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The “Positively Quit! Manual” isn't groundbreaking, but it just may help long-term smokers kick the habit for good, due to a slightly different approach.
The 59-page manual, written by a man who stopped smoking after 20 years of addiction, asserts that smokers have “misguided beliefs and correspondingly inappropriate feels about smoking.” It aims to dispel what it calls myths.
For example, author Cassius Cheong says that believing addiction to nicotine is what makes quitting smoking so difficult can become a self-fulfilling prophecy and lead to a diminished confidence in a person's ability to quit. He bases his argument on research from the Department of Psychiatry in 2003, which found that after six months, only 7 percent of people who used nicotine replacement products, such as gum or patches, had remained cigarette free. He reasons that if nicotine were the true culprit, people wouldn't ditch the patch and take up smoking again, and they wouldn't be able to do things like endure long flights or religious holidays like Ramadan without smoking. While he tries to make a point, he doesn't provide direct scientific research prove his theory.
However, his next points, revolving around the importance of addressing the psychological addiction of smoking, are worth noting. He attacks three prevalent beliefs about how smoking relieves stress, provides pleasure and improves concentration. He gives scientific evidence, such as a study at the University of East London that says nicotine dependency seems to increase stress through “the repeated occurrence of negative moods between cigarettes.” He dispels the pleasure principle by pointing out that such good feelings are simply the result of a smoker easing incessant bouts of mini-withdrawal symptoms. He attributes the mini-withdrawal symptoms to lower concentration, which is “corrected” by administering nicotine. However, he doesn't provide studies to back up his last two arguments.
In general, Cheong's focus on the psychological aspects of cigarettes is useful and perhaps even necessary to consider when ceasing smoking. However, the book would benefit from case studies and greater research to truly convince its targeted audience: “the thinking person.”
The 59-page manual, written by a man who stopped smoking after 20 years of addiction, asserts that smokers have “misguided beliefs and correspondingly inappropriate feels about smoking.” It aims to dispel what it calls myths.
For example, author Cassius Cheong says that believing addiction to nicotine is what makes quitting smoking so difficult can become a self-fulfilling prophecy and lead to a diminished confidence in a person's ability to quit. He bases his argument on research from the Department of Psychiatry in 2003, which found that after six months, only 7 percent of people who used nicotine replacement products, such as gum or patches, had remained cigarette free. He reasons that if nicotine were the true culprit, people wouldn't ditch the patch and take up smoking again, and they wouldn't be able to do things like endure long flights or religious holidays like Ramadan without smoking. While he tries to make a point, he doesn't provide direct scientific research prove his theory.
However, his next points, revolving around the importance of addressing the psychological addiction of smoking, are worth noting. He attacks three prevalent beliefs about how smoking relieves stress, provides pleasure and improves concentration. He gives scientific evidence, such as a study at the University of East London that says nicotine dependency seems to increase stress through “the repeated occurrence of negative moods between cigarettes.” He dispels the pleasure principle by pointing out that such good feelings are simply the result of a smoker easing incessant bouts of mini-withdrawal symptoms. He attributes the mini-withdrawal symptoms to lower concentration, which is “corrected” by administering nicotine. However, he doesn't provide studies to back up his last two arguments.
In general, Cheong's focus on the psychological aspects of cigarettes is useful and perhaps even necessary to consider when ceasing smoking. However, the book would benefit from case studies and greater research to truly convince its targeted audience: “the thinking person.”
