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by Sharon Bell Send Feedback to Sharon Bell More Details about wrinkles here. Mark Twain, the American author and humorist, once remarked that it was easy to quit smoking; he had "done it a hundred times." Kidding aside, the reason why most people find it difficult to quit is because they're hooked on nicotine, one of the most powerful poisons and a highly addictive drug. It's so hard to expel this drug from the body that some of the world's finest minds have been hooked for life. One good example of a person who failed in his attempts to quit smoking was Sigmund Freud, the Austrian founder of psychoanalysis. Freud smoked 20 cigars a day even though his doctor warned him that it could affect his heart. In spite of this, he continued smoking and soon developed cancerous sores on his palate and jaw. He underwent a total of 33 operations during which most of his jaw was removed. Often, he was in severe pain and unable to speak or eat. Yet he could not break his smoking habit and died of cancer at 83. Heroin addicts say abandoning tobacco is harder than abandoning cigarettes. One reason why smokers can't kick the habit is because of the many withdrawal symptoms they experience which may last for months. These include extreme anxiety, depression, irritability, insomnia, and dizziness. But that doesn't mean the situation is hopeless. You can quit if you want to. It will be easier with the support of family members and friends. And if you finally quit, the benefits are enormous. "Because nicotine is an addictive drug, quitting smoking can be difficult - in fact, most people fail in their first attempt. As difficult as it may be to stop, however, it is not impossible. Each year three million Americans are successful, although many of them failed on previous attempts. The reasons many people initially fail vary, depending on how long and how much they smoked, their sensitivity to the drug, and how well they prepared for their attempt," according to Dr. David E. Larson, editor-in-chief of the "Mayo Clinic Family Health Book." Within 12 hours after quitti |