There is a good chance that you remember expressing this sentiment at one time or another when you were an active smoker. I want to make sure that you recognize that when you were making such comments in the past that in reality the statement was never true. No one dies because he or she wants a cigarette.

While the term "dying for a cigarette" has no real validity, it is crucial to note that millions of people die every year because they would not allow themselves to break free from cigarettes.

If you ever find yourself thinking that you are once again "dying for a cigarette," remind yourself that the reality of the situation is that you are living healthier today and are likely going to live longer because your real desire now is to stick to the commitment that you made to never take another puff!

Additional commentary and resources:

Contrary to the popular use of such a title as this one, "Dying for a cigarette," in reality this very rarely occurs. I say very rarely because there are times when people do foolish things in order to go for a cigarette–like going out in a blizzard or hurricane or other dangerous condition to smoke or purchase a cigarette or a pack only to be killed from being out in the inclement condition. I suspect in those events you could say they were dying for a cigarette, although the reality of the situation is they died in pursuit of the cigarette. While "Dying for a cigarette" is quite an inaccurate representation of real life events, "dying from a cigarette" is an all too common occurrence–actually happening to thousands of people each day and worldwide, about 5 million people a year. Here are a few resources that address this issue of dying from cigarettes:

• "It's only cigarette smoking, it's not like a crime punishable by death"
• "But smoking is the only vice I have left
• For people who think quitting smoking is the hardest thing they have ever done
• Heart and circulatory diseases
• The real cigarette induced "roller coaster" ride
• Lung damages caused by smoking
• "I'm safe from smoking because of my genetic makeup"
• If cigarettes were as deadly as you say they are…
• Post operative complications and slower healing
• Update to video "Premature deaths caused by smoking"
• Premature deaths caused by smoking