Philip Morris's CEO set off a firestorm by saying "it's not that hard to quit." It's a corporate position that attempts to paint them as the "OK guys." Maybe.....
In the meantime though, it's worth noting there really is a little-known and much easier way to quit.
You bang your head in just the right place. Seriously.
As the author of a book about why people smoke and how the tobacco companies researched this to develop the psychological power of their brands, I can say that in a ridiculous way, Philip Morris' CEO, Louis Camilleri is right!
Several years ago, researchers found that a disabled insula will cause any smoker to quit immediately.
This little known part of the brain serves a kind of spiritual integration center of thoughts and drives. So while we were being facetious about self-laceration, the bigger point is that smoking is a profound issue.
Yet both the tobacco companies and it's critics try to argue that it is a trivial issue except for this little problem of addiction. The pro-smokers say addiction is not that big of a deal, the anti-smokers say its a very big deal.
But it turns out that addiction in itself is not that big of a deal - it is thepsychological syndrome that is a big deal. The term I use for this ispsychic because it ties psychology and a kind of spirituality together. The addiction is there to serve the bigger need which typically occurs at the early teen, coming-of-age years. You'd have to read my book,Cigarette Seduction to understand the depth of this commitment to smoking once you start in those early years - and almost everyone does.
It also makes you realize that people have a need first and then they discover smoking - especially now when the psychological profile of smokers has changed quite dramatically over the past 25 years (much less about "everyone else" doing it and much more about personal issues). Therefore, if there were no smoking they would - and they do - seek out other things.
If we discussed the larger issue we could manage that process. If we continue the ridiculous for- and against-smoking fight - as if cigarettes created the need for "life-aids" and not the stress of living creating the need for solutions - we might actually reach a better outcome.
The bottom line of Cigarette Seduction is that when smokers understand what cigarettes mean for them they can overcome it by transferring the need to more productive outlets. Many smokers have found they can quit the addiction - people do it all the time - but it is much harder to fill the psychic void it leaves behind. That is why - despite all the drugs and aids - the majortiy of quitters tend to drift back to smoking.
While the Cigarette Seduction process is not simplistic the approach is simple: by offering the only known key to understanding a smoker's special relationship to cigarettes by revealing the meanings of the brands it helps them break the cycle through insight. Once this has been demystified, the addiction becomes a burden instead of a pleasurable break. It then becomes much easier to quit on a permanent basis because when smoking is meaningless there is no reason to remain addicted to it.
FULL TEXT OF THE CIGARETTE SEDUCTION PRESS RELEASE
According to a report by the Associated Press, Philip Morris International CEO Louis Camilleri yesterday stated at the company's annual shareholder meeting in New York that, while cigarettes are addictive, "it is not that hard to quit."
"The easiest way to quit," says Cigarette Seduction author (www.cigseduction.com)
Researchers know that smokers who damage a part of the brain called the "insula" quit immediately. So it really is all in the head.
However, smokers heads are not all alike. Quitting depends on their psychological commitment and "Cigarette Seduction" is an extraordinary key to this.
Brody's book explains the meaning of the brands based on the depth psychological research the leading tobacco companies used to develop, thanks to access he had to a number of their leading researchers. Brody notes that smoking is not only deep but the tobacco companies have mastered the art of exploiting it.
The moment of adoption is the critical issue.
"Your teenage starter years make the difference,"
"Philip Morris may deserve a knock or two for their 'Cigarette Seduction' but it not only about the seller - the smoker is there for a reason. People who need -1392350743 this emotional type of support will seek out a substitute. Now there are options like eCigarettes to choose from which may be less dangerous and even a good way to quit."
Cigarette Seduction is available on Amazon and can be viewed at www.cigseduction.com
Review copies available on request.
"The easiest way to quit," says Cigarette Seduction author (www.cigseduction.com)
Researchers know that smokers who damage a part of the brain called the "insula" quit immediately. So it really is all in the head.
However, smokers heads are not all alike. Quitting depends on their psychological commitment and "Cigarette Seduction" is an extraordinary key to this.
Brody's book explains the meaning of the brands based on the depth psychological research the leading tobacco companies used to develop, thanks to access he had to a number of their leading researchers. Brody notes that smoking is not only deep but the tobacco companies have mastered the art of exploiting it.
The moment of adoption is the critical issue.
"Your teenage starter years make the difference,"
"Philip Morris may deserve a knock or two for their 'Cigarette Seduction' but it not only about the seller - the smoker is there for a reason. People who need -1392350743 this emotional type of support will seek out a substitute. Now there are options like eCigarettes to choose from which may be less dangerous and even a good way to quit."
Cigarette Seduction is available on Amazon and can be viewed at www.cigseduction.com
Review copies available on request.
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Cigarette Seduction is a book that tells smokers what the cigarette brands say about them and their deepest anxieties and how they can use the knowledge to quit - for good.
