RE: a health dilemma.

From: Dickey, Michael F (michael_f_dickey@groton.pfizer.com)
Date: Mon Jan 21 2002 - 08:00:37 MST


animated silicon love doll wrote:

> i've been smoking off and on since i was about fifteen (four years, or
so). about two thirds
> of that time i've smoked cloves. i want, and need, to quit. i don't have
much faith in
> patches or gum; if nicotine is more addictive than heroin, like they tell
us, then a gradual

"Simply quit. Unlike with heroin, there are no "jones" strong
enough to kill you. I smoked 20 years and quit cold-turkey 11
years ago. Once I decided (meaning "to cut off any
alternative") it wasn't that bad."

Indeed, as Samantha said, just quit. You are concioussly aware of your
actions, you are therefore then consciously aware of every time you reach
out a grab a cigarette, light it, and put it into your mouth. If you truly
did not want to smoke, could anyone force you do to these things? These are
not subconscious reflexive actions, you are fully aware of everything you
are doing. It is an aspect of our liberalized paternalistic victim based
society in the US now that has everyone thinking they are not responsible
for their own actions. Even Alcoholics Anonymous teaches that alcoholism is
a 'disease'. I am sure that people with multiple sclerosis would LOVE to
just *decide* to not have it anymore. The more the media and society can
convince you that you are not responsible for your own actions the more they
can get you to buy products to *help* overcome those choices you made (such
as smoking, eating high fat foods, etc) All of our behavior, genetically
influenced or not, is filtered through a conscious awareness (unless you
sleepwalk and smoke) If you truly do not want to smoke, then stop making
excuses, and just choose not to smoke. Every time you reach out for a
cigarette, remember that you no longer want to smoke. To use the cheesy
cliché 'You are who you CHOOSE to be' To often I hear people say 'That's
just the way he is, he cant help it' its usually an attempt to excuse some
type of unethical behavior (most recently, someone excusing a friend of
theirs inability to remain faithful) its also bullshit. If you want to stop
smoking, just choose to never pick and light a cigarette again.

Thats my 2c anyway

Michael

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