There are a number of great apps available to help individuals in their quest to quit smoking; far too many to mention and not nearly enough time to fairly review them. However, I believe that a recommendation from a customer is the best recommendation, which is why I am only mentioning a single app, Smoke Free, in this blog.

It seems that opinions are split in the area of using apps to help with quitting smoking. Some believe it is valuable and encouraging; others believe that regularly checking and tracking progress further consumes the mind with thoughts of smoking.

Personally, I’m all for it! And I really like Smoke Free, despite the $5 cost on iTunes. There are several reasons that even a mediocre app can be good for smokers who want to kick the habit.

By distracting the mind to open and operate the app, you are stealing energy from the dangerous thought of smoking. The brief distraction is often adequate to allow the acute craving/thought to pass. This is no different from the reason we (Alpha Lifestyle Center) recommend bottled water, a deep breath, snapping a rubber band or calling to schedule a booster. They are all effective strategies to reroute a craving/thought away from smoking long enough for it to subside.

Besides that, it IS encouraging to see the rising tally of days not smoked, cigarette not smoked, days of life gained, money saved and on and on.

When my customer shared her Smoke Free app with me, I was immediately impressed with some of the additional resources and features on Smoke Free, which included Mission statements; a daily inspirational message of sorts. The app is also very visually appealing with various formats, charts and graphs to clearly display progress and highlight benchmarks.

We always tout our program as comprehensive; a stand-alone approach to combatting nicotine addiction, so I am not suggesting that additional support is necessary. But I don’t see how using one of the various stop smoking apps could hurt and I hope I’ve made something of an argument for their utility in managing the complexities of overcoming a dependence on tobacco products.

There is no cookie-cutter approach to quitting smoking. Tobacco use and dependence is still a major epidemic in society. Combining cessation strategies is an effective approach for nicotine addiction, but beware-not every combination is appropriate. If you are ready to quit smoking, talk to your doctor or a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist to identify an approach that is right for you.

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Quitting smoking: A common phrase we hear at Alpha Lifestyle Center is, “If it works for me…” or “If I quit…,” followed by reports of co-workers, friends and family members that will be calling soon to make a laser stop smoking appointment. I always respond the same way:

“The decision to quit smoking happened when you made your appointment, so you are already to be congratulated! Whether or not you find our program beneficial in helping you to quit is certainly fair to debate, but take ownership of your decision to quit and the commitment you have made to yourself.”

This is not to skirt the responsibility of our program to deliver what we promise. But, you should not invest in our program to see “if” you quit smoking. You should use our program once you have “decided” to quit smoking, to make quitting more manageable. There is a very subtle, but significant, difference.

An individual who is only “trying” to quit smoking still has two options:  1) smoke or 2) don’t smoke. Smoking is actually still an option when “trying.” But, “trying” satisfies the intelligent minds’ need to make an attempt so it becomes embedded in the language of quitting. Trying just isn’t good enough! If you’ve made a decision to quit smoking, own it!

The goal of this conversation is to try to shift the balance in favor of personal ownership (vs. blame) to give the customer an edge in the emotional/psychological battle over nicotine addiction. You have to see yourself as a nonsmoker; not a smoker “trying” to quit.

Our program is so unique in our approach to nicotine addiction. We offer a multitude of resources that go well beyond the actual laser treatment to provide a unique and comprehensive approach to tobacco cessation without pain, needles or drugs. We are extremely confident that our program provides value to any smoker, but we want customers to have very honest conversations with themselves about their own responsibility in becoming a nonsmoker.

On occasion I hear a variation of this from a customer waiting for their appointment:

“I’ll be honest; I don’t even want to quit smoking. I promised my wife I’d do this for her birthday.”

My response:

“I’ll be honest, too. This is not the best investment for you under those circumstances.”

In all cases, the client continues on with their laser stop smoking appointment.  In those cases where the customer stuck with the program and really did quit you can only imagine the referrals we receive!  Just think about what they are telling their friends: “I didn’t even want to quit, but somehow I did!”

To be clear, we are not recruiting individuals with ridiculous claims or by using a handful of extreme success stories. If you “want” to quit smoking or are “ready” to quit smoking, we can help!  But it sure is fun for us when we hear of a remarkable success!

The post Quitting Smoking: Taking Ownership appeared first on Alpha Lifestyle Center.

Former smokers who experience a relapse will often attempt to hide their relapse from others. They may hide it to avoid shame, disappointment or lecturing that often accompanies a relapse.

This story has three endings:

• The smoker, while trying to hide their smoking, will smoke less. As far as smoking goes-this is good!
• The smoker gets busted and feels obligated to make another quit attempt-this is great!
• The smoker gets busted, so reverts back to his/her normal smoking habit since is no longer needs to be concealed-this is not good.

If you are a disapproving spouse, it can be a tricky play.  You have to know your spouse, but it might be insightful to consider these outcomes before reacting if you have a spouse or loved one struggling in a battle against nicotine addiction.

I’m not a counselor or therapist, but if I suspected that a loved one was “sneaking,” I might get creative.  I would appeal to his conscience and bombard him with words of praise and admiration. I might offer up special incentives for quitting hoping the guilt  would encourage him to make another quit attempt immediately before he gets caught. There is the risk that he will buckle and return to his full smoking habit. Even if the latter is the case, another attempt is probably forthcoming.

No, I’m not a counselor or therapist, but I am a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist which means that I am qualified to help individuals navigate the complexities of nicotine addiction. If your spouse or loved one is “cheating,” we can help them achieve freedom from nicotine addiction once and for all with our single visit laser therapy program.

The post Is Your Spouse Cheating? appeared first on Alpha Lifestyle Center.

Why is our laser weight control program so unique? Because unlike traditional programs, which focus primarily on calorie restriction (or carbohydrate, fat, sugar, etc), our program approaches weight issues as a Food Addiction. We understand that there is a physiological relationship between the brain and unhealthy foods that, when interrupted, causes problems.

The reception of food addictions as a legitimate condition has taken some time, and it still has a ways to go. But, for the first time, a team of researchers at the University of Michigan looked at exactly which types of foods could be the most addictive, and why.

Click here for the full study.

Some excerpts from the www.cnn.com story:

There have been reports of people losing control over how much they eat, and experiencing withdrawal when they are cut off, just like with drug and alcohol addiction………. 

In a similar manner that drugs are processed to increase their addictive potential, this study provides insight that highly processed foods may be intentionally manufactured to be particularly rewarding through the addition of fat and refined carbohydrates, like white flour and sugar……

The researchers found that the most problematic foods tended to be those with a high glycemic load……which make foods more difficult to stop eating in a similar way as drugs that are highly concentrated and rapidly absorbed into the body are more addictive……..

Although a handful of almonds and a milkshake might have the same number of calories, they will have a different effects on your brain and your reward system, and you will be much more likely to go back to get more of the milkshake……..

Many of the symptoms of food addiction look like drug addiction, including that people need more and more of the food item to get the same effect. They also accept negative consequences to obtain it and feel the anxiety or agitation of withdrawal when they can’t have it………..

Break-ups are never easy! Sure, self-control and discipline play a role, but an effective approach to any addiction requires empathy and support, both of which we provide at Alpha Lifestyle Center of Birmingham. Laser therapy (laser acupuncture) is just one of the many tools we use to help our customers. More information about laser therapy for weight control can be found under Our Services, Weight Management on our website, www.alphalaserinfo.com.

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Cloud blowing contests are referred to as Cloud Competitions. Spectators of this sport are referred to as Cloud Gazers. Two major Cloud Competitions in the US are the International Cloud Championships in California, and the World Series of Vape, in Las Vegas. Prize money for such competition currently reaches up to $2000!

Interestingly, most Cloud Chasers do not use nicotine or propylene glycol, and instead choose mixtures that use higher amounts of glycerin to produce larger plumes of vapor.

Many cloud chasers even credit the sport with motivating them to quit smoking for two reasons; 1) time and focus is taken from their smoking habit and transferred to developing customized devices to improve vaping performance and 2) a need to improve lung health in order to be competitive in the sport.

On the downside, criticisms directed at average e-cigarette users are on the rise because of an increasing amount of public vaping and excessive volume of vaping clouds being released in public by these athletes in training.

When I first heard of Cloud Chasing (an hour or two ago), I gasped at the tomfoolery of the sport. When I watched my first Youtube video about it, I thought I was watching a Saturday Night Live skit. And then I remembered being a teenager and young adult myself. I began thinking of the countless things I did to entertain myself or to try to be cool (including smoking cigarettes) that would have drawn similar criticism.

But what concerns me are the potential dangers of explosions associated with vaping and e-cigarette use. As I understand it, most of the reported explosions, injuries and deaths reported by e-cigarette users resulted from using products (batteries, chargers) other than those recommended by the manufacturer. But, if Cloud Chasing is encouraging creative thinking and unconventional methods to bolster the size/density of clouds, I think high-risk behavior is being encouraged; and that should be concerning. Admittedly, I don’t know much about this subject-I only just started researching Cloud Chasing.

As I reflect, I suspect the activity/sport of vaping is simply evidence of a new generation of young people being young people. I just hope the dangers and risks of being young people aren’t on the rise; they were high enough back when I was one of them.

Information taken from Cloud Chasing 101 Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfqSh03FEys

9 Factors of Cloud Chasing

• Battery Safety
• Air Flow
• Type of Juice
• Type of Mod
• Type of Atomizer/Dripper
• Body Posture, inhale/exhale technique
• Wicking (?)
• Coil Build
• Genetics

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November 19th marks the American Cancer Society’s 40th annual Great American Smokeout, which encourages smokers to either pre-plan to quit on that day, or use the date to create a plan if they haven’t yet.

The concept started with a 1971 event held in Randolph, MA, where a campaign asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on them to a scholarship fund. In 1974 Minnesota held the state’s first Don’t Smoke Day on November 18. On the same date two years later, the California division of the American Cancer Society got nearly one million smokers to quit for the day. The first national Great American Smokeout was held in 1977.  Since then, The Great American Smokeout has been promoted by numerous celebrities, including Sammy Davis, Jr., Edward Asner, Natalie Cole, Larry Hagman, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Mr. Potato Head and many others.

While you can stop smoking on November 19, 2015, any day is a great day to make the decision to quit smoking!  Whenever you make the commitment to quit, make sure to utilize the resources available to aid in the process.  You don’t have to go through it alone!

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This post is not about the alleged misconduct or negligence of the Macomb County Jail in the death of 32 year-old inmate, David Stojcevski, last June.  The media handles that. We’ll know more on that subject as the investigation into David’s death unfolds. It is horrific and tragic; neither of which can be disputed in the court of humanity.

This post is also not about the current and past drug habits (prescribed or not) of the victim. The truth in this matter may prove important to the investigation, but not to this post.

The horrors of this tragedy highlight an opportunity for a discussion about addiction. Addiction is complex and misunderstood. Having worked in the field of addiction for nearly a decade, I lean heavily toward a position of empathy when it comes to matters of addiction. My empathy comes from a place of knowledge and experience.

Nicotine withdrawal is not likely to cause life-threatening symptoms, as was the case with David Stojcevski, but nicotine withdrawal symptoms (irritability, anxiety, lack of focus, depressed mood) are very real. Withdrawal symptoms are the body’s physical/emotional response to a changing chemical environment.

Again, Withdrawal symptoms are the body’s physical/emotional response to a changing chemical environment. The video of the inmate illustrates a human-being withdrawing from a drug(s); in this case, reportedly doctor-prescribed (“acute withdrawal from chronic benzodiazepine, methadone and opiate medications.”) It is clear that David developed a chemical dependency on a substance, and that the absence of that substance was problematic and deadly. Prescribed or not, it IS what withdrawal looks like. That is addiction. Addiction is not about seeking the next high; it is generally about avoiding pain……..and in the worst cases, avoiding death. It is about survival.

I am trying to introduce opinions about a controversial subject cautiously and responsibly. My objective is to paint a picture of an addict from the beginning; before addiction. Addicts progress to stereotypes; they don’t start there. The video is chilling and disturbing, but the video represents the very situation that addicts seek to escape, which generally leads to very high-risk behaviors.

Drug addicts (alcoholics, crack addicts, pill poppers) steal, lie and cheat not always just to get to their next “high,” but to avoid the very circumstances that led to this man’s death. I don’t believe anybody experiments with drug use with the worst-case scenario in mind.

Sure, some recreational drug users also lie, steal and cheat. But in these cases it is not to satisfy a physical or chemical need, but rather to satisfy a recreational desire. Very different case.

David Stojcevski was not faking withdrawal symptoms to get drugs; THAT WE KNOW. His body was dependent on a chemical. Without that chemical (and without medical intervention) his body could not sustain life.

Withdrawal symptoms threaten survival. And survival instinct will trump morality or the law any day of the week. Hence, addicts steal, lie and cheat despite obvious and devastating consequences.

Addicts seem like bad people because addiction leads to repeated irrational, irresponsible, illogical, illegal and unsafe behavior; all in an effort to survive. Addiction doesn’t favor the poor, undereducated or underprivileged-it does not discriminate.

Logic says “Get clean or you will lose everything!” But logic and addiction cannot co-exist when your body is battling for mere survival. I believe it is impossible to rationally consider the consequences of continued drug use when faced with impending death. Could you think or act rationally while experiencing paranoia, insomnia and hallucinations? Addiction is the ultimate manipulator! It doesn’t allow for concerns about being arrested or losing your family.

I’m not proposing that addiction is an excuse for unconscionable behavior in every case. For some, addiction will just magnify the already negative stamp a jerk has on society, even when sober. But I do think the issues associated with addiction would be better managed in a society that, on a whole, had a better understanding of it. I hope this post can generate some thoughts about how to accomplish that.

The post Inmate Dies In Custody appeared first on Alpha Lifestyle Center.

I just finished reading a New York Times blog titled, “Lung Screening May Not Push Smokers to Quit.”  The results of a small study on the subject suggest that lung screening may actually discourage smokers from quitting. Online comments highlight the absurdity of the suggestion by the study authors to stop screening smokers for lung cancer. Dr. Harris, in this article, contents that money would be better spent on smoking cessation and prevention rather than screening.

“Although screening is considered ‘a teachable moment’ that could be used to foster smoking cessation, the new study indicated that it more often bolstered smokers’ beliefs that they had dodged a bullet and could safely continue to smoke.” The study suggests that even early evidence of cancer-related nodules did not motivate smokers to quit because of the belief that screening could catch cancer early before it would be life-threatening.

Now, I’m not surprised with the influx of negative comments following this article. It SHOULD cause uproar.  Lung cancer screening saves lives! About this, there should be no question. Quitting smoking becomes a real priority, for many, after lung cancer screening.

On the other hand, I believe that the results of this study, no matter how small or flawed, are extremely meaningful. Smokers DO use a clean lung screening result to justify their continued smoking; I hear it from our laser stop smoking customers. But there also are people who quit smoking immediately after a screening reveals something threatening. So where does that leave us? What does this study mean?

I think it means that a thoughtful and aggressive strategy needs to be developed and targeted specifically to the population of smokers who receive false confidence from lung screening. I’m not sure what that strategy would look like, but I know from 10 years in the tobacco cessation business that the need for this does exist.

Unfortunately, it’s human to use a “clean” bill of health put off quitting smoking. But the reality is that nicotine is profoundly addictive. The addictiveness of nicotine is the real barrier to quitting smoking. I argue that few people really want to be smokers. It’s easier to say “I enjoy it” than to admit “I can’t quit smoking” or “I am an addict.”

So let’s keep encouraging smokers to get screened. And, let’s start thinking about how we can change the trend for “clear” results to facilitate the belief that it is safe to continue smoking.
Who has some ideas?

The post Quitting Smoking-Does Lung Cancer Screening Actually Discourage It? appeared first on Alpha Lifestyle Center.

It takes 21 days to break a habit. You have probably heard this in one variation or another.

At Alpha Lifestyle Center we use “21 Days” to assure customers who are quitting smoking that the “habit” of smoking will fade, with time. In other words, the thought, desire or compulsion to smoke during daily rituals (upon awakening, with coffee, while driving or after a meal) will go away, but it will take some time.

While doing some research, I discovered the story behind the 21 Days thing:

Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon in the 1950s when he began noticing a pattern among his patients. For example, he found that it took a patient 21 days after a nose job to get used to seeing their new face. Similarly, it would take a patient 21 days after a limb amputation before the sense of a phantom limb would subside.

Dr. Maltz also observed that it took himself about 21 days to form a new habit. He was later quoted in a blockbuster book, Psycho-Cybernetics (1960), “These, and many other commonly observed phenomena tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell.”

Maltz’s work was very influential in the field of “self-help.”  His theories were not substantiated scientifically. But, the theories evolved into an illusion of scientific fact.  We know this because of the familiarity and use of “21 Days,” particularly among self-help Guru’s like Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar.

Behavior change is complex and different for every person. Quitting smoking is complex and different for every person. Suffice it to say that, with each passing day, the burden of a habit will lessen until, eventually, it is no burden at all.

Don’t believe me? Ask a former smoker!

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Last month I received a call from a man named Brian Keelan. In early 2000 Brian saw a news story on Channel 7 about a little place in Windsor called Alpha Lifestyle Center. The place was attracting Detroiters in droves to help them quit smoking using laser therapy.

Two months later, Brian walked into Alpha Lifestyle Center for laser therapy to quit smoking. Brian had been battling his addiction to nicotine for 40 years and his last cigarette was on June 6^th, 2000!  Since then, he has written two non-fiction books about his experience with: smoking, stopping smoking, relapsing, preparing to quit smoking and finally, quitting smoking for good!

The second book, “How to Quit Smoking and Save Your Life,” was published earlier this year. It comes nearly a decade after the first (Free At Last) and contains most of the relevant information from the first title, plus much more. His book can be purchased on Kindle for $5.99.

I have said it countless times: smokers need options! There is no cookie-cutter approach to quitting smoking. I am not providing a review for the book here, per se, but I AM recommending it as another resource for the countless individuals stuck in a personal battle against nicotine addiction.

Brian Keelan’s book, How to Quit Smoking and Save Your Life, contains a ton of interesting information for smokers and nonsmokers alike. The content is extremely thought-provoking, entertaining and easy to read.

The goal of his book is to teach smokers the importance of properly preparing to quit smoking. His teachings emphasize that no tool (drugs, nicotine replacements or even laser therapy) will be truly effective for long-term cessation in the absence of good preparation for quitting smoking. With that, I COULD NOT AGREE MORE!

Brian’s credits his anger toward the tobacco industry (and the government’s role in tobacco regulation) in large part for his success. There is no shortage of information on these subjects in his book. There is an obvious amount of research contained in the pages and it makes for a fascinating read.

He contends that the very anger he developed might be the key to success for others who are struggling with nicotine addiction.

I read so many interesting facts and quotes. With Brian’s permission, I will use some of that content for upcoming blog posts and social media posts, which will all appropriately reference the author, Brian Keelan.

More information about Brian Keelan (who, did I mention, also used laser therapy to quit smoking) and how to purchase How To Quit Smoking and Save Your Life can be found at www.briankeelan.com.

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