People with addictive personalities are more likely to become smokers. For example, heavy smokers are more likely to become heavy drinkers, according to a 2007 report, "Alcohol and Tobacco," published by the federal National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. If you have an addictive personality, your personality traits put you at risk of smoking and other addictions.
Addictive Personalities
People who smoke, drink or do drugs to excess often have addictive personalities. A 2001 article from the Encyclopedia of Psychology, "Addiction/Addictive personality," explains that people with addictive personalities often use the addiction to soothe anxiety and other uncomfortable feelings. They frequently deny that they have an addiction, despite trying and repeatedly failing to quit. They ignore the bad effects of the addiction.
Smoking and Addiction
The link between smoking and other addictions like alcoholism has been confirmed by research which indicates that 70 percent of all alcoholics are heavy smokers, according to social worker Carolyn Schaefer Placko's study of tobacco dependence among alcoholics, "Smoking Gun: Nicotine Use and Recovery from Chemical Dependence." A 2007 study by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse showed that teens who smoke are nine times more likely to abuse alcohol and 13 times more likely to use illegal drugs.
Nicotine Addiction
Giving up smoking can be difficult, because you are fighting both your addictive personality traits and physical addiction to the nicotine in tobacco. The American Heart Association lists the following withdrawal symptoms: irritability, anxiety, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, restlessness and weight gain. Smoking caused the death of pioneering psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, who was able to give up cocaine, but not his cigars. Smoking also killed Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, who won his fight against alcohol, but could not give up his cigarettes.
Quitting Smoking
You can go "cold turkey," and simply stop smoking one day, but people often need more help. Recovery programs usually tackle both your addictive personality tendencies and your physical addiction to nicotine through counseling, nicotine skin patches, gum or lozenges to ease the craving for nicotine, the anti-depressant Bupropion and many other strategies. The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality offers a free downloadable PDF booklet, "Help for Smokers and Other Tobacco Users," which outlines various tactics for quitting smoking and suggests that you enlist your physician to help you create a smoking cessation plan.
Persistence Necessary
You may attempt to quit smoking several times before you successfully break your addiction. Barb Tarbox, a former Canadian model and anti-smoking activist, who died at age 42 from cancer caused by her smoking addiction, had these words of encouragement for smokers, quoted on Tobacco.org: "You are all so much above this. You're intelligent. You're energetic. You have the world before you in the palms of your hands. Any dream you have is possible. But if you walk the path I walked, this is the path you will walk. And I don't want any of you ever to walk this walk."
References
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Help for Smokers and Other Tobacco Users
- American Heart Association: Nicotine Addiction
- The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse: Tobacco: The Smoking Gun
- Athealth.com: Alcohol and Tobacco
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Alcohol and Tobacco
- Smokefree.gov: Quit Smoking Today!
