Cigarettes Are the Problem, Not Smokers

One thing struck me when I first read the literature about quitting: the tone. I don't know who keeps writing these books, but many of them are almost insulting. They treat smokers like some lower form of life.

Cigarettes are the problem, not the smokers. When I smoked, I hated the superior grins of people looking down on me as if they were better than me. You won't get that here. You are reading this because you want to stop, or at least you're thinking about it. You will be treated as an intelligent adult, without a sense of superiority and without being blamed every two pages. That's a promise.

What I got wrong back then

In the original version of this site I wrote that smoking was one of the least offensive bad habits in the world. I'd put it differently today. In terms of what it does to your body, smoking is one of the most harmful habits there is; it's the leading preventable cause of death in many countries. But it says nothing bad about you as a person. Most smokers started as teenagers, long before they could weigh up the risks, and then nicotine did what nicotine does.

When smoking was allowed everywhere

Some of the best conversations I ever had happened while smoking in a club, back when that was allowed. Bars, clubs, card rooms and casinos were thick with smoke, and nobody thought twice. That world has largely gone. Ireland became the first country to ban smoking in all enclosed workplaces, including pubs, in 2004. Scotland followed in 2006 and England in July 2007, and most US states now have smoke-free laws for restaurants and bars, although many casinos are still exempt. I cover that debate in smoke-free casinos and the smoking-ban debate.

For an ex-smoker, those old associations can still pull. A pint, a card game, a night at the casino with friends who smoke: these are classic triggers. Knowing that ahead of time is half the work. See why casinos, bars and betting nights tempt ex-smokers.

The perks nobody tells you about

When I signed off the original letter, I added a few postscripts. They still hold:

• Coffee will taste better. Taste and smell start to recover within days of stopping, and food and coffee really do taste different.
• There is a social world outside the smokers' corner. It sounds hard to believe at first, but you will find people to talk to that aren't huddled by the back door.
• It can save on insurance. My health insurance cost dropped after I quit. In the US, many health and life insurers are allowed to charge tobacco users more, so check your own policy.
• It saves a lot of money. Our money saved calculator table shows how fast it adds up.

One request, once you've made it

If you do quit, please don't look down on other smokers, and please don't be preachy. If you really want to help someone, give them practical advice and let them make their own choice. Nobody ever quit because they were lectured. I wrote a whole guide on how to help someone else quit without driving them away.