This is my personal montage to smoking – my deep thoughts on why cigarettes can take over the mind and body…

While laying on your back smoking, white puffs of smoke float up like harmless clouds in a clear blue sky. You shape your mouth in to a tight circle and tap on your cheek with your thumb and forefinger, Voila! You have blown a smoke ring. Your friend lying next to you laughs and tries to blow some smoke rings as well. Engaging in the ritual of smoking is one of the oldest tradition and one of the biggest allures of smoking. Of course, what we know today is that those puffy clouds that attracted us to smoking are not harmless. They are more harmful than acid rain. They are deadly. Nevertheless, the culture of smoking came before the concept of cool or rebellion commonly associated with smoking today. The culture of smoking is as old as the culture of humanity itself. Such a culture is difficult to break, even with the knowledge that this time honored tradition is deadly.

If you handed a cigarette smoker a loaded gun and said, “shoot yourself” (or your child, spouse or pet), they would not do it. Cigarette smokers do not want to die. They want to smoke. What makes the dangers of smoking so difficult is that the harm is usually not immediate and often cannot be seen. One ex-smoker confessed that it was not until she saw herself aging so much faster than her nonsmoking friends that she got up the courage to finally quit. As soon as she could physically see it, the fun was over.

If seeing is believing for you, take time to search the web. Real people, real stories and real tragedies are being shared like never before. What you see should not have to be looking back at you in the mirror.

Quitting smoking is a life change choice that each smoker must make for themselves. It is a choice to get healthy. Once you are moving in that direction, why not go all the way? The money you spend in a year on cigarettes might even add up to a gym membership! Natural devices are available to help ease your transition from one life style to the other. Herbal cigarettes, for example, are one device that people use as a stepping stone to quitting altogether. Other herbal supplements thought to satisfy smoking cravings come in the form of capsules, teas, lozenges and sprays. As you take away the use of cigarettes you should look for ways to fill the void left in its wake. Adding herbs and tinctures that will heal the damage smoking has caused is a healthy and satisfying way to replace the rituals that inevitably crop up around smoking.

The Internet not only gives us information but also resources. The National Cancer Society has set up a toll free hotline to answer questions about what quit smoking program would work best for you. At 1800-QUIT -NOW, trained counselors are available to coach you through the initial planning stages for quitting and will help you set up a quit date. There are also online support groups and chat rooms for those having a hard time jumping in with both feet.

You are not alone in smoking: you are harming yourself, those around you and the environment. Nor are you alone in quitting; reach out and see.

Sorry for my rant – I really wanted to get that off my chest.