The Great American Smoke Out is Nov. 21, sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
The following information is according to the American Cancer Society: “More than 34 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, and smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death and illness in the world. Smoking causes an estimated 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths. And more than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease. While the cigarette smoking rate has dropped significantly, from 42% in 1965 to 14% in 2017, the gains have been inconsistent. Some groups of Americans suffer disproportionately from smoking-related cancer and other diseases, including those who have less education, who live below the poverty level, or who suffer from serious psychological distress, as well as certain racial and ethnic groups, and lesbians, gays and bisexuals.”
Money, of course, is a literal cost of tobacco use. In a Flagstaff hypnotherapy clinic, clients looking to be tobacco-free were spending an average of $8 per day, $56 a week, almost $3,000 a year! One client realized that every month he was smoking a car payment. By quitting, he got a “free” car. Another client discovered that she was spending three months of rent every year on cigarettes.
Health is the other main cost. Looking on the bright side when someone quits smoking: within 12 hours, carbon monoxide in the blood drops to normal; from two weeks to three months, circulation and lung function improve; in one to nine months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease; by one year, the risk of coronary heart disease drops to half of a smoker. As the years of being tobacco-free add up, the risks of various cancers and stroke drop dramatically.
Anger is not usually considered a healthy emotion. It can be helpful to realize that people are getting rich by selling smokers an addictive poison while making them poorer. Anger to the point of refusing to give those people any more money is healthy.
The tobacco companies are heavily invested in the vaping industry. Many people are becoming addicted to vaping, which turns out to not be safe. Vaping and medical marijuana can complicate quitting traditional cigarette smoking because the behaviors are so similar.
Helping people quit smoking is probably the best-known use of hypnosis other than entertainment. Hypnosis is effective in many cases and can be used in conjunction with nicotine replacement therapy. FBN
By Don Berlyn
For more information, contact Don Berlyn, PT, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist at 928-699-8263, flaghypno@gmail.com or visit flagstaffhypnotherapy.com. Consultations are always free.
