The Cigarette Does the Smoking - You're Just the Sucker

About 7000 people quit tobacco in Ireland in the last year - by dying of smoking related diseases. Past smokers (including myself) realize how easy it is to become desensitized to the constant bombard­ment by health professions and vari­ous agencies in the war on tobacco. Like the road safety campaigns before it, even the horrific image of clogged arteries can lose its impact. Sometimes it feels like harassment on the part of the health crusaders, or the actions of a nanny state, but such health interventions can change lives.

The smoking ban for instance has par­ticularly benefited non-smokers and has set an example for the entire world. However the spot­light that shone so brightly on Ireland in the wake of its introduction in 2004 has faded. The legislation has been very successful in protecting those in the workplace from secondhand smoke, but the scourge of smoking continues to be a very real problem.

Cigarette addiction impacts on your life in a variety of ways. The most obvious is the mysterious disappearance of your Euro. This is compounded by reg­ular price increases. You may ask why Joe Soap can smoke thirty a day and see the far side of eighty, while health fanatics seem to drop like flies? Smokers and ex-smokers will often clutch at these fortuitous acts of luck and apparent destiny. The truth is these cases are only remem­bered because they are such rare occur­rences. Adding smoking to the average lifestyle massively increases your poten­tial of developing asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, and blindness, to name but a few pitfalls of the weed. Such examples may seem distant and removed to the lay person. However, beneath the apparent innocence of a smoker's enjoy­ment on a night out lies the prospect of their future liter­ally going up in smoke. Quitting makes sense both financially and from a health perspective.

If horrific health effects and poverty do not deter you, the effect on your appearance and sexual prowess might. Weekend hang­overs are bad enough without adding the stench of cigarettes to not only your clothes but your breath as well. This is also what you present to potential talent on a night out. Attempting to mask the stench with gum or mints certainly does­n't work, and brushing your teeth doesn't do much either (smoke enough or you will also be able to give Nico a run for his money). Of the female readers, how many of you know that your skin will wrinkle faster, and yellow quicker then the keys of a submerged piano? An additional problem faced by male readers is the potential for erectile dysfunction for which smoking is a major risk factor.

While recent initiatives such as the ban on in-store tobacco displays and advertising at point-of-sale are welcome, the foot has really been taken off the pedal at population level. Statistically we are at a standstill, with 27% of the overall population currently smoking and 49% of the unemployed according to the Royal College of Surgeons (2009). About 50% of current smokers will die from a tobacco related illness. It is also worrying that pressure from the European Union has re-emerged for Ireland to cease ‘hindering competition’ (as they see it) by continuing to set a minimum and maximum price for cigarettes. The norm in most countries is to allow the manufactures to set the retail price, as with most other products, whereas Ireland has long stood by a variety of studies that indicate price increases can help deter potential smokers. Whether a known propagator of cancer deserves such leeway is another matter. Many anti-smoking groups worry this will be simply fuel on the fire. For example, tobacco company X could take a price hit on one product in order to get potential customers hooked, and then reap the financial rewards in years to come through their other products.

Copyright Vjeran Lisjak of http://www.sxc.hu

Feel like conquering your addiction? There are many resources available and quite different methods of doing so. Nationally, the smokers quit line on 1850 201 203 can offer the tried and tested method most go for. Patches, inhalers, gum and willpower are the lingo here. Of course you may take the view that "Nicotine patches are great. Stick one over each eye and you can't find your cigarettes". Several attempts are normally needed, but you can only fail if you don’t get back up again. The internet also has numerous resources, including www.nicorette.ieand www.ash.ie. For a slightly different method (no willpower required), the Allen Carr’s Easyway method is certainly an option. Using his highly acclaimed book led to my ultimate success (11 months and counting), but what works for one may differ for another.

Action needs to be taken once again at governmental levels. For example, free condoms are available on campus at University College Cork (for students only unfortunately). Why not anti-smoking products such as patches and gum or literature by Allen Carr for the whole population? This will be seen as a costly move in the short-term, instead of miniscule in comparison to the savings that would be made by the health service in ten years time. Of course this is symptomatic of a government that simply cannot look ahead. The enthusiasm, pride and willingness to change seen in 2004 needs to be coaxed from the shadows of the recession and celebrated.

One thing worth remembering - if you must smoke, take your butt outside.