The cigarette does nothingHabits

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The cigarette does nothing

A short book about smoking, and the belief that it calms you when it mainly relieves the need it created

16 chapters11,826 wordsAbout 54 minFirst edition

What's inside

·Before you startThis is a short book. You can read it in two or three evenings. It's about one belief. You smoke, and you know what it costs. Nobody needs to tell you…2 min
1The back door at ten past elevenHere's an example. It's ten past eleven on a Tuesday, and you've just come off the phone with a client who was rude, and wrong, and who you had to be…3 min
2What the cigarette seems to payNobody keeps up an expensive, inconvenient habit for years for no reason. If you've smoked for a long time, the cigarette seems to be paying you…3 min
3"It calms me down"This chapter is about the mechanism, because the whole book depends on it. I'll keep the chemistry short. When you draw on a cigarette, nicotine crosses…3 min
4"But my stress is real"There's a fair complaint about the last chapter. Your life may be hard in ways that have nothing to do with nicotine. You might have a job that asks too…4 min
5"It helps me think"Plenty of smokers would give up the claim about calm before they gave up this one. You sit down to something difficult, a report or a tax return or a…3 min
6"It's my break"In many workplaces, and many homes, a cigarette is the only excuse for stopping that nobody challenges. If you stood outside the back door for five…3 min
7"Some of them I really enjoy"Ask a smoker which cigarettes they'd miss and you rarely hear "all of them". You hear about four or five. The first of the day with a coffee. The one…3 min
8"It's how I know people"Smoking areas are friendly places. Stand outside any office, wedding or pub and you'll find people talking who'd never have spoken inside. The junior from…3 min
9"I'll put on weight"This fear is reasonable, because it's based on something true. Most people who stop smoking do put on some weight. If you've stopped before and gone up a…3 min
10"I've tried, and it was awful"If you've tried to stop before, you have a memory of what it was like. For many people the memory goes like this. You lasted somewhere between a day and a…4 min
11"Using help is cheating"A lot of smokers carry an idea that the proper way to stop is alone, by force of will, and that patches, vapes and tablets are for people who aren't…3 min
12The decisionEverything so far has been argument. This chapter is a plan. You can change any part of it to suit your life, and where a part rests on evidence I'll say…5 min
13When you've had oneI hope you won't need this chapter, but plenty of people do, and it's better read in advance. Suppose it's the third week. It's been going well. Then…4 min
14The back door againHere's the example from chapter 1 again, some months later. It's ten past eleven on a Tuesday, and the same client has been rude, and wrong, for fourteen…2 min
·NotesThis book gives general information. It isn't medical or psychological advice, and it's no substitute for a doctor, pharmacist or stop smoking adviser who…5 min

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