By JASON BLACKSHAW(photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
Smoking is one of the banes of society. In the Western world, it has existed for more than 500 years. It was first introduced by Christopher Columbus when he discovered the New World in 1492. In the Americas, smoking has probably existed for thousands of years, as the tobacco plant is native to the Americas.According to statistics, about one billion people out of the seven billion people on the planet smoke. It has been proven that smoking can cause a number of illnesses such as lung disease, heart disease and various forms of cancer.It is estimated that more people have died from smoking since the start of the 20th century than those who died as a result of both world wars.Considered the , smoking causes at least six million deaths a year.The health hazardsThe smoking of tobacco in all its forms has been practiced for a long time, but the widespread use of cigarettes began at the beginning of the 20th century.The majority of smokers would like to quit smoking, but they find it very difficult to do so because they are addicted. They want to stop because they understand that inhaling smoke into their lungs cannot be good for their health. But while it is easy to get hooked, it is very difficult for an addict to kick the habit.While smoking is very harmful to one’s health, it is even more dangerous amid the current coronavirus crisis that is raging worldwide. Smoking affects the lungs and the respiratory system. The coronavirus has a very negative effect on the respiratory system. Thus smokers who contract the virus have more difficulty recovering from the disease than non-smokers.Money to burn Being addicted to smoking also has a negative effect on one’s finances. It is a very expensive habit. On a monthly basis, an average smoker spends about NIS 1,000 ($250) on cigarettes. That works out to some NIS 500,000 ($125,000) during one’s lifetime. If both partners in a marriage are smokers, it adds up to one million shekels, or $250,000.Smoking also makes other spheres more expensive. For example, life insurance policies cost at least 30% more for smokers than for non-smokers.Addictive additivesSo why do people smoke? Or, more to the point, why do they become addicted to tobacco?Ehud Abrahamson, the founder and proprietor of the Abrahamson Institute, a facility where practitioners help smokers stop smoking, says, “People become addicted to tobacco because it contains nicotine, which is toxic and highly addictive. But that is only part of the smoking problem. Cigarettes are manufactured products. While raw tobacco is the main ingredient in cigarettes, it is blended with chemicals, many of which are toxic. In addition, the addictive elements are increased to such an extent that a person can become addicted after smoking his or her first or second cigarette.”The harmful effects of smoking are common knowledge. However, despite legal restraints, cigarette companies do everything in their power to promote smoking.Like any successful commercial enterprise, the cigarette companies want to ensure that they have a solid client base. And what could be more solid than an addicted client base? Since the beginning of the 20th century, cigarette companies have been manufacturing a product that has created a state of dependency for the consumer that is not only physiological but also psychological.Kicking the habit So how can one overcome an addiction that is detrimental to one's health?According to experts the best way is a method or treatment which is holistic in its ability to reduce both the urge to smoke which means the addiction to nicotine and the desire to smoke.The Abrahamson Method comes under these categories since it is completely natural and based on the understanding that body, soul, and consciousness are a single unit.The start of the treatment begins by a communal workshop where the smokers rid themselves of their phobias and anxieties their preconceived views and their emotional attachments.The second phase is personified adapted to each individual and includes elements of Chinese medicine such as pressure points from the world of acupuncture, shiatsu as well as bioenergy and western alternative medicine techniques. It does not include the use of chemicals or harmful substances.The result balances the bodies energetic abilities it cleans the body and nullifies existing bodily trends and addictions including chemical addictions thereby allowing the weaning process to proceed smoothly with none of the side effects usually associated with such processes.At its end, the cleansed body is completely indifferent to nicotine. This treatment has been successful for 36 years and has a 90% success rate in this Israel.BOX The national perspectiveSmoking is harmful to a person’s health and pocket. It is also very costly to the national exchequer. According to a study by the Israeli Ministry of Health, smoking causes some 8,000 mortalities a year in Israel. Treating health problems due to smoking costs the state more than NIS 13 billion ($3.3 billion). Thus it stands to reason that the government and the health funds want to eliminate smoking.In 2010, the government agreed to subsidize anti-smoking treatments and anti-smoking drugs by including them in the basket of health services, which includes the list of drugs and treatments that are part of the national health insurance plan.According to figures published by the Health Ministry, during 2015 more than 20,000 smokers received treatment within the framework of the basket of medical services. In 2020, the numbers are expected to rise to well over 30,000. The treatment applied is mostly based on drugs, but it does not seem to be very effective. According to estimates, 70% of the smokers that were treated have had a relapse.in association with Abrahamson institute.
