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filthy stuff. The result is usually to throw up immediately, no matter what company you are in.
It took me three months to learn to cope with the pipe, hut what 1 cannot understand is why I
didn't sit down sometime during that three months and ask myself why I was subjecting myself to
the torture.
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Of course, once they learn to cope with the pipe, no one appears more contented than pipe smokers.
Most of them are convinced that they smoke because they enjoy the pipe. But why did they have to
work so hard to learn to like it when they were perfectly happy without it?
The answer is that once you have become addicted to nicotine, the brainwashing is increased. Your
subconscious mind knows that the little monster has to be fed, and you block everything else from your
mind. As I have already stated, it is fear that keeps people smoking, the fear of that empty, insecure
feeling that you get when you stop supplying the nicotine. Because you are not aware of it doesn't
moan it isn't there. You don't have to understand it any more than a cat needs to understand where
the under-floor hot-water pipes are. It just knows that if it sits in a certain place it gets the feeling of
warmth.
It is the brainwashing that is the main difficulty in giving up smoking. The brainwashing of our
upbringing in society reinforced with the brainwashing from our own addiction and, most
powerful of all, the brainwashing of our friends, relatives and colleagues.
Did you notice that up to now I've frequently referred to 'giving up' smoking, I used the
expression at the beginning of the previous paragraph. This is a classic example of the brainwashing.
The expression implies a genuine sacrifice. The beautiful truth is that there is absolutely nothing to
give up. On the contrary, you will be freeing yourself from a terrible disease and achieving marvelous
positive gains. We are going to start removing this brainwashing now. From this point on, no longer
will we refer to 'giving up', but to stopping, quitting or the true position: ESCAPING!
The only thing that persuades us to smoke in the first place is all the other people doing it. We feel
we are missing out. We work so hard to become hooked, yet nobody ever finds out what they have
been missing. But every time we see another smoker he reassures us that there must be something in
it, otherwise he wouldn't be doing it. Even when he has kicked the habit, the ex-smoker feels he is being
deprived when a smoker lights up at a party or other social function. He feels safe. He can have just
one. And, before he knows it, he is hooked again.
This brainwashing is very powerful and you need to be aware of its effects. Many older smokers will
remember the Paul Temple detective series that was a very popular radio programme after the war.
One of the series was dealing with addiction to marijuana, commonly known as 'pot' or 'grass'.
Unbeknown to the smoker, wicked men were selling cigarettes that contained 'pot'. There were no
harmful effects. People merely became addicted and had to go on buying the cigarettes. (During my
consultations literally hundreds of smokers have admitted to trying 'pot'. None of them said they
became hooked on it.) I was about seven years old when I listened to the programme. It was my first
knowledge of drug addiction. The concept of addiction, being compelled to go on taking the drug,
filled me with horror, and even to this day, in spite of the fact that I am fairly convinced that 'pot' is
not addictive. I would not dare take one puff of marijuana. How ironic that I should have ended up a
junky on the world's No. 1 addictive drug. If only Paul Temple had warned me about the cigarette
itself. How ironic too that over forty years later mankind spends thousands of pounds on cancer
research, yet millions are spent persuading healthy teenagers to become hooked on the filthy weed,
our own government having the largest vested interest.
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We are about to remove the brainwashing. It is not the non-smoker who is being deprived but the
poor smoker who is forfeiting a lifetime of:
HEALTH
ENERGY
WEALTH
PEACE OF MIND
CONFIDENCE
COURAGE
SELF-RESPECT
HAPPINESS
FREEDOM.
And what does he gain from these considerable sacrifices?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING-except the illusion of trying to get back to the state of peace,
tranquility and confidence that the non-smoker enjoys all the time.
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8 Relieving Withdrawal Pangs
As I explained earlier, smokers think they smoke for enjoyment, relaxation or some sort of boost. In
fact, this an illusion. The actual reason is the relief of withdrawal pangs.
In the early days we use the cigarette as a social prop. We can take it or leave it. However, the
subtle chain has started. Our subconscious mind begins to learn that a cigarette taken at certain
times tends to be pleasurable.
The more we become hooked on the drug, the greater the need to relieve the withdrawal pangs
and the further the cigarette drags you down, the more you are fooled into believing it is doing the
opposite. It all happens so slowly, so gradually, you are not even aware of it. Each day you feel no
different from the day before. Most smokers don't even realize they are hooked until they actually try
to stop, and even then many won't admit to it, A few stalwarts just keep then- heads in the sand all
their lives, trying to convince themselves and other people that they enjoy it.
I have had the following conversation with hundreds of teenagers.
ME: You realize that nicotine is a drug and that the only reason why you are smoking is that you
cannot stop.
T: Nonsense! I enjoy it. If I didn't, I would stop. ME: Just stop for a week to prove to me you can if
you want to.
T: No need. I enjoy it. If I wanted to stop, I would. ME: Just stop for a week to prove to yourself
you are not hooked.
T: What's the point? I enjoy it.
As already stated, smokers tend to relieve their withdrawal pangs at times of stress, boredom,
concentration, relaxation or a combination of these. This point is explained in greater detail in the
next few chapters.
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9 Stress
I am referring not only to the great tragedies of life but also to the minor stresses, the socializing,
the telephone call, the anxieties of the housewife with noisy young children and so on.
Let us use the telephone conversation as an example. For most people the telephone is slightly
stressful, particularly for the business man. Most calls aren't from satisfied customers or your
boss congratulating you. There's usually some sort of aggro - something going wrong or somebody
making demands. At that time the smoker, if he isn't already doing so, will light up a cigarette. He
doesn't know why he does this, but he does know that for some reason it appears to help.
What has actually happened is this. Without being conscious of it, he has already been suffering
aggravation (i.e. the withdrawal pangs). By partially relieving that aggravation at the same time as
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