This will now be a 2-part post since I've recently deleted an old website of mine and currently combining some of the related pages together, etc.
Part 1: Can Additive-Free Cigarettes help you quit?
Breathing smoke of any type is obviously bad for your health, and the lovely nicotine-laced smoke from cigarettes can be quite addictive. So, many people out there, especially the ones who have been smoking for years and are up to a pack or more a day, would really like to quit. With the way prices are today, many folks want to quit because of financial reasons about as much as they do for health reasons. For example, I smoke Marlboro Light 100's and they are currently being sold in my area for over 5 dollars a pack. That means, if I only smoke 1 pack a day, I'd be paying at least 150 dollars a month... Just think about those 2 and 3-pack-a-day smokers!
Anyway, a couple weeks ago I was going into a convenient store to buy my usual beer & cigarettes. Well, there was some little blonde sitting outside in a tight short skirt, had a couple sexy tattoos showing, and had a table set up full of additive-free cigarettes that she was promoting, trying to boost sales of her Seneca brand smokes. I walked by her and went on inside the store, since there were guys already lining up to flirt with her, uh, I mean check out the Seneca cigarettes that she was giving away free samples for.
I paid for my beer & cigarettes and talked to the guy working in the store for a bit. He told me about her promotion and we both agreed that by the way she was dressed, it looked like she was promoting something else... ha-ha!
Well anyway, I left the store and walked by her table and interrupted the guy that had been there the whole time, holding up the small line, and just quickly said, "so, what are you promoting?" She quickly told me about her product, how they had a high conversion rate for Marlboro smokers and how their cigarettes are a lot cheaper and are additive-free, 100% tobacco, etc.
I thought, "additive-free?" Anyway, she gave me a free pack and I went on my way. I think she needed a break from that other guy anyway (he left when I started talking to her). Not only did he need to wipe the drool and slobber off his face, he might need to start relieving his self before going out in public. Some people are just plain pathetic, to put it nicely...
It was so obvious that she wasn't interested in random weird perverts like him and was just dressed like that to get more customers, ya know, to help "promote" the product. Anyway, that's a totally different subject that is unrelated to this post, so I'll move on...
The question is: Can additive-free cigarettes help you quit?
The reason why I ask, is because when I got home that day I started reading up about this additive-free stuff, as I knew they pump loads of additives into the conventional cigarettes on the market - which just adds even more to the toxic list of reasons to quit smoking. Seneca isn't the only brand that brags about being additive-free; just do a web search if you're interested and you'll see.
During my quick research, I noticed a few unfair "studies" in which they were, at least it seemed that way to me, trying to say that additive-free cigarettes were worse than the regular ones that are loaded with additives. I tell ya, it made no sense to me! When looking at that particular study, they tested a non-filter additive-free cigarette versus a filtered additive-laced cigarette! Well folks, after seeing that, I just ignored whatever else they were saying.
I just did a quick web search again, and here's an example of some of these "studies" that they perform: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/12/021203074357.htm
Dang, I never realized that additive-free cigs were so debatable...
On another note, I was reading somewhere that some people actually go through withdrawal after switching to additive-free cigarettes because their body is used to the ones with additives. Now, I cannot validate that statement nor say that it is absolutely true, but I mentioned it because I did read such things on some website on the web and I've read similar comments within comment fields, forums, etc.
If you've been smoking for years, especially if you're a heavy smoker, there will probably be no "easy way out" or a certain method that makes quitting any easier. I've always wondered if those "e-cigarettes" or whatever they are called, would be effective or not.
However, I did write a blog post about this whole "quit smoking" subject a while back, and you can find it here: "Can smoking 'Ultra-Lights' help you quit?" [Link is no longer active, but it is now Part 2 of this post.]
In closure, whatever method you choose, quitting smoking will definitely help save you money and, unless it is too late, it will improve your health. I know, I know, it's easier said than done...
---End of Part 1: "Can Additive-Free Cigarettes help you quit?"
Part 2: "Can smoking 'Ultra Lights' help you quit?"
This is not very informative nor is it much of a blog post, but it’s more of a Q & A (question & answer) or no, it is more of a Q & O (question & opinion) post.
Many of the so-called experts tell you that smoking Ultra Lights or Lights is no better for you than full flavored cigarettes.
Well, I have to disagree with the experts on this one, albeit we should all know that all smoke is bad for us. However, I cannot fathom how a cigarette with so much more tar & nicotine can be the same as one with less. It just doesn’t make any sense, nor does a lot of the advice you often hear from “overly educated” idiots. It is also very apparent, that the amount you smoke also effects your health in different degrees along with how you smoke. Yes, I said how you smoke. The tar & nicotine, for example, that a person intakes is much greater from one who “hits it hard” as opposed to one who gently smokes or lightly sucks on the cigarette. For the most part, guys generally “hit it harder” than females, however that may sound to you.
Anyway, we’ve got off track here. The original question is: Can smoking “Ultra Lights” help you quit? When it comes to the nicotine/chemical addiction, my answer is a very definite “yes!”
I know many may disagree but, in my opinion, it is true. In fact, I have done this in the past and it worked fine, even though it is years later and I still smoke. But I did quit without much effort, using the Ultra Light method in the past. What my hang up is, involves circumstantial smoking; for example, I like cigarettes with my beer. There are many of these circumstances that get in the way for many people who try to quit and fail. It isn’t just the beer & cigarette combo either. A lot of folks particularly like to smoke after meals, after sex, with their coffee, break times at their place of work, et cetera. Hell, some people even smoke for dieting reasons to curb their appetite, and so on.
Anyway, back to the question at hand: See, I look at Ultra Lights as a good chance to wean yourself from the nicotine addiction, not the psychological or circumstantial addiction. If you can break the drug addiction by using Ultra Lights, most of the rest is all mental and/or willpower or resoluteness aside from the chemical addiction to toxins outside of nicotine? My problem with it, is that I have to want to quit, but if I ever decide to do so again, I’ll use the Ultra Lights for a while before stopping completely – as this sort of eases the process. Of course, there are many products on the market to help you quit, so pick your method and best of luck to you.
Out of all the nicotine replacement products I have tried, the nicotine lozenges have, without a doubt, worked the best for me. I personally get the 2mg, but they have 4mg for the strong version and 1mg for the weak version, etc.
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---End of Part 2: "Can smoking 'Ultra Lights' help you quit?"
---End of Post "Can Ultra Lights or Additive-Free Cigarettes help you quit?"
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