YOUR SMOKING BAHBIT
You Can Quit Now
Dr. Don Kennedy, MBA
Author, 5 AM & Already Behind
Board Certified Family Physician
It started as a dare or the influence from an old commercial showing Greta Garbo or the Marlboro Man. Now it’s an addiction more intense that Cocaine. You love it, you hate it, but now it’s a taboo, seen as a disease and unacceptable social behavior. More importantly, no matter what age you are now, it’s robbing you of your minutes and days. In my book, 5 AM and Already Behind, I call it a Bahbit™. It’s the one bad habit you need to change now that will have the greatest immediate impact on your retirement story. You must quit, you can quit, and here’s the newest information to help you save your life.
You can quit. People quit everyday. Information and education is a critical component to your program. Statistics show a decrease of smoking by 50% since 1965, yet one fifth of the population still lights up. 70% of the smokers want to quit, 80% try to quit, and most will try at least eight times before they succeed.
You can quit. 37.5% of the preventable deaths in the United States are attributed directly to smoking. That’s one death every eight seconds. If you are a male, smoking will rob you of 13 years of your life, a female, 14 years. If you are breathing someone else’s smoke, then you are also a smoker with the same risk for heart attack and stroke as those who seem to care little about your health.
You can quit. No matter what age you quit you will be healthier. Skin tone and color will improve within thirty days and it will slow the aging process. Lung function will increase within three months. At one year your heart disease risk will be cut by 50% and at ten years, lung cancer risk will be cut to over 50% as those who continue.
You can quit. Smoking is an addiction caused by stimulation of the receptors in the brain that release a substance called Dopamine. It takes 15 seconds to release the Dopamine that causes the warm, fuzzy feeling of satisfaction and contentment. That feeling will last two hours before the craving starts and you need to light up. With time, like any addiction, you will crave more nicotine and it will cost your retirement and your health.
You can quit. There are medications and programs avaiable. Nicotine gum and Zyban have been around for years.The newest medication, Chantix (Veranicline), blocks those nicotine receptors and stimulates your brain to release a smaller amount of Dopamine. You still get the warm fuzzy, but it’s from the medication, not the cigarette. Taken on a daily basis and coupled with the Chantix patient education and feedback program, studies show those who stay on the medication and do not smoke for six months have a 70% success rate.
You can quit. The most common cause of failure is your daily rituals (coffee and a cigarette), not weight gain. Identify and change your rituals. Simply make a list of all the times you smoke and look at the times you light up. Take a walk in the morning and take your breaks somewhere else or at the gym.
You can quit. You will double your energy, look better, and smell better. It’s not about today, it’s about the quality of your life tomorrow. It’s about your family and grandchildren. It’s about self respect in caring for yourself and it’s about time… the time you have left on this ephemeral journey called your life.
It’s late, you can and should quit now!
Dr. Kennedy is a board certified family physician, professional speaker, and author of 5AM & Already Behind. He is the world’s leading authority on smoking cessation and the habits that drive our lives.
For more information on speaking and seminars please contact Dr. Kennedy via the contact page.
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