SEARCH:
Sign in | Join | Help
search Mercola.com
 
FREE Subscription 
The World’s Most Popular Natural Health Newsletter
Share this article
Previous Article
Next Article
Officials Unveil Plan to Reduce Smoking
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
February 18 2004 | 1,218 views

Four former surgeon generals announced a 10-point plan to reduce smoking that included a $2-per-pack tax they predicted would prompt at least five million smokers to quit. They are urging that the cigarette tax be raised from the current 39 cents to $2.39, of which half of the proceeds--or $14 million--would go toward paying for various parts of the 10-point plan.

The 10-point plan also called for a nationwide counseling and support line for people who are trying to quit smoking, an idea that was immediately put into practice. It has been said by the Health and Human Services Secretary that more than $25 million would be given for the toll-free, nationwide support line that should be established by the end of 2004.

The 10-point plan also calls for:

  • Federal officials to encourage insurers to provide health coverage for treatment to help smokers quit, such as counseling and drugs.
  • Federal officials to start community-based programs in schools, workplaces and faith-based organizations to combat smoking.
  • Federal officials to establish a uniform standard of tobacco-dependence treatment among health care providers.

Close to 50 million Americans smoke and it costs the nation $75 million in direct health care expenses. It is estimated that three out of four smokers seek to quit, but fewer than five percent who quit for a day are able to maintain that for longer periods of time.

Yahoo! News February 3, 2004


Dr. Mercola''s Comments
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Follow me on facebook

Nearly everyone knows and understands that smoking is not good for their health. No mystery here. Many of you also likely know that I believe eating sugar is worse for you than smoking. As with smoking, it is possible to be addicted to sugar.

To help smokers, or sugar addicts, successfully quit and maintain a healthy diet, my team and I found a wonderful tool that is at your disposal. Psychological acupressure techniques like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) are a great way to get on the road to better health.

EFT is a form of psychological acupressure, as I said above and is based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments for over 5,000 years, but without the invasiveness of needles. Instead, simple tapping with the fingertips is used to input kinetic energy onto specific meridians on the head and chest while you think about your specific problem--whether it is a traumatic event, an addiction, disease, pain, etc.--and voice positive affirmations.

This combination of tapping the energy meridians and voicing positive affirmation works to clear the "short-circuit"--the emotional block--from your body's bioenergy system, thus restoring your mind and body's balance, which is essential for optimal health, helping break bad habits and the healing of physical disease.

For more information on this subject, you can check out my free EFT manual for some guidelines on how to perform EFT. Beyond that you can try my EFT Series on DVD or VHS, which provides in-depth instruction on EFT.

Related Articles:

Cigarettes Cost U.S. Additional $7 Per Pack Sold in Medical and Other Costs

Finally, Proof for My Assertion That Sugar is More Dangerous Than Cigarettes

Cigarettes May Serve As an Antidepressant

Every Cigarette Takes 11 Minutes Off Man's Life

Heavy Exercise And Cigarettes Cause Skin Wrinkles

Zyban Anti-Smoking Drug Linked to Suicide

Look and Feel Younger by Avoiding the Top Contributors to Aging, Part I





Share this article
Previous Article
Next Article
Comment on This Article Community Comments (0)

 
Share this article
Previous Article
Next Article
 
 
© Copyright 2009 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.