Smokers love excuses. They can't quit because .. (fill in the blank). I covered one of the favorite excuses in another article, the 'concentration con'.
Now here's another of the main - can't quit - excuses. Smoking helps relaxation. Most smokers claim it helps them relax. But would you ever describe a smoker as relaxed ?
Their addiction (or habit) makes them nervous and jumpy. All things equal, a smoker will never relax as they once did before their drug.
Think about last time you ate in a restaurant. Isn't that a relaxing environment when you're eating your meal, in good company ? But that's not enough for the smoker. They're still not relaxed. They need a cigarette fix, even between courses, because they think that's what they need to relax.
Then they associate a temporary relaxation with the smoking cigarette, rather than the environment and company. They don't even consider their non-smoker friends enjoyment might get ruined by smoking.
Let's look at the realities of the relaxation ruse. Nicotine is a stimulant, not a relaxant/depressant. A stimulant speeds up metabolism, not slows it down.
The 'smoking is relaxing' claim counts as yet another irrational excuse used by smokers who can't face up to quitting. The smoker genuinely feels a cigarette will relax him.
In reality it's the habit, expectation and association with relaxing situations that are the main reasons he feels relaxed. Sometimes it's even the deep breathing effect that helps relaxation.
Any sportsperson knows that deep breathing helps relax before an event. Difference is he's breathing fresh air, rather than poison ! Smokers actually credit their cigarette for a temporary benefit they get from deep breathing.
Most people agree stress and relaxation make two opposite conditions ? Many smokers think giving up will create more stress. They think their cigarettes are actually relieving stress.
Amazingly, cigarettes actually 'cause' the stress smokers think they're relieving ! Continual craving for another cigarette; guilt, helplessness at their inability to quit; low self-esteem… Any of this sound familiar ? At best, another cigarette temporarily reduces the stress caused by earlier cigarettes.
So we really should call the relaxation effect, the 'relaxation ruse'… an illusion favored by uninformed smokers who wrongly credit their cigarette with relaxation.
Quitting smoking means a return to relaxation. Quitting smoking means a return to a clear head… among many other benefits. Once you see through the relaxation ruse', you're much closer to finally quitting smoking once and for all.
The Dallas woman knows smoking is bad for her health, but seeing her pets' reactions and talking with her veterinarian about the effect of smoking on their health have given her other factors to consider. The question is whether it will be enough to make her quit.
"I know it's something I need to do," said Yanez, 26. "It's just an addiction that I have that I can't get over. The last thing that I would want to do is hurt my animals in any way."
New research from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit suggests that cigarette smokers are more likely to quit the habit for the sake of their pets' health than for their own. But many people in the Dallas area say quitting smoking is so difficult that worries over their pets' health might not be enough to make a permanent lifestyle change.
"Unless [people] know for sure it's messing their pet up, I don't think they'll [quit]," said Greg Barr, who cares for his 86-year-old mother's Yorkie named Pepper. Both of them smoke around the dog.
The research, which was based on a Web survey, showed that few people know that secondhand smoking has been tied to cancers, respiratory problems, skin diseases and other health problems in cats and dogs.
Dickson Bain, a veterinarian at the Hillside Veterinary Clinic in Dallas, said he's seen pet owners bring in dogs and cats with coughs and asthma due to their owners' heavy smoking.
He has advised some owners to quit smoking inside to limit their pet's exposure to smoke.
In those cases, the animals' health has improved, he said.
Still, Bain said he's skeptical about whether a broader animal campaign would stop smokers from lighting up.
"Most people are so addicted, they can't stop," he said.
In his office, technician Gabby Redmon, 24, bashfully admitted smoking around her two dogs and two cats.
When Redmon lights up, her Rottweiler Layla gives her a look and walks out of the room. Redmon, who has asthma, said she would quit if something bad happened to her pets or if her own health worsened.
"I know better, and that's the sad part," she said.
Redmon said learning more about the effect of smoking on pets has prompted her to take her habit outside.
Sharon Milberger, who conducted the research, said a nationwide education campaign could encourage more people to make those kinds of changes for their own interests and that of their pets.
Her research has been published by the international medical journal Tobacco Control.
"They just forget that the pets breathe in the smoke just the way humans do," Milberger said. "[Pets] can't articulate that, so [owners] don't think about it."
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
cigarettesnews- cigarettesnews
Syndicate
