The Cost of Smoking

I ask my clients when they come in for quit smoking what it costs them. This is not just from the health view but how much money it costs to smoke. Most people cannot tell me. Why is this? I think it is for two reasons;
1. The cost to smoke is not seen in a lump sum. Payment is packet by packet and so the total cost is not seen.
2. People don’t want to acknowledge the cost.
The actual cost of cigarettes makes more impact in first world countries as taxation has made smoking expensive. This still does not prevent people from smoking. […]

Study finds tobacco taxes reduce smoking

Raising tobacco prices through taxes could help reduce tobacco consumption in low and middle-income countries, a study published in the Tobacco Control journal has found.

The study compared cigarette prices in 15 low and middle-income countries, including bidis (small, hand-rolled cigarettes in India and Bangladesh). They found large price differences – indicating opportunities to raise tobacco prices through tax adjustments.

A uniform high excise tax ensures a higher price for tobacco products and can reduce the range of tobacco prices available in countries. It’s been found that higher-priced tobacco products result in less tobacco consumption.

Key findings from the study are:
• The average […]

Who’s in Control?

I ask all the people that come to me to quit smoking if they think that smoking and cigarettes controls them. It’s amazing how many people tell me that their smoking habit does not control them. They then proceed to tell me how they have to go to special places to smoke, they leave gatherings to smoke, and they go to service stations at night and pay exorbitant prices to buy cigarettes.
People also often tell me that they plan their day around smoking and yet still tell me that their smoking habit does not control them. Even so called control […]

Sobering Event

This week I went to my doctor as I had suddenly developed a lump on my tongue which was quite painful. Don’t know how people can have piercings in their tongue. I felt like I had a boulder in my mouth. When I went to see the doctor he had a look at my tongue, did not say much but sent me to an ear, nose and throat surgeon. I started to immediately go into fear and started to play the movie of me having cancer of the mouth without any evidence at all. I played the movie without the […]

VALUES DICTATE YOUR GOALS

Have you ever set a goal and did not accomplish it? Chances are that they were not congruent with your top values. If you set a goal that is congruent with your top values or will allow you to reach your top values then you will probably achieve it.
A goal is something that you perceive is missing in your life, a void. Your values and the hierarchy of your values are unique to you. You spend your life fulfilling your values, in particular your top values. What are your top values? There is an exercise to determine these but look […]