amazing post we get to quit.i have a friend dying of emphysema and she's still coughing till she vomits smoking, she isn't getting to quit.she is convinced to the point of certainty that it's impossible in her case. she'll get to quit when she's breathing through tubes. (she currently smokes in her breaks from the oxygen mask0my heart breaks for her. but i empathise with her conviction that quitting is not an option for her.i remember that feeling:quitting is impossible for me. Some people never really grasp that quitting is even a possibility for them.i tried once or twice in my 20's and caved after a few agonizing hours. spent my 30's convinced there was no point in trying, i saw myself as incurably addicted. Yet i had successfully quit heroin, methadone and valium on my own initiative. Now I get to quit: I have done all the reading that teaches me how to mimimize the impact of a crave, i can get my nrt free, i can get internet support, i can call smokers quitline and be called back by a counselor, i can take a six week course in my neighbourhood, if i heard of a successful hypnotist or acupunturist i could go. if i fail this time (i wont)i'd be given chantix again free. So I really do get to quit in style with all the advantages of living in a wealthy nation, every therapy with shown effectiveness is available to me free,i'm informed about it on tv. i think of the huge growth in tobacco consumption in developing countries that don't have a preventive program public health advertising on tobacco, quit programs, etc. and those companies that we in our sad slavery helped enrich are targetting their growth right at those who can least afford to handle the epidemic of smoking related deaths that will show up in decades to come. and my heart breaks to think of the little children who are trapped in the beam of the tobacco marketers gaze R&D designing product 'enhancements' specifically to addict and keep addicted these future consumers. do they get to quit? without solid information even as to why they should? No, all quits are not equal, so let's honour our privilige: we get to quit, we'll quit gratefully
elaine
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]1/4/2008
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 56
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,120
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �417.20
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 4