Do you know someone that smokes?

Nonsmoker
by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath An interesting fact is that in the 7 years that I have produced a weekly newsletter, I have never addressed smoking. Honestly, I never had because I always felt that followers of Depke Wellness are not likely to be smokers, but that may or may not be true. But if you are a nonsmoker, which I hope you are, you likely know someone that is a smoker. On top of that, it is highly likely that the people in your life that are smokers simply would love to quit. Perhaps they say, or you say, there simply is not enough will power, perhaps there are concerns about the addictive properties (a myth soon to be dispelled) or emotional reasons. After all, it is a new year and many people have made resolutions to become nonsmokers, so let’s provide some information to make this new year’s resolution a reality. A nonsmoking reality! Today we are going to address this in a manner that you have not likely understood in the past. I hope to shed some light on the myths around smoking. I’m not here to say that cigarettes are or are not addictive, but I do want to have a conversation with you about your believing that you are addicted and I’m wondering if you would be willing to keep an open mind about cigarettes? I always say that the mind is a parachute – it only works when it’s open, so would you be willing to have an open mind to some new possibilities about whether or not cigarettes are as addictive as they say? So first let’s define addiction. The type of addiction I want to talk about right now is physical addiction, not the mental. We’ll deal with the mental aspects of addiction in a moment. For now, let’s just address the physical aspects of addiction. Who tells us that cigarettes are addictive? Media, right? Has the media ever lied to you before? You see, the media is very certain that cigarettes are addictive, but I must share with you – thousands of people quit smoking each day, and not one of them experiences any kind of physical withdrawal symptoms that you would see in a normally addicting chemical like cocaine or heroin. I guess when I refer to addiction, what I’m talking about is the physical malfunction that bodies go through when being deprived of a substance upon which they have become dependent.   No one’s body malfunctions when they stop smoking cigarettes. In fact, think about it, how long can you go without a cigarette? If you can only go a short time without a cigarette, let’s say 30 minutes, I have some questions for you. Really, only a short time? Do you sleep at night? How many hours (6 – 8 usually)? Do you smoke in your sleep? If you said no, then you really can you go 6 – 8 hours without smoking during the day. If you say no, why not? You do it all night don’t you? People who are truly addicted to a chemical like heroin cannot sleep through the night, they have to get up to take a hit, just to go back to sleep. No one does that with cigarettes. If you say that you do get up at night to smoke, is it really that you get up to go to the bathroom, and while you are up, you smoke? What about a movie? If you go to a really good movie, you can sit through the entire show without a cigarette, yet most people don’t think they can go 2 hours without a cigarette. Doesn’t this make you wonder how addictive cigarettes really are? Perhaps you are the person that you can go a long time frame like 2 or 3 days, or even 2 or 3 weeks. Exactly! Now how many crack addicts would say they can go that long? How many heroin addicts? For that matter, how many alcoholics? You see, even with just looking at your own life you have demonstrated that cigarettes do not have the same addictive characteristics biologically that truly addictive drugs do. Now, I’m not into conspiracy theories or anything, but think about it, who benefits most by thinking that cigarettes are addictive? The cigarette manufacturers of course! Wouldn’t the best sales pitch in the world for any consumable product be, “If you start using these by age 12, you will smoke them for the rest of your life.” It’s got to make you think, doesn’t it? In fact, when I talk to people who become nonsmokers, the most severe physical problems I’ve ever had people tell me about is headaches -which were more than likely stress related anyway. I also hear about sore throats and shaking hands. I’ll address the issue of shaking s in a moment, but let’s be honest about these so-called “symptoms.” Are they not simply irritations instead? Irritation and malfunction are not the same things. They’re not in the same ballpark! Those symptoms do not cause malfunction. They just cause discomfort … which is not a word used to describe the addictive withdrawals from any other addictive drug. So is the biological aspect of addiction still a concern for you, or would you be willing to believe for the sake of this process that you are indeed not biologically addicted? If you insist that they are addicted, what makes you so certain? Ask yourself, “What makes me so certain that I am addicted.” Perhaps you did not understand all the information in this article or you have a reason why you feel that you are addicted. Regardless, let me ask you this question, “Yes, you believe you’re addicted, but did you malfunction?” I would be willing to bet this answer is a no. If we take this further you may share that you have tried to stop smoking before and you just gained weight. And while you do not want to smoke, you also do not want to gain weight. I get this, so let’s discuss some reasons behind this phenomena Have you ever seen beef jerky in the super market? You know, that smoked meat that sits on the counter waiting to be bought? How much water do you think is in that meat? If you’ve guessed “not much at all” you are correct. Well, what do you think your doing to your body when you smoke? It is a known fact that smoking causes dehydration. If you do not believe me, look at someone who has smoked for 50 or 60 years compared to someone that has not, as their skin quality is completely different most of the time. When you become a nonsmoker, your body is going to naturally re-hydrate the cells that have been dehydrated for years. What this means is that you will likely gain anywhere from 2-5 pounds of cellular hydration. This is not fat, it is actually a healthy water retention. This is simply a process of your body becoming denser – having each cell weigh slightly more because it is re-hydration and you should not only expect this, but welcome this as well. I would rather see you be 2-5 pounds heavier and a nonsmoker than 2-5 pounds lighter and a smoker. Remember, this is water the body needs anyway. Which would YOU rather be? Some people also worry that they are going to crave sweets when they become a nonsmoker. That is because, depending on what cigarette you smoke, each cigarette contains between 18 and 25% sugar. I know, sugar, right!? When tobacco is “cured” it is soaked in sugar water and then dehydrated. There’s potentially even added molasses to enhance the flavor. This is why some people’s hand shake when they go without a cigarette for a while. It’s called hypoglycemia, and shaking hands is one of the first symptoms of having low blood sugar. Now I cannot tell you what to eat, but if I were going to find another source of sugar I would favor fruit or carrot sticks rather then a cigarette. The natural sugars in fruit or higher glycemic vegetables will counter act any cravings you may have fo the lack of sugar from cigarettes. Would you be willing to accept the suggestion of increased fruit or high glycemic vegetables in your diet? As mentioned early in this article, it is most likely that a high percentage of the Depke Wellness followers are already nonsmokers but please, make it a point to share this article with those in your life that do smoke and especially those that you know would love to quit if they could. I trust that you’ll do this because you either love or care for this people. I will also share that we use a technique in our office called the Guided Subconscious Technique or G.S.T. This technique is used to help smokers become nonsmokers in only one session. There is a 100% satisfaction guarantee with our smoking sessions with this technique. If you are not a nonsmoker after one session, we will provide free sessions for as long as needed until your satisfaction is reached. Now that’s a win/win situation for anyone that desires to be a nonsmoker. If you have any comments or questions regarding this article please post this on our Facebook page or on our Twitter page for us to address personally. If you would like more information on the Guided Subconscious Technique (GST) or to book your satisfaction guaranteed one session, Contact Depke Wellness directly here.  

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