You think smoking is expensive now? You ain't seen nothing yet. Later this year, the cost is going up again, by another 12.5%!
According to stories in the news (here, for example), the average cost of a pack of 25 is going up in September to become close to $50. FIFTY DOLLARS FOR A SMOKE!
At that rate, someone who smokes 20 a day is spending close to $15,000 a year on the habit (and that's after-tax dollars - in other words, you'd have to be earning closer to $20,000 and then pay tax before you could spend what's left on the fags). I don't know about you, but I could certainly put $15,000 to good use. It buys an awful lot of holiday, for starters!
And while you'd think that whacking up the price would be a great way to cut smoking rates, Dr Colin Mendelsohn, from the University of NSW's school of public health, reckons it's no longer working: smoking rates dropped only 0.7% between 2014-15 and 2017-18, he points out. To this day, 13.5% Australians smoke. "All you're doing," says Dr Mendelsohn, "is punishing the addicted smokers who can't quit and stimulating the black market."
"ADDICTED"?
Excuse me? "Addicted smokers who can't quit"? Thanks but no thanks, Dr Mendelsohn. How do you know smokers who are still smoking are "addicted"? How do you know they "can't" quit?
Most of the smokers I see have at one time or another quit smoking, often for quite a long time. Recently I saw a mum who'd stopped during each of her pregnancies - but now was smoking again. (She's stopped now, by the way, and for good.)
So if by "addicted" we mean someone who "can't" quit; and if most people who "can't" quit have, in fact, quit, often for quite long periods of time, what are we actually saying?
Here's what I'm saying: unless you've tried really, really hard to give up, using the best available tools, techniques and assistance, then I reckon you don't yet know whether you're "addicted," and whether you're one of those people who "can't" quit.
What if you're not "addicted," after all? What if you can quit... you just don't know how?
Go to my booking page, where you can book in to get started. Or, if you're not quite sure yet, you can book a FREE phone consultation to discuss whether hypnosis might help you kick that dirty, disgusting, health-destroying habit once and for all. You'll be glad you did!