‘You smoke. You die. You die horribly.’
That’s one way of putting it. Which is why I was never asked to do an anti-smoking ad campaign. Which is also why it’s better to let the experts get their point across with a little more subtlety.
One good way of kicking the habit is GottaQuit, which is one of those sites that makes the whole exercise look good. Neat, flash-intensive, interactive, and very useful, it starts off with some good reasons for quitting, along with an attack plan. There are also counsellors you can talk to, though that requires you to register first.
Then, there are cold, hard facts about how smoking shortens your life, and graphic descriptions of what exactly happens to your lungs every time you take a puff. Also has testimonies from teenagers around the world who managed to quit, and ‘Smoke Filled Fables’ which rework old tales weaving in morals about characters who smoke. Lastly, there’s Subliminal Sam: the ‘super savvy rat with a sixth sense for sneaky solicitations’ who attacks subliminal cigarette advertising.
Less flashy, but just as helpful, is QuitSmoking. It lets you set a quit date, and teaches you ways of making quitting easier even if you are a long-time smoker. The site also has a number of articles on the subject, a Quit Smoking FAQ, Bulletin Board System, text and voice chats, along with a wide range of products including audio tapes, nicotine patches, nicotine gum, No Smoking signs, smoke removal stuff and more.
Before logging out, try the free Quit Smoking Diary that lets you record your progress toward quitting. This diary can also be shared with other smokers and, if you’re more of the prying than the sharing type, you can read diaries of around 2,500 other quitters.
QuitNet is yet another free resource, and comes with day-to-day steps, reviews of useful pharmaceutical products, daily tobacco-related news, and lots of links. For those who register, the site offers to track your progress and recommend strategies to stop smoking. Its Q-Gadget then starts tracking the lifetime and money you actually save without the obnoxious fumes.
Let’s say you want to interact more with like-minded smokers than know-it-all experts. Try QuitSmokingDiaries, which lets you share your personal struggle against the butt, and read diaries of other smokers. How many such diaries does it have already? 3929, and counting.
Then again, maybe you don’t want like-minded smokers and prefer to let the experts do the talking. Go for the big daddy, the American Lung Association that comes full to the brim with important information on quitting, its benefits, related resources, a nicotine replacement therapy fact sheet, and a special programme called ‘The American Lung Association 7 Steps to a Smoke-Free Life.’
There are loads of other sites, like How To Quit Smoking, for good which offers a quiz on why you should quit smoking, daily tips, interesting facts, and an Ask An Expert section for any queries you may have. It also tackles issues like what happens after you quit, in terms of withdrawal symptoms and weight gain problems. Quit Smoking Tips, on the other hand, is culled from loads of resources -- past smokers to professionals, health organisations, magazines, etc. -- giving you all kinds of advice that may or may not help.
Enough of the free stuff. Paying $39 gets you a complete makeover courtesy the people at Quit Smoking Online. It has an online course designed to take you, step-by-step, through the process of giving up smoking forever. Cough up (pun unintended) the dough, and get your own online personal quit smoking therapist along with a 110 page online instructional guide that can be downloaded immediately.
If none of this has worked, and your fingers are still itching to hear the crackle of foil as yet another pack lies in front of you, take a quick peek at Smoking: Truth or Dare which offers hard nuts to crack a ‘gross out gallery’ full of pictures depicting hairy tongues and burnt lungs – all belonging to smokers. It’s downright serious in its endeavour, considering the fact that over four million teenagers use tobacco, of which over one million will die on account of it.
The hardest battles are those fought alone. Which is why checking these sites on your own is a lot better than listening to some smart-ass mouthing platitudes.
Besides, I was never good at subtlety anyway.
ADDICTION RESOURCES:
Alcoholism Help
Personal pages, lots of health-related information, the effects of drugs, current news, tests, discussions, stories, organisations, college and teen drinking: in short, one heck of a useful resource.
HabitBusters
Quit alcohol, smoking or drug addiction, in easy steps. All for a nominal fee.
The Anti-Drug
Tips for parents to help their kids quit drugs. Also has a lot of useful advice, tips, articles, and the latest news on the subject.
Quit Tobacco
Lots of resources to help you make up your mind about quitting tobacco, for good.
Alcoholics Anonymous
The Official AA home page is as commendable as the organisation it represents. Comes with fact files, loads of questions and answers, lists of international organisations, etc.
Cocaine Anonymous
A fellowship of men and women who share their experiences to solve a common problem and help others recover from their addiction. No membership fees required.
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