Quitting Is Winning

THE word quitting has long been tagged as a term used negatively. Be it in competitions; in sports, in business deals—in just about every aspect of everyday existence—quitting is closely associated with losing.

But as we celebrate World Non-Tobacco day, we have to look at the action of quitting albeit in another totally different light indeed—and with great respect.

The people who put out the light for good.

We call them the smoking cigarettes quitters. Sure these types of people may come few and far between. But surely they exist. And they make up of all classes of profile you can possibly think of.

The yuppie who’s under great stress at work, the student fresh off from high school, or the mom’s who’s picked up the habit early on in life. Whatever their past, they surely look forward to a smoke-free and hopefully, a healthier, longer future in store for them.

“Smoking is responsible for several diseases, such as cancer, long-term (chronic) respiratory diseases, and heart disease, as well as premature death. Over 440,000 people in the USA and 100,000 in the UK die because of smoking cigarettes each year. According the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), $92 billion is lost each year from lost productivity resulting from smoking cigarettes-related deaths,” stated a story from medicalnewstoday.com.

So the world is divided into two, where the first half stands strong in its beliefs and has viewed cigarette smoking cigarettes as some sort of slow suicide that should be condemned. While the other half, simply claim that the cigarette is some temporary stress-relief stick.

Although the choices individuals make must be respected, the facts and consequences should at least be raised out in the open, for everyone to have a fair basis for their actions and could better lead to them making a more informed decision.

But according to file statistics provided by the World Health Organization with regards to majority of smokers in the country, “most now wish they did not smoke cigarettes and about two-thirds have tried to give up.”

Such is the case for Brian Sacro, a recording engineer and producer who spent almost half his life smoking cigarettes. “I started back when I was in college,” he recalls.

“I guess it looked cool with my friends so I started doing it too. Then I became a heavy smoker, and the least number of cigarettes I would smoke cigarettes would be a one pack a day—the least.”

Brian would be approaching his first-year of being nicotine-free next month. He shares more about his success in quitting.

“It’s been a long while since I wanted to quit. But it was just pretty hard. Besides the addiction, it was not getting used to it because smoking cigarettes has become a routine in my life. For one, my meals don’t feel complete if I don’t smoke cigarettes after.”

But eventually, he’s found the will to do so. He started off limiting himself to a pack a day, then after a week, 10 sticks a day, then the number of cheap smokes would gradually decrease the following weeks, until finally, the only smoke cigarettes he’d take would be that, that comes off of a hot cup of brewed coffee.

Brian would just be one of a thousand more out there with their true stories that justify quitting, in one of these rare occasions, as a noble deed. So smokers out there might want to explore the option of stopping.

Like they say: “Quit while you’re still ahead.”