This profile suggests that you have evolved as a woman but you have not as yet come to terms with what that means. But if you did, quitting would be a relatively straight-forward proposition.

The profile shows that you began with a feminized version of your father’s brand (Marlboro Light), stuck with it and then later in life moved to Virginia Slims, which is considered a true female counterpart to Marlboro.

Only you can know how much of that is true and how much is ironic. But it is the blue print of your relationship with the smoking. You may have moved to Virginia Slims because you have evolved or because you feel put upon, disenfranchised in which case the brand is your way of speaking up.

The other parts of the profile show some combination of the following elements: You don’t like slackers, or at least, some classes of people.

You have strong opinions.  You can be rigid or at best a creature of strong habits.

This profile is a very broad outline of your smoking activity but it does provide a guide to what you get out of your brands. Reading Inner Quitting will give you insight into the ways people use smoking and how they can either evolve from the practice or move the dynamic to another, less dangerous personal areas.

CURRENT BRAND 2: MARLBORO RED
FEMALE: YES
CURRENT AGE: 55
AGE STARTED: 19
FIRST SMOKED: SALEM
FIRST REGULAR BRAND: : MARLBORO
PACKS DAY: 2
PARENTS SMOKE?: YES
FATHER'S BRAND: CHESTERFIELD
MOTHER'S BRAND: PARLIAMENT
ALTERNATE BRAND: NONE
TABOO BRAND: SALEM , KOOL
ZIP CODE: 22043
This brand profile suggests a lifetime of conformity and “ding the job”. The taboo brands match the starting brand which suggests a repudiation of frivolous activities.  This is a relatively late starting smoker which is usually an easier quit. But  late starter suggests a dramatic change in circumstances or lifestyle at the source of quitting since the homelife did not instigate or enable early teen adoption. Also the single lifetime brand, Marlboro, which is mainstream high conformity brand is also a kind of repudiation of the parents brand therefore suggesting an intent to see life differently: typically Chesterfield in a 1970s male would suggest “old fashioned” and Parliament a little exotic, possibly escapist. The Marlboro brand may stand for a condition in life that just no longer exists anymore and be relatively easily “retired.”  

CURRENT BRAND 2: American Spirit
FEMALE: x
CURRENT AGE: 26
AGE STARTED: 15
FIRST SMOKED: Salem
FIRST REGULAR BRAND: : Camel
PACKS DAY: 1
PARENTS SMOKE?: y
FATHER'S BRAND: Salem
MOTHER'S BRAND: non-smoker
ALTERNATE BRAND: Bali Shag
TABOO BRAND: all others
ZIP CODE: 80501
This profile suggests a sexy rebel with a strong spiritual streak. The key to this profile is that you have rejected menthol’s which suggest luxury and pleasure for earthier drives (Camel) balance against spirit enhancing brands like American Spirit and Bali Shag. The problem, of course, is that these brands don’t actually do any of these things thy simply create the illusion and sustain the fantasy. The Inner Quitting method requires you to face the forces that put you into smoking. You don’t have to overcome them in order to quit, although that helps. You only have ritually reinvent them in other planes e.g. do yoga as part of you reward/quitting ritual. The key, however, is resolving this issue with your Dad…..are you saying you handled your demons better than he did, are you sublimating anger, reinventing his way or jut trying to be different. Coming to terms will enable you to lift the psychological burden that smoking seems to offset.

CURRENT BRAND 2: Virginia Slims Menthol Ultra Light
FEMALE: Female
CURRENT AGE: 47
AGE STARTED: 17
FIRST SMOKED: Virginia Slims Menthol
FIRST REGULAR BRAND: : Virginia Slims Menthol
PACKS DAY: 1
PARENTS SMOKE?: Yes
FATHER'S BRAND: Pal Mall
MOTHER'S BRAND: Kent
ALTERNATE BRAND: Marboro Menthol Ultra Light
TABOO BRAND: Camel
ZIP CODE: 32751


This profile suggests a patrician, Walton –like family background with little desire for change except a move to better circumstances without fundamentally changing your view of life. As an exercise, you might have to especially since you have combined pleasure and independence with a touch of rebellion in the same scenario. Your Dad smoked the old world, man-of-house Pall Malls and your Mom went with “keep-up-the-appearances” Kent. You started out with Virginia Slims which would be a way of telling your adults that you are you own person…….but because it was menthols it was also a person that loved the “good” life.  Now, these many years later you want the same thing, only “safer.” The Inner Quitting approach requires that you face the original condition and find a ritualized solution. Perhaps tying your quit to a charity exercise that is also deeply satisfying and nothing your parents would have chosen may enable you to overcome the psychological compulsion to keep on sucking. Remember, you don’t have to solve your past, only rearrange it so you don’t have to have smoking in your life.

CURRENT BRAND 2: Golden Virginia Hand Rolling Tobacco
MALE: Yes
CURRENT AGE: 40
AGE STARTED: 14
FIRST SMOKED: Benson and Hedges
FIRST REGULAR BRAND: Carlton Long Size
PACKS DAY: 0.5
PARENTS SMOKE?: No
ALTERNATE BRAND: Malboro Red
TABOO BRAND: Silk Cut
ZIP CODE: G12 9TX

A typical pattern we see is an early middle aged male taking up rolling tobacco. It is partly to save money, partly to show “ready made brand” independence but it is also very much a show of primal righteousness.  If you roll it, it must be OK.  And sure it takes you back…..It really doesn’t. What matters here is that once upon a time you cared about the impression you made. B&H and to some extent Carlton (when you were ambitious) told everyone you were a mainstream contender. But not any more. Either because you don’t need to be prove anything or because you’ve said “goodbye to all that.”

CURRENT BRAND 2: Marlboro Ultra Lights
FEMALE: female
CURRENT AGE: 40
AGE STARTED: 16
FIRST SMOKED: Winston 100's
FIRST REGULAR BRAND: : Marlboro Reds
PACKS DAY: 1
PARENTS SMOKE?: yes
FATHER'S BRAND: none
MOTHER'S BRAND: Winston 100's
ALTERNATE BRAND: Winston Ultra Lights
TABOO BRAND: Any menthol
ZIP CODE: 30121
Everything about your brands suggests making your way or making your peace in a man’s world. There isn’t a “woman’s” brand in the lot. There are lots of possible meanings.  One key issue is that you have moved from a gregarious, possibly promiscuous lifestyle to a more secluded one as reflected in the switch from Winston to Marlboro.