Achieve Laser Blog

  - Brian Frank 

To most smokers, the thought of quitting is one of the most prevalent  things on their mind.  All smokers know they should quit.  But the  pressures to do something about it soon are getting more and more  difficult to ignore.  It’s not just the fear of health risks anymore.   Pressures to quit smoking are everywhere. 

Most notably, smoking has now been banned in 31 states, including Illinois, where a new bill will take effect on January 1st.   Violators of the ban will be slapped with hefty fines of $100 to $250 per instance.  Smokers will literally be left out in the cold as they will be prohibited from lighting up within 15 feet of entrances or windows of restaurants, workplaces, public buildings, and bars.  Yep – even bars!  Now that’s pressure!   

430,000 Americans die every year from smoking-related diseases. That’s equivalent to about 144 times the amount of people killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  But what smoking costs our society beyond mortality could be what has led to so much policy-making and legislation recently. 

Smoking costs money.  Lots of it.  Nationwide, medical care costs attributable to smoking (or smoking–related disease) have been estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be more than $50 billion annually.  They also estimate the value of lost earnings and loss of productivity to be at least another $47 billion a year. 

In capitalistic America, there is no pressure more motivating than the  almighty dollar.  Senior executives lose sleep about their bottom line.  They constantly wonder where they can cut expenses and improve productivity.  Now’s the time to grab your lighter if you are a  smoker…The following info will make you want to smoke: 

The Surgeon General estimates the additional cost per smoker to a business is $3,400 per year.  And you thought the ultimatum from your wife or your mom was bad?   Just wait and see what happens once your employer catches wind of what  your smoking habit is costing THEM! The wave of corporate interest in the personal lifestyles of employees  is already building like an offshore tsunami.  And smokers are like  sandcastles. 

An example is Michigan-based Weyco, a medical-benefits  administrator.  After announcing it would no longer employ smokers,  the company fired four employees who refused to submit to a breath  test. It began testing the spouses of its employees, too, levying an  $80-per-month surcharge on those who don’t test clean. 

So what’s a nicotine-addict supposed to do?  Regardless of the direction the pressure is coming from – social, political, medical, or monetary – the time is now for smokers to finally quit for the last time.  Confucius says, “A journey of a thousand miles always begins with a single step.”  That’s the way quitting needs to be looked at.

 

Quitting is a personal decision that undoubtedly must be undertaken with a high degree of determination and will power.  But the beginning of the journey is simple.  Step one: Decide to quit and Set a Date. 

New Year’s Day, 2008 will mark the ritualistic day of New Year’s resolutions as many smokers like you will vow to quit smoking (probably for the 10th consecutive time).  With the Smoking Ban looming ever-closer, the pressure to stick to your annual resolution to quit smoking will be paramount.

So why don’t you finally admit to yourself that now is finally the time to do it once and for all?  Make today the day you decide to change your life forever.  Decide to quit now.  Not next week, or 6 months from now, or when you get back from your next vacation.  Not after your next major life event like getting married, or having a baby, or (fill in the blank).  

Be a quitter for once in your life….it will do you good. 

You can do it!  Just set a date to take the first step.  

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

 - The Achieve Laser Team

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Achieve Laser News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.