Alpha Life Style Center

As Seen on TV: The Impact of Media on Smoking

It is a common tactic of marketers to target a younger audience to establish brand awareness.  They do this so that children will grow up with their product and when they are old enough they will purchase their product.  A perfect example of this is Camel Cigarettes and their playful, cool mascot, Joe Camel.  These ads ran during programming that was intended for young audiences and now if you are a smoker, I’m sure that you remember Joe.

Targeting such a young market seems like a terrible thing, but Camel and other cigarette manufacturers were doing this up until the late 90’s.  Commercials and other advertisements are not the only place that we as a society are bombarded with the image of people smoking.  Over half of kids who start smoking before the age of 16 say that they saw it in movies.  We are all aware of the impact that smoking has on our health, so why is media exposing our youth to this?

Campaigns like TRUTH have made it their whole purpose to educate young Americans on the dangers of smoking.  Just like the tobacco companies were doing, organizations that are against smoking have also targeted children, which makes a huge impact on their parents.  When kids see ads about 5.4 million deaths a year from tobacco usage, it is making them confront their smoking parents.

In recent years the discovery of second hand smoking has also become an issue that is clearly portrayed in modern media.  The toddler sitting in their car seat telling the viewer that they smoke before going to day care pulls at all of our heart strings.  No one would allow their toddler to smoke at such a young age, or would they?  A video has swept the world through the social media stream recently that shows a 2-year-old smoking.  After viewing the images and videos of this little boy it has outraged a number of parents and understandably so.  On average, smokers die 15 years earlier than non-smokers.  Why would you want that for your child?

When we are not being attacked by an advertisement on TV or magazines, we still get hit with ads for smoking online.  The average American is online for about 8.5 hours a day.  It is no wonder that social media and other Internet venues have become some of the most popular places to get advertising space.  The power that media has on our culture in the United States is very high.  We have been trained to believe that you are “cool” if you smoke.  Or that smoking makes you appear more beautiful.  How far are we really willing to go to achieve this perceived social status?  Even if a smoker is not killed directly from the effects of smoking, they will probably have smoking related illnesses like bronchitis, emphysema, or some form of cancer.

Just as the media has skewed the view of cigarettes, they have also made it seem like a game to try multiple different methods to quit smoking.  Preying on the failure of the common person.  What the ads for the chewing gums, patches, and electric cigarettes don’t tell you is that on your own you will probably fail.  Yes, you will probably have the support of your family, but they are your family and have to support you in everything you do.  The commitment to stop smoking is one of the most important parts of smoking cessation.  If you do not want to stop, you probably won’t regardless of what treatments you try.  Having an additional support system is helpful for more successful quitting endeavors.  Not only that, but a complete lifestyle change including dietary change is also going to help.

The media is used as a method of making money for these large companies.  Is smoking really worth it?  Read more about methods of smoking cessation with Alpha Life Style Center.

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Alpha Life Style Center Sponsors “Relay For Life” Team

The Relay For Life is a 24-hour walk-a-thon to support the American Cancer Society. This year the Relay For Life-Birmingham is July12-13 from 10am-10am at Beverly Park.

We are relaying to support the American Cancer Society in our community, be a voice for individuals who are addicted to nicotine products, and raise awareness about alternatives for those individuals who are struggling with nicotine addiction.

At the American Cancer Society Relay For Life, our team will camp out overnight and take turns walking around the track to raise money and awareness to help the American Cancer Society save more lives from cancer.

Alpha Life Style Center is dedicated to helping individuals overcome nicotine addiction. Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products contain highly addictive nicotine, and are the leading causes of lung, throat and mouth cancers.

Nicotine addiction is considered the MOST powerful addiction. Despite this, smokers are expected to overcome their addiction usually by themselves, without professional help, while resuming their daily routines and surrounded by other addicts! This completely contradicts traditional approaches to addiction and recovery (alcohol, heroin, pain pills).

Alpha Life Style Center recognizes the complexities of nicotine addiction and offers individuals who are struggling to “kick the habit” an alternative and comprehensive approach to nicotine addiction without pain, needles, drugs or side effects. Our program, unlike most approaches, addresses both the physical AND psychological components of addiction.

By joining or donating to our team, you will be a part of a life-changing event that gives everyone in the community a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that takes too much.

p.s. $10 is the minimum online donation amount……and $10 DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Donate now and see how!

Go to www.relayforlife.org/birminghammi to donate.

Thank you for your support!

Team Alpha Life Style Center of Birmingham

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Alpha supports Children’s Leukemia Foundation at Dearborn Women’s Expo March 7th

Come join Alpha Life Style Center on Sunday, March 7th 10am-5pm for a great day of special events, discounted products and services, auctions, door prizes, games and information. Bring your gold for CASH on the spot. $3 entry fee, $1 OFF coupon at http://showforwomen.com/. Proceeds benefit the Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan.

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Study shows dangers of third-hand smoke

http://health.yahoo.com/news/afp/healthustobacco_20100209102313.html

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True Story-Funny!

A recent customer at Alpha Life Style Center of Birmingham told me that when her son was 12 years old she caught him in the kitchen smoking one of her cigarettes. When questioned, her son replied that he wanted to know what it TASTED like. Mom reached for a cigarette, tore the filter off, and made her son EAT the cigarette-the whole thing! She informed me that he is now a 43 year old non-smoker:).

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Re: Michigan Smoking Ban

There seem to be  many questions regarding the Smoking Ban that goes into effect on May 1, 2010 for all Michigan bars/restaurants. The two questions that I have heard most often are 1) Does the Michigan Smoking Ban affect private clubs? and 2) Does the ban apply to patio/outdoor seating areas?

The answer to both is YES. I have heard discussions about petitions requesting amendments to these areas of the law as it is currently written, but who knows!

Currently, the law states that the ban applies ANYWHERE that an establishment has a LICENSE to serve food/beverage. Even if a bar/restaurant WANTED to allow smoking on a patio in lieu of serving food/beverage, they WOULD NOT be allowed to.

Private clubs, Fraternal organizations, Veterans clubs, Country Clubs and other establishments with Club Licenses are subject to the same restrictions as all other licensees.

Thoughts?

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Alpha supports Oakland County Children’s Village Foundation!

Kelly has served as a member of the Oakland County Children’s Village Foundation since 2007. The Foundation was extablished in 1994 as a non-profit organization that provided for educational enrichment programs, scholarships, innovative prevention and rehabilitation programming and recreational opportunities that promote lifelong learning and development to residents of Children’s Village. Children’s Village is a residential youth home housing >1,200 abused, neglected and delinquent youth annually.

The Children’s Village Foundation holds 2 fundraising events annually. A Golf Outing in the Spring and a dinner/auction event, the Autumn Adventure, in the fall. We always welcome cash donations, auction items, event attendees, new foundation members and donation items for the children. To find out more about Oakland County Children’s Village and the CV Foundation visit www.oakgov.com/childvil or call Kelly @ 248-594-1303.

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Alpha attends Oakland County Wellness Coalition Mtng 01/13/10

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I have too much stress in my life right now…..I can’t quit smoking.

We have been conditioned our entire lives to use cigarettes to cope with stress…..it’s a knee-jerk reaction. What the addicted part of your brain WON’T tell you is how much cigarettes contribute to your stress. You’re likely reading this because you are a smoker, and you don’t like that you smoke. When we deliberately choose to do something that we know we shouldn’t, stress builds inside us on the subconscious level. Also, cigarettes have become very expensive. Spending money on something so harmful contributes to the stress of smoking. Additionally, many smokers are “closet” smokers in one or more aspects i.e. with employers or co-workers, with a mate/spouse, with children, health insurers. The struggle and inconvenience of hiding smoking paired with the fear and consequences of getting caught only compound the stress that this habit causes. The image associated with being a smoker has become increasingly negative. Even if you don’t think you care about this image consider how you felt the last time someone told you, “you know those will kill you,” or when someone hollered at you from a warm car while you were outside alone on 20 below day trying to choke down a smoke-it may have been shame, resentment, or downright anger……either way…..more stress. Let us also not forget to mention the amount of stress that smoking causes to the body physically. We know that smoking contributes to a variety of health conditions; high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes-to name only a few. If you suffer from one or more of these conditions and choose to continue to smoke…yet more stress that you may not even be aware of. 

It’s natural for individuals who make the commitment to quit smoking to be concerned about stressful situations, and consequently, failure-nobody wants to fail. Stressful situations make an individual vulnerable to relapse because the addicted brain knows how to take advantage of a vulnerable situation. A successful smoking cessation program should equip you with the knowledge and tools to combat those vulnerabilities, and the program at Alpha Life Style Center does just that. But I would also like to assure you that by quitting smoking you are actually eliminating a great deal of stress in your life that you are not even aware of. The power of addiction blocks your ability to see this clearly. You simply need to trust the process, trust us to support you, and trust yourself! As hours, days, and weeks of being smoke-free pass, the fog will lift and you will recognize the relief that occurs by quitting. Quitting smoking is an extremely empowering and liberating experience; ask any former smoker. And it’s that empowerment that can help you better cope with and/or manage other sources of stress in your life. Final thought: If you are a smoker who has attempted and/or succeeded with quitting smoking in the past, think back to the disappointment that an unsuccessful attempt or that the relapse caused. Many former smokers will agree that the event/stress that caused the relapse pales in comparison to the stress caused by the relapse.

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Why you shouldn’t be “trying” to quit smoking.

The word “try,” or any variation thereof is TOXIC when related to quitting smoking. If an individual is only “trying” to quit smoking they still have two options….to quit or not to quit. You see, failing falls under trying, but trying at least satisfies the intelligent minds’ need to make an attempt. You see, most smokers feel uncomfortable if they don’t at least “try” to quit smoking because they know they shouldn’t smoke. A weak attempt to quit smoking allows smokers to check “Try to quit smoking” off of their to-do list and to get it out of their minds, at least temporarily.

There is no accountability with “trying.” At Alpha Life Style Center we hear customers tell us everyday how many times they’ve tried to quit, or how many other different methods they’ve tried. Addiction is complex……a simple word can interfere with success. For example, if you tell a spouse or a roommate that you will try to get to the store after work, and then don’t make it-no big deal, right? After all, you didn’t commit to it. But if you promised that you would get to the store, you’re much less likely to neglect that duty. The same goes for quitting smoking. “Trying to quit” and “quitting” are two VERY different things. If you want to be successful with quitting smoking please understand the disadvantage you face if you are only “trying.”

Obviously the complexities of nicotine addiction go beyond simple words. Trying is a natural approach to quitting smoking….and each attempt is still valuable to your long-term success (see blog “I’ve tried quitting 50 times”). But it is my opinion that recognizing and correcting your words/thoughts can significantly increase your success. Don’t just try to quit, DECIDE to quit! And pay attention to others around you…….this discussion will continue to take on more meaning as you notice how often individuals report “trying” to quit smoking.

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