We al know this…smoking is bad for us. You can’t be healthy and smoke.  I don’t care how many times a week you go to the gym, it doesn’t matter how much cardio you do, being able to swim like Michael Phelps won’t help you if you smoke.  But, even though we know it, there are still millions of people doing it every single day.  There are actualy some people who have a 2 to 3 pack a day habit.  That is 40 to 60 cigarettes a day! 

Let’s break that down.  One cigarette takes on average about 8 to 10 minutes to smoke (from lighting it, to smoking it down to the filter).  On the low end that is 320 minutes of smoking a day OR 5.3 hours!  On the high end you’re looking at 600 minutes of smoking OR 10 full hours dedicating your time to a deadly addiction. 

I’m not even mentioning the time it takes to leave your desk, walk outside of your office (smoking at your desk went out of fashion in the late 80’s – about the same time that Miami Vice went off the air (remember Don Johnson’s character, Sonny Crockett was always smoking at his desk) and find a place at least 25 feet away from the building (that is the law here in Washington State) and then light up. 

Even on just a common sense level we know that that this is insanity.  How can we be productive when we’re having to walk away from our work two or three (or more times) a day to go outside for a cigarette.  I’m not even talking about having to be stuck out in miserable weather conditions to “enjoy” something that is wreaking havoc on your body.  Think about this…the time that is spent smoking is making you less productive.  It’s probably even keeping you from reaching your goals.  Let’ say that it’s 4 times a day that you smoke outside of your office.  You smoke once before work, twice during work, and once after work…that’s about 1 hour a day that you gave away to cigarettes that you can’t get back. 

What if you took that extra hour to spend with your spouse or children?  What if you spent that time working towards fulfilling the dream you’ve always had of owning your own business?  How much closer would you be towards achieving your goals?

How much better off would you be financially if you stopped smoking?  In 2011 the cheapest place you could purchase a pack of cigarettes at was in West Virginia for $4.74 a pack.  The most expensive place was New York at $11.90 a pack!  That’s for 20 cigarettes that are literally robbing you of your health, time, and now money. 

Again, let’s crunch some numbers…starting on the low end…let’s say that you only smoke 1 pack a day and you lived in West Virginia in 2011 (remember, the prices are always going up) you would be paying $142.20 a month just for the privellege of smoking.  If you lived in New York City in 2011 and you smoked 3 packs a day (it can be stressful living in the big city) it would cost you $1,071.00 a month for the privellege to smoke!  That’s $12,852.00 a year!!! 

There is good news though.  First, it really isn’t your fault.  This “product” has millions upon millions of dollars behind it that goes into advertising that makes you want to smoke, some of the greatest research minds in the world have forumlated the product to make you addicted.  To learn more about “It’s Not Your Fault” click here.

The other good news is that there is help.  You can use “Guided Meditation” or “Clinical Hypnotherapy“.  If you live in Europe “click here” for a great resource.

I know that quitting smoking isn’t easy…but it can be done.  Do it for yourself, your family, and your finances.  I wish you great success in achieving your goal of being smoke free.

Yours In Health!

G.E. Moon II