Smoking, whats your opinion?

[belmontkingsize]

Ive been smoking for about 7 years now, but recently I've been trying to quit. And any good methods of quitting? Ive tried to quit cold turkey and the gum / patch as well. Neither worked out that well. Also what do you all think of the habit? Just curious

 

[Adriana✿]

My grandpa smoked for 75 years and quit with hypnosis and accupuncture.

He lived until he was 97 and died naturally.

Lots of smokers in my family, past & present, and not one of them ever had cancer. Isn't it strange how some genes have cancer immunity?

 

[Karl Blues]

I'm a reformed smoker, quit some years ago.

Best thing I could have done for my health and wallet. The health benefits are obvious.

Have saved around $20,000 in cigarettes, not to mention dry cleaning bills, mints (for breath), matches/lighters. Plus it's a real hassle to smoke now.

I used the patch to help me thru it, but bottom line is you really have to want to do it. The tools you describe will only ease some of the withdrawal symptoms. It is still difficult no matter what you do.

And now I am at a point where I can't stand the habit anywhere around me.

 

[belmontkingsize]

I'm a reformed smoker, quit some years ago.

Best thing I could have done for my health and wallet. The health benefits are obvious.

Have saved around $20,000 in cigarettes, not to mention dry cleaning bills, mints (for breath), matches/lighters. Plus it's a real hassle to smoke now.

I used the patch to help me thru it, but bottom line is you really have to want to do it. The tools you describe will only ease some of the withdrawal symptoms. It is still difficult no matter what you do.

And now I am at a point where I can't stand the habit anywhere around me.

Yeah, one of the biggest problem with quitting right now is that my friends and co-workers around me all smoke. Makes it that much harder for me. And I recently thought about how much I've spent on smoking alone in the past years. I smoke at least a pack a day so... 10*365 = 3650 * 7 = 25550. And thats excluding the days when I smoke 2 packs.

My grandpa smoked for 75 years and quit with hypnosis and accupuncture.

He lived until he was 97 and died naturally.

Lots of smokers in my family, past & present, and not one of them ever had cancer. Isn't it strange how some genes have cancer immunity?

Maybe I should try quitting via acupuncture. Seems like a lot of people have have succeeded with that. But wow, 75 years, thats seriously impressive .

 

[belmontkingsize]

Yeah, I think thats a big problem for me. I really do enjoy just having a smoke with a friend and chatting. When else can you spend 5 minutes just chatting with a friend. We're all busy people and smoking is a nice way of spending time differently with people that you usually wouldnt have a chance to talk to in that way. Its really a tough choice.

 

[CaraClementine]

Smoking is absolutely disgusting.

Not only does a smoker endanger her/his own health... but she/he polutes the air, and compromises the health of others around.
Addiction is a powerful thing... and I have heard that smoking is one of the hardest habits to give up. Your health is worth trying and fighting for, though. Yes - there are worse addictions.... but it doesn't lessen the ill effects of nicotine.

I have not had many smokers come visit me (at least I haven't smelt it on them), but I will always insist they shower. Being that I am a non-smoker, my nostrils are sensitive to that sort of thing

There are a few methods of quitting... but it seems that different methods, will work better for different people.

One of my best friends was a chain smoker, all throughout high school. and for 3 years after we graduated. She was the last person I thought would quit. She impressed me, and managed to quit cold turkey - using Zyban(?)
She had tried an failed in the past.

Like many lifestyle changes, you may try several times and fail... before you try for the last time and succeed. You have to really want it. If you never try.. and keep procrastinating, it will never happen though

Good for you, Belontkingsize, for trying!

 

[wolverine]

I'm an on-and-off smoker. I've tried quitting cold turkey and tried reading the self-help book by Allen Carr but my smoke-free existence only lasts a few months or a year. Some have recommended Champix but the side-effects are worrisome.

 

[Purrr VertIcal]

Yeah, I think thats a big problem for me. I really do enjoy just having a smoke with a friend and chatting. When else can you spend 5 minutes just chatting with a friend. We're all busy people and smoking is a nice way of spending time differently with people that you usually wouldnt have a chance to talk to in that way. Its really a tough choice.

I've been around smoking all my life. I'm not a smoker. I understand it totally, and yet it makes no sense to me. All at the same time.

One of the things I've observed about most smokers is, they cannot sit still without being "busy". Cigarettes give them an excuse to take a break, to socialize, to pause.

I love my quiet time. I love meditating on a mountaintop. I love to be with myself, stillness, with no "props"...
It takes "will-power" to be alone with yourself, like being in a quiet room, without the tv or radio on.

I think that to quit smoking, like the experienced people here have said, you have to REALLY want to.
And as such, you probably have to rewire your impulses. Understanding your deeper motivations helps.

Asking the patch or hypnosis or accupuncture to do it for you, is starting from the wrong mentality.
You are not sincerely motivated. One clue is when you use the phrase "I am quitting".
I think it's all or nothing.

And you cannot claim to have quit, until it's long established. Too many peole claim to have "quit", and it's only been a month, and it's the fifteenth time!
Raise the bar. Like being truly free of cancer, takes ten years to make that claim.

Say to yourself, I stopped smoking, after at least 5 years of being clean, only then claim the word "quit", as in, the habit is over and done.

 

[87112]

A female smoking is a turn off to the 100th degree.

 

[aznboi9]

Have you heard about the e-cigarettes? They're basically nicotine delivery systems that you operate like regular cig's. The benefit is that you're just inhaling water vapour. It's may not help you quit depending on how you use them but they'll at least reduce the harm caused by inhaling all the tar and junk with regular cig's until you finally do quit the habit.

Best of luck.

 

[belmontkingsize]

Wow thanks for all the support and info everyone. That nicotine inhaler seems pretty cool lol. For now Im just trying to cut down. A bit at a time then ill see what else helps.

 

[smackyo]

i'm not gonna demonize anyone for smoking but it is pretty gross, not to mention a huge waste of money.

good luck in quitting. it won't be easy from what i've seen but stick with it.

 

[Doggydog]

I thought this was a funny story, one day my friend and myself were at the bar and I got talking to one of his friends there about quitting smoking. He told me he just about quit for 10 years, he had it down to the exact day that he quit, saying 9 years 10 months 3 weeks and 4 days. So I asked him if you made it that long, what happened? Why are you smoking now. He said one day he went out of town on a business trip and got himself an SP, after the great sex she sat on his lap stuck a winston cigarette in his mouth and lit it up. He said after that one smoke he was hooked again and was back to buying them the next day. Till to this day he is still smoking and has no intention now on quitting. I guess it is true there is nothing like a good smoke after sex. I was surprised it only took that one cigarette to get him hooked again after all that time he stopped smoking.

 

[belmontkingsize]

I thought this was a funny story, one day my friend and myself were at the bar and I got talking to one of his friends there about quitting smoking. He told me he just about quit for 10 years, he had it down to the exact day that he quit, saying 9 years 10 months 3 weeks and 4 days. So I asked him if you made it that long, what happened? Why are you smoking now. He said one day he went out of town on a business trip and got himself an SP, after the great sex she sat on his lap stuck a winston cigarette in his mouth and lit it up. He said after that one smoke he was hooked again and was back to buying them the next day. Till to this day he is still smoking and has no intention now on quitting. I guess it is true there is nothing like a good smoke after sex. I was surprised it only took that one cigarette to get him hooked again after all that time he stopped smoking.

Yea its that easy to get hooked again. I quit for 6 months before, managed to do it cold turkey. Then after I finished my finals and papers I went clubbing with some friends and somehow I had a smoke in my mouth. After that I got back. Haven't been able to quit again lol. And its so true theres nothing like a smoke after sex, or drinking for the matter of fact.

 

[neverwas]

I found that the main factor was motivation, not gadgets.
The first time I quit was the result of doing a lot of hiking and not being able to keep up with a non-smoking friend.
The second, and successful time was when, as a 28 year old, I decided to learn to play hockey. Trying to keep up with the younger guys is incompatible with smoking (except for Guy Lafleur).
If it wasn't for physical activity and the motivation it provided, I would never have succeeded in quitting.

 

[MRGREEN]

Depends what you're smoking!

Peace
Mr Green

 

[apple juice]

Ive been smoking for about 7 years now, but recently I've been trying to quit. And any good methods of quitting? Ive tried to quit cold turkey and the gum / patch as well. Neither worked out that well.

You've already tried the best way...cold turkey. If that doesn't work then I would suggest waiting until you're "ready" to quit to try again. Goodluck.

Also what do you all think of the habit? Just curious

The word unhealthy comes to mind with many others, but that's the most important.

 

[belmontkingsize]

I started smoking when I was 10 or 11 and was a regular smoker by 13. By 16 I was up to a couple of packs a day. I quit in my early 20's when gas, cigarettes and beer started to go parabolic in price rises. I was driving a big block Plymouth Roadrunner and paying my way through college working in a sawmill on the night shift. Something had to give so I stuck with the Plymouth and the beer. You just have to do the math. Also remember that 80% of what you pay goes to the fucking government and what will they do with YOUR money? I guarantee you could have better fun with it. A 2 pack a day habbit is over $7000 yr. That is a first class session with an SP every two weeks and you'll have the lung capacity to put on a good show.

You make a damn good point there my friend

 

[kafka555]

When I quit, 24 years ago, I found that the hardest thing to deal with was what to do with my hands, especially if I was nervous in a social situation. I eventually figured out putting hands in pockets in a certain way didn't look too stupid and did that.

Smoking is more than just a craving for nicotine. It's habitual behaviour that results in certain rituals, repetitive actions etc. I found that I had to replace those behaviours with other behaviours before I felt comfortable in certain situations, and didn't want to pull out a cig and light up.

It was my experience that it got easier the longer I stay quit, and as the cells in my nose mouth, throat and tongue regenerated. I relapsed once, but I had been off long enough that it tasted like shit, and I threw out the rest of the pack.

 

[Pantherdash]

Ive been smoking for about 7 years now, but recently I've been trying to quit. And any good methods of quitting? Ive tried to quit cold turkey and the gum / patch as well. Neither worked out that well. Also what do you all think of the habit? Just curious

For some people Cold Turkey is the best method, for others not even thinking about it or being repulsed by it is the best method. I quit 10 years ago using the pill, Zyban. It's an antidepressant SSRI (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor) that was discovered to also turn off the patient from smoking. The smell of cigarette smoke becomes repulsive even stomach churning, never mind smoking a cigarette yourself. You become happier and therefore don't turn to cigarettes for happiness and comfort. You don't even think about cigarettes and eventually after the three month therapy it becomes a way of life. It doesn't work for everyone, but if being without a cigarette for extended periods of time is particularly unpleasant, this might be the method for you. Everyone has different habits and addictions so different people need different therapy.

Ask your doctor for the generic brand, Wellbutrin as it's exactly the same thing and costs about 40% less. Look up the info on the Zyban web site. They also recommend you attend support group meetings to help you along, like Narcotics Anonymous. But I never went and I did fine.

There is also now a new drug on the market that blocks the enjoyment of smoking. I don't remember what the name of it is but do a search or ask your doctor.

But the most important thing is to make sure this is something you want to commit to for the rest of your life. Seven years is long enough to have smoked and it's just not a cool thing to do anymore. Plus, in order for the tobacco companies to continue being profitable they have to ensure they keep the customers they already have so they spike the cigarettes with more chemicals then ever before, so in effect you're addicted to things like cyanide, amonia and hydrogen peroxide because, yes, you do become addicted to poisons. It's the same thing that makes crack addicts so severely addicted. It's not only cocaine they're addicted to but the poisons that go into making it. Watch a great movie called "The Insider" (1999) and you'll see what I mean. It was a strong influence in making me want to quit.

And maybe change your handle. Naming yourself after the brand of cigarettes you smoke may not be the best thing to ensure your success.

Good luck.

Panther