Nicotine addiction is a problem that has plagued humanity for decades. Recently, it has been particularly acute, since the dissemination of information, including advertising, is happening at lightning speed, and successful marketing moves lead to hidden advertising of cigarettes in books, magazines and cinema works.
What is smoking
At first glance, this question may seem extremely banal, because any average student can say that this term implies the regular use of tobacco products. However, if you think about it, this bad habit has some features that make it unique and even more serious than any others.
We list some characteristics of this bad habit, so common in modern humanity.
The myth of physical pleasure
First of all, it should be noted that smoking does not bring any pleasure to a person. No smoker on planet Earth will say that he really likes the taste or smell of cigarettes.
Even the fact that smoking provokes a sharp narrowing of blood vessels and instantly stimulates the brain can not be called a pleasure, because for the body it is a shock.
A few words about psychological pleasure
The vast majority of smokers justify their weakness by receiving a different kind of satisfaction. The wording in this case may vary, but it all comes down to a single aspect. Some say that they smoke in order to kill time, others - to suppress stress, others - to increase self-confidence. If you think about it, all these explanations can be reduced to the statement that you have received some psychological pleasure.
Since all smokers are well aware of how devastating the consequences of cigarette smoking can be, each time the so-called stress reduction procedure actually provokes a new shake for the body. Even if at a particular moment in time a person does not think about the dangers of the actions being performed, his memory already contains information that the subconscious mind is actively addressing. Thus, without even realizing it, when smoking, a person programs himself for stress.
What medicine says
From the medical point of view, the harmfulness of such a seemingly harmless habit has long been proved: vascular obstruction, stimulation of cancers, weakening of the central nervous system, angina attacks, provocation of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - these are only the most obvious and often detected consequences.
Damaged teeth, a suffering circulatory system, smoker's lungs, photos of which can be seen on most packages of tobacco products sold in the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the UK and other countries, this psychological stress only exacerbates.
In addition, do not forget about completely seemingly banal things: the unpleasant smell, which then worries smokers in society, social condemnation, which sooner or later have to face. Even elementary traces of resins on the fingers lead the body to emotional arousal. Thus, there is simply no question of any psychological pleasure.
Clear awareness of harmfulness
This topic has already been addressed, but now it is worth paying special attention to it and considering it from a slightly different point of view. Every smoker is well aware that the actions they perform harm the body, but still he does not give up a bad habit. Cancer and smoking are interconnected, according to the vast majority of doctors, this relationship is constantly illustrated, but even understanding the danger, people still do not quit smoking. Moreover: the vast majority of those who learn about the presence of lung cancer immediately after leaving the office are drawn to a cigarette.
Thus, we can say that even a good understanding of the addiction of addiction does not help in the fight against it. Perhaps the reason lies in the gradual harm. The problem is that the effect of tobacco smoking on the body is practically impossible to trace - its condition worsens so gradually. If a drug or alcohol addiction causes pain upon termination of receptions, and generally affects the appearance of a person, then smoking seems completely harmless against their background.
The origins of smoking
If we turn to the history of the emergence of this "ailment" of humanity, we can find out that we owe the appearance of cigarettes to the Indians. It was they who first began to wrap tobacco leaves in straw or other light-burning materials. It should be noted that initially smoking was not at all a way to enjoy, as is commonly believed in the modern world. First of all, smoking people pursued the goal of achieving a certain state. Tobacco smoking, like the use of cocaine tree products, was directly related to the ritual. The Americans gave this action a completely different meaning, which has survived to this day.
The consequences of cigarette smoking were not initially studied, so the first mechanical devices that appeared in the 1880s put the production on the conveyor, after which the fashion for these products spread around the world. In this case, we should speak specifically about fashion, the prestige of this habit, which was cultivated in society. The situation went so far that smoking was recommended for medical purposes. Most often, this kind of advice was given by neuropathologists and psychoanalysts.
Prevention of smoking until the beginning of the twentieth century seemed to mankind a completely useless, unnecessary waste of time. In addition, the negative impact of the use of these products on the body was not yet precisely proven.
Cigarette fashion
If initially the use of nicotine products was the prerogative of the male half of the world's population, then, starting in the 1920s, this habit began to spread among women. It was from this period that smoking began to spread at an astonishing rate around the globe. It is noteworthy that it was cigarettes that were spread, not cigars or smoking pipes, which occupied leading positions earlier. The pipe was considered a sign of aristocracy, but it so easily gave up its position to tobacco wrapped in tissue paper.
Prevention of alcohol and smoking in the 20s was completely useless. Moreover, such events could be considered a kind of heresy. Mankind was too fascinated by this phenomenon, which seemed sophisticated luxury to listen to the voice of reason, which, however, was mostly silent in this regard.
Smoking Control Methods
Today, in contrast to the previously described time, the problem caused by smoking has become much more obvious, and therefore, people began to actively think about ways to combat it. Cancer and smoking in the minds of modern people are completely related things, which most often leads cigarette lovers to the decision to abandon this bad habit.
Almost everyone begins with a complete and abrupt cessation of smoking, which most often, but not always, ends in failure. The thing is that with this approach, a person programs for himself that it will be difficult to change his lifestyle, and this kind of action will certainly require incredible volitional costs.
In this regard, organizations such as the Ministry of Health have begun various preventive measures. Smoker's lungs, photos of which began to appear in every anti-smoking brochure, can serve as a vivid example of a campaign. Recently, a huge number of special social advertisements have appeared to demonstrate the harmfulness of this habit.
We must pay tribute to the fact that in the past few decades, smoking prevention measures have been actively carried out: all kinds of events, conferences, flash mobs and much more. The public began to actively hear the position of the need to abandon a bad habit.
Special literature
This phenomenon is most common in America, where it is generally accepted to write the so-called guidelines for certain life situations. Of course, the call to combat addiction stimulated a wave of research publications and special programs designed to help smokers solve their problem.
The most famous author of this kind of literature in the world was undoubtedly Allen Carr, author of The Easy Way to Quit Smoking. Tobacco prevention was not particularly covered in the book, but the information stated in the title was presented. Naturally, labor instantly began to be popular, scattering from bookshelves in a matter of hours.
If you study literature of this kind, you can come to the conclusion that all of it is built according to a certain scheme: it describes methods of dealing with an existing problem rather. Nevertheless, there are authors seeking to prevent it, but this information is rather contained in the literature on a healthy lifestyle, and not directly on the fight against nicotine addiction in the world’s population.
The upbringing of the young generation
Smoking prevention activities have been actively launched in schools and universities around the world. Basically, these types of fighting methods exist in two varieties: part of the curriculum and individual conferences and seminars. In the first case, special disciplines are introduced, from childhood, demonstrating the benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Children are given a clear understanding of the harm caused by smoking to the human body in a structured way.
In the second case, separate events are most often held, to which specialists in the field of medicine, psychology and sociology are invited, which clearly demonstrate to the growing part of the world's population the harmfulness of this habit, thereby forming a worldview in which smoking will be exclusively negative.
Of course, speaking of preventive measures, one should not forget about communication with parents, because they are the greatest authority for the child in the process of forming his personality. Prevention of smoking, conversation on this topic should be carried out primarily in a home, confidential environment in which the child will feel as comfortable as possible. In addition, most researchers argue that the best precaution is to abandon the harmful habits of the parents themselves.
Recourse
To help in the fight, and sometimes to prevent it, help specialists in this field. The program for the prevention of smoking, everyone will, of course, have their own, and sometimes individually tailored to the client. Most often, this requires special analyzes, passing tests, and waiting for the results of certain studies, but in the end, a smoker who wants to “tie up” gets his own system of methods to combat nicotine addiction.
Radical measures
In cases where the prevention of smoking does not help, many come to the application of radical measures: suggestion, hypnosis, coding. Such means of dealing with addiction can most often be called effective, but they are extremely aggressive towards the body, and the slightest breakdown can lead to unexpected and sometimes serious consequences.
The easiest fighting methods
Few people think that to abandon this kind of problem, one does not need to seek outside help. Since the fight against smoking does not cause any physical discomfort, if you do not take into account dry mouth, cough and hand tremors, the reason for which is the belief in the mandatory difficulty of weaning, all that is required is to make an internal decision. After a clear position has been formed on the need for refusal, you can decide whether additional measures are needed. If smoking is prevented, a reminder can greatly simplify the task. Information in this case should be collected as capaciously as possible, but at the same time compactly. This should be a reminder of the main goal and task of the planned actions, become a constant motivation.
By the way, this technique is often used in hospitals and sanatoriums, and not only in relation to smoking - they are struggling with alcohol and drug addiction in much the same way. Oddly enough, it really works: smoking prevention, which still involves a reminder, is more effective than without it.