MARCH 16, 2011 SMOKE CAN BE GREEN

"It is a sign of strength, not of weakness, to admit that you do not know all the answers"
- John P Lougbrane

I used to think I needed to know all the answers. I admit that it was due to my low self esteem growing up. Yes, I too had low self esteem. I even had low self esteem into adulthood. What changed? I got sober. I began to realize that NOT knowing all the answers is a sign of strength, not weakness. I could finally admit I do not know all the answers, but am willing to learn. My willingness to learn just about anything has changed my life. If I truly do not know an answer I will admit I do NOT know the answer. Do I know everything about medicine? NO, and neither does anyone else. I know the basics. I have lived by the blog motto-Anything Worth Learning is Self -Taught. It goes beyond that. I will ask the right questions, take the right courses and seek out the right people to get the answers. I would have never done that years ago. I would talk a good talk--today, I walk the walk. Do you talk the talk and NOT walk the walk? Do you just like to hear yourself talk? Are you selfish?

A good example was last night in my Botanical Latin course. I took Latin in college and even taught Latin to undergraduates. I should remember something. I do , but not enough without asking questions and studying. This course is all about Botany. Despite my love for herbs, and the knowledge over the years- I was not speaking the genus and species correctly for the plants, nor could I tell the difference is a plant name was of feminine or masculine origin. I got the answers last night. Did I feel less than for not knowing? Absolutely not, I felt invigorated in the fact that my brain cells still have the capacity to learn.

Let's talk about cigarette smoking. As a former smoker , I have seen a change in the number of people who continue to smoke. I am seeing more and more teenagers smoke. The advertising in geared towards this age group. Twenty percent of adults still smoke. According to the American Cancer Society , 1000 under the age 18 start this habit daily. 43% of adults attempt to quit, but there is a 70-80% FAILURE RATE. I was one of those failures. I started to smoke after I got sober. I am being honest.

There are many ways to attempt to quit. You can use conventional nicotine patches, zyban and now, chantix. There are side effects with everything in medicine. I know that smoking was harder to quit for me, than any other

But here is my honesty. I am a human being with life on life's terms. I knew better but I ignored the harmful effects. How could I tell a patient to stop, when I didn't. Now I did. I tried the nicotine gum and felt ill.

You need support in life from family and friends. I have the support. Support is the ticket to recovery from many addictions. I know that because at 2 months sober , in August 1994, I had the support of a loving man- my dad. My dad drove me to meetings and waited outside until the meeting ended to take me home. Here was a 73 year old man with his 34 year old son entering the parking lot of many churches holding 12 step meetings in the church basement. I started to smoke after I got sober. Can you imagine that.
I used homeopathic remedies( Lobelia and Boron's Anti-Smoking Pack) to stop at one point. But I started again. I was smoke free using colleagues and friend's hypotherapy program - Stop Smoking for the Last Time by George Wissing. Not only did he help me but many of my patients. So what happens--my dad gets ill and I rely again on this addiction.

So do not beat yourself. Famed nutritionist, Carlton Fredericks smoked everyday in his office until smoking beat him down. Even, President Obama had this addiction in addition to countless millions. So you are not alone.

What I learned is the patient has to want to quit this addiction. We all have addictions- good and bad. Addiction to family drama, addiction to the Blackberry, addiction to the iPad, addiction to Diet Soda, addiction to sugar and addiction to sex. There are 12 step programs for many of those addictions, although I personally do not know of the 12 step iPAD addiction program !

Through a dear friend needing to stop smoking due to upcoming surgery, I was able to come to terms with reality. If an individual who has smoked far more than my 5 cigarettes a day can stop--so can I. This dear friend, used an electronic cigarette with water vapor smoke to stop. He researched the many on the market. The consumer lab report listed http://www.greensmoke.com/ as the best choice. After seeing what a difference it made in his life - I become a Green Smoke carrying card member. I love the menthol, vanilla and mocha filters without ANY nicotine. I feel privileged to have found a new way.

You can use the http://www.quitsmoke.net/ assistance or other anti-smoking programs

Whatever method you decide to use to stop any addiction, you have to want yourself to stop.

Until tomorrow...