There is only one reason people quit smoking: they think it's possible.
Nobody quits smoking because it's bad for them
People smoke until they have to have their legs amputated. Then they carry on smoking.
People lose relatives to smoking, and carry on.
Hospitals where patients of lung cancer are treated are thronged with huddled smokers.
Doctors smoke. Nurses smoke.
Nobody quits smoking because it's too expensive
I once announced with confidence that I would quit smoking when the price of cigarettes rose above £2 a pack. A friend now plans to stop when the price hits £10.
Smoking is more prevalent amongst the poor. Incidence of smoking accurately predicts poverty in a region.
There is evidence that smoking makes you poorer.
Nobody quits smoking because it's antisocial
Sharon Stone shows us exactly how anti-social smoking is.
One of the nice things about smoking is that you get to stand outside in the rain with other smokers. You feel part of a special club. You have something in common with your fellow-sufferers.
We smokers feel its a great way to meet people. We forget about the 58% of adults that have never smoked, so probably don't want to talk to us because they think we stink and are idiots.
Nobody quits smoking because of the effects on other people
What about the £12.9bn per year cost of smoking to society? Nonsense, say smokers - we pay a fortune in tax, and we die young, so overall society benefits from our habit.
- Passive smoking is a myth.
- The death of pubs is largely due to the smoking ban.
- Cigarette ends do not count as litter.
Its really remarkable how easily we justify our habit in our own minds.
So why DO people quit?
The only reason anyone ever quits smoking is because they believe they can.
Most smokers say they want to quit - 70% in the USA and 63% in the UK.
80% believe it will be difficult to stop smoking.
More than a third of smokers try to stop in any given year. Only 2-3% succeed. (ASH)
It seems perfectly obvious to me that if
- there are extremely strong reasons for stopping, that all smokers know about
- most smokers say they want to stop
- one third every year try
... that the only missing factor for success is a belief that it is possible, and preferably not too difficult.
But nearly all smokers expect it to be difficult, and nearly all smokers fail to quit (and a substantial number of those that succeed merely become addicted to an alternative source of nicotine, such as gum or e-cigarettes).