I had just come off the squash court the other day after playing a robust and extremely energetic game. I usually play twice a week with my friend. He had just returned after two weeks holiday and it was his first game back for about three weeks.

His energy levels seemed to be somewhat depleted. Was it due to the fact he had been on holiday? I remembered he had quit smoking about four months earlier. When he was smoking I noticed his energy level fell off considerably at about the half hour mark. So I asked him “Have you been smoking on holiday?” The answer as you can probably guess was yes.

You know it is simply amazing the hold that cigarettes can have on people. I remembered going into a corner store once and asking a woman who was serving for a particular magazine. When she answered she sounded like a Dalek. The reason was she had had a tracheotomy (a tube inserted in the windpipe after a bout of cancer) so the sounds of her voice were like a rushing gurgling wind.

What shocked me the most was seeing her later stood outside the store holding a lighted cigarette to the tube at her throat and inhaling the smoke? She’d had cancer and yet in spite of all the suffering she had been through and the wakeup call she had just had still she just couldn’t quit smoking. Smoking is a demon!

Let’s be clear about this smoking habit. It is no small addiction and every one who quits has done themselves and their loved ones an immense favor. If you are looking for an easy way to stop smoking there isn’t one or a stop smoking pill they don’t exist.

If you are truly determined to stop smoking you must realize that you can only break a habit by replacing it with other habits. You cannot and must not think that because you have completed a period of time without cigarettes that you have finally quit smoking. I don’t care if it is six weeks six months or six years you have to realize that “Once a smoker, always a smoker”. If you ever let your guard down you will succumb to the psychological factors that cause you to regress.

Every reformed smoker knows what I am talking about. The thoughts hit you, “I know I can quit now so just one or two at the weekend will be O.K. Sorry it won’t be, you’ll be back on them before you know it. You have to admit to yourself much like an alcoholic you are reformed and if you want to stop smoking it is a lifetime habit. If you treat the process any other way you will more than likely fail.

Yes I will continue to encourage my friend to quit smoking again. And he will probably need some help to make the initial break but beyond that time the psychological battle begins…..and continues.

About the Author: Hal says; find out more tips secrets, and useful information on your health and your heart by signing up for his FREE newsletter at. http://www.thehealthyu.com/

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