We are at the end of the smoker's era

There are eras in the history that people took in some poisoned stuffs. About two thousand years ago, in China, emperors took pills containing heavy metal such as mercury, to hope to live longer. Around 1500 years ago, some other chemicals which are extracted from stones are very popular. People ate a combo of them because it made them high. They all disappear now. Smoking, no difference to their ancestors, will disappear in the future for sure. And what is more encouraging is that the time is coming soon.

The smokers are 25% of total people in the U.S. now. But they are mostly people above mid-age or even older. In universities, smokers are rare among students. It is also estimated that in 2025, smokers in the U.S. will be less than 10% of the total population. It is apparently that we are on the tail of this smokers era that lasts for a hundred year or even more.

It is good that policies are applied consistently, which will push the era to its end faster.

Besides the tax-raising for cigarettes, here is another one:

"The U.S. senate recently approved tighter control over cigarettes and related tobacco products. This decision will empower federal health officials to strictly regulate smoking. The FDA is now expected to impose stricter controls over the manufacture and marketing of tobacco products, which kill about 50% of regular users."

It includes:

• ban the tobacco flavorings, which lure the first-time smokers;
• change the color of the ads to black and white;
• ban the tobacco ads in the vicinity of playgrounds and schools;
• further raise the price;

and more.

Quit smoking injection, sounds crazy to me

An innovation in quit smoking research is what called quit smoking injection. What is it? Basically, your body is injected with some chemicals, which can remove your response to the nicotine. My understanding is that you need to give up some of the functions of your neurons to kick off your smoking habit.

"It is a shot of scopolamine that is given to the individual who wishes to quit. It is generally used as an anesthetic as well as to make motion sickness better. It is also used as a temporarily treat Parkinson’s disease. It is basically a chemical that affects the brain.
This chemical that in injected helps in blocking the neuro-receptors that respond to nicotine in the brain. Due to this, when an individual smokes after being given this shot, the pleasure areas in the brain are not activated. This is because the chemical blocks receptors and so the brain is unaware that nicotine is in the body. This makes the act of smoking less and less enjoyable every time the individual smokes. Eventually, the individual can quit as there is no motivation to continue."

Side effects are as follows:

• Dizziness
• Blurry vision
• Difficulty in urination
• Dry mouth
• Fever
• Delirium and hallucinations
• Sensitivity to light

Jesus! Why not just cut off my fingers, then I have to quit smoking because I can not hold the cigarette between my fingers any more? Are we really so helpless that we need to sacrifice so much to quit smoking? No! Of course not. If you understand why you smoke and master the real technique, quit smoking is the easiest thing, just like how I quit. On the other hand, if you have not fully understood, even if you quit temporarily, later sometime, if the reason upon which you quit disappears, you will light up a cigarette again. In this injection case, what if later someday, the respond to nicotine comes back, and you by chance decide to take some smoke? That chance exists if you don't get rid off smoking habit from your subconsciousness.

So, be rational and find the right way to quit smoking happily.