Will there ever be an effective solution to the health problem of smoking?

Question

What can we do to get people to stop for their own good?

Answer 1

People have to personally decide to stop - just making it illegal is not enough (remember something called Prohibition?).
It is true, however, that many smokers are aware of what they are doing to their bodies. I am a medical student, and half of my classmates smoke. But they KNOW what they are doing.

So the solution is two-fold. People have to be informed BEFORE they start, otherwise the information does little good. The other part of the solution is that it has to be individual and personal. You cannot make a real solution that can be applied to society as a whole.

Answer 2

There is nothing that can be done. Smoking is a physical, psychological and emotional addiction. It only takes the body 8 hrs to process the nicotine out of your system from your last cigarette. Psychologically your brain has to re-learn how to make a enzyme or hormone that allows for concetration which is why a lot of smokers "smoke" when they get stressed or working on a difficult project. Emotionally though I think is the most difficult because a lot of smokers "want to " smoke. I actually enjoy having a cigarette with my coffee in the morning. I enjoy going out on my porch and having a cigarette when I read a book and after a really good meal. I know about all the side effects and what I am doing. I am aware of the danger as most smoker's are but until " I want to" quit it doesnt' matter how many patches, gums, shots etc is out there it won't be effective. The only time I was able to quit with any length of time is when I was pregnant and then it wasn't because I wanted to quit but because it wasnt' my body anymore and I had to think about the baby.

Answer 3

There will never be an effective solution to the health problem of smoking because people will never quit. And as each new generation comes along, there will be smokers. Just as prohibition didn't wipe out drinking, all of the taxes, price hikes, penalties, etc will not stop people from smoking. That's a fact.

Answer 4

The EFFECTIVE solution of smoking is to STOP!!!
The next thing that would HELP is if it were OUTLAWED (but they cannot do that in America you see because they MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY DOING THAT, and THEY PAY TAXES TOO WHICH HELP IN SO MANY WAYS (except perhaps down in Louisiana).
People need LOVE to quit, and they need encouragement to HAVE HOPE to quit.
The best way I know is to tell a smoker: "you know, I would like to have you around for LONGER than you will live if you keep smoking". I have lost MANY family members due to cigarettes (and alcohol too). ABSTINENCE IS THE WAY TO GO! Oh, and if you are YOUNG, DON'T EVER START...

Answer 5

Well, Consider this, the tobacco industry is the reason this country was started.
Health problems is a personal issue.
Tobacco drains vitamins out of the body that causes health troubles but breathing carpet, cats and gasoline from mowers and cars is a more serious issue than smoking anyday.
Look at it from all points of views.
Smoking is a matter of taste, like tasting the Earth.

Answer 6

Try showing them an x-ray of a smokers lung. Usually, it scares them and then remind them everyday what will happen if they smoke. My mom showed us a pic of a 'fried' brain from the effects of drugs and rest assured I never even tried drugs. Yeah, visualization really helps.

Answer 7

manage to get our government to get there hands off the money from the sale of tobacco items and make it ill-legal!
what a dream.

Answer 8

Ban ciggaretts. As long as the government is making money, it will never happen.