Georgia Smokers to Shell Out an Extra 62 Cents Per Pack Starting Today

It's no April Fool's joke.

Starting today, Georgia smokers will have to pay an extra 62 cents per pack of cigarettes. That works out to an extra $6.20 per carton, or more than $200/year for the average smoker.

This is thanks to a new federal tax, which you can learn more about here: http://is.gd/q7EQ

So... it may be just the right time to think about quitting after all, huh?

Promoting Chantix is a High-Paying Gig

This is from today's article at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.



It really should set off warning sirens when you see a pharmaceutical company like Pfizer paying $1000/day to psychiatrists to talk about Chantix. If the drug is so wonderful and safe, shouldn't an honest psychiatrist be willing to speak about it for free? Of course, his time is valuable... but if he genuinely cares about people and believes in this drug, why would it cost Pfizer so much to get him to speak?



As a comparison, I gave a talk about the benefits of using hypnosis for smoking cessation last Sunday, and guess how much I was paid? Well, since it was a completely free event, I was paid nothing. Of course, I'm not completely innocent... I did make a bit of money selling hypnosis CD's afterwards. However, I also provided hypnosis services during the presentation, and I know for a fact that some people in attendance haven't had a puff all week.

So here's the story... just another example of a big drug company paying a reputable psychiatrist to push its latest wonder drug. It's really only notable because of the fact that since he gave the speeches, Chantix has emerged as the most dangerous new pharmaceutical drug on the market.

Just see this direct quote from the article:

"Chantix has been associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, blackouts and serious injuries."

Eric Heiligenstein, the University of Wisconsin-Madison psychiatrist who received large sums of cash to speak about the benefits of this dangerous drug, says he "doesn't have second thoughts" because... get this... another stop smoking drug also has serious risks.

Uh, Your Honor? I object.

Mr. Heiligenstein seems to be saying that it's okay to promote a drug that causes people to kill themselves because other drugs on the market also cause harm. I suppose that means it's always okay to promote any drug, even if it causes people to immediately jump off of tall buildings, simply due to the fact that other dangerous drugs have also been approved by the FDA.

Remember, these are the people who are telling you that pharmaceutical drugs are safe. Keep that in mind when making a choice regarding your mental and physical well-being.

Keep in mind that no hypnotist or hypnotherapist is getting paid $1000/day to speak out about the benefits of hypnosis. Yes, we might make a decent living by helping people to stop smoking and lose weight, but there is no multi-billion-dollar establishment paying us to push our wares.

Click here for the full article from the Journal-Sentinel.

Ex-Smoker: How I Quit with Hypnosis

Here's an interview I did with a client of mine who successfully quit smoking with the help of my Quit Smoking hypnosis CD. Listen in as he details how he went cold turkey during the first 24 hours, only to find himself so agitated that he thought about doing some pretty nasty things. Then he started using the CD, and has been smoke-free... and much calmer... ever since.

Study: People continue smoking in bad economy

There's a brief little article from the Associated Press about smoking today.



Looks like some smokers out there are subscribing to the belief that smoking actually relieves stress... when in actuality, at best - smoking temporarily distracts you from the stress you're experiencing. Once the cigarette is put out, the problems (economic and otherwise) remain and you're right where you were before... only less healthy and wealthy.



The truth is that those of you who quit smoking will not only have more cash in your pockets, you'll also be less stressed out. You see, once you no longer have to worry about cigarettes and the effect smoking has on your health, you achieve peace of mind.

Also, if you choose to use hypnosis to quit, you'll learn how to relax yourself and eliminate stress in an easy and practical way. You just won't allow things to bother you as much.

Oh, and you'll save about $2,000 every single year you remain a non-smoker.

Here's the article from the AP:

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OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Financial stress doesn't push people away from smoking. A study shows people are more likely to smoke than quit during an economic downturn.

A survey from the American Legacy Foundation found that 77 percent of current smokers are stressed by the national economy. This stress is causing some people to delay their attempt to quit smoking, and some are smoking more cigarettes than before.

Washington Secretary of Health Mary Selecky says the expense of smoking is a good reason to quit during bad economic times. The state's free tobacco quit line offers free coaching and a supply of nicotine patches or gum.

Since the average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $5.38, Selecky says pack-a-day smokers could save nearly $2,000 by quitting.

Quit Smoking, Save a Grand?

Keep in mind that the numbers in the story below are conservative... meaning that they are based on an average for all smokers in a given state. For example, they point out that in Delaware, where residents smoke more than in any other state, the average smoker spends nearly $1000/year on cigarettes.



That number is based on an average of 185 packs in a year. Therefore, if you smoke one pack per day, you're spending roughly twice that amount per year (for those of you without calculators, that's about $2000/year).

For more info on the true cost of smoking, see the results of this study by Duke University that put the cost closer to $40/pack. I commented on this story myself just a short while ago as well.

Here's the story from Forbes.com:

What You'll Save By Quitting Smoking
Francesca Levy, 11.12.08, 04:00 PM EST
A state-by-state look at the dollars kept by kicking the habit.

Most smokers already know that they can help preserve their health, hygiene and personal relationships by kicking the habit, and that holds true across the country. But in strictly financial terms, smokers in Delaware stand to save the most cash by quitting.

That's because in Delaware, where a pack of cigarettes costs about $5.39, residents smoke more than in any other state--just over 185 packs per year. That comes out to $998.23 spent individually on smoking every year.

Click here for the full story at Forbes.com.

In This Economy, Can You Afford to Keep Smoking?

When simply filling up the gas tank and heating your home is busting people's bank accounts, to realize that you could be wasting up to $1200 a month of your hard-earned money on a habit that might one day kill you... yeah, that's rough.

Duke University (right on "Tobacco Road") did a study a few years back that found the real cost of cigarettes is about $40/pack.

Here's an excerpt from the article available at the link:

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2004/11/costofsmoking_1104.html

In their new book "The Price of Smoking," Duke University health economists calculated this sum by analyzing all the costs of smoking -- personally, to the smoker’s family and to society at large.

Their analysis found that the cost for a 24-year-old smoker over 60 years was $220,000 for a man and $106,000 for a woman, or a total of about $204 billion nationally over 60 years. The figures include expenses for cigarettes and excise taxes, for life and property insurance, medical care for the smoker and for the smoker’s family, and lost earnings due to disability.