VERNON Velasco, 28, a lifestyle reporter for a national newspaper, admits that he copes with life’s stresses with a stick of cigarette every time. Knowing full well the pressures of newspaper life, he has turned to smoking for that sigh of relief whenever his job would get the best of him.
He first got a taste of nicotine after finishing school. Just like all starters, he did not see any reason to be addicted to it.
“Smoking was fundamentally unpleasant until I tried it for the second time. I was fresh out of college,” he told republicasia.
However, the “unpleasantness” of cigarettes proved to be a traitor as he got hooked deeper and deeper, until his consumption increased from one to “10 sticks on average. Twenty, tops, when drinking.”
Noticing his addiction, Velasco said he tried to curb his unhealthy habit before he slips further.
But until this day, his efforts proved futile and he still smokes like a chimney.
Cherry Balagtas, 35, also a news reporter, also has the same problem.
But she started way before she stepped into adulthood.
“My first puff of a cigarette was in Grade 4 when my mommy made me buy it at the store, so I lit it there, thinking my mom doesn’t have a lighter. But when I got home, and she saw me puffing the stick to keep it lit, she hit my mouth with a lighter,” she told republicasia.
Having started young, Balagtas’ dependence on cigarettes led her to finish one to two packs, sometimes even three, per day if stress sets in.
She also made efforts to save her lungs by trying vapes, but still ended up craving for the real thing.
Despite her consumption, she still longs to rid her bad habit and live a healthier lifestyle one day.
“I don’t want to die right away., I still have kids to support …the day will come when I will finally stop,” she said.
Dr. Beverly Ongson, a registered psychologist and certified hypnotherapist from Dear Future Self Consulting PH, explained that from the perspective of psychology, addiction to smoking is categorized under substance use disorder.
It is a mental disorder that affects a person’s brain and behavior which could lead to their inability to control or curb substance use, like illegal drugs, alcohol, medication, and smoking.
Dependence vs addiction
Unknown to many, there is a difference between substance dependence and addiction.
Both manifest physical dependence on a substance and withdrawal symptoms, or the unusual sensation as a result of stopping the use of a substance.
However, in addiction, there is an onset of psychological dependence where the mind thinks it has to consume a substance first, in this case a cigarette, to relieve oneself of something or simply to support one’s daily function.
Also, it is already considered an addiction when a person can’t resist using cigarettes despite being aware of its biological harm, or the substance use itself has already affected one’s relationships with people and yet the person is not willing to stop.
Dependence can be a precursor to addition.
“In dependence, you’re in an early stage of addiction and we can see it that way, kasi same sila ng symptoms. Ang pinagkaiba lang is yung tatlong symptoms na wala sa dependence pero meron sa addiction,” Ongson said.
“So it can go beyond addiction or you can lessen or stop the symptoms from dependence,” she added.
How to beat cigarette addiction
Once a person is addicted, it is not easy to stop.
Ongson said efforts to defeat addiction often fail because of “stressors” as well as the patients’ unhealthy responses to it.
Usually, patients’ give into their bodies’ cravings or experience inability to resist temptation, she said.
Whether dealing with dependence or addiction, interventions can be done through individual and group therapy sessions, she said.
Usually, the first thing to do is to solve one’s biological dependence, she said.
“Yung iba, it’s something that they’re already fixated [with], like ‘yung iba gusto niya meron silang nasa bibig nila. So if may ganon, I can permit you to eat lollipop. We can start with that,” she said.
Another thing that could be done is to address the factors that lead to the craving for the substance, she said.
“Pwede rin naman kasing them learning ways on how to cope with stressors or kung ano yung mga nag-cau-cause non, how they could solve them, or hanapan natin ng paraan on they they could cope with those,” she said.
Professional is also available, said Ongson.
“We have addiction programs. ‘Yung iba may mga mentor kasi they’re having a difficult time getting out of it,” she said.
She noted that while stopping smoking or any vice could be done by the individual, it is not going to be easy. Stopping, initially, could affect the patient and their relationships with people, just like addiction does, she said.
“It is highly recommended kasi na when it comes to these things. we consult professionally kasi mahihirapan sila on their own. Kung magpatulong naman sila sa mga kaibigan din nila, usually ang case is nakakalaban nila yung kaibigan nila. It needs someone in authority who can help them when it comes to this one,” she said.
Experts will look into the severity of the case before deciding what kind of treatment a patient must be given, she explained.
According to her, dependence is easier to address because the individual has more power to stop the habit and doesn’t have the psychological dependence on it. But once addiction is present, it would not be so easy to stop, she said.
“When it comes to curbing or intervention, mas maraming and symptoms sa addiction, mas marami kang gagawin about it,” she said.
