Along with and more than physical dependence on nicotine what basically causes people to smoke (dip or chew) are a few not-their-fault ideas they have and don't realize they do when those "nicotine notions" are thought and hurt them by temporarily blocking strong enough and persistent motivation ... commonly called "willpower."

The portion of the human brain that helps make better decisions and avoids needless risks isn't sufficiently formed until we're in our mid 20's. It is another part of the brain and the ideas (nicotine notions and attitudes) associated with it that start and keep people puffing on butts (also dipping, chewing, patching) and make them relapse. That part is more "primitive" (far less directed by experience) and sometimes causes adults to act more like teenagers. That is the essential reason practically no one begins (takes the very first puff, dip, chew or patch) after the age of 25.

You are at the correct website when

• you are looking for unique not-to-get-money-motivated information about what causes people to use nicotine by whatever method.
• You want to know what can be done that's more likely to discourage children and teenagers from starting the "smoking habit."
• You intend to find what works to gain the sufficiently strong motivation that stubbornly persists (willpower) required to get free of nicotine smoking (dipping, chewing or patching) and stay away from it without nicotine addiction transfer: adding excess body weight from overeating or hurtful stress with another unhealthy substitute.

This clinical social worker respectfully submits that based on specialized clinical work with more than 17,000 adult smokers it is NOT

• nicotine withdrawal,
• habit,
• stress,
• weakness,
• not caring,
• heredity or biology,
• peer pressure,
• parental or media modeling,
• advertising,
• self destructiveness,
• not knowing the dangers or
• low self-esteem that are the significant causes of smoking cigarettes. They aren't the causes or influences to which we need to pay attention.

So what does cause someone to start and continue, besides physical dependence, to smoke tobacco? It is the no-fault (deserving zero blame or criticism) thinking of people who smoke. What makes them start smoking and continue are their ideas, attitudes, thoughts or notions that are entirely unknown when they automatically ring-out. They are nicotine notions or what I sometimes call "butt-attitudes" or "butt-atts."

If you smoke, please, please get off your butt-atts!

What is the solution? We need to uncover and effectively counter those hidden attitudes. Until we adequately (don't worry, it doesn't need to be complete) get rid of those damnable, hurtful "butt-atts," there is little hope for a solution that's safe.

It is reasonable to wonder, "If these 'nicotine notions' do the most to cause smoking, why don't more people smoke? Probably most folks have those attitudes; yet about 75 percent of adult Americans avoid puffing on butts." There are FOUR answers:

1. Some people grow up in homes where there are heavier "doses" of those "butt-attitudes."
2. Some of them, without meaning to, buy into those nicotine smoking-promoting thoughts more than other people do.
3. Folks with (or are likely to have) this considerable threat to healthy living have a higher sensitivity to the ongoing and common language that subtly but powerfully encourages those "butt-atts." See Step 2 of the "Simple-7 Steps" to getting and staying free of nicotine. It's free.
4. Nicotine addiction transfer and nicotine replacement: temporarily replacing 'smokes' with patches, etc.

Nicotine Notion or Butt-attitude # 1:

"Smoking only hurts me."

If you have lived with a smoker, probably you've heard her or him say or imply something like, "My smoking only hurts me." Perhaps the person saying it was you.

I heard it from many of the thousands of smokers I treated over nearly 40 years. Also while growing up, I heard that "smoking only hurts me" attitude more than once. I recall riding in the car with my dad when I was about 10 years old. He was, I now suspect, attempting to defend his smoking. He identified a drunk driver and said that it wasn't like he was drinking alcohol and driving. Doing that would injure other people. My dad told me, "Son, my smoking only hurts me and not anyone else."

I still remember thinking something like, "Daddy, but what about you? Don't you think you're important? You are very important to me!"

The 'smoking only hurts me' notion is an untruth people rarely know they tell themselves. It is like the other smoking and relapse-causing thoughts: Present, past and future smokers think them and would swear they don't.

There is zero truth to this 'smoking only hurts me' nicotine notion! You see, my dad needed to take an early retirement because of his poor health. He died not long after that ... I'm convinced because of his smoking. His smoking did hurt him, but others suffered too. I suffered and still do. His grandsons who barely got to know him were hurt not having him involved in their lives.

The answer and replacement for the unknown when thought and blocking the required motivation "only hurts me" butt-attitude:

Even if you don't think you have this and other butt-notions, it is so important to regularly remind yourself that "only hurting" yourself doesn't make sense as a reason/excuse to "suck" smoke. You deserve better than being hurt.

Tell yourself,

• "I stay away from ... I am free of the 'ciggy (cigarette)-puffing' that would hurt, more than me."
• "I am a winner instead of a sucker and deserve much better."
• "The people who or activities that depend on me, or will some day, also deserve far better."

Butt-attitude # 2:

"Smoking in moderation or just some like before is possible."

Growing up, some people and for sure big tobacco told us to "Do ALL things in moderation." "Eat, drink, maybe even smoke ... but in moderation." Later, smokers tell themselves, usually without realizing it, something like, "I should be able to smoke just some (in moderation) but not too much."

If you research the word "moderate" you will find it's another way people say "middle amounts" or something closer to average. In other words, to most of us moderation equals middle or closer to average. When folks told us to do whatever "in moderation," we more likely took that to mean we should do it in middle (whatever the heck that might be) or average amounts.

Can you think of many times in your life when you were encouraged to do something and do it only so-so ... do it close to the middle? Isn't it true that with most of what you do you at least attempt to do better than so-so ... to do your best?

Consider this: Maybe the only people who can comfortably "suck" smoke "in moderation" are those who are more comfortable with so-so or average performance.

Besides, if you are talking to a young child you care about and he or she says, "Can I please play in the highway, just some? I like to play in the road." Do you tell her or him to go ahead? Of course you don't. Any time spent "goofing off" in the middle of a busy highway is too much! The "smoking street" is very busy and dangerous.

Nicotine is the exceedingly toxic insecticide also used to kill animals. Even if there aren't other reasons and there are that's a legitimate one to avoid the patches, gum, lozenges, cigarettes, and other ways to deliver nicotine. Any poison, no matter the source, is too much.

The belief needed to replace this unknown when thought and hurtful "in moderation" attitude is contained in the following truthful statements:

• "I am more likely a winner rather than a quitter. So understandably I have trouble giving up or doing just so-so or average."
• "Since I intend to and will do better than so-so, little wonder just some or moderate smoke-puffing was and will be impossible ... entirely beyond me."
• "I deserve far better than so-so."
• "I and people I care about deserve far better than middle or average futures."
• "Any smoke-sucking is too much."
• "Any playing in a highway is always too much."
• "Sucking into my lungs (or eating) any insecticide, deadly nicotine, is always too much."
• "Liking to play there or not, no matter what, I refuse to play in the butt-puffing street."

Butt-attitude # 3:

"What's liked matters." It was important that someone liked (enjoyed, believed it helped, etc.) smoking.

No way that is true! The part of the human personality that controls liking to smoke was formed early in our lives. Simply call it the "teenager." Understand this, please. None of us can afford to have a young part of us controlling

• how clean we are,
• what we smell like,
• how old we look and feel,
• how we feel about ourselves,
• how long we live and
• the futures of all those who need or depend on us!

I have heard people say, "But doctor, I like to smoke. Sometimes I love to do it. And I always miss it when I'm not smoking."

I hope I always did it in a kindly way, but I usually asked, "Can we change the subject now and talk about something that actually matters? It didn't matter if you liked to smoke, loved it or missed it. Smoking hates your guts and has no way of doing otherwise. Nothing that liked you would make you dirty and smell awful, make you look old before your time, and place at great risk your health and the security of people or animals you care for."

The following contain the belief necessary to replace the "what's liked matters" false notion that kills:

• "I absolutely refuse to allow the likes and dislikes of even this wonderful but too young (not childish) part of my personality be in charge of my life this way!
• "I wouldn't let a youngster dress me. I won't let one control what I smell like and influence the futures of those people I love or need me."
• "With affection, I refuse to let the likes or dislikes of a teen-like part of me decide what my future will be."

Butt-attitude # 4:

"Stress or some uncomfortable emotion makes me smoke."

Although many folks honestly think so and the drug industry encourages believing it, stress does NOT make people smoke (dip, chew) or do more of it. If stress did, they wouldn't smoke almost as much when they are the opposite of worried, bothered or upset ... for example, out socializing with friends.

What really happened is that they unintentionally trained (conditioned) themselves to puff away more when psychological stress occurs. Uncomfortable emotions are only fuels for behaviors such as puffing on butts – never causes.

There is more:

• Smokers repeatedly tell (suggest to) themselves – and have for so long they no longer realize they do – "This (smoking) will help." It is like self-hypnosis.
• They distract themselves by fiddling with cigarettes, etc.
• Then they repeatedly put those "ciggy-pops" to their mouth to take deeper, slower breaths called "drags."

The hypnosis-like effect from subconscious suggesting, distraction and deep, slow breathing give much of the calming effect ... absolutely not the smoke.

The belief needed to answer and replace the hidden when it hurts "stress makes me ..." false nicotine notion is contained in the following statements:

• "I can and will decide how to relieve stress without risking my health and the futures of people who need me or will some day."
• "I can easily and repeatedly say ‘this will help,' distract myself and take consecutive deep, slow breaths to relieve stress or any possible upset and without sucking smoke."

Butt-attitude # 5:

"But I'll get fat after I stop."

Good news: The free stop-smoking program introduced near the end of this Web page gives a straightforward way to avoid adding excess body fat. It is something you've never seen or heard before ... at least not originating from another source.

When unable to get their drug, heroin addicts can substitute with candy. Nicotine users do something similar. They stop smoking, feel deprived, have cravings and overeat, gain weight, understandably get discouraged, mistakenly blame their metabolisms and return to smoking. They keep the unhealthy fat or much of it. Later, when they cut back or try to quit again, they put on additional unwanted pounds. Unsuccessful efforts to stop or reduce smoking, or successfully staying quit, promotes becoming overweight or heavier than before. It is the accumulation of excess pounds that does the damage. Even if the average amount of weight gained after stopping is less than 10 pounds, smokers stop several times before success.

One in five ex-smokers has occasional nicotine cravings for several years. People don't expect to have prolonged cravings. Consequently, they confuse those with hunger for food. Also in ‘stressful' situations where they smoked nicotine for its illusion of a calming effect, people compensate by eating "comfort" foods or drinking alcohol. Feeling deprived, they "reward" themselves by eating or drinking alcohol.

The belief needed to answer and replace the unknown when thought and blocking willpower "but I'll get fat after I stop" nicotine notion is contained in the following statements:

• "I have, if needed, a part (whole clove with gum) of my Simple-7 Program that healthfully deals with false hunger and excess eating."
• "Craving for the drug, nicotine, isn't real hunger for ‘body fuels' (food and drink)."
• "I easily avoid substituting the drug, alcohol, for the drug, nicotine."
• "Real deprivation or loss would be going without the health required to care for someone (or a pet) I love now or will some day."
• "Real deprivation (going without) would be going without looking healthy and feeling better."
• "Real deprivation would be keeping the guilt and bad feeling about myself ... from puffing on butts."

"Stopping smoking makes me jittery, irritable, maybe sad or keeps me awake."

Not that many recently-free ex-smokers experience any of those conditions. That strongly suggests something other than a "natural" reaction to getting rid of nicotine is happening. What could that be?

Perhaps you've noticed that smokers tend to combine smoking with consuming caffeinated drinks – usually coffee or soda. Nicotine may take the edge off caffeine or people who are recently rid of nicotine temporarily compensate (without realizing it) for the absence of nicotine stimulation. It is the increased potency or consumption of caffeine, once free of nicotine, that makes some people temporarily jittery, irritable or sad. (Why sometimes sad? With some folks who weren't already sad or depressed – their irritability comes out as brief sadness.) Reducing by at least one-half the amount of caffeine used will give plenty of relief. Reducing the daily amount of caffeine consumed doesn't need to last more than the first couple of weeks.

The belief needed to answer and replace the hidden when harmful "stopping smoking makes me jittery ..." butt-attitude can be said this way:

• "Temporarily reducing caffeine ensures staying calmer and more comfortable."

"Smoking is a habit or bad habit I must quit." This untruth tells us – even when we doubt it does – that smoking isn't all that dangerous ... not any more than many things that are done daily or often.

"Habit" is a cover-up and key element of health risk denial. Saying or thinking the word makes light of what's being thought or talked about. But using that word – even when smoking is said to be a "bad habit" – profoundly interferes with closely-enough realizing that smoking (dipping, chewing or patching) is done in part because of addiction to the drug, nicotine. Most everyone understands that addiction is dangerous.

Most of the thousands of smokers I saw said "habit" once to several times within the first few minutes of talking to them. And they said it without realizing they did. Those soon-to-be ex-smokers would have sworn they hadn't used the word when talking to me.

The reason they said "habit" without realizing it was because – this is important – it pointed to an unknown nicotine notion: "smoking is a habit (or bad habit) I must quit."

Smoking isn't a habit, bad or otherwise! What people understandably confuse with and call "habit" is "conditioning" like what Ivan Pavlov did when he rang a bell each time he fed his dogs. Actual habits and unintentional self-training (conditioning) that does harm are different. Folks typically create true habits on purpose and to help ... as in when saying, "I'll make it a habit." Or, "It takes 21 days of doing something regularly and purposefully to make it a habit."

Soon-to-be and truly successful ex-smokers counter, undo, cancel-out that killer "smoking is a habit (or bad habit) I must quit" butt-attitude by purposefully and regularly changing the words they think and say aloud. Rather than calling smoking a habit or bad habit, they call it what it is: an addiction. They think about it in ways that clearly say smoking is dangerous and unpleasant.

Making smoking (dipping, chewing, or patching) more clearly unpleasant is the reason I urge thinking of cigarettes as "ButtSuckers" or "smelly butts." Also think of smoking as "puffing on butts" or "ButtPuffing." Ex-smokers need to Identify themselves as NOT being "ButtPuffers."

"Quitting" something (even smoking) subtly suggests (at a deeper level or unawareness) that whatever it is being "quit" not only isn't dangerous it might be valuable. Is work valuable? What about school? Those are commonly "quit." And they are good for us.

I urge folks who are serious about saving lives and futures by ridding themselves of nicotine to "avoid quitting smoking." "Get FREE of it," I strongly encourage. "People might quit what's supposed to be good for them and adults get and remain FREE of what hurts them!"

The belief needed to answer and replace the unknown when thought and blocking willpower "smoking is a habit (or bad habit) I must quit" false notion is contained in the following:

• "I am free of the insecticide, nicotine, that also threatened everyone I care for or will love."
• "I am in recovery from addiction when free of ‘ButtSuckers' and any bad replacement for ‘ButtPuffing.'"
• "Addiction is deadly and something other than a habit or bad habit."
• "I am an adult and stay free of the ‘puffing on butts' that hated me: made me look foolish or made me stink."
• "I am more likely a winner. Little wonder I had trouble quitting or considering it."

"I'll show you by not quitting." Continuing to smoke to defy or resist the considerable and commonly disrespectful pressure to stop.

What has been termed the "big push" to get Americans to stop smoking began 40 years ago. Politically powerful health and public policy institutions and organizations didn't approach chronic smoking as a drug addiction. People addicted to nicotine were pressured much more than helped to get and stay free of the drug. The push to make smokers quit was perceived as disrespectful and fostered anger and resentment. Pushing also fostered addiction substitution (transfer) more than promoting improved lifestyle health.

The expected reaction of anyone who is pushed is to resist. Smokers say through their continuing to puff on butts, "I'll show you by not quitting."

So little real progress has been made toward improving lifestyle health through taxation and other means to pressure smokers it's reasonable to question if there is genuine intent to help. Smokers are mistaken when they think some authoritative group or some individual who acts like an expert pressures them to stop "for their own good." Pushing is more likely done to try and control people or for profit.

The belief needed to answer and replace the unknown when thought and blocking willpower "I'll show you by not quitting" nicotine notion is contained in the following statements:

• "By staying free of nicotine without harmful substituting I avoid the resisting that hurts me and those who depend on me."
• "Rid of the dope, nicotine, I do what's in my better interest even if it might (probably won't) please some person or group that pushed me."
• "People and groups who truly care and deserve my attention consistently treat me with respect. Now I give myself the caring and respect I truly deserve."
• "A terrific teen-like, inexperienced part of me might try defying authority that isn't worthy of the effort. Instead, I protect my health and happiness – free of the most deadly dope, nicotine."

"What I don't know can't hurt me."

“I can quit (stop, give up) smoking (dipping or chewing) tobacco and permanently any time I want. I just don’t want to.” Something like that is more likely said by a younger chronic or binge smoker. It is an unknown-to-be-untrue statement. The underlying message is that he or she already knows enough to get rid of smoking and successfully . . . when he truly doesn’t. Put another way, if someone doesn't think 'butt-attitudes' are real, then they aren't or don't matter.

If you doubt that one or more of the 'nicotine notions' reviewed are there in your thoughts, I can easily understand. But they are there in a subconscious stream of your thinking. Consequently, they regularly and often "sound off" without you realizing it. Doing that they influence you far more than you know.

More than anything else you can imagine, that thinking (butt-attitudes) creates and maintains your willingness to smoke. I am convinced that you will either deal with them (enough, not entirely) or there will be no healthy solution that lasts.

Answer to "what I don't know can't hurt me" nicotine notion:

If you use nicotine and when its agreeable with your physician, testing out what I'm telling is simple enough. What you do is daily review and do what's recommended below for 3 or 4 days. When you find doing that useful and still okay with your physician, switch to using the more detailed version named "Simple-7." It includes some audio.