TOBACCO AND YOU

Vance Ferrell

GETTING READY FOR QUIT DAY-

First, decide how you are going to quit. There are several ways to tackle it:

1. A sudden impulsive break with tobacco. All at once, you get angry with the weed and stop. It is probably the morning after a late night and your throat and mouth feels like a tingling, raw porcupine. And so you say you are done with it. But that frequently lasts till the craving in your nerves becomes stronger than the rawness in your mouth. And back you go.

2. Then there is the "taper off" method. This is the old ploy of "cutting down," a method that, for most people, just doesn't work. Trying to "ration out" the cigarettes over a longer period of time, in the hope of eventually cutting them out entirely, only gets your mind on the smokes all the more, and encourages you to think you can't overcome — as you see that you aren't.

Trying to count the cigarettes all through the day and taper off, and then discovering that the num­ber of butts in the ashtray is far too many. You for­got to keep the count going — and spaced out proper­ly. This is because a lot of your smoking is automa­tically, unconsciously started. If your mind thinks that it is all right to keep on with tobacco, it will con­tinue to do it in the routine way, which is an automa­tic reach and light up way.

Trying to ration yourself to one after a meal, only increases your psychological craving for the next meal to come sooner! Your nerves will get no rest. The trouble with this method is that it is almost more trouble than smoking is. All you can think about is the count or the clock. How is the pack count doing? Can I still have another today? What time is it? Is it time for another yet? Should I smoke it now — or save it till after lunch?

Then along comes an emergency and you toss out the scheduling, and go back to your cigarettes in abundance.

3. Then there is the "place a bet" method. You make a bet with someone for a fair-sized amount of money that you can stop smoking for a month or two.

4. Lastly, there is the better than bumming" method. This technique calls for going about without smokes or lights —and depending on your self-respect to not keep asking others for the "makings" needed to keep the nicotine flowing down your throat.

The experience of many others can tell you that, in most cases, the above four methods are not suc­cessful.

But there are ways that work. And in this book you will learn about them:

1. A definite plan of action that has been well thought-out, and is carefully carried out, either alone or with the help of another. A number of variations of this plan are known to succeed. Many of the best points in them will be found in the forthcoming pages. These are, ideas and methods that work, and have worked for thousands. They are based on sound, practical facts and common sense.

2. In addition, we are going to give you in this book some information that you will rarely find in any "how to stop smoking" plan: nutritional infor­mation that will enable your body to work together with your will in forever getting rid of tobacco in every form.

3. And there is a way of overcoming that you may never have known about. There is more help available to us than we often recognize. All three of these important factors are to be found in the coming pages of the book you now have in hand. Second, you must accept the fact that quitting is more than desire; it is a decision coupled with an act of the will. Mere desire is not willpower. Along with your desire to stop smoking, you will want to mobi­lize your willpower into a clear-cut, positive action.

Third, your decision is based on definite facts about tobacco and what it is slowly, insidiously doing to your body—and, in fact, to the bodies of everyone who lives and works near your tobacco smoke.

Now for some preliminaries to quitting:

1. Start thinking about it. Strength of will and a renewed determination of character comes even as we think about it: what is involved, what will happen if you don't quit — happen to you, to your wife or hus­band, to your children.

The very fact that you have read this far in this book is very encouraging. You are on the right road. You are thinking about it, getting a new mind-set on the topic. You are moving toward a decision that you will stick with.

Thinking about giving up smoking always pre­cedes giving it up. Think about what it has done to your life already. Think about the problem it is right now. Is it really "satisfying," "pleasant"? Is it a habit you want your sweet children to copy later on?

What would it be like to never take another smoke?

2. Make a list of reasons why you should quit. It would be best to write it right now. List all the things you don't like about smoking. Now, go over your list. You will think of some more items; write them down.

Reread parts of this book. You may want to add a few more items. Over the next few days, carry a card or slip of paper around with you. Other reasons may come to you.

And keep thinking: "I have to quit; I am going to quit."

3. Select the right time to begin. That day will be "Quit Day, and it will not be far off. Keep think­ing about it, and get used to the idea. And, along with it, be thinking about the advan­tages you will gain when you do. Freedom to live a better, happier life. No more slavery to a habit that you are secretly ashamed of. A healthier, more ener­getic life. And a longer life than you otherwise would have had.

Actually, there are three things you could be thinking about: (1) the bad things about tobacco; (2) all that you will gain by quitting; (3) worry and fear lest you not succeed. Let me tell you this: Those who succeed—think about the first two a lot, and they do not give much attention to the third. What you think about affects you. Focus on the first two and ignore the third—and stick with the first two after Quit Day and stay off the third after Quit Day—and your fu­ture will be bright. Remember F. D. Roosevelt's famous statement in the dark days at the beginning of World War II: "The only thing we need to fear is [dwelling on] fear itself."

What is the right time to begin?

The right day to quit is the day you wake up in the morning and know that it is time to quit right then. Or it is when a series of "stop smoking" meet­ings takes place locally. (Later in this book we will tell you how to find out when one of these stop smoking clinics will be held in your area.)

But, at this juncture, let us consider the first of these two just-right days:

Watch and wait for a day when things are going on a fairly even keel. No special problems or crises coming up for the next few days at least.

Some morning, perhaps on a weekend, you will wake up feeling especially good. You will have had a good night's sleep and you feel ready for action. Somehow the idea of stopping today doesn't seem quite as impossible as at some other times. Then and there, you tell yourself that you are through with smoking! This is it!

Quit Day has arrived.

You have studied this book; you understand the issues; you have given thought to the matter and are well aware of the serious consequences—for you and your loved ones—if you continue on with tobacco. You have made up your mind that you are going to quit —and now the day has come!

No more hot, dry, poisonous fumes in your mouth! No more of that yellow juice in your body. No more odor of burning nicotine and pyridine and aldehydes and all the rest of the hundreds of peculiar chemicals in nicotine. No more jail-cell living, chained to a tobacco leaf.

Before, you weren't prepared; this time you are. The last sections of this book are filled with worth­while material on helping you succeed. And, whatever may have been the past, this time it will be done. You are ready this time and you will carry it through.

But before ending this chapter let me add this: Do not wait too long to quit. If you postpone it too long, you will lose the momentum you are building up. Success in quitting requires selecting the time­ and then quitting.

And the time you select should be a favorable one. You know that quitting is not easy, so give your­self every reasonable advantage. Choose a time when there is not that extra tension and pressure. Try for a time when life is running more smoothly and even­ly, a time when you are feeling well and up to the challenge of what needs to be done.

If an opportunity does not seem to be present­ing itself, then make one! Take a long holiday week­end to get started.

For you do not need to wait till a certain morn­ing to decide; you can decide the night before or several days ahead. Pick a convenient night to go to bed earlier than usual. Go over your lists and be thinking about what you are going to do, but do not smoke that evening. Read for a time, or listen to the radio, or do something else that is quiet and relaxing. Then go to sleep. The next morning has been selected to be Quit Day.

As soon as you awaken, tell yourself that this is it!—the day you have looked forward to.

It is really "Freedom Day." Don't see it as some­thing negative, for the negative—the slavery—is behind you. Ahead is a better way of life. Sure, there will be some storms, but that's all right. There will be a lot of bright, sunny days also. It will be a better future ­without nicotine.

HOW TO QUIT —FORTY WAYS TO DO IT

Here are a lot of pointers in succeeding. Go over them many times, now and in the weeks ahead, as you bid goodby to the Golden Death.

J. Wayne McFarland, M.D., co-developer of the famous "Five Day Plan to Stop Smoking," says this: "The best way to quit smoking is to stop all at once—none of this tapering-off business. The reason: It is better to have a few rough days and be through with it than to drag it out for weeks and months. Slow torture is no fun. You can make a clean sweep of this thing and do it easier than you think. It is our purpose to help you get over the craving as rapidly as possible—in fact, in five day’s time.

"Aftter quitting, the hardest part comes in the first three days, but by the end of five days the majority of individuals find the craving definitely less or gone. Stay by it for ten days, and your make it.

"Say to yourself, 'I choose not to smoke.' Keep repeating your decision throughout the day from morning eye—opening through the final yawn at night. As you repeat it, be sure to mean it! In repeating the decision 'I choose not to smoke,' many people dis­cover within themselves a positive, growing resistance to the physical craving for tobacco."

Dr. McFarland is one of the nation's leading ex­perts in helping men and women withdraw success­fully from the use of tobacco. Literally thousands of "Five Day Plan" sessions have been held allover North America, and overseas as well. Later in this book we will tell you how to contact this no-charge stop-smoking group, so that you can attend their next nearby five-day meetings. In the days ahead, keep thinking about his words: "After quitting, the hardest part comes in the first three days. " "But by the end of five days the majority of individuals find the craving definitely less or gone. "

 "Stay by it for ten days, and you make it. " And with the above. remember this:

"Keep repeating your decision [“I chose not to smoke"] throughout the day from morning. . [to] night. "

"As you repeat it, mean it. "

1. You know the issues that are involved, for yourself and your loved ones.

2. You have made a personal decision to quit,

3. You have made a list of reasons why you are quitting.

4. You will keep thinking about the issues, the decision, and the list in the days to come. This will be on your mind more, frankly, than most anything else during those first ten days.

5. Learn to depend on prayer. Only God can give you the help you need. They say there are no atheists in foxholes; everyone there prays, for life is too serious not to. You need God in the crises of life, and you need Him all the rest of the time. And just now you surely will need Him also.

6. If you are able to, find a prayer partner­ someone who cares enough to pray with and for you; someone who is a real friend and not just a critic.

7. Call your friend on the phone and talk to him when things get rough. The "buddy plan" is used in Alcoholics Anonymous for alcoholics, and it is used in the Five Day Plan for smokers. It can help you also, even though no Five Day Plan may be nearby.

8. Carry with you some Bible promises, written on a card or piece of paper. These can include such promises as: '1 can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. "—Philippians 4: 13. "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the vic­tory through our Lord Jesus Christ. "—1 Corinthians 15:57. "Fear thou not; for I am with thee. Be not dis­mayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee. "—Isaiah 41: 10. Believe that these premises were written just for you and your need just now. Repeat them often.

9. Dispose of all your tobacco products. Not only in relation to tobacco, but also. in other things, getting rid of the tempting article will itself serve to strengthen your resolve to be done with it.

10. Stay away from other smokers as much as possible for the next few weeks.

11. It is time far a little luxury: Two or even three times a day take a warm bath far 15 or 20 min­utes at a time. Relax and enjoy it. And if you feel that you cannot stand it any longer without a smoke, just hop right back into the tub or shower. It's pretty hard to smoke in a shower. It is medically known that part of the addiction craving that you are experiencing during the with­drawal is caused by the nicotine in your body. It is known that the quicker that nicotine leaves your body, the quicker the craving will cease. Frequent warm baths will help draw it out through the skin.

Same people who go off tobacco report that they will sweat more than usual in the night—and that their perspiration yellows the bed sheets. This is the nicotine coming out. Warm baths and showers are a friend at this time; use them. They do two important things: They relax you farm your withdrawal tension, and they help the nicotine leave your body.

12. After the bath or shower, take a "cold mit­ten friction." Here is haw to do it, as described by Dr. McFarland:

"It will help jangled nerves, step up the circulation, and make you feel like a million! Here is the procedure. First, get up in the morning a few minutes earlier than usual. Second, in a warm bathroom fill the washbasin with tepid or cool water. Third, immerse a washcloth in the water, then wring it out thoroughly, without dripping ends. Fourth, rub an arm until the skin begins to glow.

"Keep rubbing until the desired pink color ap­pears, denoting an increased peripheral blood circulation. Some people discover it requires considerable rubbing before the skin turns pink, which fact often indicates the peripheral or surface blood vessels are somewhat sluggish in dilating. However, the same mit­ten friction applied the next morning will usually cause the surface vessels to dilate much sooner.

"Use progressively cooler water each morning in order to obtain a greater tonic effect. Do not at­tempt, however, to cover the entire body with the cold mitten friction on the first morning. On the second morning the second arm can be covered in addition to the first. On the third morning the sequence can run as fallows: left arm, right arm, and chest. On the fourth morning the legs may be covered, in addition to the arms and chest, so that the entire body will have been covered by the cold mitten friction. Same Spartan souls find themselves eventually tossing a tray of ice cubes into the morning washbasin. A cold, vigorous mitten friction, will make you feel more wide-awake and stimulated without triggering the craving for another smoke."—J. Wayne McFar­land, "How to Stop Smoking," page 4.

When one quits nicotine, the withdrawal is accompanied by a tension and a let-dawn. The baths help relax and relieve the tension and the brisk cold mitten frictions counteract the let-dawn feeling with a refreshing lift.

13. Each time you crave a drink or a smoke, begin slow deep breathing. Do it in this way: Slowly take in as much air as you can and then exhale it slowly. Repeat your resolve: "I choose not to drink; I choose not to smoke." Silently, ask God to help you in your new resolve, and mean it. You are learn­ing to trust Him and find in Him the help you so much need.

There is energy in fresh drafts of air. Whenever you first step outside, also take in several deep breaths.

14. Drink the equivalent of six or eight glassfuls of water each day. Do this between meals. Keep a re­cord if needed. The nicotine can only leave the body through body fluids. Give your body water, and then the poisons can more easily be washed out, or come out in sweat.

Drink a glass or two of water upon arising. Be­tween breakfast and lunch take two more, and in the afternoon another two. "By substantially increasing your fluid intake during the first twenty-four hours, you may find yourself rounding the corner on craving much sooner. After twenty-four hours you can cut down on the water, but keep your intake of fresh fruit and fruit juices high."—J. Wayne McFarland.

15. Take no alcoholic beverages—no beer, no wine, etc. You have started on a new program to be the boss of your body. Handing the reins of control over to alcohol is a sure way to lose your much­ needed self-control. You are on a program that will strengthen your self-determination and willpower. Indulging in liquor will only destroy all you are seek­ing to achieve.

16. Eat all you want of fruit, grains, vegetables, and nuts. Fresh fruit just now is excellent. It brings to your body vitamins, minerals, and more of that fluid needed so much to carry off the poisons. It also has vitamin C, which works with your white blood cells to eliminate many poisonous substances in your body.

You may find that you add some weight during this time. But getting rid of nicotine is more impor­tant than the few pounds gained! Also, you are enter­ing upon a program that is actually strengthening your willpower. You will later be able to use this new help in tackling food problems that seemed impos­sible before. (And remember: there is a chapter at the back of this book on weight control.)

15. Walk outdoors for fifteen to thirty minutes after each meal, breathing deeply as you go. And don't just sit after a meal, for this is the time of day that you will especially want to smoke. Instead, get outside.

16. Open up the curtains and raise the windows and let in the purifying sunlight and freshening air. There is tobacco odor all over your house. Get it out. Clean the nicotine out of your home as well as your body.

17. Avoid mustard, spices, pepper, vinegar, cat­sup, hot sauce, chili, and horseradish. These foods tend to arouse cravings, and this is not what you want. If you wish to eliminate tobacco, alcohol, and overeating, then you want to stay away from these foods. "When it is hot when it is cold, then leave it alone."

18. If you will skip all sweets, pastries, cake, ice cream, and chocolate during the first ten days at least, you will have far more command of the with­drawal, and will be able to carry it through success­fully. Avoid the rich, sugar-heavy desserts.

Heavy smokers often like highly-spiced foods, and frequently a heavy meat diet, plus gravies, fried foods, and other rich foods. But such a diet makes it harder to say goodbye to the tobacco habit.

19. Do not use fish, fowl, meat, tea, coffee, or cola beverages. The uric acid, ammonia, purines and other wastes in meat, gives it its flavor, stimulates your nerves and steps up your craving for nicotine and alcohol. The caffeine in tea, coffee, and cola drinks can so trigger your nerves that in a matter of minutes you will have an uncontrollable desire to light up.

A well-seasoned rare steak is in itself sufficient to stimulate a strong craving to smoke. This craving may be related to the stimulating purine substances in the meat, and the increased blood ammonia ab­sorbed from protein breakdown in the meat.

20. White, refined sugar has no calcium, phos­phorus, iron, or vitamin B1. In fact, it steals several important vitamins and minerals from your body in the white sugar-oxidation process. This includes calcium and several of the B complex vitamins which are so much needed to strengthen and calm your nerves. This is why a lot of sugar in the diet makes you more jumpy and irritable. So at this important time in your life, you are wise to pass up the rich pas­tries and desserts with their liberal amounts of sugar. A possible exception to this might be the use of a little sweetening between meals to help tide you over the low blood sugar problem for the first couple of weeks (see number 26, below).

21. Vitamins and minerals can really help you. More information on this will be found in a later chapter in this book. (In another of our books, "Quitting Alcohol," we outline ways to help you quit alco­holic beverages. Included in that book are several very helpful nutritional aids.)

22. Treat yourself while you are coming off tobacco. This may mean a little indulging during that first ten days.

23. Don't try to solve any major problems just now. Make life as pleasant as possible; keep on the positive.

24. Be thankful for the blessings you have. Name them one by one. Thank God for all you have and for all He is doing for you. And tell others also. Cravings and addictions have a hard time fastening on people who are quite happy without them.

25. Try to avoid all sedatives and stimulants just now. In this way you will strengthen and build up your nervous system more quickly. And this is what you want.

26. Some people carry a few honey drop candy in the pocket they formerly reserved for the cigarette pack. If the going gets rough, chew on some. Tobacco raises blood sugar for 2% to 3 minutes, and it is known that this is part of its addictive power. Some keep them nearby for the first couple of weeks.

27. Stay away from liquor gatherings! There are always those who try to kick the cigarette habit who then drop in to visit old drinking friends. One drink quickly leads to another and they wonder later what got them back into smoking a pack before it was all over.

28. Special tablets or other aids in kicking the tobacco habit are available and may help you. You will find them in the drug store. Some receive benefit by them; others don't.

One is gentian root. This is an herb that can be chewed. It has a tendency to remove the taste for tobacco. It should be available at your local drug or health food store.

Camomile is an herb. Camomile blossoms may be chewed between meals whenever there is a desire to smoke.

Another is silver nitrate. Some folk rinse their mouth three or four times a day with a weak solution of silver nitrate (1 part to 5,000 parts or 1 part to 8,000 parts) after eating.

Silver nitrate. USP. A toxic preparation made from silver. It is primarily used as a germicide and local astringent. It is incompatible with aspirin, and sodium chloride (table salt). Since it is a poison, it must be administered only in weak solutions. Symptoms: Burning in throat and stomach; rather prompt vomiting. Taken over a longer period of time, it causes "argyria," which is a peculiar bluish discolor­ation of all exposed body tissues. Treatment: large quantities of ordin­ary table salt in water precipitates the silver as a slightly soluble chlor­ide; follow with egg whites, oils, and other demulcents.

If you use silver nitrate, rinse your mouth after meals with one-half of one percent silver nitrate sol­ution for one week. Six ounces of silver nitrate will be enough. Do not swallow any of the solution. It is almost as poisonous as tobacco. Keep the solution in a colored bottle.

In addition, there are other "stop tobacco" aids that are sold in drug stores. But no medicine can ever be a substitute for willpower. A determination to break the habit, plus the help of God in doing it, is the most helpful medicine there is.

29. The most important part of this program is prayer to your heavenly Father for help, and trust in Him to do for you that which you cannot do for yourself. If you have never prayed before, this is the time to learn. Place your will on the side of God, and determine that, with His help, you will succeed. You can never fail if you are sincerely trying to do your best and are trusting Him to give you the strength to go through with it.

30. A sweat bath once a week will help eliminate the nicotine from your system.

31. Keep in the open air as much as possible.

32. Keep your mind occupied. When tempted, repeat, "Through the power of Christ, I choose not to smoke."

33. Carrot sticks or raw celery at the close of a meal will lessen the desire to smoke. Chewing raisins helps somewhat. You may wish to carry a small pack­age of raisins with you.

34. Keep reading back over the list of items in this chapter. When the going gets rough, breath deep, send up a prayer to Heaven, and go out and take a good walk, breathing deeply as you go. Keep on with those showers or baths, and be careful to eat good, nourishing food. Keep saying to yourself, "I choose not to smoke." Then take another drink of water. If you feel you are going to break down and smoke, phone your prayer partner. He will either pray with you over the telephone, or come in person. Do not drink coffee during the time that you are overcoming the tobacco habit. The two go together. A cup of coffee calls for a cigarette. Get rid of both habits to­gether.

35. You will notice that each time a strong cra­ving for tobacco comes, it will greatly weaken within just a few minutes. The various suggestions outlined in this chapter will enable you to get through each of those periods of craving.

36. Many people announce to family and friends in advance of their intention to quit. Or they may wait until the actual Quit Day to tell others of their plans. Either way, once you begin—do it with a posi­tive enthusiasm! This is it! Done with the stuff for­ever! From that point onward, you are not trying to quit tobacco;—you are now a non-smoker and do not wish to have a smoke. If anyone asks, you do not say, "I am trying to get off tobacco." Instead you say, "I am a non-smoker; No, thanks, I do not smoke."

Use your sense of humor. Remind yourself how ridiculous it is for a person to become so dependent on a little tobacco-filled paper tube. Laugh at the situation, and yourself, a little.

37. When your friends tell you it can't be done, do not become angry, but pleasantly tell them to wait and see. Oddly enough, all the derision and laughing directed at you may, at some point, be just what was needed to help carry you through to success. They say that you cannot do it (usually, frankly, because they do not think that they themselves can). All right, you shall do it anyway.

Take the initiative: Talk to your friends about your having given up smoking—and tell them the benefits that have already resulted. Encourage them to give up the weed also.

38. There may be some situations that you know are coming which you cannot avoid: certain smoking environments and people. Avoid as many as possible for the first few weeks, but those you must face, brace yourself to resist. Tell yourself it is coming and get ready to meet it. And then meet it when it arrives in a positive manner. You are not a timid rabbit. Tobacco is a thing of the past for you.

39. When you see another light up and begin smoking, and the smoke goes outward, think candidly to yourself a few tobacco facts: What a waste of time and money this is. How tasteless it is. I know! Smoke from a burning rope in my mouth, with its hot, acrid, bitterness. Continually blackening lungs that later be­come cancerous.

Tempted by seeing someone else smoke nearby? Not at all, for you are too preoccupied with far dif­ferent thoughts; thoughts of why you remained en­slaved to that habit so long yourself; thoughts of pity for the poor soul before you who is still fastened to a chain.

Those are not idle thoughts. They are very truth­ful, very real. For life is real. . and so is death.

In contrast, from the very first day that you have quit, you have had your sufferings, but from the very beginning you have noticed benefits: a more energetic feeling, more alertness, better sleep at night, food now tastes better. And you know that, with the passing of time, these benefits will increase.

40. Each night, before going to sleep, get on your knees and thank God for the help He has given you that day. You know very well that without His enabling strength you could not do what needed to be done. Make this a habit in the coming months and years. Let Quit Day mark a major turning point in your life. Begin reading your Bible and praying through the day. Find others to help, for there are many around you who need a peace of heart that they do not have.

We will let Dr. McFarland conclude this chapter: "Recently a heavy-smoking business executive declared, 'I am amazed at how many beneficial side effects there are in this plan to stop smoking.' Where­upon he listed a number of benefits experienced through more exercise, deep breathing, and the stronger willpower to regularize personal habits. For him the plan had already paid off in an improved sense of well—being. He concluded by saying, 'And all these benefits have come to me within the framework of giving up tobacco.'

"We believe this is as it should be. In ceasing to smoke, you are certainly not the victim of some nega­tive decision that deprives you of a cherished habit. Instead, in the process of quitting you can open other doors leading to new avenues of altogether better living.

"Now for a word of definite warning. If you allow your willpower to drift into gradual inactivity, thus becoming careless in habits of eating, drinking, working, and sleeping, your guard will be impercep­tibly but steadily lowered. Don't forget that just be­neath the surface' lies a once well—established neuro­muscuIar, psychological addiction, ready without warning to unleash a savage craving to smoke.

"Keep your guard up. Your job now is to estab­lish the habit of not smoking just as firmly as before you had established the habit of smoking. Remember, this will take time, but you can make it."—J. Wayne McFarland, M.D., "How to Stop Smoking," page II. And, we might add, we can know you will make it, for this time you are doing it with God. The future is always bright. . when He is the center of it . . and the reason for it.

AND LATER ON-

Weeks and even months later, the temptation to smoke can come at moments least expected. It might be when you are in a tense situation, or when you are totally relaxed. But you catch yourself, and say, "No, I choose not to smoke." You have said No, and in a moment or two the sudden strong temptation leaves almost as quickly as it came.

Remind yourself that were you to smoke now, you would gain little, for the very first puff would tell you that you were back with the old acrid, bitter, hot poisoned air again.

"But, then," someone will ask, "cannot I later take a drag on a smoke safely?" No, it will never be safe. Keep reminding yourself: There is a deep satis­faction in refraining; but no satisfaction in smoking. Your only safety is to stay away from it forever.

And we dislike having to bring up such an un­pleasant topic, but what should you do if you ever do later slip and smoke a cigarette?

Well, what does a pilot do when he crashes a plane? He immediately goes back up in another one! If you were to slip—and that would be very unfor­tunate and not something to even consider doing ­you would immediately get back on guard, continue to fight off temptations and stay off tobacco from then on. You've successfully been through the "coming—off party" before, so you would know you could go through it again, with the help of God.

However, let us not fool ourselves: It is very dangerous to play around with temptation. Leave dangerous things alone. You do not want to fall into an on-again-off-again pattern!

Get off and stay off! Always, only, forever. That is the only way you can be happy and stay happy. And you know that to be true.

HOW TO QUIT TOBACCO—VITAMINS AND THE CRAVING

This second chapter on How to Quit Tobacco is one that you will not find in most "how to quit" books. Here you will learn nutritional information that can help you conquer the craving for the nico­tine weed.

VITAMIN C AND TOBACCO

W.J. McCormick, M.D., of Toronto, Canada, was one of the first to make the discovery that the nico­tine and other poisons in Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, when introduced into the body, rapidly use up the available reserves of vitamin C.

This, of course, should not be a difficult conclu­sion to come to. In addition to other helpful features, vitamin C specifically works in the body to Neutralize and thus destroy poisons. Smoking, cigars, and snuff put a lot of poison into the system, and the vitamin C is quickly used up in trying to eliminate it.

Yet, oddly enough, it has been discovered that when the supply of vitamin C is exhausted, —the body tends to crave the nicotine in the tobacco even more than before!

Dr. McCormick's first articles on this new dis­covery were published in the April 1952 issue of "Archives of Pediatrics." In it, he describes how he used massive amounts of vitamin C to so saturate body tissue with this protective agent, to help people overcome the tobacco habit.

In clinical and laboratory testing, Dr. McCor­mick found that the smoking of one cigarette neu­tralizes in the body approximately 25 mg. of vitamin C. This is the amount of vitamin C in one tree-ripened orange. But many smokers consume a pack-a-day. His first cigarette after breakfast will use up whatever vitamin C he took with the meal, if any. From then on, his body is trying to function normally on a short supply of a very necessary vitamin. On through the day he goes, using all available reserves of this crucial vitamin. Even a moderate smoker will always be ex­tremely short on his supply of vitamin C.

But how important is this vitamin? Vitamin C is used by the body, not only to fight toxins and poisonous substances, but it is also used, in collagen, as glue to hold the body together! For example, did you know that a slipped disc is closely related to a lack of collagen formation in the body?

In his article, Dr. McCormick considered this lack of vitamin C in smokers to be the reason they have, for example, a four-times-greater likelihood of contracting post-operative pneumonia. In connection with this, he mentioned two physicians who, giving massive doses of vitamin C before and after opera­tions,—no longer have any cases of post-operative pneumonia.

According to Dr. McCormick, the use of tobacco not only creates a vitamin C deficiency in the blood stream, but it also deposits toxic substances there. It is the effect of these deposited poisons in the blood stream—that sets up part of the powerful craving for tobacco.

When massive doses of vitamin C are given (either intravenously or orally) these toxic substances are cleared out of the system.

Thus, by taking large amounts of vitamin C, the body can more quickly eliminate the nicotine and other noxious poisons—and the one trying to get off tobacco can do so more easily and quickly.

THE VITAMIN B COMPLEX AND TOBACCO

Poisonous substances, when introduced into the body, cause great damage in a variety of ways. Every­ one knows that nicotine is a poison. Certain poisons, some of which may even be mild ones, when brought into the body, rob it of vitamins. For example, aspirin removes the vitamin K, thus making people more susceptible to internal bleeding. Baking soda is an unnatural substance which robs the body of B vitamins by creating a too-alkaline condition in the digestive tract.

Smoking not only withdraws vitamin C from the system, it removes a number of the vitamin B com­plex as well. For example, one of these vitamins that tobacco products removes is thiamin (B1). This very important vitamin is vitally concerned in pro­moting the health of our nervous and digestive sys­tems. Without it, your body cannot handle carbohy­drates (sugars and starchy foods) properly. Thiamin has been called the "morale vitamin" for a lack of it results in depression, irritability, fatigue and inability to concentrate. —Yet all these problems are used by smokers as "pressure reason" to light up another cigarette, which, in turn, will then remove still more of the "morale vitamin" from their bodies!

Because of the over-refining and chemicalization of food that has taken place in the past one hundred years, it is difficult to obtain enough of the B com­plex, without the added nuisance of smoking. But when nicotine is added, then the burden becomes in­tolerable for the body.

So, if you wish to stop being jumpy and jittery, —stop using tobacco.

(Incidentally, an almost identical process occurs when you take sleeping pills. The barbiturates in them block carbohydrate metabolism, robbing you of B vitamins and thiamin. You then become more ner­vous, which causes you to take more sleeping pills in the evening in order to sleep. And this results in still more nervousness!)

In connection with this, it is of interest to note that one type of partial blindness is caused by smoking, and to a lesser extent, by alcohol. This is the condition known as amblyopia, a disturbance of vision usually occurring in men between 35 and 55.

"A correlation between malnutrition and the incidence of tobacco amblyopia has long been noted:  deWecker commented on its frequency during the siege of Paris in 1870 and a tenfold increase was observed under the German occupation of Belgium between 1940 and 1945. Carroll has reported complete or partial recovery in 25 patients with what he terms 'tobacco-alcohol-amblyopia' when their diets where supplemented with the vitamin B complex or vitamin B1 (thiamin) itself."—British Medical Journal, March 29, 1952.

Nutritional research teams well know that in cancer research, the B vitamins are constantly coming to the foreground. A diet extremely rich in the E vitamins has protected laboratory animals from getting cancer, even when they were exposed to deadly substances known to cause cancer. In contrast, the control animals, not protected by vitamin B complex, became cancerous. A number of experiments establishing these facts were carried out over a period of many years at the Solan—Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, and were reported in "The Journal of Nutrition," for July 10, 1951.

Thus, you can see that your nicotine—filled body is quite deficient in the B vitamins on the day that you announce to the world that you are quitting tobacco. So you will be wise to begin taking adequate daily amounts of the entire B complex. For this purpose, use natural vitamins from a health food store, plus fresh salads, cooked greens, only whole grain breads and grain products. Also begin taking a teaspoon of brewer's yeast every day at meal time.

Cut out any foods made from white flour or white sugar. These, also, are B vitamin thieves. No cakes, white bread, soft drinks, chewing gum, dough­nuts, or other foods containing processed white sugar or white flour.

Faithfulness in doing this will do two great things for you: (1) You will much more easily be able to successfully stop using nicotine (and coffee and alcohol also). (2) You will much, much more quickly and thoroughly rebuild your body and retain health that you had earlier lost.

Obviously, the nutritional aides to help you quit smoking—are the very things that will help you stay off of it and maintain better health in the years to come. So do not just live more healthfully for ten days; do it for the rest of your life!

CONTINUE PART 4