The alarm clock goes off and disturbs your sound sleep! You roll over and reach out to silence the irritating noise! Now that there is silence and you are somewhat awake, with your arm still outstretched, you gently grope around for your pack of cigarettes that spent the night on the table beside you. You may have even set the clock to go off fifteen minutes early to give you enough time to really enjoy your first cigarette of the day. I know you recognize this. I do too. As your fingers grasp the pack, a sense of calm floods over you. Then, as you tamp the new pack and open it up, you experience a sense of great anticipation! Pulling one out of the pack, putting it between your fingers, and reaching for the lighter causes your anticipation to climb until you bring the cigarette to your lips and the flame singes the other end when you experience satisfaction. You may wolf down breakfast to make sure you have time to grab at least one before you must leave for your day’s activities. On the way, you are free to smoke as you desire, but there is that rush to smoke just one more before you turn in to the parking lot of what may be a smoke-free zone where you must spend the day. On your way in, it is time for one of those rather potent breath mints so strong that the scent of smoke dare not linger. Midmorning means that break time is near and that you will soon be able to enjoy a cigarette. You may see the same people outside at the designated smoking area, and sometimes all of you have umbrellas or are all bundled up producing steam with every exhalation. Each cigarette takes about ten minutes from start to finish, so you know how many you can have during break and when to start the last one before having to go back in while having another breath mint chaser as you walk in. Lunch has more time to smoke, and you follow the same routine as you have daily with every opportunity. One final break and the workday is nearly done.

You may look forward to being able to light up as soon as you leave the building or are back in your car. On the way home, you are free to enjoy the taste, the draw, the cool feel of a menthol, and the fragrance of your favorite brand of cigarettes. There is less anticipation since there is no restriction. As your destination nears, you may know how much time you have before you arrive and when to start the last one. Do you recognize this day at work? I do. Have you experienced a day like this? I have too. When you have reached your destination, you are free to smoke as desired. Once you know what time dinner will be, you know when to light up a cigarette before sitting down. The first thing after dinner you may reach for the pack and enjoy another cigarette. The phone rings, and the pack is within arm’s reach. Watching TV allows ample time to smoke as desired. You end the day as you started it with the pack and lighter on the bedside table within reach. Before you know it, the alarm clock goes off, and you start again. As you can see, it seems that smoking is in control over your life as it determines what you do and when. It has taken the place of choice and replaces your will which makes you the victim! Your daily activities are all centered around your smoking habit. Is it possible to escape? I found a way, and I can show you how I was able to take back control and no longer be a victim!

We know from experience that our control is lost so easily because smoking is a habit. There is a real power in repeated actions, and when we do things over and over, those actions become habits and a part of who we are such as being a smoker. The action or behavior becomes learned, and because it is wired so deeply into our brains, we are able to perform it automatically without thinking such as reaching for that pack of cigarettes. I’m sure you may have done this as I have. It’s sort of like walking. We take most steps without even thinking about which foot goes next, but we continue to place one foot in front of the other while our thoughts are on the scenery. Habits are powerful, and they work through what is called the habit loop where first there is a CUE. Next, there is the usual ROUTINE, and then there is the REWARD. This process is very much like the smoking process where your desire to reach for the pack enters your awareness, your cue, and you automatically reach out and grab the pack which is your routine. The taste and feel of the first puff of the cigarette is your reward. It satisfies that craving and completes the habit loop. When you think about it, smoking is a complex process. This habit includes these components which are involved in smoking each cigarette: the use of the mouth, the draw effect, and the hands are busy. In addition to these, the process of taking a puff consists of the action of picking up the cigarette from the ash tray, putting it between the fingers, bringing it to your mouth, using the draw effect, inhaling, and blowing out the smoke. I’m sure you recognize each of these and likely look forward to experiencing them just as I did. Again, we do all of these without thinking. Not only are there these identified components of the smoking process, there are challenges that you may confront which require your awareness, persistence, and courage as you consider, deliberate, and then walk through your Quit! I have included each of these to help make your walk and its challenges more easily understood so that there is a greater chance of success.

These are my thoughts that led to my decision to Quit! Forever!! The HEALTH costs led me to make that huge decision to stop smoking. Do I want to smoke, or do I want to breathe? I am a healthcare provider, and in my profession, I have seen so many examples of the effects of smoking, and the lack of any quality of life was a constant reminder that I could end up in that same situation if nothing changed! The people who showed me what my future may look like appeared sick with ashen colored skin from the lack of oxygen, and they likely will have small tubes in their nose supplying them with oxygen because their lungs are no longer able to function adequately. The productive cough is always present, and they have no energy to enjoy the life they have. As I sat at my computer one day, I had a talk with myself and gave myself a choice. I thoroughly enjoy smoking as I’m sure you do, so I could either continue to enjoy this habit or I could continue to breathe! I couldn’t have both. There was no real choice! I had made my decision to Quit! Forever!! Now!

As smokers, we must consider the enormous Costs involved in this habit of choice. While pondering the idea of giving up something that may have been a daily practice for much of your adult life, considering the tremendous Costs smoking requires of us and what we sacrifice can be helpful in making the decision to remove cigarettes from your life and maintaining your progress throughout your Quit! program. The Costs I have identified are more than just financial, but of course that one has special meaning to all of us.

FINANCIAL COSTS

According to the CDC, one pack of cigarettes costs $6.28 which makes smoking one pack per day cost $223.00 a month and $2,676.00 a year! The costs vary by state, and for 2023, the state with the lowest cost per pack is Missouri at $6.11 or $2,230.15 a year! The highest is New York at $11.96 per pack or $4,365.40 a year! What could you do with the money spent on cigarettes? If it came down to having to choose between a carton of cigarettes and food, the mortgage or rent, utilities, gas for the car, or healthcare, which would you choose? The wrong choice could lead to homelessness if the rent is missed, no heat in the winter, or an empty plate at dinner time. The loss of your basic necessities results in the loss of the quality of life you desire. We all may have been to that place before and could likely wind up there again if there is no change.

SOCIAL COSTS

The Social costs of smoking can also be too high a price, and we may pay that price with many of our activities. We may miss out on being invited to events if the hosts do not smoke, and these events may be with friends or even with family. In thinking about giving up smoking, having to choose between smoking and sharing time with family and friends sounds like a no brainer for the nonsmoker, but for us smokers, we may have no real choice. In those more public events such as concerts or movies where smoking is not allowed, the choices are to miss some of the action to take smoke breaks or possibly miss out completely and not go! Just as cigarette smoke permeates the air that we breathe, the smoking habit is pervasive throughout our daily lives.

HEALTH COSTS

As we all know, our health will suffer from our choice of continuing to smoke. Our friends and family will also suffer due to exposure to the secondhand smoke, and these effects can be lifelong. Smoking related illnesses cost more than three billion a year. 225 billion is lost on direct medical care for adults and greater than 156 billion in lost productivity including 5.6 billion in lost productivity due to secondhand smoke. There is also 7 billion lost due to premature death. Smoking exerts its effects on the body in numerous ways, and the Respiratory system is the one we hear most about. Because cigarette smoke enters the body through the lungs which are responsible for ensuring that oxygen is available for use throughout the body, cigarette smoke and its dangerous chemicals exert their harmful effects in the lungs and can hinder this process that is so necessary to sustain life.

Of all of these, we may feel the Financial costs the most mainly because we are aware of when the bills in our wallets are no longer there. It is easy to deny that the Social costs even exist since, Well, lots of people smoke which gives us permission to continue and releases the guilt that we may feel. However, the Health costs affect not only our quality of life but our very lives! Although smoking may provide us with immense pleasure, it comes at a price, a very high price, and it just costs too much!

If we are to reach our goal of a smoke free life and minimize the many losses and costs, we cannot continue to do the same things over and over. We must make a change. Sometimes change is necessary even though it isn’t at all easy. It requires giving up what is comfortable and familiar for something unknown that may cause great discomfort. It reminds me of buying a new pair of shoes. The new pair is necessary because the pair in use now is really scuffed up, is beginning to let the puddle water seep in, or the Velcro is shot. The new pair relieves these issues but may be uncomfortable at first. However, if these shoes become your chosen pair for daily use, they become more comfortable and will protect your feet. You are better off because of the change. Walking through your Quit! is very similar in that the discomfort could lead you to an improved quality of life. It is different, but the benefits may outweigh the sacrifice of the comfortable. In addition to the discomfort and all the other feelings that you may experience, change can be very exciting but also frightening! Your anxiety may increase temporarily as you learn new ways of doing things. This reminds me of a ride at the fair! There may be one that you really want to try, but maybe there is some fear! Just standing there watching the people go around and around increases the excitement. You may want to experience that excitement, but you will have to decide whether or not to forward and get on. If the decision is to ty it out and get on the ride, that may satisfy your desire to experience the excitement and pleasure. If the decision is to pass it by, there may always be a regret, and you will never know what you missed. To gain satisfaction, it may have been necessary to change how you think about the ride which can help you to walk through the fear and concern and allow you to enjoy the experience.

I had made my decision to Quit! Forever!! Now! How do I do that? I should mention here that although I received so much pleasure from smoking, I had to decide to Quit and really want to. This is very important, and this We Quit! Forever!! method may not work unless you have the willingness and a very strong desire to Quit! I say very strong desire because the immense pleasure from smoking and the role it has played in our lives is very powerful! It also can define who we are in a way as one who smokes. Having made that decision, I tried different ways which took several attempts. I was going to quit after having major surgery, but instead I tried to limit how many I smoked and even switched to small cigars so maybe I would not inhale. Yeah! Right! I wasn’t closing that door completely and realized that I was still exposing myself to the suffocating smoke that I wanted so badly to remove from my life! In another attempt, I tried keeping my hands busy with embroidery and playing the piano so that I wouldn't pick up a cigarette, but I found it easy to smoke at the same time. Next, I thought that maybe if I substituted something for the cigarette that it would satisfy having something in my mouth. I went to a local store and bought suckers, but I found myself eating them quickly and not receiving any satisfaction. That didn’t work either. Nothing was working, and I was beginning to feel that it was hopeless! I still wanted to remove smoking from my life and had to find a way to help me reach that goal. I sat down and asked myself. “What do I need?” From there, being a former math major, I developed a strategy and designed a way that allowed me to QUIT! smoking FOREVER!! This bears repeating. Have you made the decision to quit and really want to? Was this your decision or that of anyone else? This is extremely important, and my We Quit! Forever!! method may not work unless you have the willingness and a very strong desire to Quit! I say very strong desire because the immense pleasure from smoking and the role it has played in our lives is very powerful! If you are ready to begin your journey toward a smoke free life with all the challenges, bumps in the road, and excitement, I invite you to add the We Quit! Forever!! method to your daily life. Although I cannot guarantee that you will become smoke free, it worked for me, and I hope it will work for you! Like that ride at the fair, you won’t know what you missed unless you try. Because this is the beginning of a new life for you, I am inviting you to take that next step toward a smoke free life and allow my We Quit! Forever!! method to help you achieve success. The introductory price is much less than what is spent on cigarettes in one month based on the CDC’s findings. This is subject to change once the introductory period has lapsed. I hope that you will begin a journey toward a smoke free life and Quit! Forever!! Put one foot in front of the other! Let me show you how! To purchase and begin your journey toward wellness, please return to https://quit-for-good.company.site/