Here it is folks.
Laid out real simple for smokers.
Read it twice, if necessary.
The biggest problem with quit products and services is the ridiculous belief that quitting should somehow be easy with their use.
It won’t.
I hear it all the time:
“(Product/service) didn’t work.”
When I question a smoker what they mean by, “It didn’t work,” it’s always the same.
“I still wanted to smoke.”
I think to myself, “Did you really think that chewing a piece of gum would eliminate the thought of ever smoking again?”
(Of course I don’t say this to a discouraged smoker).
I just want readers to REALLY think about what is happening ALL THE TIME with smokers.
It’s not that a given product or service “didn’t work.”
It’s that a product or service ALONE didn’t work.
Or that it didn’t work…YET.
Generally speaking, the products (especially the proven products like medications) do exactly what they claim to do.
It’s impossible for them not to, actually.
You can’t stop Chantix or Wellbutrin from exerting their pharmacological effects, once ingested.
You can’t prevent your body from absorbing nicotine from the patch (once affixed) or the gum (once chewed).
They all do what they are designed to do.
But the burden of becoming a nonsmoker isn’t on the product or service.
It’s on the smoker.
And there are a lot of wild cards with how quitting will play out.
What are the motivations for quitting?
What has been done to prepare for quitting?
Which products or services best fit the smoker’s needs?
How many previous quit attempts have been made?
What relapse prevention techniques have been identified?
What plans are in place to manage a threat or a relapse?
It’s simply not fair to put the entire responsibility for quitting on these products or services and then dismiss them as ineffective.
It’s not fair to try and shortcut recovery and use quit products as a scapegoat..
Every quit product or service out there (traditional, alternative, proven or otherwise) will work a LOT harder for smokers once the entire burden of quitting is taken off them. (See Feeling “Ready” To Quit)
And the success rates for these products would skyrocket if smokers had to prove they were “ready” to quit before using them.
But that will never happen. It won’t sell products.
Every player in the game (Quit Industry) knows that smokers will jump from one product or service to another, on average, 6-8 times.
Statistically, every brand will get a smoker’s money somewhere along the way.
Advising smokers to thoughtfully prepare for smoking before purchasing their product just isn’t good for their sales.
So smokers continue to be misled by how much a given product or service can help.
Success rates with quitting prove it.
And smokers continue to suffer, as a result.
If smokers want to use a product or service to aid with quitting-Great! Good idea! I highly advise it.
But if they believe the secret to quitting is hiding in a quit product or service, they will continue to be disappointed with quit products and services.
