Smoking
I'm in the process of trying to quit for 1000th time in my life. I'm only 26. This time I'm trying the patch. I never really smoke all that much (at most 8-9 cigs/day), but it's getting to the point where I can't go out to a bar without coming home feeling really crappy from smoking too much. I can't play basketball without getting winded way too soon. I guess over the course of years of smoking, even 8-9 cigs can take their toll.
Has anyone here ever quit? It's gotta be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. One time I was able to stop for 3 weeks, while on vacation travelling down the west coast (in Cali I thought it was funny that I couldn't smoke cigarettes in the bar, but people were smoking pot all over
). But once I got back here and my coffeeshops were calling, it was all over. My problem is that smoking is a way for me to relax on breaks in the middle of doing work. Now, what am I supposed to do? Reading the paper gets old. I should get some mindless games on my computer to take breaks with.
Anyway, anyone want to share their success (or failure) experiences? I guess this is my support group. I love AI
Has anyone here ever quit? It's gotta be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. One time I was able to stop for 3 weeks, while on vacation travelling down the west coast (in Cali I thought it was funny that I couldn't smoke cigarettes in the bar, but people were smoking pot all over
). But once I got back here and my coffeeshops were calling, it was all over. My problem is that smoking is a way for me to relax on breaks in the middle of doing work. Now, what am I supposed to do? Reading the paper gets old. I should get some mindless games on my computer to take breaks with.Anyway, anyone want to share their success (or failure) experiences? I guess this is my support group. I love AI
Comments
My mother smoked when she was younger. She had quit when she had kids (so she didn't smoke for about 5 years) She started smoking about a year after my younger brother was born, but my father got on her case about it. Then she just quit. I remember she threw out a half pack of cigs and never touched them again. Simple. No patch, no hypnosis, just a little resolve.
I smoked too, for about a half a year -- summer after HS and 1st semester at U. It didn't give me any real satisfaction, I remember thinking, "Good or bad, what's the point?" Just seemed like a waste of money, time, and lung tissue.
I guess some people really enjoy it, but I don't see why. When they're cramming in the lounges/non-smoking dining halls
But I ussually eat pretty much constantly anyway. At least food is satisfying. Cigarettes?
It was Christmas break, and I remember watching us invade Panama on CNN. I was sick and had a sore throat, so the cigs tasted like hell. I was going to my parent's house, and my mom had a chronic respiratory illness, so I definitely didn't smoke in the house. I was there for about 2 weeks, so I just took advantage of the situation. When I got back to college, I had been able to quit completely, and so I never smoked again.
I had tried before, but I think there were just too many cues that were normally associated with smoking - having morning coffee, going out to drink with friends, etc.
So for me, it was a prolonged change in surroundings, accompanied by a little conditioned taste aversion from the sore throat.
BTW - I sent you a private message.
Granted the urges still continue but if I want one all I have to do is go to my buddies house and be around him for just a little bit...sucker smokes like a chimney! Ugh...the smell is nasty to me now.
But, for so long I enjoyed smoking. Very relaxing to me. Dang....the store is just up the road...hmmm. gotta resist....the...urge......
$3+/pack!! no way!! whew..glad I did quit!
Anyway there is too type of fumors, the one who are addictive the others who are not . There are test in order to know that. If you are addictive you should take Nicotine patch.
If not, just a habit or a way to relax , try to find something different, why not a lollipot like Kojak ? (dont have to shave your hairs too
In reality, if they ever met up with anyone from a bigger HS or urban setting, they would have had their asses kicked.
Seriously, though, I never understand why people start that **** . I lost two of my grandparents to smoking before I was even born. In fact, my dad wasn't even out of high scool when his mom died.
So whatever you can do to stop, just do it. If it means the patch, going cold turkey, whatever. Just stop before it really effects your health.
<strong>why not a lollipot like Kojak ? (dont have to shave your hairs too</strong><hr></blockquote>
Urgh. Reminds me of my childhood pictures. I didn´t get any hair on my head before I was about four years old (You know: Too much testosteron :cool: ) and everyone thought I was sooo cute with a lollipop in my mouth. Result: hundreds of pictures of me with one in my mouth.
[ 03-03-2002: Message edited by: Anders ]</p>
<strong> and occasional on falling in love (I´m such a teenager when it come to that)</strong><hr></blockquote>
Occasional ?, with all your testosterone, you are certainly the Casanova of Denmark.
Other people prefer the gum, which IMO is absolutely disgusting, and burns your mouth. The patch itches (BAD!) when you first put it on, but it is always there, always working.
Give it a try.
But I'm sure if you make up your mind that it's not something you want to be doing, you will quit - whether it takes two days, two weeks or two months. The only tip I can give you is if you breakdown at some point, don't feel like because you had one, that you failed. Have your one and try again from that point. Even if you're unable to totally quit a first, having one or two during the course of a week is a lot better than one or two packs right? It's called progress.
Just keep at it and you'll be able to quit...we have faith in you.
What was so attractive about inhaling smoke?
That's the reason I was able to stop for 3 weeks one summer. At that point there is no more physical addiction. I was all psychological and once I got back in my familiar environment, it was back to my old routine. I'm a psychologist, so I understand all of this and I can tell you the theory and the brain chemistry involved. But that does nothing to help me quit.
I'm on the patch now (step 2) and the efficacy of these appears to be the best. I've read some (scientific, not drug company funded) articles and my chances look best this way. I can continue doing my old routine but without the physical nagging and relearning my habits without cigarettes. So far, so good. Thanks for the support.
My grandfather was a heavy smoker until my mother had me, then he quit. He told me it wasn't hard for him to quit at all, but there was one problem. To get rid of the addiction, he ate more. He used to be 6'1 170lb, now he is 240lb. He also tells me after all these years of not smoking, he still liked to smoke because it made him relax and pass time.
I still can't figure it out. It's not enjoyable. And no, I didn't just puff...I did inhale. It made no difference.
It's lame.
I've never smoked, either. I never saw why it was "cool" -- to me smoking was something my grandparents did. The inside of my grandmother's car always reeked of cigarette smoke, and the ashtray was always overflowing -- gross.
Seeing a woman smoke usually kills any kind of attraction to her.
I once read a report in Science News that the subjective psychological withdrawal from nicotine addiction is one of the toughest, even more so than heroin/morphine and on a par with that resulting from barbiturate withdrawal. In my case, I can honrestly believe it.
Now as a an ex-smoker, and having now had 3 family members die from smoking-caused ailments (lung cancer, congestive heart failure and emphysema) I find it really bard to tolerate anything to do with tobacco ab/use. Living in California, I am so grateful for the local laws that forbid smoking in public places; it means I can go to a restaurant or club without having to ingest someone else's filthy and toxic exhalations.
On the political angle, any party that accepts donations from tobacco companies is as morally in the gutter as if they had gotten financed by some scumbag Colombian cocaine cartel. The legality of the substance is a moot point when you consider that cigarettes kill 400,000 Americans every YEAR!
In fact looking at the number of Americans that die from substance abuse every year, it seems that the substances with the least legal control are those that are responsible for the most fatalities. It seems that the relative legal status of a substance has little do with the relative public health and safety implications.
in 1994:
Tobacco ...................400,000 deaths annually
Alcohol...................>150,000 deaths annually
Prescription drugs (bad reactions,
hospital errors,..........>100,000 deaths annually
Prescription drug abuse . .>15,000 deaths annually
All illegal drugs
(cocaine/heroin,meth,
LSD etc)...............approx 5000 deaths annually.
Marijuana.......unknown...zero directly attributed
I am not suggesting for a minute that we should go changing the laws and locking people up for tobacco possession. Since it has been well-known since the mid 1960s that tobacco smoking can and will probably kill you in one of a number of extremely unpleasant fashions, smokers should be responsible for their own actions. Tobacco addiction, like any addiction such as sex, gambling, surfing the net, playing videogames, taking recreational drugs etc etc is a medical problem, not a crime, period.
<strong>Seeing a woman smoke usually kills any kind of attraction to her.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Usually... usually? You mean always, don't you?