A Humble Question.

[Pavlos]

HOW THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS????!!!!!!

 

By not starting to smoke at all... but damn it the Doc beat me to saying that . I've never smoked in my life, and I really don't have any intention to start. I can understand someone trying something, for the experience, but not continuing really - such is the problem of peer pressure combined with adictive substances.

 

It may not apply in your situation, but I always find that if I feel stressed about some random exam or deadline then a run to the next town will always clear my head and what is even better than that is that you can turn it into a hobby. As many others have said, do something every time you feel the urge - I know I can't really be giving you advice but still I hope it helps. Try not to feel like a social pariah because of people's comments here ... look on the bright side - when you have broken the habit you can look back and say - I did that. Reward yourself (Or get someone else to reward you ) when you make it a week without one and then two weeks... then a month, half a year, a year - just something to set your eyes on, to make it worth it.

 

Seriously, do stick with giving up - I understand it can be hard for people like you but it is something that needs to be done, you will feel better about it in the end.

[Diego Varen]

I shall never smoke in my life. I believe everything said about smoking. How it can give you Lung Cancer and everything. Good luck with giving up your addiction. I don't think many people can do it. If you manage to stop, your heart and lungs should heal.

[Jae Onasi]

1)

2) The last time I quit, I was on Zyban which made withdrawl a lot easier. For those of you who don't know, Zyban is in the same chemical family as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc, only it's recommended for smoking cessation, not treatment of depression.

 

Zyban is the same chemical as Wellbutrin (an anti-depressant), but it has multiple uses, including smoking cessation and a weight loss adjunct. They found out during the studies on it as an anti-depressant that folks who were smokers found it easier to quit, and others lost weight while on it because it suppresses the appetite mildly.

 

Nothing wrong with having depression, btw--it's a brain condition just like asthma's a lung condition.

 

@ Achilles--I'll have to remember that paradigm shift of quitting smoking/concentrating on being a non-smoker and apply that as dieting vs. making healthy food and exercise choices. Cool.

 

Good luck!

[Raevan]

i know what u mean man i ve been smoking sice i was 14 and i do wish to stop .....i have astma problems not serious but it gives you time to think, reason why i started it at all was simply cos i wanted to be cool and when you re 14 trhat is a big reason but also very stupid one....my doctor told me to stop imideatly but i didnt listen 2 years ago i was stupid again.....now i dont think that i can stop at all im just not strong enough i do hope that maybe one day ill be strong enough to realize that only thing that i m doing when i light up damm cigarette is to killing myself very slowly but without question.....when my country reach EU union it will be forbbiden to smoke on public places and in pubs so we ll se how that works out !!!! Peace !

[Mace MacLeod]

Zyban is the same chemical as Wellbutrin (an anti-depressant), but it has multiple uses, including smoking cessation and a weight loss adjunct. They found out during the studies on it as an anti-depressant that folks who were smokers found it easier to quit, and others lost weight while on it because it suppresses the appetite mildly.

 

Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor. That BA in psych wasn't *entirely* worthless.

 

@some people: Goddammit! I smoke, I don't kill babies or sell crystal meth at elementary schools! Geez...

[Achilles]

@Chainz.2da: *Glances forlornly at his noose. Picks up pitchfork. Smiles.*

hehehe.

 

Being a former smoker, I have a great deal of sympathy for current smokers. It's relatively easy start and incredibly difficult to quit. Phoenix has what I feel is a good solution: no smoking inside. Anyone that wants to pay to smoke should be allowed to so long as non-smokers don't have to abide the habit as well.

 

@Jae: Glad I could pass along something usefull

 

@some other people: I wonder if you'd feel the same way if you grew up in an environment in which everyone that you knew smoked. Not as easy to live tabacco free in that kind of environment. Some people have and they definitely deserve kudos, but clearly they had the deck stacked against them. My 2 cents.

[The Doctor]

^ It's no harder. Everyone i know smokes. My friends, my coworkers, a great deal of my family - all of them smoke. And I outright refuse to touch one. Period.

[Jae Onasi]

Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor. That BA in psych wasn't *entirely* worthless.

 

That wasn't meant to be a slam on you or your level of knowledge. I'm an education junkie, and I never assume what people's base of knowledge is, especially in the medical department, and so I approach it from ground up. Occasionally I'll post as much to the whole group as one person.

[Mace MacLeod]

@Jae--no offence taken.

 

@Doctor--point taken, but you should really give the high horse a rest sometime.

 

@Chainz and Achilles--much respect.

 

@venom_tyrant and Seeker--walk a mile in another man's shoes.

[Q]

Mace:

 

I also managed to quit doing other drugs without too much difficulty (hell, I don't even drink but once every month or two now, where it used to be an everyday thing), but tobacco is just too addictive, and I haven't managed to triumph over it yet.

 

I have heard that the nicotine just by itself isn't that harmful; it's all the other byproducts of burning tobacco (along with all of the added chemicals that the tobacco is steeped in) that are so deadly. I once saw a commercial for a smoke-free nicotine inhaler, and I was wondering if you had ever tried one of those.

It might help when the cravings get unbearable, because it would give an instant "nic fix," much like a cigarette does, instead of a constant dose of nicotine like a patch.

 

I'd like to maybe give them a try, but with my luck I'd probably get hooked on the inhalers!

 

You're not the only one who turns into raging psycho when they're trying to quit. That's what's prevented me from seeing it through to the end. My friends and family practically begged me to start smoking again because I was so obnoxious!

 

Well, you've inspired me to try to quit once again. I just smoked the last cigarette I had in the house right before I typed this post, and I think I'll just stay here instead of going out and buying another carton. I'm sick of the smell and the stains on my teeth (yuck!). I'm sick of my dentist bugging me to quit while he takes forever to scape off the stains (torture!). I've never really cared what other people think, but it's really starting to piss me off, this idea that I CAN'T QUIT!

 

Then again: Come tomorrow, the first thing I'm going to want to do is hop in the car and redeem one of those coupons that the Marlboro Man keeps sending me in order to take a few more days off of my life. Well, at least I'm not starting the day off with coffee and bong hits like I used to (now it's just coffee and cigarettes, so I guess that's progress!).

 

Best of luck to you!

[HerbieZ]

Whenever you get a craving, put one in each ear and pretend you are a train.

[Ztalker]

I'm heabily astmatic...so if i would start smoking it have huge consequenses. Many more longue diseases, etc etc.Other then that, my parents will pay my driving-lessons if i don't start smoking...wich is a fairly good motivation...

[The Seeker]

@Jae--no offence taken.

 

@venom_tyrant and Seeker--walk a mile in another man's shoes.

 

It seems I do walk in a smoker's shoes every time they light up right next to me while I'm doing nothing but minding my business.

 

And like I said, as long as it doesn't affect me, I don't care what habits people do. I realize that those who smoke in public areas are not out to get people, they are just apeasing their cravings. But to me walking up to the spot where I am standing, (or upwind of me) and lighting up is about equivalent to me walking up to a stranger and belching in their face.

 

They don't want me sharing that with them, and it's just plain rude.

 

But still man, I don't hold it against you and I do applaud you trying to quit. Stay strong and keep at it. You'll feel better for it when you realize that you can now exert yourself without gasping for air.

[TSR]

i must also say, i have 2walked in another mans shoes". 16 years of passive smoking from my very caring parents (i got kicked out 3 weeks ago) and i ahte it. stupid coffin nails.

[EnderWiggin]

[2 Cents] Don't shoot me here; I have nothing against smokers, and I also don't smoke. I am incredibly sensitive to all cigarette smoke.[/2 Cents]

 

My uncle used to smoke -- he did so for many many years. The way he quit he learned from an old drinking buddy of his. (Ironic, huh?) He smoked, and every time he did, he took the butt and put it in a soda bottle. Just a regular coke bottle, about one-fifth full of water. Then he left it out in the sun. When the bottle was full of butts and water, and it took him about 3 weeks of sun to fill it, he kept it handy. Every time he felt the craving, he just took a good long whiff of the bottle. Quit quick.

 

My grandfather quit cold turkey the day he had his first stroke.

 

_EW_

[El Sitherino]

An addictive drug and the media and the companies that make them should be blamed and not the users.

I disagree, users are just as much to blame as anyone else. They chose to smoke, no one made them.

[Raven_Onasi]

Lots and Lots of Gum!!!! and hard candies!!! Thats how my parents did it. it also helps if you have some encouagment as well so

" You can do it man, just hang in there."

[TSR]

lol, i just whipped out the good ol' ps2 and GTA: San Andreas, and heard the advert about that preposition against banning smoking. i laughed quite hard when i heard this bit:

"Tobacco is a plant, people! And if it comes out of the ground, we should be able to smoke it! Like coal! And opium! Next caller!"

erm... lol?

[mattwild]

Well I'm 16, and I have promised myself never to touch cigarettes or drugs.

 

I am sticking to that as rigidly as I was 10 years ago. I don't know what the advertising against smoking is like in the US or anywhere else, but I can say that there isn't enough of it in the UK.

 

Good luck Mace, I try to be as tolerant as I can and I don't blame people for smoking. I know from my grandmother (who didn't quit even after having an operation) that it is very hard to give up.

 

All the best.

[The Doctor]

Actually, do you want to quit cigarettes? Switch to cigars. Those are easier to ween yourself off of, a little. Not to mention that, while they're far from good for you, they won't kill you nearly as fast as cigarettes will.

[Darth InSidious]

^Sound advice from the renegade Time Lord.

 

I've never touched tobacco, and I never intend to. Filthy habit, IMO.