Quitting "cold turkey" works for some but, if this new idea being presented by the FDA goes through, all smokers may pretty much wind up doing just that.

Quitting smoking is tough, I know, I tried a number of times before I finally did it. I'll tell you how I did it but only if you promise to find another way. Deal?  Ok. I had a near fatal motorcycle accident and was physically unable to smoke for months. I repeat, please find another method. There are plenty to choose from.

Smokers vary when it comes to their need for nicotine. Some are very light smokers, some in the medium zone and some are hardcore. A friends of mine who works at a convenience store in the Montwood and Zaragosa area of El Paso told me he has a few regular customers who buy 3 or more packs daily.

The FDA may be about to help peeps quit but some are worried that Uncle Sam's method is too extreme. An article at yahoo.com says that the Feds plan to cut nicotine levels in products by 95%.

Such scenarios inched closer to the realm of possibility in June, when the Food and Drug Administration said that it would move toward slashing nicotine levels in cigarettes in an effort to reduce the health effects of an addiction that claims 480,000 lives a year.  The agency set next May as its timetable for introducing a fully developed proposal. - yahoo.com

The article also mentions fears of this plan conjuring up a new "black market" for smokers to get their fix. That could lead to even deadlier nicotine levels and products as well as other byproducts of illegal activity such as violence and robbery.

I agree that smoking is dangerous and I know first hand that quitting isn't easy. If they stick with this plan though, which could take years to implement, some smokers ... especially those "hardcore" ones ... are going to have a very hard time with it.

Now might be a good time for smokers to start cutting back slowly ... before a harsher measure becomes necessary.

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