SMOKING STATISTICS

The numbers of those who quit smoking and are able to stay away from it are, not surprisingly fairly low. The well-known addictive chemical nicotine makes the process of smoking cessation a difficult one to achieve. The bad news is that the best one can hope for when attempting to quit is to be able to achieve the goal after a few chances.

Statistical data exists regarding all different variations of quit success, but the data has little meaning. The things that matter are the variables. Some of the variables include:

- how heavy the smoking habit is (cigarettes per day)

- how long the habit has been able to take root (years of smoking)

- the presence of other incentives, e.g. a new romantic interest in a non-smoker

- (not to be redundant, but) how many times the smoker has attempted to quit.

In other words, quit smoking statistics are not meaningful of themselves. A question like ""What percentage of smokers who attempt to quit actually are successful?" is essentially unanswerable. This is especially true because an individual may choose a certain course of action, even given variables such as those above, and still have different levels of motivation for achieving the goal.

One statistical datum is irrefutable: the stronger the desire (or need) to quit, the higher the probability of success. For one who is on that decision path, it is suggested that you evaluate the variables, then make a personal assessment of how important the goal is to YOU. The desire to achieve the goal is overwhelmingly the most important factor.

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