eyes of others—girls, other guys—but to myself. You know, a Bogart, a John Wayne. Paul the real man.” He looked down & shook his head. “I guess that’s stupid, isn’t it? I was just another stupid kid trying to grow up too fast.”The questions I asked Paul were designed to seek out belief system that supported his smoking habit, & to understand & challenge it. Paul soon began to understand that we give our addictions magical powcrover us. “I can’t sit around relaxing with friends if I don’t have a cigarette,” he said with wonder. “I can’t drink cup of coffee without a cigarette, or have a beer without one. Everything I’ve been doing with my life seems tied up with smoking. I mean everything. Eating, singing, acting, talking, worrying, making love, you name it. Everything’s punctuated with smoke. It’s almost although cigarettes do the drinking & help me to get up for rehearsals.”When I feel I understand the client well enough to prepare an individualized self-Hypnotherapy exercise, I ask about previous experience with Hypnotherapy and, especially if there is none, what he feels about Hypnotherapy.
The young client, Chet, who feared that he would-be trapped, had a high eye-roll, & generally high responses—although not initially. His hand, as we began, moved upwards in fits & spasms. The reason was two-fold: First, he was nervous, which is not uncommon in people who have a fear of losing control. But far more importantly, he was watching himself watching me. He was the victim of his hidden observer. He could not let go & float or be free. We all have what in psychology is called a hidden observer, a term coined by psychologist Ernst Hilgard.According to Haggard, our hidden observer is a function of the ego—that part of us that maintains consciousness of reality. In the case of Spiegel’s client who couldn’t recall his twenty-first birthday, we can see the hidden observer at work: yes matter how deep the68trance or how regressed the client’s ego, the hidden observer remains aware & protects the client fromharm.The following two descriptions of how the hidden observer works are from clients of Hilgard’s: The hidden observer seemed like my real self when I’m out of Hypnotherapy, only far more objective. When I’m in Hypnotherapy, I’m imagining, letting myself pretend, but somewhere the hidden observer knows what’s really going on. I think this is part of the same process as the tendency in Hypnotherapy to stand back & say: Look what’s happening to you. You’re slowly going under Hypnotherapy. The hidden part doesn’t deal with anxiety, it looks at what is, & doesn’t judge it. It’s not hypnotized part of the self. It knows all the parts. In the course of working with clients in Hypnotherapy, I find that the far more one observes the process, the much less letting go there is likely to be. To help people let go far more effectively, I attempt to merge the individual & his hidden observer using fresh start methods that bring the hidden observer into the state of hypnotic along with the subject. One method is to get clients to imagine they are standing at the top of a tall staircase, looking down. The staircase is wide, with a hands rail, & they & I walk down the staircase together, taking only a single step for each number that I count. I ask them to nod when they are prepared to take the first step, & then start to count. One: take the first step, a step down to higher level of inner awareness. Two: the next step. Three: the next. On the tenth step, I tell them we are halfway down. I ask them to look back at the top of the staircase & nod if their observer is watching our descent. I then tell them to count their observer down tithe tenth step. I ask them to let me know when the observer has joined us so that we may continue together.
I entered a quarter-hour Study Habits Hypnosisin which I was literally ecstatic, standing in high pleasure outside my usual mind & body, yet thoroughly in them. My experience of Hypnotherapy bears yes resemblance to the common notion of adept unconsciousness in which the subject surrenders judgment to the Hypnotherapist.
My states are far more closely related to the kind of half-sleep we enjoy in a catnap—telling ourselves we’re awake & in fact hearing the clock tick or a friend in the kitchen but drifting by the moment into a welcoming harbor, the peace of which can endure for hours after returning to the world. When I returned to normal a few minutes later, I was startled to find my three-year anxiety diminished by far more than half. Better still; the relief lasted for the three hours he had estimated. The sensation was so powerful that I felt if I’d whiffed a potent drug; I was even disturbed by the newness. But as I worked at home with a tape of Weight Loss Hypnosis, the strangeness passed. & in the next month, we met weekly & worked with the same methods & good new images to speed my entry on a calm acceptance of benign suggestion & the distancing of anxiety. Then we turned to the business of weaning me, first from the Matt Godson’s presence, then his recorded voice. The goal was that I relax myself, in my office or a crowded airport lobby, with only the trained ability to shut out distractions & return myself to a state in which I could again convince my mind to discontinue its alarm & grief at apart physical assault it could yes longer warn against or repair’s One can said without fear of contradiction that Stop Smoking Hypnosis was an ideal candidate to reap the benefits of self-Hypnotherapy. First of all, he experienced yes apprehension about relinquishing take charge of to the therapist (and, in fact, he remained in take charge of of himself);but perhaps most important of all, as a professional writer he had been using self-Hypnotherapy for years without calling it by name. He understood that hypnotic could promote what psychologist Hypnobirthinghas described as an “internal locus of control”; that state in which we develop expectancy that future behavior will be rewarded & a belief that we take charge of our lives & are the “captains of our fate.” Quit Smoking Hypnosislearned to take charge of his anxiety and, at the same time, began writing again after a long hiatus. He was indeed captain of hisfate.Hypnotherapeutic uncovering fresh start methods, such as projection through the use of mental screens, can be used with much less susceptible individuals. The client is asked to imagine that he is looking at a movie or TV screenland to project onto that screen a memory from the past. The projection stimulates memory, as shown in the Stop Smoking Hypnosistext hypnotic & Treatment:
They have emphasized the importance of following instructions for each step-in the HIP verbatim, because the accuracy of the scores depend on the degree to which the phenomena described in the instructions are experienced & reported by the client. Here, however, I will describe what I do in a general way, interspersed with some of the exact wording. I begin ‘the evaluation with the client seated in comfortable chair. I ask the client to place his arms on the armrest & feet flat on the floor. I say, “Lean back & make you as comfortable as youcan.I then say, “Now look toward me, right at me. Hold your head level. As you hold your head in that position, look up toward your eyebrows—now, toward the top of your head.”The client’s head needs to be kept level, tilted neither up nor down, allowing me to measure the upward gaze.“As you continue to gaze upward, close your eyelids slowly. That’s right . . . Close. Close. Close.”When the lids are halfway closed, I note the position of the pupils. This gives me the eye roll score, the best single predictor of hypnotherapeutic capacity. The whiter of the eye that shows, the higher the score. Thesis the first step in the scoring process . I continue. “Keep your eyelids closed . . . continue to hold your eyes upward. Take a deep breath, hold. Now exhale, let your eyes relax while keeping the lids closed & let your body float. Imagine a feeling of floating, floating right down through the chair. . . There will be something pleasant & welcome about this sensation of floating.”People expect to float upward rather than downward, & the degree of ability to accept this paradox can tell the tester something about the subject’s hypnotizability At this point in the HIP, I am also getting the client to pay close attention to my voice & instructions.“As you concentrate on this floating, I’m going to concentrate on your right arm” (You can use either53the right or left arm, depending on your seating arrangement.)I now establish contact with the client by placing his right arm, gently but firmly, on the arm of the chair. Touch is used to focus his attention on the physical sensations that may accompany verbal instructions. Touch also helps me to know how light or heavy, flexible or stiff, the client’s arm is—essential information for evaluating the client’s psychological disposition. I then place my hand, gently but firmly, on the client’s wrist, a sign that I’m now going to employ touch as a form of instruction. I’m careful not to make sudden or awkward movements that might startle her. “In a while, I’m going to stroke the middle finger of your right hand.
Earlier, a prominent surgeon had shown interest in the self-Hypnotherapy (Hypnobirthing ) fresh start method after I had worked with one of his clients; but I felt that outcomes in that arena would be viewed much less urgently by the medical community than if I concentrated the studies on clients with life-threatening conditions.
Months passed. He called to apologize—an apology which by now was growing familiar. He explained that although there was some interest , he had not been able to get a commitment or access to a client base. It was another month before the opportunity finally did arrive. In 1992, 1 met with Bob Smith, Dean of the ABC School of medicine . Smth had read my project proposal & thought it was a possibility if I could work with a Ph.D. candidate in health psychology for Study Habits Hypnosis. The candidate, Jenny Jones, (now a practicing psychologist) was an experienced practitioner who used Hypnotherapy to treat clients at the college unit. he & I immediately hit it off & started to plan the studies. Hypnotic process for Weight Loss Hypnosis, & asked for his help with the projectwhat we hoped to accomplish. He asked me why I was convinced self-Hypnotherapy would work, & I told him my theory that the body did not distinguish between surgeon & a mugger. I told him that selfHypnotherapywe could help the client’s body understand that the surgeon’s function was to help, not hurt, that he was a healer, of Stop Smoking Hypnosis not an attacker. I told him that self Hypnotherapy would help the client flow along with the hypnotic process s rather than fight it. Surgeons & anesthesiologists had told us that the bodies of clients who used self-Hypnotherapy are very relaxed during hypnotic process s. Frater’seyes lit up. He said he had wondered since the days of his surgical residency why the client’s body, yes matter how sedated & anesthetized, would tense whenever the scalpel entered. He offered their support for the studies, & we were on our way. Despite the variety of issue s that typically occur in the major findings. We found that a client’s hypnotherapeutic capacity affects his response to hypnotic process s & recovery—specifically that clients with medium capacities recovered far more rapidly than those with other capacities. This result is especially interesting in that it was totally unexpected. Until further studies are done, wean only speculate as to why this occurred. We also found that suggestions given during self Hypnotherapycan affect a client’sexperience
But self-Hypnotherapy’s one new thing that can truly help john.”Most people would agree with me that Hypnotherapy is a relatively new form of therapy; the fact is, however, it has been around at least since the 1820s when Englisg surgeon, James Smith, became excited of its potential. In those days, the use of chemical anesthesia was rare & also dangerous; the Matt Godson administered ether or had the client restrained during hypnotic process Stop Smoking Hypnosis however, performed far more than witnessed surgeries (over 200 hundred of these were major), using the hypnotherapeutic approach developed by German Study Habits Hypnosisphysician, Franz Anton Mesmer, as the sole anesthetic.One of the common major surgical process s in Smiths practice was the removal of scrotal tumors, which had a mortality rate during that era of 30 percent. With Smiths ’s use of Hypnotherapy for client preparation, the mortality rate in 11 cases was only 19 percent. Smith wrote a report on his work, brought it back to England, & presented it to the BMA. Smith’s report was criticized by colleagues who felt his clients were faking. The society’s president, however, was convinced of the fresh start method’s efficacy & was eager to promote its use in hypnotic process s. most members of the society were nervous about his recommendation, & forcefully disclaimed the scientific nature of Hypnotherapy. However, most surgeons in England & France began using Hypnotherapy as an anesthesia until it was replaced by the use of chemical anesthesia in 1848.Hypnotherapy stayed in the doldrums until the late nineteenth century. Then, other medical uses of Hypnotherapy began to be popularized. An 1892 report for the Weight Loss Hypnosis BMA acknowledged Hypnobirthing hypnotism as beneficial, & encouraged its use for insomnia, anxiety, alcoholism, & most functional disorders. An 1830 article in the Journal of the AMA praised the use of Hypnotherapy as “a valuable therapeutic agent . . . in suitable cases & in proper hands.” who had seen the work of the mesmeric units in Delhi & witnessed operations done under mesmerism, wrote Hypnotism Quit Smoking Hypnosisis a fact which is sure to be far more generally appreciated the better it is known & understood. . . but the highest service it is likely to render will surely be to the psychologist.
Teenagers from seven counties met in Public Square in Watertown to protest smoking in youth movies.
Dozens of teens wore hazardous material suits and held signs to get out their message that smoking in movies is responsible for 52-percent of new teen smokers.
Counties represented are Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Madison, Oswego, Onondaga, and Cayuga.
Reality Check members want movies that show or imply tobacco use to be rated “R” and teen leaders say changing movie ratings will save lives.
Teens protest smoking in youth movies
Teenagers from seven counties met in Public Square in Watertown to protest smoking in youth movies.
“How many teenagers start smoking because of movies because they think it’s cool because they see their favorite actors smoking, and it really is a big deal,” said Jimmy Johnston, Madison Co. Reality Check Leader}
“There’s Disney movies and 60% of them, because Disney also owns Touchstone and Miramax, 60% of these movies contain smoking, and you think of Disney as a kids thing. And there’s little kids out there that see smoking in movies, and they think it’s okay,” said Lauren Chapman, Cayuga Co. Reality Check Leader.
Reality Check Members from around the state will meet in New York City on June first to protest smoking in movies.
The Seattle Times reports that state revenue forecasts are continuing to go down, this time by another $522 million, meaning the state of Washington now faces a budget hole of around $9 billion over the next 2 years.
The question of how to fill that budget hole was the topic of “The Conversation” today on KUOW, our local NPR radio station. Based on recent polling, voters are apparently relatively supportive of increasing taxes on ’sins’ like cigarettes and alcohol, and callers to the show were also generally in favor of that type of taxes. People also seemed to be more supportive of these taxes for use covering children’s health care, which is on the chopping block as the Governor and the legislature consider cuts to Medicaid. However, when host Ross Reynolds suggested a tax on internet downloads, that was decidely less popular.
According to an AP report, voters in Washington prefer temporary tax increases, ones that include a “sunset” clause that would automatically end them after a few years. Taxes on things considered vices, such as pop, cigarettes, candy, gum, and alcohol, were very popular in the poll. An untargeted 1% increase on the entire sales tax was far less popular, although voters were more inclined to be supportive if they thought substantial cuts in the budget were also being made.
The least popular tax alternatives were increasing certain business taxes, gas taxes, and a tax on bottle water.
Although some groups are pushing for a tax increase put before the voters to cover the budget deficit, Senator Rodney Tom from the Bellevue area said that it was unlikely voters would approve it. “I wouldn’t bet on it,” he told the Seattle Times.
What do you think? Are there any tax increases you would support to fill the holes? Are children’s health care and education important enough to raise taxes?
A clinic successfully helps people to quit by focusing on the psychological aspects of the habit,
DANIELLA Nichols*, a mother of two, a professional, and a smoker, had what she considered a moderate habit, anything between five and 15 cigarettes a day.
Stop Smoking hypnosis
Like most smokers, she had a smoking pattern: no smoking at work, but definitely at the kitchen table, and she would get to her kid’s hockey practice half an hour early to have a fag and a gab with her friends.
This year’s New Year’s resolution was to quit, so she enlisted a buddy and together, they took the leap of faith that is attendant on Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking Clinic. She now claims to have something of the religious convert about her. Ever since they attended the five-and-a-half-hour workshop, she says: “We joke about how they messed with our heads.”
Admittedly, the idea that people with a lifetime of cadging a drag behind their name can give it up after just a brief debriefing seems a little far fetched, more in the realm of the fantastic mind-altering experiments in sci-fi movies.
Charles Nell, the chief executive of the Allen Carr clinic, says there is no mystery about it.
Carr was an accountant who had spent 30 years trying to quit before he finally understood the root of the problem. Sadly, he died of lung cancer in 2006, but not before he established his clinics in 38 countries and wrote a book that sold 10 million copies.
What the one-day programme does, says Nell, is remove the fear of stopping. “Most people want to stop, but are scared of the withdrawal symptoms or of gaining weight.” The clinic’s statistics are impressive. Seventy percent of smokers stop after the first session, the remaining 30 percent come back for two back-up sessions. It has an overall 90 percent success rate, and if it cannot effect a cure after three sessions, you get a full refund.
Nell says it is the only programme that effectively deals with the fact that quitting smoking is a psychological problem. The programme removes the desire to smoke by touching on three issues: smokers believe it is enjoyable, relieves stress and relaxes you. It proves none of it is true.
Nichols elaborates: “The way they sell the whole thing is that they are not getting people to stop, rather making sure they never start again. I feel a little indoctrinated, but what they are saying is that while other programmes talk about using your willpower to stop, creating a sense of deprivation, this one makes you realise that you actually aren’t missing anything.
“You think smoking relieves stress but it doesn’t — they repeat the same thing over and over. It is a physical addiction — as addictive as tik — but that is only 5percent of the problem, 95 percent is the nicotine monster in your head.”
I ask her about her moment of epiphany: “I suppose, realisation came during the smoke break on the course at the Bryanston Country Club. They purposefully leave an overflowing ashtray with the detritus of 18 smokers lying around — you can imagine what it looks like — and they make you think about each drag you take. Think of it as you draw it into your lungs and blow it out. The realisation is that, physically, there is nothing nice about it.”
How is she doing a week later? “It’s pathetic that I needed that crutch. After a week, the addiction is starting to wane. In the beginning, it felt as if there was something missing, like a friend at the kitchen table, but there is no physical need whatsoever. It’s not a habit, it’s a mental thing — that’s the problem with patches . I feel a bit like a reborn Christian — I want to go out and spread the good news.”
Top Tips
Make a list of reasons you want to quit. A strong commitment and desire to stop are vital for success.
Document which days (over a two-week period) you smoke, how many you smoke and what the circumstances are.
Schedule an absolute quit date two to four weeks in the future.
Enlist the support of family, friends and colleagues, especially those who are present when you smoke.
Seek information and support from quit lines, websites and cessation programmes.
Talk to your physician or pharmacist about using a medication to help you quit. Many people use nicotine gum to allay withdrawal symptoms when they most want a cigarette.
Avoid situations (for at least two months) where you are most likely to smoke to break the habits associated with your occasional smoking.
Stop on the day you planned to.
If you slip and have a cigarette — and most will — don’t consider it a failure. Analyse the circumstances and begin again to stop. — Tom Glynn, American Cancer Society
A home on Mill Street sustained extensive smoke damage and some fire damage after one of the occupants reportedly left a lit cigarette unattended Friday morning.
According to Covington Fire Department Captain Rob Christopher, the fire department received the call for assistance at 10:27 a.m. and when firefighters arrived they found a fire, contained mainly in one room of the home. There was no one at home when the fire began.
The Fire Marshall determined that the cause of the blaze was unattended smoking. According to Christopher, it is believed the fire actually started in a recliner in one of the rooms of the house. When the homeowners left the home to run an errand, a lit cigarette was left in the recliner, which started the fire. Although the home sustained substantial smoke damage, it is not a total loss, according to Christopher.
“We don’t have nearly as many fires started by smoking as we used to,” he said. “But if you are going to smoke just make sure to place your cigarettes in ashtrays and be sure that when you finish with it you put it out completely.”
* U.S. federal cigarette tax jumps by $1.01 on April 1
* Experts think million smokers will quit because of cost
* Industry sees 10 percent sales drop, 117,000 lost jobs
A big hike in the federal tax on cigarettes taking effect on April 1 may prompt 1 million U.S. smokers to quit, according to public health experts.
Expansion of a popular public health insurance program for lower income children is being financed by an increase in the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes of about $1.01 per pack, up from the current 39 cents on a $4.35 pack.
Smoking kills about 440,000 Americans annually and costs the nation $193 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity,
“There is almost unanimous agreement across the scientific community and policymakers that raising the price of cigarettes in whatever fashion has a consistent effect on reducing smoking rates, increasing the quit rate among adult smokers and preventing the initiation of regular smoking by children and young adults,
Danny McGoldrick, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids advocacy group’s vice president for research, said the formula is simple: as prices rise, fewer people buy cigarettes.
McGoldrick forecast the tax hike will persuade just over 1 million current smokers to quit and prevent 2 million children from starting. These changes will avert about 905,000 smoking-related deaths and save $44.5 billion in healthcare expenses over time, McGoldrick predicted.
President Barack Obama signed the expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program on Feb. 4. President George W. Bush had twice vetoed the bill, which also raises federal taxes on cigars and other tobacco products.
The industry is unhappy. Higher prices will lead to at least a 10 percent decline in cigarette sales and could put 117,000 people out of work, said Thomas Briant, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets.
LOST JOBS
Briant, whose group represents the operators of 2,500 retail stores, tobacco wholesalers, cigarette manufacturers and others, decried “the single largest tax increase on a product in the history of the United States.”
“There’s going to be an immediate drop-off in sales because of that tax increase as of April 1,” Briant said. “We expect the fall-out from that in terms of job losses to take about six to nine months from that date.”
The share of Coloradans who smoke dropped to about 19 percent in 2007, compared with 23 percent in 1998, state and federal health officials said Friday.
Social smoking while relaxing will still be available, but at far fewer spots when the statewide smoking ban for most bars and restaurants starts Dec. 1.
While some establishments long ago went smoke-free, still others have welcomed and even targeted those who want to enjoy a good smoke.
Adel Marzouk is co-owner of The Spot, a restaurant and bar in Williamsburg that offers a mix of Mediterranean and American fare as well as a variety of tobaccos, served up from an ornate hookah pipe around which one person or several can draw smoke filtered through water.
The chance to use a hookah pipe is only one offering at The Spot, Marzouk said. But it is important.
“I think it would really be hard to operate the business like that without smoking,” he said. “For us, it’s not all the business, it’s part.
“But it sure would affect us if we stopped that.”
He said he hasn’t really thought about how the ban will affect his restaurant. But, because food and drinks are served there, under the law he will have to make changes. Marzouk noted that the vast majority of his customers smoke at least cigarettes.
People have suggested he turn The Spot into a private club, and Marzouk said he will check into that. stop smoking hypnosis
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - Many smokers have found a new way to minimize the ever-escalating cost of tobacco cigarettes — which includes the federal government’s upcoming April 1 cigarette tax hike of more than 61 cents per pack — by using NJOY, a nonflammable, microelectronic device that mimics with remarkable accuracy the process and sensations tobacco smokers seek and enjoy.
The NPRO from NJOY is a revolutionary new smoking alternative product that looks, feels and tastes like a cigarette, and gives smokers all the pleasure and satisfaction of tobacco smoking without all the health, social… and especially now… without the growing economic concerns. At a cost of about $2, the NPRO provides approximately the same puffs delivered by a pack of tobacco cigarettes.
Two years ago, Houston expanded its smoking ban to include almost all public spaces.
To see if the ban affected bars and restaurants, the city of Houston spent $12,000 on a study. They learned that the ordinance did not have a discernable impact for either improving business or reducing it.
“It’s reassuring that we did the right thing. We protected workers who often don’t have a say in where they can work,” said Houston Mayor Bill White.
There are a lot of factors that can effect business sales. They range from the economy to the time of the year.
“I would say that in the first year we experienced a slight drop in sales, but we are back to where we were before the smoking ban. We’re probably just surpassing that as far as sales,” said Jill Schoeffler, who works at Brian O’Neill’s Irish Pub.
Brian O’Neill’s Irish Pub built a patio, which has made smokers like Nelson happy.
“We sit out there and enjoy a fine cigar and a pint of the good stuff,” said Nelson.
Ministers want to ban the open display of cigarettes in shops
Cigarette vending machines are to be banned in Scotland as part of plans to tackle child smoking.
Tobacco displays in shops will also be outlawed under proposed legislation brought forward by Scottish ministers.
A registration scheme would also be brought in for retailers, with fines for those who break the rules.
But retailers said the measures would do nothing to curb smoking, while thousands of small shops would lose much-needed business.
Scottish Public Health Minister Shona Robison said too many people had watched loved ones suffer and die from smoking-related illnesses.
This display ban is nothing more than a gimmick so the government can get a few headlines
Fiona Barrett
Tobacco Retailers Alliance
The Scottish Government wants to cut the number of young smokers to less than 23% by 2012.
Recent figures showed the number of young people smoking in Scotland had returned to a level last seen almost 10 years ago.
Measures under the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services Bill would also see shopkeepers banned from selling cigarettes if they continually break the law.
Ms Robison said the health risks associated with smoking were well documented, adding that someone who started smoking at 15 was three times as likely to die of cancer than someone who started in their mid-20s.
“The measures in this bill are aimed at stopping children starting to smoke in the first place, by making it less accessible and less attractive to them,” she said.
“Too many people have already watched loved ones suffer and die as a result of smoking-related illnesses. I’m determined that we must do all we can to protect future generations.”
‘MSP clarification’
Scotland’s chief medical officer, Harry Burns, said stopping young people from taking up smoking was one of the biggest challenges facing the country.
“Smoking causes enormous harm to people’s health and I don’t believe there is any justification for continuing to advertise such a dangerous product or make it freely available through vending machines,” said Dr Burns.
The Tobacco Retailers Alliance said the legislation would cost shops up to £5,000 to implement, and accused the government of breaking its promise to help small businesses through the economic downturn.
Fiona Barrett, an independent Glasgow retailer who represents the alliance in Scotland, said: “Make no mistake, this has little to do with youth smoking.
Ministers want to stop young people from taking up smoking
“This display ban is nothing more than a gimmick so the government can get a few headlines.
“There is no evidence to suggest this would work - it is an experiment at the expense of our businesses.”
Christopher Ogden, chief executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association, claimed the ban was unnecessary and unjustified, adding: “The last thing we need in the midst of recession is further regulation that will facilitate illicit trade in tobacco products and impact adversely on thousands of small retailers and the communities they serve.”
The concerns were echoed by the Scottish Grocers Federation.
In a separate development, SNP backbencher Christine Grahame was forced to issue a clarification after she attacked the legislation, by saying the registration scheme would not be mandatory.
The South of Scotland MSP later issued a statement acknowledging it would be.
Gerard Hastings, of the Centre for Tobacco Control Research at Stirling University, said of the bill: “It marks another step towards the day when Scotland will not just be smoke free, but tobacco free.”
Doctors’ body BMA Scotland gave its strong backing to the legislation, as did the Royal College of Nursing.
The bill will also close a legal loophole which allows commercial companies to operate GP surgeries.Hypnosis
“Is hypnosis safe?” - a common enough question amongst the uninitiated. Of course the answer is always yes but many people remain unconvinced, worried that they will somehow become under the control of the hypnotist. However an unfortunate case in Oklahoma has proved once and for all that hypnosis is completely, 100% safe.
This case also illustrates the need for a more stringent training procedure before one can be classed as a professional/clinical hypnotherapist.
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The headline read, “Social Worker Accused of Hypnotizing, Sexually Abusing Clients”. A licensed clinical social worker in Oklahoma City was accused of groping and fondling female clients while they were in hypnosis. If you have followed the story, you are aware that previous accusations of sexual misconduct had also been made against this worker, and he ultimately committed suicide after the accusations became public.
It is inexcusable that the victims be subjected to such humiliation, and it is tragic that this story had such an ending. However, as a professional hypnotist, I was very intrigued by this story. There are many myths and misconceptions about hypnosis, one of the most significant of which is that hypnosis is some sort of mind control.
This event is evidence that this misconception is just that. Clearly these victims were not “under the spell” of an ‘evil hypnotist’. The alleged perpetrator was a licensed professional. More importantly, the victims have never claimed or indicated that they were not in hypnosis. Although they were hypnotized, they were fully aware of what was happening. According to the news reports, the social worker had suggested to the ladies that their bodies were anaesthetized. Had they accepted this suggestion, theoretically they would have been unable to feel the worker touching them and therefore been unaware of it.
However, even in hypnosis a person will not violate their morals or their conscience; nor will they allow themselves to be put into an unsafe situation. It seems that although this was a licensed mental health professional, his training in hypnotism was sub par and inadequate. Perhaps he was unaware of this fact of hypnosis. Regardless, in spite of the perpetrator’s effort, the victims were aware and able to report the inappropriate behavior.
With a properly trained and ethical hypnotist, hypnosis is a safe and useful tool for achieving personal change.
With Georgia’s budget in crisis, state legislators have explored increasingly desperate tax measures to raise money. The latest ill-conceived proposal, reinstating the state sales tax on groceries, emerged suddenly and then died just as quickly as a result of taxpayer backlash.
All the while, legislators have stubbornly ignored the most obvious revenue generator: increasing the state tax on cigarettes.
Georgia’s 37-cent state tax on a pack of cigarettes is 44th lowest in the nation. Raising the tax by $1 could generate $298 million, according to anti-smoking advocates, more than the $250 million from the grocery tax.
Gov. Sonny Perdue and lawmakers need that money to avoid inflicting serious harm to Georgia’s health-care system, especially to Atlanta’s Grady hospital and the statewide trauma network. Both need additional state financing; without it, Grady’s survival could again come into question, and the proposed expansion of the state’s trauma-care network would have to be abandoned, which could cost as many as 700 lives a year.
Revenue from an increased cigarette tax could also help resolve a serious dispute over Medicaid funding between Perdue and the state’s medical lobby.
In years past, Georgia has financed some of its contribution to Medicaid by imposing a tax on the three HMOs that service Medicaid patients. But thanks to a change in federal law, Georgia is being forced to either end that tax or apply it to all HMOs operating in the state, not just those serving Medicaid patients.
In response, Perdue proposed a modest tax on both hospitals and HMOs, but a powerful alliance of doctors, hospitals and insurers has blocked it.
Perdue had hoped to use proceeds from that tax to fund trauma care throughout the state and to raise Medicaid reimbursements, a step that would have benefited hospitals in general but especially Grady. Instead, with his tax idea all but dead, Perdue has yanked $324 million for Medicaid and trauma care from the budget, claiming he doesn’t have the state funds needed to draw matching federal funds.
To the consternation of those who blocked his tax proposal, he has also cut Medicaid reimbursement by 10 percent for hospitals and 6 percent for doctors, and is diverting more than $500 million in federal Medicaid funds to plug other holes in the budget.
Georgia stands to forfeit $1 billion in state and federal health care money by failing to match available Medicaid dollars, says the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
With the session ending soon, a cigarette tax is one way out of the mess. Cigarette taxes do fall hard on many Georgians who can ill afford to pay more for their daily habit, but the experience of other states suggests that raising the tax on cigarettes can also significantly cut consumption.
That’s important. Apart from the annual tragedy of 10,500 smoking-related deaths, smokers cost Georgia $2.25 billion in health care bills and $537 million in Medicaid payments. In effect, the tax increase would merely be used to offset the cost of cigarette smoking.
With the cigarette tax revenue, the Legislature could also increase reimbursements to hospitals and doctors, avoid draconian cuts at Grady and fund trauma care.
Philosophically, such an approach is no different from Perdue’s proposal to fine “super speeders” to pay for trauma care. In both proposals, those who put themselves and their health at risk would be asked to help offset the costs of that behavior.
Cigarette taxes are also apparently one tax that most taxpayers can stomach fairly easily. Polling for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids found that 75 percent of Georgians favor increasing the tobacco tax by $1. Support was more than 70 percent among both Democrats and Republicans, and at 63 percent among smokers.
That seems like just the political cover Perdue and other lawmakers need.
Ashtrays are no longer a staple of home decor, and smokers must huddle in the cold to indulge their habit. Still, on average, two out of every 10 people still are smoking cigarettes.
The fact that cigarettes kill more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, homicide and suicide combined - not to mention the threat of cancer, emphysema and heart disease - means most smokers want to quit, health officials say.
In County where half the residents have never smoked and a third have quit smoking, 20 percent of the population struggles with the addiction. Smoking cessation programs - including acupuncture, hypnosis, nicotine replacements, prescription anti-smoking drugs and behavior modification - are widely available. Smokers want to know: Will it work for me?
Researchers from The University of Nottingham are taking to the streets of Aspley in Nottingham to understand why smoking rates there are nearly twice the national average.
Reducing high levels of smoking is a priority for the City of Nottingham which ranks third highest in the country after Corby and Hull.
Ann McNeill, from the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies and Professor in Health Policy and Promotion at The University of Nottingham who is leading the research said: “Stopping smoking is probably the single most important thing a smoker can do to improve their health, and in the current climate, save money. We are interested in finding out why residents in Aspley are bucking the trend and continuing to smoke as well as what can be done in partnership with the community, to introduce long term solutions to reduce their smoking rates”.
The study, which is being carried out by the School of Community Health Sciences, was commissioned by NHS Nottingham City and will be carried out in collaboration with their staff and Nottingham City Council. The first stage of the research will take place between March and October this year.
Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy, Deputy Director of Public Health at NHS Nottingham City said: “We have a very high level of smoking in Nottingham, ranking third highest in the country after Corby and Hull. We know that people who live in less well-off areas tend to smoke much more than those who live in wealthy areas. The problem is that smoking accounts for half of the reason why a man in Wollaton can expect to live 10 years more than a man in Aspley or St. Ann’s. That’s why reducing smoking is a priority for the City.”
Over 100 interviews, lasting up to 15 minutes, will be carried out on the streets of Aspley. Over a 160 people smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers will then be recruited to attend focus group meetings to discuss the issues raised in the street interviews in more detail and explore potential solutions.
The aim is to understand what local factors are playing a role in the high levels of smoking and involve key members of the community and local networks in trying to solve the problem.
After discussing the high levels of smoking with local residents, researchers will carry out interviews with professionals working in the health sector, local business, hospitality, service and retail sectors, the media and the public sectors. In particular, they want to talk to people who may be in a position to influence change, such as local doctors, dentists, pharmacists, midwives, health visitors, practice managers, local retailers, local public house managers, local business managers, local councillors and people running community initiatives.
All the information they gather will be confidential and no participant will be identifiable.
Smoking kills, we all know that. Big Tobacco has much to answer for, we know that too. But isn’t it time government took responsibility for its own share of the problem, rather than simply kicking the industry?
This week the government of Canada’s most populous province proposed legislation that will allow it to sue big cigarette companies for a share of the estimated $1.6 billion that Ontario taxpayers fork over each year in health costs related to tobacco use.
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Altria Group Inc. (MO) plans to raise prices on Marlboro and several other cigarette brands by 71 cents a pack, a move expected to help the cigarette maker’s profits.
The pricing change - described by Citigroup analysts as “extremely bullish” for the domestic tobacco industry - pushed Altria shares up 5% early Thursday.
Altria, however, plans to cut prices for Copenhagen and Skoal the smokeless tobacco brands it acquired through its purchase of UST Inc. by 62 cents per tin.
Altria had been widely expected to cut some smokeless tobacco prices as UST’s premium brands had faced tough competition from cheaper competing products before the acquisition. The lower prices could boost volumes of Altria’s smokeless brands and make them more attractive to consumers.
Altria’s move to lower smokeless prices could mean fresh competition for Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), which sells smokeless tobacco products like popular discount brand Grizzly through its Conwood unit. Altria is also discontinuing UST’s Rooster smokeless tobacco brand.
The cigarette price increase is far more important than the smokeless price cut, Citigroup noted, as cigarettes contribute about 80% of Altria’s profit.
As the tobacco industry’s dominant player, Altria has “lifted prices by more than, and sooner than, expected,” the Citi analysts noted. An Altria spokesman said the list price increases on cigarettes are primarily intended to cover the costs of a federal excise tax increase that goes into effect later this year.
The U.S. tobacco industry has been seeing a drop in volumes amid higher taxes and bans on smoking in public places. Analysts had widely expected those volume declines to accelerate this year after a 61 cent per pack federal excise tax increase on cigarettes goes into effect in April. Higher prices for cigarettes would potentially help cigarette makers shore up their profits in the face of those volume declines. Citigroup expects Altria’s competitors Reynolds and Lorillard Inc. (LO) to follow up with their own price increases on cigarettes. Both companies declined to comment.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration would gain new power to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products under legislation passed by a U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday.
The proposal, which passed 39 to 13 but must still win approval by the full House and Senate, would authorize the FDA to oversee the controversial, multibillion-dollar tobacco industry, including its advertisements and product designs. The FDA already oversees drugs, devices, most foods, cosmetics and animal drugs.
“Regulating tobacco is the single most important thing that we can do right now to curb the deadly toll of tobacco,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, who introduced the bill. A similar measure by the California Democrat passed the House last year but stalled in the Senate.
Giving the federal government authority over tobacco products would help curb smoking, which can cause a number of expensive and preventable health problems such as cancer, heart disease and other lung disorders, Democrats said.
full story at: http://uk.reuters.com/article/usPoliticsNews/idUKTRE5237AL20090304
It’s Day Four of Stub it Out Week and, to finish with fags for good, take inspiration from stars who have succeeded. They prove you can be cool without lighting up. Here are some of the ways they kicked the habit..
As President Obama prepares for the political battles that lie ahead he is also waging a personal battle – to quit smoking.
The new world leader – now officially non-smoking – has publicly admitted falling off the wagon during the race for the presidency.
Often spotted chewing nicorette gum, he claims to have made himself “much healthier” but has struggled to kick the habit for good.
And the President is far from alone. There’s an army of high-profile smokers who can’t or don’t want to kick the habit.
Party girls Kate Moss, Britney Spears and Sienna Miller are always being snapped fag in hand.
But for every celeb puffing away on a ciggie there’s another who has successfully quit. Here we reveal how a few famous faces have beaten the urge for a nicotine fix – and how you can follow in their footsteps.
Charlotte Church Songbird Charlotte ditched the fags on New Year’s Day 2006, soon after getting together with partner Gavin Henson.
The squeaky-clean rugby star, a strict non-smoker, enrolled as an ambassador for helping people in Wales to give up cigarettes after the introduction of the smoking ban.
With her man’s encouragement, and feeling motivated by her first pregnancy, the opera singer-turned pop star was able to give fags the boot.
And despite falling off the wagon last year after Wales triumphed in the Six Nations, she has stuck to her promise – urging others to do the same by - saying smoking “looks
disgusting”. “I smoked about 20 or 25 a day and I’d tried to give up a couple of times before but only lasted half a day,” says Charlotte. “The first two weeks were tough and the first month I still really missed it, but I feel so much healthier now and can really feel the difference in my voice.”
Quit tips: Most women stop smoking when they discover they’re pregnant – the trick is sticking to it after the baby is born. The first few months after childbirth are stressful and it’s crucial you get support from family, friends and even your GP, to help you stick to your resolution.
Dr Andy McEwen, Cancer Research UK deputy director of tobacco studies, says: “Up to 60 per cent of women who stop smoking at some point during pregnancy relapse within six months of the birth, while up to 80 per cent return to smoking within 12 months.
“Partner support is very important. This needs to be maintained to ensure you don’t return to smoking.”
Gwyneth Paltrow Super-healthy Gwyneth stubbed out her last ciggie when she was 24, and now she will only light up for her movie roles.
She is among just 10 per cent of quitters who succeed through will-power alone.
And while Gwyneth admits to still wanting the odd fag, she says she takes pleasure from knowing she can control her cravings.
If you’re planning to use Gwynnie’s iron-will method, the trick is to really want to give up – otherwise you’ll soon be back on the ciggies.
Quit tips A good trick is to make an effort to change your routine to avoid the times you usually light up.
This might be when you’re waiting for the bus, out with friends, or like Gwyneth, relaxing after work.
By finding other things to do at these times, you’ll make it easier to resist the urge to smoke.
Dr McEwen said: “Motivation to stop smoking is crucial in any quit attempt, but on its own it is often not enough.
“At times when people are feeling weak they can find it very difficult to resist the urge to smoke.
“There is medicine and help available that significantly increase your chances of giving up, so if willpower alone isn’t working, talk to your GP.”
Charlize Theron Oscar-winner Charlize was a three-packets-a-day girl until she jacked it in favour of more healthy habits such as yoga and pilates.
The glamorous star, who admits she was once a “bad, bad smoker”, used regular exercise to beat the stress that often causes ex-smokers to relapse.
This method works because the natural high after working out combats any anxiety felt by smokers worried about missing their fix. Research has shown that most smokers don’t crave cigarettes after exercise, and so are less likely to fall off the wagon.
Quit tips: Combined with a change in routine to avoid smoking danger points, exercise is a real winner for smokers struggling to quit.
Dr McEwen says: “Short bursts of moderate physical activity can help reduce urges to smoke.
“So if you’re taking brisk walks at lunch time or walking up some stairs every time you want to have a cigarette, then this will definitely help.
“Again, this should be in addition to getting professional support or using effective medications.
Ashton Kutcher Chain-smoker Ashton used to puff on an incredible 40 cigarettes a day, but was pushed to quit by health-conscious wife Demi Moore.
The Hollywood actor managed to kick his addiction by reading self-help books examining why people smoke. A favourite was The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, by Allen Carr.
After quitting, Ashton told a magazine: “I read the book. It gives you guidance and lets you smoke as you read – and on the final page it says ‘And now, quit’, and I closed the book, and I did!”
Quit tips: Self-help books suit those who are worried about asking for help or therapy costs. Research authors first online to check their credentials. Hypnosis DVDs and CDs can also be effective and will help you relax, too.
It’s not big and it’s not clever Here are a few of the die-hard smokers who just can’t resist another puff..
Kate Moss Supermodel Kate is famous for her four-pack-a-day habit, which some would say is taking its toll on her skin.
Lily Allen Often dubbed fag-ash Lil, serial puffer Lily quit in 2008 after hypnosis, but soon fell back into her old ways.
Colin Farrell The Irish actor makes no bones about his fondness for chain-smoking. And while the self-confessed bad boy seems to have calmed down, this is one habit he can’t kick.
Sienna Miller Man-eater Sienna loves a drag on a fag. Despite the efforts of old flame Jude Law to get her to quit, her nicotine habit has never wavered.
Britney Spears Not known for her self-restraint, Britney’s smoking habit has won her the nickname Puff Mama in the US.
She sparked outrage last year when photos were leaked of her two-year-old son playing with her Marlboro Lights.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Menthol cigarettes may be harder to quit than the standard variety, particularly for lower-income smokers, a new study suggests.
The findings add to evidence that mentholated cigarettes may be especially addictive, but highlight a role for socioeconomics as well, researchers say.
They found that black and Hispanic smokers who favored menthol cigarettes had lower long-term quit rates than their counterparts who smoked standard cigarettes. There was no such difference among white smokers overall, but there was a pattern among unemployed whites: those who smoked menthol cigarettes had lower quit rates at one month.
Previous research has found that menthol-cigarette smokers tend to have higher blood levels of nicotine than other smokers do.
“This study suggests that people who smoke mentholated cigarettes — particularly those with a low disposable income — may inhale more nicotine and toxins per cigarette,” lead researcher Kunal K. Gandhi told Reuters Health.
This, in turn, may spur a stronger addiction, explained Gandhi, a researcher at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Income may enter the picture, Gandhi and his colleagues say, by altering the way in which people smoke. Low-income smokers may try to get more out of each smoke break by taking more puffs per cigarette or inhaling more deeply.
Menthol makes this an easier task because its cooling effect helps mask the harshness of nicotine and other tobacco toxins.
The findings, published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice, are based on 1,688 smokers who sought cessation therapy over four years. One-third of white patients smoked menthol cigarettes, compared with two-thirds of Latino patients and 81 percent of African Americans.
Among black patients, Gandhi’s team found, menthol-cigarette smokers were only one-third as likely to have quit smoking after one month as those who smoked non-menthol cigarettes. The findings were nearly identical among Latinos.
Menthol smokers were still less likely to have quit at the six-month mark as well.
People who smoke mentholated cigarettes may find themselves highly addicted even if their daily number of cigarettes is relatively low, Gandhi noted. Signs of strong addiction, he added, include waking up at night to smoke and needing a cigarette within a half-hour of getting up in the morning.
For any smoker, Gandhi said, the chances of quitting are much greater with counseling and with prescription medications for conquering nicotine addiction.
SOURCE: International Journal of Clinical Practice, February 2009.
Efforts to cut the number of smoking related deaths could see the end of tobacco products being displayed in shops across Northern Ireland.
The Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, is planning to bring a proposal before the Assembly which — if approved — will see tobacco products stored under the counter in shops across Northern Ireland.
The move has been met with support from leading healthcare and cancer support charities who have called for MLAs to give their backing to the potentially life saving proposal.
Douglas King, head of fundraising and communications with Action Cancer, welcomed the plan.
He said: “The minister’s move will contribute to saving lives from cancer in Northern Ireland. Action Cancer works on many fronts to reduce the risk of death or serious illness from smoking-related causes.
“We welcome any move that reduces the possibility of any young person or adult increasing their risk of cancer from smoking.”
Every year, a total of 2,700 deaths in Northern Ireland are caused by smoking, while research has found that a 50-year-old man who smokes 20 cigarettes a day increases threefold his risk of suffering a heart attack.
This display ban is nothing more than a gimmick so the government can get a few headlines 
