Many people acknowledge the fact that smoking is harmful for health, but it remains a mystery why many people get hooked to the habit despite its effects and fail to quit. Tobacco contains nicotine, a highly addictive substance that makes it difficult for smokers to quit the habit. In addition, tobacco contains numerous harmful and poisonous components that cause diseases and premature death. According to a study conducted by Oluwole et al on Nigerian university students, young adults get it hard to stop smoking habit as compared to grow-up adults. This essay attempts to establish factors influencing smoking cessation process.
Quitting smoking is the process of terminating the habit or practice of inhaling smoked substances. The process of smoking cessation can be achieved individually without the assistance of a medical professional or medication. The methods that have been found to bear positive results include medications, individual and group counseling, and computer or web-based programs (Sherry, et al. 752). Even though quitting smoking has short-term side effects including drastic weight gain, smoking cessation services are not expensive because of the associated positive health benefits.
According to (Merrill Ray, Hala Madanat and Alan Kelley 237), it has been found that people with dark pigmented skin find it hard to quit smoking as compared to individuals with pale skin because nicotine posses high affinity for tissues containing melanin. Studies suggest that this increases nicotine dependence and lowers the rate of stopping smoking. Social environment also constitute an important component to smoking. Studies conducted in populations with densely interconnected networks indicate that smoking cessation significantly reduces the chances of others around them lighting up cigarettes with carrying degrees. According the American Cancer Society (2009), pressure from friends and family, and religious organizations in opposition to smoking tend to increase smoking cessation.
Another important factor that influences smoking cessation process is influence from friends. Studies have also showed that smoking cessation is high on individuals who believe that smoking can lead to premature death as compared to those who believe that smoking does not result into premature death (Weden, Margaret and Jeremy Miles 230). This therefore makes health education on health effects of smoking an important component in helping individuals quit the habit. Young people get it hard to stop the habit since they lack sufficient education on the impacts of smoking. On the other hand, adults find it easy to quit smoking as compared to young people (Sherry, 2002). This is due to the fact that young people are prone peer influence and frequent social places.
In conclusion, the factors influencing the smoking cessation process vary and smokers should be more than willing to find suitable environments and procedures necessary for stopping the habit. Free-smoking legislation makes people strive to quit smoking (Ummulkhulthum 450) The process of quitting can be daunting, but those who are ready for the process finds it an easy process. Factors influencing the process of quitting such as support network, peer groups, experience, educational background, and personal situation can be manipulated to suit an individual’s willingness to quit smoking.
Works Cited:
Aristides. Life and Letters: Smoke Gets in your Eyes. New York: Ebsco Publishing, 2002.
Babatunde, Oluwole, Olumide Omowaye, Damilola Alawode, Owen Omede, Charles Oluwatemitope and Juwon Akinyandenu. “Smoking Prevalence, Willingness to Quit and Factors Influencing Smoking Cessation among University Students in a Western Nigerian State.” Asian Social Science 8.7(2012): 149-156.
Bajoga, Ummulkhulthum, Sarah Lewis, Ann McNeill and Lisa Szatkowski. “Does the Introduction of Comprehensive Smoke-free Legislation Lead to a Decrease in Population Smoking Prevalence?” Addiction 106 (2011): 1346–1354.
Emery, Sherry, Yoonsang Kim, Young Ku Choi, Glen Szczypka, Melanie Wakefield and Frank Chaloupka. “The Effects of Smoking-Related Television Advertising on Smoking and Intentions to Quit Among Adults in the United States: 1999–2007.” American Journal of Public Health 102.4(2012): 751-757.
Merrill Ray, Hala Madanat and Alan Kelley. “Smoking Prevalence, Attitudes, and Perceived Smoking Prevention and Control Responsibilities and Practices among Nurses in Amman, Jordan.” International Journal of Nursing Practice 16 (2010): 624–632.Print.
Weden, Margaret and Jeremy Miles. “Intergenerational Relationships Between the Smoking Patterns of a Population-Representative Sample of US Mothers and the Smoking Trajectories of Their Children.” American Journal of Public Health 102.4 (2012): 723-731.
