WHEN a child is born, he starts learning how to sit. From sitting, he learns to creep, then tries to stand and when he has mastered that, begins to practice the act of walking. In no time, his new fancies are jumping and running. There comes a time when he cannot just imagine himself creeping anymore.
Whatever it is we are doing today had an origin. Reading, dancing, the type of food we eat, the clothes we wear and all such habits were not born with us. Obviously, they all started one way or the other. The bible enjoins that every action (sin) started from thought (lust) James 1:17. A baby started drinking water from the cradle by being fed by his mother. Thereafter, he learns how to start taking it himself, from one cup full to two and so on. Before you realize it, he can no longer do without it.
The nature-nurture controversy on the personality make-up of man posits that man’s personality encompasses 30% nature and 70% nurture. That is to say that majority of the things a man find himself doing are as a result of what he exposes himself to. Two extreme conditions can occur, where he either gives too much outlet to his libido (drive) or fails to control it at all. He will either be said to be id-controlled or super-ego-controlled. A balanced personality is controlled by the ego. In some cases it results in either neurosis or psychopathic tendencies.
No one is born to be a chain smoker. Smokers become addicted to smoking by practice. They start by first conceiving it in their hearts. From conception, it metamorphoses into practice, starting with just a stick a day to a packet in an hour. Addiction sets in. There is a cliché that goes thus: ‘guide your thoughts because they form your actions; your actions habit; your habit, character; your character, personality’. This is very true because it is
What started as a thought that would eventually lead to addiction if allowed to grow.
Sigmund Freud postulated in his personality theory that habitual smoking results from a defect in the nurture stage of the child (i.e. the oral frustration) which eventually results in fixation. He is right only in the sense that smoking is a nurture and not a nature problem. If smoking is a nurture problem, then it can be corrected, though not quite as easily as it became a habit. So are many other addictions.
In correcting addictions, the most important factor is the will. To overcome what has become an addiction, the victim needs to exercise strong self discipline and will to do so. Conquering cigarette addiction can become hopeless if after 3 months of abstinence, the victim goes back to take just a single stick. A professional therapist can be most helpful as for every addiction; there are well researched methods of overcoming them.
Another helpful tactics is changing the company of people you move with. An addict undergoing rehabilitation is going to have a high mountain to climb if he continues in the company of people who smoke like chimneys. The place of God cannot be overemphasized. God enjoins us to come boldly before him to ask for help in times of need. Another practical solution to habitual smoking is this: it has been scientifically proven that banana has the potentials of helping those who are chain smokers. A finger of banana has a cooling effect on the urge for nicotine and cocaine properties. A finger is therefore desirable daily for those just coming out of cigarette smoking addiction.