Nothing says sexy like a long, brown Pall Mall cigarette hanging out of someone's mouth. Oh wait, my bad, I meant 
that nothing says "bad breath, bad teeth, and a shortened life expectancy" than that same scenario.
If I seem harsh about smoking, I'm sorry. Coming from a family of smokers - but not being one - I live in constant fear of my loved one's health and spend too much time questioning why they, and millions of people worldwide, would purposely do something so unhealthy. "It's a stress release" - yeah, I've heard that one before. "I only smoke when I drink" - yup, heard that one, too. "It's just too tough to quit" - aahh, a reason that at least has some merit. But, what all the smokers out there might not know is that there are actually certain foods that will help you quit (and no, this isn't the part where I try to get all cute and tell you that one of those foods is Cold Turkey).
Based on a study published in the journal (strangely enough) Nicotine & Tobacco Research, smokers claim that fruits, vegetables, juice, and dairy products combine the worst with the flavor of their cigarette. By contrast, caffeinated beverages and alcohol seem to be flavor enhancers.
At least that explains the whole "I only smoke when I drink" excuse.
1. Easiest way to stop smoking is to change your behavior pattern. If you smoked in bars, don't expect to go to bars and not smoke. Best is to take a vacation, a new routine, a gym, and perhaps even avoid smoker friends. For me, two weeks in CA on beaches, in the gym, made a good start. One week, two weeks, one month are the hell points... and if you give in, just do a few puffs, the put it out. Beating yourself up over a lapse, will only stress you out again.
Posted at 11:06PM on Aug 13th 2007 by t