Stop Smoking Expert Jim Christopher shares Stop Smoking management news and commentary at StopSmokingConnection.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092 en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/ http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/34045/nicotine-free Wed Jul 16 11:37:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher Lots going wrong for me lately: I was stood up by a person I deeply admire; patches of eczema are returning in this warm weather, despite dermatological treatment; glaucoma is a nuisance; arthritis is annoying and – worst of all – I fear Miles, my beloved pooch companion of over a decade – a cancer survivor – is dying.  Such is life.  The need for a cigarette or alcohol is non-existent.  Why? ... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/34045/nicotine-free http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/33385/nicotine-side Thu Jul 10 10:14:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher He was leaning over the outdoor banister on the third floor of the condo complex where I live a nicotine-free existence.  On occasion, I pass by a smoker’s obnoxious toxins, permeating the air.  Each encounter with a smoker brings to mind, albeit momentarily, my unmitigated joy of being an ex-smoker.I don’t want to be nauseating about it, but why not?  If one’s jubilance about his or her escape from a nicotine... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/33385/nicotine-side http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/33097/emotional Mon Jul 07 13:15:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher Years ago I was disinclined to deal with difficulty directly.  I’m also not the world’s best at standing up for myself; streaks of anxiety shoot through my very human frame on occasion.I experience fears of various potency: a momentary reactive fear, an instantaneous adrenaline-in-the-throat feeling when another driver swerves in front of me on a busy Los Angeles freeway.  I admittedly feel anxious about a number of things... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/33097/emotional http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/31954/empowerment Wed Jun 25 10:48:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher   Acknowledge.  Accept.  Prioritize.  These are tenets of Save Our Selves, also known as Secular Organizations for Sobriety, a self-empowerment addiction recovery group founded over 23 years ago.  When I arrested my addiction to alcohol in 1978 and founded SOS in 1985, I had successfully applied these tenets both cognitively and viscerally assuring my own recovery.  I continued to smoke cigarettes, however,... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/31954/empowerment http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/31382/traditional Thu Jun 19 14:13:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher Some folks smoke in secret. They may “succeed” in life, they may not. They may be brilliant young students, wives, husbands, major film stars, retail sales clerks, clerics.  Secret smokers may fool some of their peers, their families.   Others smoke openly, defiantly. Courteous nicotine addicts may take great care to keep their toxic fumes away from babies, bundles of hay, non-smoking friends and... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/31382/traditional http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/30583/open-natural Wed Jun 11 12:53:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher This Sunday morning I arrived a few minutes late at the Center for Inquiry – Los Angeles, to help with our booth preparation for the 17th Annual Los Feliz Village Street Fair event, literally just around the corner.   An entire street (Vermont Avenue) was blocked off starting at Hollywood Blvd. and stretching for a number of blocks up to Franklin Avenue. There were two performance stages – one at each end – and bands... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/30583/open-natural http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/29879/techniques Wed Jun 04 10:53:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher Back in the day (and at present) I facilitate addiction recovery groups, having sobered up in ’78 and eschewing nicotine since ’93.    Not all of these groups consist of ordinary citizens; some meetings I’ve held within the confines of penal institutions around the world and in court-ordered treatment facilities in the USA.   One such smoking cessation group comes to mind: I was once invited to help a... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/29879/techniques http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/29130/hopeful-era Wed May 28 09:40:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher Last week I enjoyed the BBC World News on PBS, a particularly fascinating piece about Turkey, quintessential land of smokers; an aerial view of Istanbul might be blocked by cigarette clouds.  OK, an exaggeration, but bans on smoking in public places are – believe it or not – already in place there. Although resisted by many (old nicotine addictions die hard), in a smoking culture where tobacco is cheap, Turkey, a premier... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/29130/hopeful-era http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/28482/psychological Wed May 21 10:38:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher Recently a woman who appeared unwell attended an open SOS meeting that I led. She was two days off the patch and lived in a household with a smoking roommate who chain-smoked indoors.  I was, that night, the only other former smoker in attendance; the other folks were recovering alcoholics, drug addicts in recovery, and persons with food addictions (overeaters).   We all offered her support, encouragement and congratulations... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/28482/psychological http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/27937/fighting Thu May 15 10:23:00 -0400 2008 Jim Christopher I suppose we all feel the weight of life from time to time.  Recently I experienced fear-laden concepts coupled with unpleasant feelings.  These came in waves - off and on -  a few minutes duration per set, throughout a couple of days.  I called a peer (translation: friend who’s as flawed and human as yours truly) and he acknowledged having experienced similar phenomena.  Reaching out usually helps at... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/91092/27937/fighting