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Blame and Guilt

Dr_Hurt
Mayo Clinic
0 22 21

Some people have a much harder time stopping smoking than others.  There are a number of reasons for this, one of which is that some people, because of their genetics, have a greater response to the nicotine when they begin smoking cigarettes.  They physically become more addicted.  People who are more addicted can have an extremely difficult time becoming tobacco free despite a strong desire to stop and a great deal of effort expended trying to stop.  As a result they blame themselves.  

 

We try to encourage people who are more addicted to stop blaming themselves.  Focus the anger where it belongs.  Tobacco companies have created a highly sophisticated and extremely addicting product in the cigarette.  Nicotine is the addicting substance in cigarettes.  Tobacco companies have ‘improved’ cigarettes by using ‘bases’ like ammonia to raise the pH (degree of acidity) of cigarettes and enhance or ‘free-base’ nicotine thus making the nicotine travel to the brain more quickly.  Speeding up the delivery of nicotine increasing its addicting potential.  This powerful drug delivery device combined with the additional vulnerability that some people have for becoming addicted to nicotine can make it terribly hard to stop.

 

If you smoke it is important that you stop even though it can be hard.  Don’t blame yourself.  Instead, use every tool available to help you stop smoking.  If you haven’t been able to stop on your own look for a specialist who can help you develop a plan that will work for you, talk with your health care provider, or call the local tobacco Quitline at 1800 QUIT-NOW.  Best treatment includes both counseling and medication, and more intensive treatment has a greater impact.  If you haven’t yet succeeded, don’t blame yourself, but get the help you need to stop smoking for good.

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About the Author
Retired in 2014. Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence.