You can do it, mate!

I was speaking to my nephew on-line via a Facebook chat line the other day.

Now, this is a 21 year-old young man, albeit a bit confused due to various levels of family issues.

As a typical teenager with peers who smoke cigarettes, he developed a fond liking for fags earlier on. At the divine age of nineteen, he upgraded himself to 2 full packs a day.

And this has been on going till now.

So, the other day, over a casual conversation, we spoke about various things where the smoking issue came up.

He said that he is cutting down and is down to 1.5 full packs a day.

Now bear in mind that I am in the midst of reading Scott Peck's The Road Less Travelled, which discusses at the fundamental level the behaviourism patterns of people and the role of parenting in upbringing children.

We will not go to that as it will be too deep, but suffice to say at this moment that this kid needs clear guidance on certain aspects of life disciplines, among them delayed gratification.

When he started to understand in his heart the benefits of being a non-smoker (I asserted that smoking is dead-old fashioned, and is no longer cool, in fact, many frown and are in disdain with smokers) he confessed that he really wanted to stop.

It was comforting to know that he was considering nicotine patches as part of the cessation plan.

As our conversation progressed, it appeared that he was dead serious in this, and I figured that other than professional help such as a good physician, a reliable pharmacist and parental guidance (I am thinking of enrolling his grandparents) in the team, he needed to hear the word: 'You can do it, mate!'

He needed someone to believe in him.

I will keep you posted on our progress.