Introduction
During smoking, a substance, commonly cannabis or tobacco is charred and the smoke is inhaled or tasted. Primarily, smoking is practiced for leisure or recreational purposes where substances (active) are released during combustion in a form that they are readily absorbed into the lungs of the smoker.
Smoking is also practiced by some people as it forms part of their rituals or cultural inclinations mainly to induce abstractions or ‘spiritual illumination’; hence those who are part of that coterie have to smoke to be accepted. More often than not, the habit of smoking is increasingly becoming rampant among teenagers as a result of pressure from peers.
Most commonly, smoking presently is through cigarettes which are manufactured industrially or at home by hand-rolling where tobacco, in loose form is rolled into a sheet of paper and the smoker is good to go. It is also done through implements of smoking such as cigars, bongs, hookahs, vaporizers and bidis.
Hard forms of drugs like opium and cannabis and narcotics, for instance heroin are however less common hence their use has been very limited since they are intensely prohibited in many countries because of their far-reaching ramifications, therefore they are not easily available.
Quitting smoking
Quitting smoking may not be an easy decision to make, but it can be done. Therefore, one needs to have one of the best chances of giving up this practice and staying out of it, his/her options and where to seek help from.
Reasons for choosing quitting smoking
This research project will delve deeper into quitting smoking. The decision of whether or not to abolish smoking has been a controversial issue worldwide. Despite its enormous contributions to various segments of the economy through creation of employment opportunities and industrial growth, smoking indeed is a health hazard.
Over the years, smoking has been put forward as one of the major source of lung diseases where it has been cited to have killed almost 50% of all those who have been into the practice for a longer period of time. (Allan, 1986).
Worse still, smoking-related diseases can also be contracted by those who do not smoke. This is true because when such people are exposed to tobacco smoke, they are rendered passive in the smoking process hence become predisposed to diseases.
According to a 2007 Health Report, well over 5 million people in the entire world die annually by the dint of smoking. This unimpressive statistic clearly validates the assertion that cigarette smoking is harmful to your health (Allan, 1986).
“smoking and related use of tobacco/cannabis has been and still remains top on
the list of some of the most commonly used drugs during recreation. Smoking/
tobacco use during recreational and/ or leisure activities accounts for over one
billion people in the entire world”. (p.78)
Background
The roots to smoking can be traced way back to early 5000 BC and from time immemorial, it has been able to establish itself among many cultures world over. During that time, it mostly featured during the performance of religious observances by different cultures, mostly as a means of submission to deities, in purgative ritualistic acts or to permit priests and shamans to change their minds to facilitate spiritual illumination and divination.
Civilizations of distant past like Babylonians, Chinese and Indians, charred an incense, a substance that gives off a pleasant smell when burned. This was reminiscent of the Israelites and later the Catholics who burned incense during ceremonies and for spiritual purposes where it was viewed as a way of coming into close contact with those in the world of spirits.
It was from here that this practice extended widely to other parts of the world. In the Sub-Saharan parts of Africa and in different parts of India, it perfectly merged with the smoking practices that were already in existence. (Eric, 2007).
Smoking of cannabis is said to have been in existence in the Middle East long before the arrival of tobacco and was mainly a social activity. It later changed to be one of the defining components of culture and society of the Muslims and was made part of traditions that were observed during funerals, weddings, and in architecture.
Hitherto, the perception of the folks with regard to the habit of smoking has been manifold and varied. The perceptions varied from place to place and were sinful or holy, offensive or sophisticated. Sadly, some of these perceptions perpetuated the habit leading to massive spread of smoking.
However, until recently, especially in industrialized countries of the west, smoking has been cast in negative light. Today, studies by doctors and paramedics have unraveled and validated the fact that this habituating act is the number one cause of killer diseases like heart attacks, cancer of the lungs, male impotency and associated defects to new born babies. (Fiore, Bailey & Cohen, 2000).
Because of the health risks/ hazards inherent in smoking products of tobacco and cannabis, several countries in the world have come up with a raft of measures that are geared at clamping down on smoking-related diseases. These include imposing of high tax levies on products that are made of tobacco and the launching of anti-smoking campaigns to sensitize the citizenry of the side effects of tobacco use and offering of important suggestions of quitting smoking. (Fiore, Bailey & Cohen, 2000).
The self reporting structure
This project has chosen on an Analytical reporting structure. This was mainly because the report is presenting information about an issue (smoking) where the victims are supposed to make choices about their future.
Generally, analytical reports are exhaustive in nature and are normally engineered to provide readers with in-depth information pertaining to a given area. This structure therefore when adopted will provide a comprehensive basis or point of reference with regard to making of their last decisions on quitting smoking.
Baseline behavior
A baseline simply refers to the level or frequency with which a given target behavior or a behavior under study currently occur preceding an experimental investigation or therapy into that particular behavior. When planning to reform or quit from a given behavior, it is always imperative to seek information on its baseline before coming up with specific measures of intervention. This is crucial in coming up with reform packages for different behaviors because pre-experimental data can be compared to post-experimental data to gain insights into the level of efficiency of the intervention. (Allan, 1986).
While reporting the baseline behavior characteristics before quitting smoking, it was noted that most smokers were psychologically dependent on the habit of smoking. However, few of them reported that they were willing to physically withdraw or quit smoking due to its habituating nature.
Formulation of the project plan
The plan for this project was formulated through a collective process. All the variables were carefully analyzed and incorporated into the project.
The project plan was chosen because it provides the planner with abundant opportunity to clearly track any improvement.
Research help with the plan
The plan was of paramount importance during the course of the research project. With the help of the plan, the project proceeded well to its logical conclusion. This is because it played crucial roles in defining the action pathway that was to be taken by the project. It also helped in the spreading of activities in relation to the specified timeframe.
Rewards and consequences
Using the plan, a comparatively good initiative was adopted especially that which pertained to the amount of resources that were to be committed for successful completion of the project. In so doing, unforeseen expenses and other emergencies that would occur during development of the project were well taken care of. There were also clear objectives of what was to be carried out on a daily and weekly basis, giving limited chances for duplicating project work.
It also acted as the basis for evaluating performance towards the project by weighing the work done with the time that was allocated for the research.
Motivations
This project was motivated by the desire to minimize the risks associated with smoking. This project would be an important guideline in helping cigarette smokers quit the practice and be able to withstand symptoms of withdrawing from the practice without much hassle.
Research information
The research project derived most of its information from secondary sources of textbooks and primarily from observing the behavior of smokers.
Correlation to behavior awareness
A correlation refers to a mutual or complementary relationship; where one thing is caused by another. In psychology, it is the measure of the degree to which given pair of variables is believed to be or are associated. Correlation is said to be positive when a pair variables under investigation decrease or increase collectively. Therefore, smoking and quitting or physically withdrawing from the act are negatively correlated. The research information as described above also showed some correlation with this kind of behavior awareness.
Relevancy to quitting smoking
The information provided by the research is of vital relevance to the behavior that was chosen for the project. It has laid bare the reality on the ground and therefore the seriousness with which quitting smoking should be treated to avert more deaths through related diseases.
Engagement of plan
The plan was engaged during budgeting, where crucial were allocated their best use. It was also vital in apportioning of tasks and in coming up with both short and long term objectives of the project.
Conclusion
Cigarette smoking has got a lot of risks inherent. Many people will continue to die or be predisposed to diseases that occur as a result of smoking. Quitting smoking is the only panacea to a healthy life and should therefore be given much impetus. Despite its contributions to economic growth, human lives cannot be compared to tobacco industries.
References
Allan, K. (1986). Quitting smoking: Why it is a painful endeavor for many. North Carolina:
University of North Carolina Press. Begins with a comprehensive literature describing
smoking, the perceptions that have been attributed to the act and wonderful solutions to
the smoking menace.
Eric, B. (2007). The Smoke of the Gods: A Social History of Tobacco. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press. Describes in detail, when and how smoking began, how it got its way
into other countries and the factors that helped in the spread/ propagate the habit. It
chronologically gives the forms of smoking and how they got modified with time.
Fiore M, Bailey W & Cohen S. (2000). Tobacco Cessation Guideline Panel: Treating Tobacco
Use and Dependence. Rockville, Md., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Public Health Service. Lists in splendid array, all the guidelines that are normally adopted
in rehabs during the rehabilitation of cigarette smokers. These guidelines are well thought
out can prove to be very helpful.
