Stephen Strasburg’s Commitment To Quit Tobacco

Today, there are more former smokers than current smokers. But many of them didn’t say “I need to quit smoking” once or twice—it took several attempts. And for “dippers” (people that use chewing tobacco), it can be just as hard, if not harder. In fact, dip and chew contain more nicotine than cigarettes. Tobacco addiction is drug addiction—and it’s very hard to stop. Washington Nationals’ star Stephen Strasburg knows this struggle well. In June 2011, he vowed to quit after his mentor, Hall of Fame baseball player Tony Gwynn, was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer, which Gwynn believed was because of his chew habit. And in 2014, Gwynn died at the young age of 54. The death of his mentor hit hard, and Strasburg is upping his game and taking on tobacco once again—publicly saying that he is ready to do the hard work of quitting tobacco. This is no small challenge for anyone addicted to nicotine, but it is especially hard for him and other baseball players to kick the habit when it has been part of their professional culture. The Cost of Starting Young Strasburg started using dip when he was a teenager. He wanted to be just like the Major League Baseball players he saw on TV—many of whom used smokeless tobacco. Starting out young is part of what gets people hooked. For smokers, nearly 9 out of 10 adults started before they were 18. In fact, young people who start using tobacco early will have more trouble quitting than people who start later in life. You mig...
Source: NIDA Drugs and Health Blog - Category: Addiction Authors: Source Type: blogs