Confessions of a Drug Addict

Until very recently, I was a user of the most dangerous drug in the world. I'm not talking about cocaine, heroin or any of the hard drugs you hear about. I'm talking about a drug that's thousands of times more powerful. It's just as deadly as the hard drugs, but it kills you slowly instead of quickly.

What drug?

Some of you may laugh when I tell you it's nicotine. Yes, nicotine is the most dangerous drug in the world and the reason it's the most dangerous is because it's deadly and legal. No other drug as deadly as nicotine can be obtained legally without a prescription.

Drug addicts don't use drugs to get high. Drug addicts use drugs to feel normal. This is exactly what tobacco smokers do; they just don't know it.

My Failures

I failed to stop smoking permanently so many times that I lost count. Each failure was because I thought I knew how to quit smoking and didn't. Every time I tried, I failed because I didn't have one basic piece of knowledge that's crucial for success: That smoking is caused by a drug addiction that requires continued smoking in order to feel normal.

Quitting smoking can be so difficult for loved ones of a very heavy smoker that some might even consider getting drug addiction intervention services to make him or her stop smoking. Thank goodness that didn't apply to me.

My Success

I am extremely confident that my latest attempt to quit smoking cigarettes was a success and I consider it my only success with tobacco. Every other attempt was a failure because I returned to smoking.

I smoked for most of my natural life; more than 30 years. I can look back and attribute more than half of my health problems for the last 10 years to the use of tobacco products.

The Secret of My Success

I understand that some people think they need some form of crutch to quit using tobacco products, but I assure you that once they learn the truth about their addiction, quitting is the easiest thing in the world to do.

The physical addiction to nicotine disappears in less than two hours after a smoker stops smoking. Two hours! When a smoker goes to sleep, the physical addiction is already gone by the time he or she wakes up. Again, he or she just doesn't know it.

When a smoker realizes that he or she is lighting another cigarette in order to feel normal, the addiction becomes painfully clear. It is at that point that quitting will have the most chance of success. It was for me.

The Aftermath

When I made my last decision to stop smoking, the need to rid myself of all tobacco products wasn't as strong as the desire to get the smell of cigarette smoke off of my body, out of my clothing and off of my breath.

I hopped in the shower and scrubbed like a madman. I jumped out of the shower and brushed my teeth like a man on a mission. After I dressed, I handed all of my remaining cartons and packs (open and otherwise) to my son and had him deliver them to one of my relatives who smokes that brand.

The Future

I'm confident I will never return to smoking. Being an ex-smoker feels too good to give up. I don't get urges anymore. In fact, the last time I quit I didn't get any urges at all. The key was recognizing the addiction for what it really was.

I still find myself reaching for a pack of cigarettes that aren't there on occasion, caused by the memories of having done it thousands of times in the past, but it doesn't fuel any urges.

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This article is published as: Confessions of a Drug Addict