New Year Resolutions go up in smoke
23 January 2012
New Year Resolutions go up in smoke. But There Is Another Way…
So how did you get on with your New Year’s resolution to “stop smoking once and for all!”? (must seem like an eternity ago now!) Clearly I hope you were successful, as I know first hand what it is like to be within ‘The Nicotine Trap’, but if you used good old fashioned Willpower then the chances are your attempt to quit the weed went up in smoke. In fact, the average person who declares to stop smoking in the New Year usually picks up a nicotine delivery device (cigarette, pipe etc) again within the first 48 hours of quitting.
Not A Patch On The Real Thing
If you’ve used patches, gums or any other type of ‘nicotine replacement therapy’ the truth has finally come out that they wouldn’t have improved your chances either. Despite the ‘scientifically backed’ claims that purport them to be “twice as effective as willpower alone” a new recent and truly independent study has reveled that nicotine replacement therapies, specifically patches and gums, do not appear to be effective in helping smokers to quit long-term, even when combined with counseling sessions.
Lead author Hillel Alpert, a research scientist at HSPH, said:
"This study shows that using Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is no more effective in helping people to stop smoking cigarettes in the long-term than trying to quit on one's own."
Co-author Gregory Connolly, director of the Centre for Global Tobacco Control at HSPH, added: "What this study shows is the need to approve only medications that have been proven to be effective in helping smokers quit in the long-term and to lower nicotine in order to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes."
Of course the vast majority of people who have tried NRT in the past already know that even with a patch or a mouth full of gum, you still had to try and tap into your own willpower reserves; effectively making the patches and gums placebo at best. At worst, they are also nicotine delivery devices in themselves and can cause their own health issues. Personally I never did see the argument for supplying people with nicotine to get them off of....well…nicotine!
The Drugs Don’t Work
Not content with persuading us that nicotine will help us to free ourselves of the exact same drug, there are many prescription drugs, which have also been hailed as ‘miracle’ solutions to the nicotine addiction problem. Luckily I never tried one of these ever-growing number of drugs, such as Zyban or Champix, and I am pleased I never did. All drugs have adverse side-effects,
however with anti-smoking drugs the argument is always: ‘they are better than someone smoking.’ This may be true, but when we get headline news such as:
‘Drug to beat smoking raises risk of suicide’
We surely have to start questioning the rationale of doctors and the pharmaceutical industry who prescribe such drugs.
Curt Furberg, the professor of public health sciences behind the latest study into anti-smoking drugs, said: “the risks simply outweigh the benefits”. Dr Furberg and colleagues analyzed the number of serious side effects of anti-smoking treatments reported to the US drugs watchdog between 1998 and 2010. Champix, which is also known as varenicline and sold in the US as Chantix, topped the table, despite only having been on sale for four of the years studied, with 90% of reports of depression or suicidal behaviour, related to the drug. On top of this, British research published in the summer of 2011 linked the drug to heart attacks and strokes.
Dr Furberg wants the drug banned, but even he accepts this is very unlikely despite the fact it has been linked to 80 deaths in the UK in just four years, including 39 suicides.
I ran a stop smoking clinic for over nine years and if 80 people were to have died in my first four years of trading, I doubt very seriously if I would a) be allowed to continue running the clinic and b) not be locked up! However, drug companies are never ‘locked up’ for the deaths that are caused by the pills they produce. The argument is always one of ‘collateral damage’ in the war on disease. There appears to be one rule for Big Pharma and another for everyone else.
Drug Free - Smoke Free
There is simply no rational or common sense reason to use any drug to stop smoking. They produce pills for everything and some people, because they are so desperate, buy into this nonsense that we can free ourselves of addiction by popping a pill. No doubt Big Pharma’s ‘independent’ studies ‘prove’ that those who use their drug are whatever percentage more likely to stop than those who don’t, but let’s not be fooled. If you have enough cash you can ‘scientifically prove’ pretty much anything – look at what we were told to believe about nicotine gums and patches.
What they don’t tell you of course is that there is a drug-free, pain-free and suicidal thought-free way of stopping. It doesn’t involve patches, gums, pills or anything else. It simply involves understanding how this ingenious nicotine trap works and some simple instructions. The need for nicotine is caused only by the previous dose - it’s a simple chain. The reason it appears so hard to stop is due to the slight empty insecure feeling that nicotine withdrawal creates. This in turn can create a feeling in the smoker’s mind of panic and fear. It is only this fear, this invisible prison if you will, that keeps people smoking. If you remove the panic and fear through an understanding of what the actual cause is, it can be easy to stop.
We have also been taught that stopping smoking is ‘as hard as coming off heroin’, which has led people to believe it’s virtually impossible and has brought about the drug-fueled so-called, last resort ‘solutions’. There are many books that explain the nature of the trap, from Allan Carr’s Easy Way To Stop Smoking and The Nicotine Trick, as well as my own Stop Smoking In 2hrs...Easily! App for Iphone, Ipad and Android - all of which do not involve popping pills but rather explain the nature of the trap and offer a simple way out.
If you do smoke my heart goes out to you, as it really is an insidious trap. However, whatever method you use to try and free yourself from the clutches of the weed, skip the suicidal drugs and nicotine replacement therapies, as they are like a broken pencil - pointless. Having said that, there is no question that if you do go for ‘stop smoking’ drugs and are one of the people who do commit suicide as an ‘unfortunate side-effect’, the drug has, in a way, achieved its goal - you will never smoke again!
Testimonials
"Jason’s Vales Stop Smoking in 2 Hours is a bit of a revolutionary self-help app for the iPhone. Now we have seen some really good “quit smoking” apps over the years, and the better ones utilize an element of hypnosis, but Jason Vale goes above and beyond, utilizing audio hypnosis and video coaching to help finally get smokers to kick the habit with advice so simple and practical that it almost doesn’t make sense at first listen! Jason uses that calming yet forceful British accent to constantly remind us that the pleasure or the crutch is an illusion and we will gain nothing from the smoke. The app features a video to watch upon waking, audio hypnosis for relaxing at bed time, and my personal favorite; Jason’s video titled SOS. Jason is right there on the screen, talking you off the proverbial smoking ledge when you really crave a cigarette. I found this inspiring and very practical. The videos really make this app, and add a nice, personal flair." Appdictions.com review - 25 Jan 2012
“Hi Jason, 
I know you're a busy man, but I just had to tell you what a change you have made to my life. I've lost 2 and a half stone and I've stopped smoking after being overweight and smoking for my whole adult life. I'm 32 by the way. I've tried to give up the smokes about 30 times - tried your app and boom! It's like I never smoked! I’ve been out, been drinking, and not even tempted! I feel free! 
I have so much confidence now, and I'm just so happy. I grin at nothing and laugh to myself about nothing. It's like magic :-) Just wanted to say thank you. Thank you x “
C. Hossel
"I was lucky enough to listen to the audio CD on Jason's retreat a couple of years ago, you may be wondering why I have bought this! I have bought it for the other members of my family who still smoke, can't wait for them to see how easy it is, being unable to get hold of the audio for them this has been long awaited. I love the fact this app has many extra features! Jason again at his best."
from J264mc - iTunes review ★★★★★ - 18 Jan 2012
"Gave up 3 years ago with the Alan Carr method but quickly went back to it. Jason's method is similar but the app makes it more real and achievable. I've just listened to the audio and I'm free again, this time for good! Top app, well worth it."
from 1lambo - iTunes review ★★★★★ - 19 Jan 2012
"I've been a non-smoker for a long time but I wanted the motivation to not want to pick them up. I've loved Jason's books for year, his psychology towards food makes so much sense, and his views on addiction make the process easy and enjoyable. Highly recommend this app."
from Happydays83 - iTunes review ★★★★★ - 19 Jan 2012
"I cannot believe it. Six weeks without a cigarette.... I've tried every method available to stop, but had no willpower. I do not really understand how your method works, but all I can say is thank you thank you I really am a non-smoker"
- Ms R Cox
"I am truely amazed! The absolute simplicity of the programme makes it the only way to kick the habit"
- Ms R Spooner
"Just a quick note to ask you to add my name to the smoke free list... done a week now without any problems - not even whe my car got broken into! All my friends are amazed - thanks A LOT!"
- Mrs M Arvidsson
"I know that this is the best decision I have ever made, and I feel great having made it. This feels amazing, very simple and LIBERATING - thank you"
- Ms D Lewis
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