| You know that smoking is bad for you. As a smoker, | | | | That's the mentality that keeps people smoking and |
| you virtually all know that it's bad for you. It's annoying | | | | results in so many cases of lung cancer and |
| how often everyone tells you how bad it is, but you're | | | | emphysema. You can put it off another day, one more |
| afraid of how hard it is to quit smoking, with good | | | | day can't hurt, right? |
| reason. | | | | Breathe easily (and without hacking!) though, because |
| Quitting smoking is supposed to be hard. Tobacco | | | | there are easy ways to quit. You just have to |
| companies want everybody to think that quitting is | | | | understand the way that smoking addiction works. |
| hard, so less people quit. Less people quitting means | | | | Nicotine addiction works because of the way that |
| more people smoking, which means more money in | | | | society has decided that it will work. People start |
| their pockets. Makes sense. | | | | smoking all the time because they believe that it will |
| The problem is, even people who want you to quit | | | | somehow benefit them, and before they know it, |
| smoking will tell you that quitting is hard. There are a | | | | they're hooked because they have convinced |
| massive amount of support groups, medications, | | | | themselves that there is some unseen benefit to |
| patches, and gums that are all supposed to make | | | | smoking when, say, stressed. |
| quitting easier, because it's so obscenely difficult. | | | | I originally started smoking to help myself study. I |
| At this point, you're probably wondering why you're | | | | convinced myself that smoking a cigarette while |
| reading this. Nobody wants to do anything hard. If it | | | | studying for an exam would help me learn better. |
| were easy to quit smoking, then you'd do it, but if it's so | | | | Then, I began smoking right before exams, and then |
| hard, why bother? Push it off to another day, or set | | | | right afterwards to calm my nerves, and before I |
| another quit date that you're not going to stick to | | | | knew it, I was a pack a day smoker. |
| anyway. | | | | |