Vape Anyone? Ceasing Nicotine Addiction

As I was getting ready to gas up my car at the pump, the hose doused the exterior of the car, before the nozzle reached the gas tank. Annoyed, I had a moment of gratitude thinking about how lucky I am to be an ex-smoker. Back in the day, I’d be “safe” leaving the lit cigarette in the ashtray as I gassed up the car. Not so smart indeed.

Last month, there was a new report that came out from Casa Columbia regarding Nicotine Addiction. It’s pretty thorough and quite the scientific read. You can download it and learn a few things while you light up your smoke. (That is one of the techniques that Alan Carr encourages in the “Easy Way to STOP Smoking”)

As the study depicts, the use of nicotine leads the way for the brain to develop addiction. If you use nicotine, you will have a higher likeliness of misusing alcohol and using illicit substances. That’s the bottom line.

Cigarette use has generally decreased, but the number of nicotine delivery devices has dramatically increased over the past few years. These are thought of as forms of “harm reduction” since the smoker is not actually inhaling the chemical laden carcinogens that cigarettes award. Fair enough to say that it seems safer, but is it?

There are a large amount of people “vaping” that never even touched a cigarette. They’re not smokers, but they are now addicted to nicotine. Young people in particular seem to find it a fashionable thing to do. We’ve come a long way since the Marlboro Man. The end behaviors are the same. Want to look cool, grab your vape. Feeling contemplative? Grab your vape. Stressed out? Grab your vape. Just because you can, vape.

There are multiple ways that can help you STOP your smoking/ nicotine use. There is nicotine gum, the patch, lozenges, acupuncture,  hypnotism, medications and therapy. I’m sure I missed one or two in here, but these are the most common. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances you can ever put in your body. There will be a number of behaviors you will likely need and want to address.  The CDC states that smoking is the “leading cause of preventable death worldwide.” Again, you don’t have to do it by yourself. Support groups can be extremely helpful in your tobacco/nicotine cessation.

If vaping is the way for you to STOP smoking, that’s OK too. Be sure to make a plan around your smoking cessation regardless of what path you choose. You don’t want to stop smoking and continue using nicotine for the next ten or twenty years. Eventually, you will have to stop. It all boils down to the motive. If you’re not sure why you do something, you might want to take a deeper look into it. If you’re doing something that you know is hurting you, and likely the ones you love, seek help as soon as you can. Nobody has ever regretted stopping smoking. I’m sure you won’t either.

Hopefully you won’t have to lose any fingers before you decide to do so. Remember, the commercial with the smoker who lost a few fingers and was still smoking? I’ve actually worked with a few people who have lost limbs due to their smoking, and I have a family member who uses a cool device to talk through the hole in his neck since smoking gave him throat cancer. Here are a few anti-smoking ads that you can enjoy while lighting up as well.

As an ex-smoker, I knew that smoking cigarettes was bad news, but the allure and glamour associated somehow rocked my world. That it did. If this resonates with you or feel it may do so with someone you love, click the share button, leave a comment, and tell your friend about your plan to STOP using nicotine.

Love Life Today. THiS ReCoVeRY LiFE.