Grieving for a Smoke

“How much do I miss cigarettes? How much do I miss cigarettes, you ask? Oh, I don’t know if you can believe this. I don’t know if you can understand this. But if you had a friend that you really loved, that you really, really, really loved, and that friend died, that’s how much I miss cigarettes.” Smoking has been called the hardest habit/addiction to break. Many smokers who try to quit on their own fail, and most who attend a smoking cessation program go back to smoking shortly thereafter. Then there are others who are drawn back to smoking many years after quitting. Why? Grieving for a Smoke addresses the psychological addiction to smoking. Although nicotine is addicting, the cognitive and emotional investment smokers have with smoking plays a major role in the challenge of walking away from the habit. The book discusses a variety of reasons why smoking is highly significant to beginning smokers, what happens as smokers reinforce those reasons through continued smoking, and why smokers return to smoking after quitting. If you have stopped smoking, tried to stop smoking, or have thought about stopping, this book will help you understand the various feelings that will bombard you as you say goodbye to cigarettes. By understanding how your mind will process this “loss,” you will be able to take control of your life and move through the various stages of grief to a brighter tomorrow. This book is a must read before you quit and three months after you quit!