Attending the 2018 Smoking Conference was extremely memorable for me. For the first time, I attended it with my father, who had just stopped smoking (finally!). The entire family had been bugging him about it for years, and he eventually did it.
In that conference, Dad came across individuals who had also quit smoking. The expression on my father’s face might be etched in my memory forever when the organizers brought out folks who succeeded at taking cigarettes out of their lives. It was of pure amazement; if he doubted the possibility of being a non-smoker before, the stories of those people washed those doubts away.
What I found interesting, though, was the smokers who attended the event. Most of them said that they wanted to quit a long time ago but still couldn’t. The reasons I heard were all so simple but also super sad.
People Depend On Cigarettes For Clarity
You may know someone at work who cannot start a project without lighting a cigarette first. Such a smoker believes that the smoke clears their thoughts and allows them to do the job well.
People Feel Scared Of Dealing With Emotions
A lot of smokers tend to hide their emotions behind a puff. In case you have seen emotionally disturbed movie characters inhaling smoke like there’s no tomorrow, it’s similar to what smokers do in reality. They wish to avoid confronting their feelings; that’s why quitting seems like a far-fetched dream.
People May Have Developed Addiction
The saddest reason of all is that the smoker has become addicted to cigarettes after years or decades of using it. This idea typically occurs among individuals who go through several sticks or an entire pack of cigarettes every day. Thus, it is challenging for them to imagine a future without smoking.
Now that you know why some people can’t quit smoking, you should help them instead of criticizing them. They are neither weak nor suicidal. They merely have issues that need to be taken care of first. If you can assist smokers in solving their problems, they may decide to get rid of cigarettes sooner than later.