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ABOUT NICOTINE ADDICTION Sound familiar? "I need to smoke every hour or so. I have to get up in the middle of the night to have a cigarette. I can't run out of my cigarettes. I'll go to the store in the middle of the night if I have to. I'll bum a cigarette from a total stranger. I have even offered to buy a cigarette from someone. I have smoked my old butts because I had to have my 'fix.' I have even picked up a butt off the street!" "I don't want anyone to know I smoke, so I hide my smoking habit from others. I wear a scarf over my head when I smoke so the smell doesn't get in my hair. I wash my hands and brush my teeth every time I smoke. I have special clothes that I wear when I smoke. I have to hide from (pick one: my co-workers, my wife, husband, children, parents, friends) so they don't know I smoke." "I have a horrible cough that just won't go away. I've gotten sick every winter for the last five years. My doctor keeps telling me I have to quit. My dentist says my gum disease and receding gums are caused by my smoking. My skin is very dry and my skin color is very pale. I have trouble walking up stairs or uphill: I run out of breath. I can't run as far as I used to. I can't play tennis as long as I used to." "I've burned holes in my carpet, bedding, tables, curtains, clothing, furniture, etc. " The contents of a cigarette are extremely addictive. People don't want to acknowledge that they are "hooked" on cigarettes for many reasons. But if you can't put them down, or find you "need" them, then you are addicted to the drug inside cigarettes: nicotine. This drug changes your brain chemistry and some of the other chemicals in a cigarette are very harmful to your body, inviting lung cancer, emphysema, asthma, a weakened immune system, heart disease, possibly even high cholesterol and a host of other physical problems. Read my paper on Nicotine Products (Microsoft Word file). COACHING IS THE ANSWER! You can stop smoking or using other nicotine delivery systems by working one-on-one with me, the Treetop Coach. Using my 8-step plan we will create an environment for you that will be as comfortable as possible and give you as much preparation time as you need to quit smoking. |
