In the Philippines, about 34 percent of adults smoke, while 15 percent of Filipino youth are hooked to the habit, as well. These people may very well be missing out on more important things in life because of smoking.

Statistics from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) showed that the annual average of cigarette consumption of a Filipino adult was 1,563. With four of every 10 adult Filipinos puffing an average of 13 sticks a day, the Philippines ranked as the world’s 12th largest cigarette market in 2004.

An average smoker consumes 13 sticks a day which is equivalent to more than an hour of his day and 16 days in a year of filling his lungs with that toxic cigarette smoke. Just imagine the many things one could do with all the five-minutes-per-stick- combined.

Ten minutes of dropping that cigarette would give you enough time to e-mail your parents, or a phone call to a friend or a loved-one overseas. Not only will this make you feel good, but also the other people involved would surely appreciate the thoughtful gesture.

You could also spend a day without the cloud of smoke surrounding you by treating yourself to a "Me" day, head to your favorite spa and keep your body feeling relaxed and healthy and rejuvenated.

Going further, a whole weekend without smoking will give you more than enough time to play with your kids or even cuddle with your spouse. The extra vigor you’ve saved from not puffing a cigarette will make you last longer in playing that long overdue badminton game with your friends.

A whole month without smoking could mean a whole month of enjoying clean lungs and a healthier lifestyle, which would eventually lead to a happier personal and social life.

Other than just making time for more worthwhile activities rather than using it for smoking, a study from the Economic and Social Research Council in the United Kingdom showed that 11 minutes of a smokers’ life is lost in smoking just a single cigarette. Dropping one stick will give you back 11 minutes of your life, imagine how it would be if you quit completely.

Vitto Lazatin, a popular radio DJ and sportscaster who recently joined the smoke-free celebrity challenge, attests to this. "Since I’ve stopped smoking, I have had more time to play with my two-year old son Mateo. This smoke-free set up isn’t only doing wonders to my health; it has also been invaluable to the complete wellness of my family life," shared Vitto.

In the end, it is up to you. If you do decide to stop missing out on the good things in life, there are so many ways in which you could keep yourself from being consumed by the smoking habit. Your friends could act as motivators in your endeavor to ditch the stick and of course, will power is always a big boost to your quitting progress.

On the other hand, several smoking cessation programs have been developed to help smokers overcome tobacco dependence. These include getting help from a counselor, an accountability partner or a support group to help one overcome the nicotine addiction.

Another is through medicinal intervention such as the use of a Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) which is supported by the World Health Organization as a first line pharmacologic therapy for smoking cessation.

NRT can be in a form of a gum, such as the Nicorette (nicotine) gum, which is now available in the Philippines to help smokers in quitting the habit. Nicorette doubles the chances of successfully quitting smoking by providing the body with the nicotine it craves without all the harmful chemicals found in a cigarette such as tar and carbon monoxide.

It works by releasing nicotine into the saliva and is absorbed through the lining of the mouth once the gum is chewed. The nicotine gum can be used by smokers who would want to quit abruptly or by those who would want to reduce their cigarette consumption on the way to quitting smoking.

Nicorette can now be purchased over the counter in all Mercury Drugstores nationwide. For more information on Nicorette, log on to www.nicorette.com.ph.

So go ahead, don’t be consumed, live more.