In the end, it may not be as ambitious as saving many lives. Taking one smoker out of the dangers of nicotine dependence can make you feel like Superman after a victory over Lex Luthor or Batman after outsmarting the Joker. And hey, getting paid along the way is not all too bad.
Yes, I’ve quit. And the invitation extends to anyone who wishes to volunteer for Smoke Free Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping smokers stop and preventing kids from picking up the habit.
"Everyone is adversely affected or has been affected by smoking. Somebody or a loved one has to do something because smokers unfortunately are addicted," pointed out Rez Seyedin, founder of Smoke Free Society. "And we have to act now especially with the government and state cutting back on budget and not providing medication to smokers. We, as citizens, have to do something to fill that void."
The core of the organization is Proven Stop Smoking Technique, a book written by Seyedin in 1985 which specifies techniques with which he conquered his 20-year addiction gradually without the use of medication or patches.
"At the time, there was no desire among the public for quitting smoking as it is today. Now we have become more aware. Statistics and information are reaching everybody. We realize that it is time for somebody to do something," Seyedin added. That’s when he, with the help of wife, Linda, brought back the book and developed other features and products around it, one of which is the website.
According to Seyedin, Smoke Free Society was a name he picked 25 years ago.
"I never thought in my lifetime that it would be a reality," he said. But when he checked and found out that the name was up for grabs as a universal resource locator (URL) on the Internet, he immediately took it and started laying the foundation for www.smokefreesociety.org.
The website presents a lot of information about the organization and its products, as well as current statistics about smokers. For instance, a counter on the top left hand corner reflects how many people have died from tobacco-related illnesses since 2000. As of press time it’s 19,632,842. And it ticks almost every second. There is a disturbing estimation that one out of five people smokes. If converted, this translates to 1,100,000,000 people worldwide.
Other alarming statistics include the findings by the Air Resources Board which indicate that women exposed to secondhand smoke have up to a 90 percent greater risk of breast cancer. John Ritter of the USA Today wrote that the same report says "secondhand smoke kills as many as 73,400 a year in the USA."
There is also an article on smokefreesociety.org that says: "Each day, 6,000 young people will take their first puff on a cigarette and 3,000 will become regular smokers. One out of three of them will die from a disease caused by smoking. Unless we do something to stop this trend, 5,000,000 young people who are alive today will die from using tobacco."
Pretty much nothing’s new except for the changing figures; or to be more exact, the growing number of victims. Amid all this, some people choose to take on a passive role – reading about it, hearing about it; but won’t do anything until reality strikes them – a loved one dies of smoke-related diseases. Others fortunately choose a more proactive role.
"It’s no secret that smoking is hazardous to your health and can lead to an early death. Look at all the lives cut short by cigarette smoke – George Harrison of The Beatles is a prime example," said Michael Abramowitz, Smoke Free Society’s volunteer communications director. "I also cringe everytime I see someone smoking a cigarette. The harm they are doing to their bodies and to those around them through second-hand smoke is incredible."
Fortunately, there’s hope in the finding that although nearly 50,000,000 Americans smoke, 20,000,000 of them are ready to quit. According to the organization’s website, Time Magazine reported quitting smoking was this year’s No. 1 New Year’s resolution. But they can’t do it without help.
Enter Superman, Batman, and other super heroes... or possibly, you.
"If we can save just one life or if we can save a million lives, we will have accomplished a lot. If we help just one person or a million people quit smoking, we will have accomplished a lot. If we help prevent just one teenager or one million teenagers from starting to smoke, we will have accomplished even more," Abramowitz said.
To reach this writer, log on to www.jannelleso.net.