Cigarette

This video was created over a one-year period. At first, it was just random use of a video camera, plus a few pictures taken during a visit in September of 2006. Of course, this was before we knew that Mom had a collapsed lung. She went in for tests, and it was discovered that she had Stage IV Lung Cancer. As we learned of the cancer diagnosis in October of 2006, we tried to get Mom down to California (from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada). It was a race against logistics and paperwork (i.e. obtaining documentation in order to cross a border and travel), which we unfortunately lost. Mom suffered a stroke, ironically on the same day as she received her birth certificate, which would have allowed her to travel to Southern California. The stroke left her left side completely paralyzed, and she was stuck in the hospital, no longer the independent woman she once was. We were summoned to fly up immediately, as we were told by her doctors that her death would not be far behind. Mom proved them all wrong, and lived for four more months. Of course, the quality of life was minimal at best. There was no treatment, since the cancer was discovered so late, and due to the stroke. We have since learned that often times, a biopsy can knock loose cancerous material within a tumor, which can cause a stroke. It was extremely difficult to watch her suffering in a hospital bed, and wondering why her last months had to be made that much worse due to the stroke. So, Mom never did get to come see where we live in California. We continued to videotape the entire ordeal, so that family (who couldn’t be with us at that time) could see everything. We ended up with approximately 90 minutes of raw footage, which has been edited down to the 10 minutes allowed here. First, we have done this to honor Mom’s last wishes: tell people not to smoke. Second, we have completed this very emotional project to honor her memory, and to help us as we continue through the grieving process. Finally, we are aware that much of the anti-smoking media is not so real to life–it doesn’t show the suffering, what the families go through, and the pain that cigarettes actually cause. This documentary is “non-Hollywood”. We have omitted certain things that one might find offensive, including her IV, vomiting, bodily functions, and her actual death itself, which was obviously painful. Instead, we have brought many different segments together, which still conveys our overall message: DON’T SMOKE!

In a letter dated September 24, 2006, from Mom:
“Try not to worry about my health. I go for a CAT-SCAN on October 4th. I should have the results about a week later. The appointments are taking a long time, so I must not be in such dire shape, or they would rush them. I’m glad you never really had the desire to smoke. What do your lungs look like after all of those years of second-hand smoke? I can’t wait to see you and Patti more often. Gotta go for now. Love Forever, Mom”

To conclude, one can compare smoking cigarettes to a slow-motion car accident. At any time, you can get out of the car before it crashes. It is your choice. Furthermore, you may be driving your own car, but please remember that you take passengers along for the ride.

Duration : 0:9:58

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Many experts believe smoking is only about 10% physical addiction and 90% psychological. Your body will recover fairly quickly from nicotine withdrawals with the worst symptoms usually subsiding in about three days or less. But your psychological dependency on cigarettes can be much more difficult to overcome.

One way to combat this is to do a bit of self-analysis before giving up cigarettes.

Make a list with two columns. Label column one “Why I Started Smoking” and label column two “Why I Want To Quit Smoking.”

In column one, list all the reasons you can remember as to why you started smoking. Was it peer pressure? Rebellion? Did you think it made you look cool? Did it make you feel like a grown-up? Really try to remember the exact reasons why you started smoking and write them all down.

Now look over that list. Do any of those reasons still apply in your life today?

If you’re like most people, you will see that your reasons for becoming a smoker are no longer valid, and are easily outweighed by the risks to your health and your family’s well-being.

So let’s move on to column two…

Why do you want to quit smoking?

This one may seem obvious, but it can be a bit complicated. You really need to take some time and think about this. Don’t just list the obvious health reasons. You’ve been reading the Surgeon General’s warnings for years with little effect, so you need to come up with reasons that truly have meaning for you.

The things most people write down will NOT help you quit smoking…
– I don’t want to get lung cancer. – I don’t want to have a heart attack or a stroke. – I’d like to live long enough to see my grandchildren grow up.

Those are all good reasons to quit smoking… but they deal in “possibilities” rather than in specifics.

Sure you MIGHT get lung cancer, you MIGHT have a heart attack or a stroke, you MIGHT die young and miss out on seeing your grandchildren grow up.

Or, you MIGHT NOT! You’re not likely to break a strong psychological addiction based on what MIGHT happen. Your mind will work hard to convince you that it won’t happen to you! Instead, list health problems that you are already experiencing.

Your list should point out things in your life that you are unhappy about and are STRONGLY MOTIVATED to change. In order to break your psychological addiction, you need an arsenal of new thoughts and desires that are stronger than your desire to smoke.

Here are the types of things you want to put in column two…

Why Do I Want To Quit Smoking?

1. Health Reasons
– I get so out of breath when I exert myself even a little bit. Just vacuuming the house makes me pant and gasp.
– My feet are always cold. This could be due to high blood pressure and poor circulation associated with smoking.
– I have a nasty wet cough and I have to blow my nose way too often. Mucus build-up is the body’s reaction to all the toxins and chemicals in cigarette smoke and could be a precursor to serious respiratory disease. Even if I don’t get cancer, I don’t want to be one of those people who has to tote oxygen bottles around everywhere.
– I’m always tired. Could it be that my body is using up all its energy trying to eliminate the toxins and chemicals from cigarettes?

2. Vanity Reasons
– Smoking causes premature aging and drying of the skin. I don’t want to look like a wrinkled up old prune!
– My fingers, fingernails and teeth are all tobacco stained. Disgusting! How embarrassing.
– When I get on the elevator after a smoke break at work, everyone wrinkles their nose and tries to edge away from me because I reek of cigarette smoke. I feel like a pariah. It’s embarrassing to always be the big “stinker” on the elevator. I feel like I have no self-control.
– My breath is awful. Kissing me must be like kissing an ashtray. I spend a fortune on breath mints.

3. Financial Reasons
– If I save all the money I used to spend on cigarettes, I’ll have enough to take a vacation in Cancun every winter!
– I could use the money to pay off my credit cards!
– I could donate money to my favorite charity or sponsor a child. My cigarette money could make the world a better place!

4. Family Reasons
– My family can stop worrying about me.
– My spouse will have to find something new to nag me about.
– My children will be proud of me and hopefully they’ll never start smoking themselves, having seen first hand what a nasty destructive habit it is.

5. Cleanliness Reasons
– The walls used to be white. Now they’re a nasty dirty-looking brown.
– I stink, my car stinks, my house stinks, everything I own reeks of cigarette smoke. I can’t even lend a book to a non-smoking friend because they can’t stand the smell of smoke permeating the pages.

Do you see yourself in any of the items listed? You may have many more reasons of your own. Find as many compelling and emotional reasons to quit smoking as you can think of and write them all down.

If you can re-train your mind to think of smoking as a silly and self-destructive thing to do, then you’re almost sure to succeed.

Paul Wolbers
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/how-to-beat-cigarettes-with-psychology-51531.html

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