How to break free from smoking
by Stoy Proctor
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ow do you feel about
smoking or using
tobacco? Is it wrong?
Is it a moral ques
tion? Most nonsmokers
would agree
that cigarette smoke
irritates the eyes and nose; saturates
clothing, drapes, cars, and homes with
an unpleasant odor; and increases the
cost of health care. In other words, most
nonsmokers consider smoking an
obnoxious habit. But is it wrong?
Dr. Karl Menninger, psychiatrist and
author of Whatever Happened to Sin?
suggests that "any kind of behavior
which violates individual conscience,
pains, harms, or destroys my neighbor or
myself is wrong." '
Beyond any doubt, tobacco in any
form is harmful to a person's health. A
recent publication by the Office of
Smoking and Health, A Decision Maker's
Guide to Reducing Smoking at the Work
place, comments, "Smoking has been
identified by the U.S. Surgeon General
as the nation's single most important
preventable cause of disease and prema
ture death. Almost 33 percent of all
adults smoke today. These smokers are
up to 200 percent more likely to die from
coronary heart disease, and have a 1,000
percent greater risk of dying of lung
cancer than nonsmokers. Smokers are
absent from work up to 50 percent more
often than nonsmokers, and have twice as many on-the-job accidents." 2
A large majority of smokers with a
sense of uneasiness regarding the moral
ity of this issue would like to stop, but are
unable to. Many have tried to stop before
and failed. The use of tobacco has
penetrated far beyond the pew into the
priesthood and pastorate. If you are a
spiritual leader who would like to break
free from addiction to tobacco, or if you
would like to help someone else kick the
habit, the following fourteen-step plan,
based on years of experience in helping
smokers and other tobacco users become
ex-users, will prove helpful.
The procedure for using the plan is to
first read all fourteen steps through
carefully. Then return to Step 1 and
follow each succeeding step as you are
able. The procedures described relate
directly to cigarette smoking, but the
same basic steps can be used in over
coming any type of tobacco habit.
It is important that you sign your name
at the end of each step so as to complete
the contract between yourself and God.
By God's grace you can stop the use of
tobacco by diligently following every
step.