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"why you can't quit smoking"
by joe camel
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smoking is bad for you, even the cigarette packages will tell you that. and yet, 25 percent of americans continue to smoke. why? because tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive and can make it very hard, if not impossible, to quit. there are more and more aides appearing in drugstores and doctor's offices to help people quit smoking, but nearly half of the people that decide to quit are unsuccessful, because Big Tobacco wants it that way.
recent studies found that 70 percent of smokers who want to stop smoking in the next six months already have tried to do so more than five times, and have failed. they have used a variety of quitting methods from drugs to nicotine replacement to just stopping "cold turkey" and none of it works. cold turkey is the hardest way to quit smoking, and the least successful. people turn to smoking aides like the patch and gum, but they don't work either because Big Tobacco has stacked the deck.
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Big Tobacco produces a drug that people love even while it is killing them, turning their breath sour, their teeth brown, and driving their friends away. it's an addictive substance and a very hard habit to break. as smoking became more and more unpopular, it was clear that Big Tobacco had to do something to stand in the way of possible quitters. Big Tobacco invented Stop Smoking Aides, the "easy way" to quit smoking. the aides are expensive, ranging from $200 for a gum regiment to $600 for the inhaler. compared to a one-pack-a-day habit of over $1200.00 a year it seems like a small price to pay, but after a few weeks most potential quitters have picked up smoking again.
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it is a vicious cycle of addiction - quitting aides - relapse - and back to addiction. considering that most smokers will try, and fail, three times or more before giving up the idea of quitting completely and most successful quitters have tried at least six times before they kicked their habit, this can add up to a whole lot of smoking cessation aides. Big Tobacco manufactures the cigarettes that hook smokers, then they release aides to help them quit, and when the aides fail they have them as trusty customers again.
| so why can't someone manufacture smoking cessation aides that actually work? for the same reason that your car is powered by gasoline. there are alternatives but they will never see the florescent lighting of your local drug store as long as the powerful folks at Big Tobacco don't want you to quit, and aren't going to let you if they can help it. what can you do about it? you can be a good little american consumer and keep buying cigarettes, lighters, and whitening toothpastes, or you can show a little backbone and stepdown your smoking habits until you can realistically quit. the choice is yours. |
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