I am risk-averse as much as possible. I also like to think that my lungs were designed to breathe in – ideally – a combination of oxygen and inert gases, some beneficial isotopes, and nothing else. Well, maybe a bit of perfume, a flower’s aroma, some spices, fresh produce, the clean skin of a beloved person, fresh salty ocean, mountain or forest air.
Which of tobacco’s dozens or maybe even hundreds of components is the main culprit? Which is more likely to trigger a migraine headache? And why is that component considered a trigger for migraines – whatever active component in tobacco or other smoke it is?
I say “IT,” but I suspect the reality is that more than one of these components is responsible for those excruciating headaches. Care to do a study to support your point of view? You have dozens, if not hundreds of substances to examine. Will you live long enough to test them all and narrow it down to the main culprit?
You need to ask yourself: are you able to afford the cost of this addiction, which is becoming more and more socially unacceptable? Aside from the cost – and here, I submit you would be further ahead in life if you invested your income in caring for your health, in a business, a healthy stock market or a pension fund, rather than the high cost of smoking tobacco. I was always too thrifty to smoke. It was so much cheaper to breathe in secondhand smoke – almost the same damage to my health, and I didn’t have to buy the smokes!
Since emotional stress is an added trigger for migraines, aside from the stress of smoking, do you need the emotional cost of disapproving glances from those around you even if you are smoking in one of the few legally accepted areas where smoking is permitted?
At some point, some societies acted for everyone’s benefit – the pendulum of public opinion swayed toward self-preservation, lawmakers reacted, and smoking in many countries was outlawed gradually in most public spaces. This is for the benefit of so many members of society (there are always exceptions to any rule, yes?).
Research shows that smokers who succeed in quitting do so, the more anti-smoking methods they try. In other words, their success is almost directly proportional to the number of anti-smoking strategies they adopt. How encouraging a research result!
A young couple I know decided to motivate each other to give up smoking. With the money saved, they were able to buy season tickets for their two favorite sports teams, and then delighted us with the pride and pleasure they took in kicking the habit. Of course, we got eyewitness reports on all the best sports plays. Bonus!
By now, you know my approach to:
- leaving no stone unturned
- conducting an internet search (example: “How to quit smoking methods”) – you’d be surprised at the wealth of great ideas!
- drawing up a checklist
- consulting your main health care provider or even better – a smoking cessation clinic (they’ve heard every excuse, they are relentless in supporting your effort to overcome your addiction)
- Try method after method, practice the one that appeals to you most, and try something new to really feel the improvement.
- using humor to get over the terror of adopting better health habits and giving up a beloved but noxious fake friend.
- rewarding yourself for every small success, every step forward. Taking a deep, invigorating breath and relax. Remember, with every step you take, you are walking away from pain.
- making a record of every step in the process. You may wind up with a story good enough for a series of funny experiences as you wrestle with your better angel – then you can publish it or post it on an Internet site and get “Likes,” maybe go viral and derive some income, while inspiring others!
