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The Front Page
Baysider, 37, who quit smoking says anyone can
By David J. Glenn May 17, 2001
Joe Weaver of Bayside quit smoking. It's always good news
when someone kicks the deadly habit, but Weaver's case is
particularly newsworthy. It's the way he did it.
Joe Weaver of Byside quit smoking.
It's always good news when someone kicks the deadly habit,
but Weaver's case is particularly newsworthy.
It's the way he did it.
In "Nic the Habit," his 140-page book published
by the Writers Club Press due out in July, Weaver, 37, a computer
software engineer, describes a geographical as well as spiritual
journey that led to his finally stomping out his cigarettes
(as shown on the cover of the book).
Quitting smoking is more akin to fighting alcoholism or drug
addiction than just getting rid of a bad habit. "You
have to tell your mind to shut up," Weaver said in a
Qguide interview.
The chemicals in cigarettes, particularly nicotine, quickly
take over mind and body, Weaver said, knowing full well from
his personal experience as well as his (uncompleted) medical
studies in Germany.
Nicotine, for example, has a molecular structure of hydrogen,
nitrogen, and carbon atoms that is very similar to one of
the neurotransmitters in the brain, Weaver stressed. It competes
with the vital chemical to affect thinking and emotion.
There is also much evidence that cigarettes increase the
level of dopamine in the brain, which gives the feeling of
pleasure, at first, in a similar way to cocaine and heroin.
Weaver devoted a full chapter to listing and describing some
of the thousands of chemicals in cigarette smoke, including
hydrogen cyanide (used as an insecticide), lead, toluene (used
in paint and paint-thinners), formaldehyde (used in embalming
and dyes) and carbon monoxide, which reduces oxygen in the
blood and can kill in minutes if breathed in without ventilation.
Even though Weaver emphasized the medical damage that even
moderate smoking does to the body, the book is more than a
simple description of the dangers.
"[A] reason people become addicted to a substance is
that something is usually missing from their life," Weaver
wrote. "The substance is then used as a replacement for
whatever is lacking."
The author had traveled to Egypt, Nepal, India, and Tibet,
and describes regaining his inner spirit - something he said
is really not all that difficult to do, and doesn't require
going to far-off places. In the book, he presented a series
of "assignments" for the reader, emphasizing that
"you have control over your mind" and urging the
reader to "believe that people who smoke are nothing
more than addicts who cannot take control over their life."
"Take back your life," Weaver urged.
To order the book, call toll-free 1-877-823-9235 or visit
cigarettesmokingkills.com. It can also be printed on demand
from iUniverse.com.
©Bayside Times 2001
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