What’s In A Marlboro Cigarette
A Marlboro cigarette is made up of many mystery “artificial flavors” but there are many known ingredients as well. Of course we know we’re smoking tobacco, but what else are we inhaling? The following is an ingredient list as well as some info on just what these ingredients are.
Let’s not be confused, just because an ingredient is safe to be eaten, doesn’t mean that it should be inhaled in smoke form, but here’s a list of the safer side on a Marlboro’s contents:
Water, sugar, licorice extract, cocoa, and carob bean
Philip Morris wants you to see these tasty treats on their list in hopes that you will be not only surprised but find a sense of relief as well. Are these contents crucial to the flavor and smoothness of that Marlboro cigarette? I don’t know about you, but I’ve never lit up and inhaled with the wonderful sweet taste of cupcakes in my mouth. Let’s take a look at what just might be drowning out the taste of the cocoa products.
Diammonium Phosphate: Other uses – fertilizer, fire retardant, precipitation control in dyed wools, flux for soldering tin. Diammonium phosphate is added to a cigarette as a “nicotine enhancer”. Mmmm…sounds tasty!
Propylene Glycol – A toxin that is a form of mineral oil. A controversial ingredient supposedly safe is small doses. propylene glycol is a clear liquid used in antifreeze and de-icing solutions.
Glycerol – Used to improve moisture holding characteristics of tobacco.
Ammonium Hydroxide – A solution of ammonia in water. Used in household cleaning agents and furniture stain. Ammonia is used to speed up the delivery of nicotine. It freebases the nicotine in the same way as crack cocaine.
A Smoker’s Diary
Dear diary… No, a smoker’s diary doesn’t start like that, unless you want to. A smoker’s diary is different. A smoker’s diary is a tool many people use to keep track of the reasons they want to quit, the times they usually smoke, the triggers that make them want to smoke, tricks they have learned to avoid wanting to smoke, and anything specifically related to quitting smoking. It is a short term diary that is a tool for quitting smoking. It is usually kept on you at all times. Keeping one will help you pin point the things that you need to be aware of, and assess how you are doing.
The most important part of your smoker’s diary, should you choose to keep one, is the reasons you wanted to quit. This usually is something you do before quitting. It could be a family member, your health, a terrible experience you had with smoking, or anything that is the impetus. Write down the exact reason you want to quit smoking and keep it with you to remind yourself why when quitting seems tough. This will be the first entry in your smoker’s diary.
Your next entry, also written prior to quitting typically, is going to be a list of the typical times of day you smoke, and a list of the things that usually trigger you to smoke. Take the diary around with you for a few days and keep a time line of when you smoke. Most people list things like ’7:15 with coffee,’ or ‘after a stressful meeting,’ or ‘when I’m reminded of’… something sad. Write them all down, how it makes you feel, and what you are thinking about when you feel that way. It is important to be aware of these when you actually stop smoking because they will sneak up on you, and if you are aware you can be mentally prepared to deal with each.
Now you are ready to quit. Your diary entries will change. Each day try to make an entry in your diary. Write down what you are feeling and how you are dealing with everything. Keep track of all the tricks and tools you are using. It could include things like a nice walking route, products like NRT or Quit Tea, exercise, breathing techniques, and more. Also important are any phone numbers to call for when times get difficult. Get a support buddy that will talk you out of having a cigarette at any hour of the day or night. Also, most states have a 24 hour support line for people quitting smoking. And everyone I have talked to that uses them says they are very friendly and helpful.
A smokers diary is very focus on one topic, but you can write whatever you want in the smokers diary. Maybe your notes and thoughts will be the beginnings of a novel! If you can be positive that is great. Write about how much better you feel each day and how thankful you are for each breath of fresh air. Remember that your lungs are regenerating and clearing themselves out with each breath. Do this right and one day that diary will be a treasured piece of history.
Matthew Bucklin is the creator of the popular herbal stop smoking aid Quit Tea and President of Quit Tea LLC. As an expert in smoking cessation and health, he has helped hundreds of people finally quit smoking and return to health. Bucklin worked as a health care analyst at a hedge fund in New York for years, learning about pharmaceuticals and seeing the need for healthy and effective alternatives. He believes that drugs are the last option and that good health comes from a lifestyle change and sometimes a little help from natural remedies.
How To Quit Smoking Without Going Crazy!
Look in the mirror and ask yourself whether you really want to stop smoking. It’s a well known fact that most individuals who smoke will answer “YES” if you ask them if they would like to break the smoking habit course sum of those people will devise a way of achieving their target.
Some people will grab the bull by the horns and answer with “heck I am just going cold turkey and give up smoking right now!”, these individuals will usually be able to stay away from cigarettes for one or two days (sometimes only one or two hours!) before they fall victim to the powerful craving that nicotine addiction produces.
It may even be an option to try one of those adverts you see everywhere for those 1 day hypnosis treatments? These seem to be advertised all over the place so it would seem they either work very well or the hypnotists are making a fortune out of it!
I personally started smoking whilst i was still at school, simply because most of my friends did it and found I was instantly “hooked”. over the intervening years I have managed to kick the habit a couple of times but only for short periods of time and very soon I as back and smoking a pack or more of cigarettes every day.
You recognise when you are whats termed as a full time smoker when the 1st thing you think of when you wake up is lighting up a cigarette and the last thing you do before going to bed is putting a cigarette out! Once you reach this level of nicotine addiction you start to experience levels of near panic at the very idea of being without a cigarette which means that even though you acknowledge your need to quit smoking you find yourself continually putting off the act for another day!
Almost any smoker your ask will quite happily recount a list of reasons why he should not be smoking such as loss of energy, a car that smells like an ashtray, a smelly home, smelly clothes and so on. Yet even though they know all the reason they still lack the magic ingredient which provides the willpower and incentive to actually pack up smoking.
A year or so ago a colleague email me to recommend a book called The Easy way to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr and even though i was a bit sceptical I decided to order it after reading all the positive reviews the book had received. A few days later the book arrived and after a brief skim through the contents the book ended up on my bookshelf gathering dust.
After ignoring the book for some time I finally picked it up and started seriously reading it from the start. I read through a couple of chapters each evening and even continued to smoke as i read (strangely this is actually advised in Allen Carr’s book). I followed the method and routine outlined in the book for the next few weeks and was quite frankly amazed when I realised I had actually stopped smoking!
I don’t really know why this book works as well as it does but it is really very effective and I’m thrilled to be able to say that I have never touched a single cigarette since (and it’s been over 18 months now!). In fact I can say that I have never even been remotely tempted to smoke since, in fact not only have I never touched a cigarette since but i actually have the smell of tobacco smoke now and avoid it at all costs.