On a recent visit to our Las Vegas facility I was pleased to encounter one of our clients who'd been having serious health problems. He looked much better than he had the previous few times I'd seen him. However, when I greeted him and shook his hand, I noticed the outline of a cigarette pack in his shirt pocket.

"And I see that you've quit smoking," I said, facetiously.

"Well, I've been cutting down," he said. We talked for a few minutes about how quitting smoking would help in his recovery from his heart problems. Even though he agreed with me, I didn't detect any enthusiasm in his voice for my suggestion that he give up smoking.

As a former smoker who quit 27 years ago I don't like the smell of cigarettes nor do I like the effect it has on those still addicted to them. I understand the power of the addiction. As a recovering heroin addict I believe it was harder for me to put down cigarettes than it was to lay down the needle.

However, I was motivated to quit for two reasons. One, smoking was impacting my health. And two, cigarettes took a heavy toll on my family. Some seven family members, including my mother, died early from the effects of emphysema or COPD.

Over 10 years ago, at a recovery conference in New Jersey I heard that the state doesn't fund programs that allow clients to smoke. Someone told me their philosophy was that smoking is also an addiction. While at the time I thought this an extreme position, I thoroughly understand the concept. The addictive properties of nicotine can be stronger than heroin, and just as deadly in the damage it inflicts on those it enslaves.

Before leaving I suggested to this client that the same 12-step principles that worked for him with alcohol and drugs could also work with cigarettes.