I don´t use the substitute plastic cigarette often. Only when the craving occurs, so it´s not like I got a new daily habit to deal with. I guess I´m similar to a seasonal alcoholic or something like that.

 

but the Big Mick is the biggest of all and has the best advice of all.

get yourself married... and marry a smoking hot Morman... but don't.. DO NOT fall prey to the redheaded variety..  you might stop smoking.. but you will still burn in hell.

Dang Dave ... I can smell that all the way here ... is it anything like a Cuban Cigar?

BTW, I quit smogging 3 and a half months ago, after likely 10 years of it (had quit before) ... and my quitting was easy ... I'm done!

Sometimes, your will is all you gotta confront ... and since I don't do fights with my will, or argue with it ... we're good friends!!!!! ... I just quit ... it was no big deal!

I seem to be the only unrepentant smoker on this thread, but please don't think that I either advocate smoking or am some kind of monster or moral degenerate for doing so: simply put, it's the lesser of many evils I've tried, and some people can't live blameless lives. Me, for one. 

Concerning addiction: it is so good to beat any kind of addiction which holds you in it's thrall. I've lost several good friends to either alcohol or heroin. None of them were bad people, they were just... unlucky. And lost.

My personal bugbear was alcohol. Put it like this, when you can drink three quarters to a bottle of scotch a day and remain sober - well, "sober", then you and your liver have an increasing problem. After three good friends drank themselves to death in their late thirties and early forties, I had an epiphany and haven't had a drink since. Fifteen years dry. I gave up overnight, basically said that's enough. I'll be dead if I do this any longer, I get absolutely no pleasure from it, time to give it up. 

And I think that's the key. If you're ready to give up, giving up is easy. There will be a price to pay. Be prepared to pay it. I used to think it took willpower, but it seemed, for me, anyway, just to take clear thinking and logical thought. Do it or die. 

Of course, some people die. 

However, I made it through it, and God above, did it feel good to be sober afterwards. I made a promise to myself never to even go in a pub again, incidentally. 

Of course, most people here will know that I had a stroke four years ago. It wasn't alcohol or tobacco related, I'd given up both at the time, just a bizarre accident with an artery in my neck. 10,000 to one thing. At that point, two things happened: I had no fear of death, I'd lost so many friends that I knew you could die at 50, easily. (Having been in the Grim Reaper's front room, I've lost all fear of death, incidentally) - and - I knew I had to get better for the sake of my family, at least. So, like with any addiction, where you know you have to do something to change your life, I got moving, I got exercising, I got active and I remained positive with an eventual goal in mind, and I got 98% of the way there. 

There were days, weeks, months when I'd rather have just sat on the sofa, but - no choice. Price to pay, get up and get moving. It's the same with giving up cigarettes or booze, if you really want to do something, if you really want to achieve.... you have to look at the bigger picture and actually keep going. 

It feels good at the end. Three years on, I was such a mess, I'd put on at least 75 pounds through not being fully mobile, I was walking with a stick for a year. Same again as with booze, I thought, right. Time to take charge of my life, I was so overweight (275 lb, six feet) that I developed Type 2 diabetes. 

I'm now 200lb, I am no longer Type 2 diabetic (the nurse is amazed) with plans to lose another 20lb. All done in a year. And I feel so much better. Hard work but worth it. 

Back to the subject. Doug, all here, excuse my rambling and occasionally dabbling with a pipe. Please keep going, you'll do it, it's worth it: anyone can do anything if they set their minds to it. Hope you get there, fella, throwing off the chains is a great thing to do. All the best. 

Absolutely.  If he's a real friend, he'll be around for you when you're ready.  I do think he deserves to know why you have to cut the cord (not in a confrontational way, just that you are having trouble sticking to your guns re quitting), at least for a while, and it may make him think about what he's doing to himself.  If not, you've done your best.  For both of you.

My good friend, Derek, loved cigarettes. Cigarettes were his life. There was nothing bigger than cigarettes. They were absolutely everything. 

One day, I missed my bus back from work and Derek, a really nice fella, said come on, Dave, I'll give you a lift back. Got to go to town, anyway. So we get in Derek's little car, he has an oxygen tank in the back and an air conditioner which makes it unbearably warm and dry, as he has COPD and 13% lung capacity. 

We drive to town, I know better than to start a conversation off with Derek as he doesn't have the breath for it. 

"Just be a minute" says Derek, as we pull into the car park of a big shopping centre. "Just going to get some cigarettes". 

"Derek, I'll get them for you", I say, knowing he can barely walk. He'll get them anyway. 

"Oh, no no. " says Derek. He gets out of the car and shuffles the hundred yards to the shop, shuffles back with 800 cigarettes. Takes 20 minutes. 

I sat there thinking, why doesn't he quit ? Everyone did, really. But he didn't. Two weeks later, Derek had a setback and had to be admitted to hospital as his breathing was getting more laboured. He was in for six weeks, during which time, work had to retire him on medical grounds. He got a good settlement. We'd all pop around to see him, cut the ivy around his windows, do the shopping for him, we'd call him every few days to make sure he was OK. He was a really nice bloke, we were all very fond of him.

E-mailed him one day and said well, you're missing nothing at work, Derek ! - back came the reply, "Cheers, Dave, getting really difficult to breathe, never had it this bad before. Sorry for a short mail, see you soon."

One day, Stuey came up to me and said Dave, Derek's not answering his phone. We tried calling a few times, having not spoken to him for a week. "Stu, you've got Derek's daughter's number, haven't you ? " I said. We rang his daughter: I already knew what the answer would be. Sadly, I was right. 

He'd died the day I received the e-mail. The funeral was the next day, we all went to management and said the five of us will not be in tomorrow. And frankly, neither should you. The look on our faces said that we attended the funeral or they could throw the book at us. 

We attended the funeral, so did management, to their credit. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. 

Afterwards, one of the bosses, Tony, came up to me and said why didn't he quit ? No one knew and it took me years to realise that Derek loved his cigarettes. They were utterly, totally everything to him. Instead of being little paper tubes full of burning dried plants, he blew them up to be his entire life. And death, sadly. 

It's only a cigarette, it's only a drink, whatever. Your life is much bigger and more important and the thing you think is so important..... actually isn't. 

I still miss Derek, he's been gone nearly ten years now. And I have God knows how many stories like this, mainly around drugs or drink. Any death like this through addiction is just a tragic waste. They're not all avoidable, and God knows I wish they were. People don't listen. 

If you take the first step to give up something which is doing you harm, you need someone who can help you go all the way to being clean. 

A sobering story Dave.. I think we're of a comparable age (mid 50's) and I could tell a few very similar stories from my life. I stopped smoking tobacco in my mid 20's when my daughter was born.. I actually hated it, it made me sick and dizzy and have cold sweats and to be totally frank, got into smoking roll-ups from smoking joints! Ive meandered in and out of a bit of dope smoking over the years then went on to just occasionally enjoying it baked into something.. With drink, ive always enjoyed the odd glass or two (and make my own wine, have done for years) but just get woozy and nauseous long before I get drunk.. ive been lucky I guess in that ive always been able to manage these 'pleasures' in my life and never let them get the better of me.. 

Logic is exactly what you need to quit smoking. Willpower is not what you need, if you're not convinced you should stop, the willpower is neither here nor there. Also nicotine is NOT addictive, it is habituating. There is a difference. 

With most addicts, there's a "moment of clarity". Logic tells you it's damaging you and you should stop. Willpower AND logic keep you stopped. 

Hi Cosmiclawnmower - thanks. Yes, we're both in our fifties, and of course, this is what happens. That was just one story, there are so many we could come up with.

I've walked into the pub, asked where one of my best mates was and been told he was dead, heroin, no one knew he was using, just started, miscalculated the dose, found by his mum, funeral was yesterday. Did no one tell you ? Literally dozens of stories like that. 

As I've got older, I've realised you have to start taking care of yourself. At some point, the party has to end and here comes the pipe and slippers. (No slippers as yet. ;-) ) 

One thing I absolutely hate, however, is that most addicts - of whatever substance - are pictured by society as weak or degenerate or all thieves or "lower members of society". Not the case. What particularly galls me is that smokers are now treated as worse than lepers. Yeah, well, that'll really do a lot of good. Worryingly, anti vaping sentiment is now coming along, so it seems that the intolerant will stop people vaping and going back to tobacco. Tobacco can much more easily kill you than vaping. Vaping is nowhere near the health risk of cigarettes. And these are your sons, daughters, parents, relatives and friends who are getting forced back into entrenched habits, of course. 

I also find that non smokers tend to usually talk sh*te about why people smoke, what's addictive, what's not, how to quit and how morally inferior smokers are. It's usually a sign of a deeper intolerance on all levels. 

Anyway. That's my $0.02. Based on 42 years of smoking (yep, started very early). Good luck to anyone who wants to give up any form of addiction. It can be done. It can be easy or hard, but it can be done unless you're one of the very unlucky ones with a personality or habits which preclude you doing it. End of the day, a cigarette is - real world - a paper tube containing burning plants, the smoke of which you inhale. That's all it is, if you make it more than that, you're inflating the problem. You can do anything you set your mind to, at the end of the day. Decide and do. 

No cigarettes, three days for your body to adjust. You're then clear of nicotine. 

Having a list of reasons for not smoking must surely help. The health effects, the money spent which is considerable, the feeling that something has control over, etc. A combination of logic and willpower seems the best bet when quitting.

I'm just under a month off of it now (4 days to go). While I still get minor cravings here and there, it's become very tolerable. To best describe my experience, quitting a drug can be compared to losing a loved one. You eventually learn to live your life without them/it, but you'll always have that thought in the back of your mind and it wont ever really be the same. Or at least I haven't reached that point yet. For me I couldn't really trick my brain to do anything, I just had to push myself. Gonna go off on a bit of a tangent.

I'm a young guy (18)but I've had some other struggles in my life that taught me the discipline needed for something like this. I've been overweight and I've been anorexic and I pushed myself extremely hard physically and mentally to dig myself out of those ruts. I think my strongest quality is that I trust myself to make the best decision for myself, even if it seems extremely spontaneous or ridiculous. I joined the track team as an out of shape overweight 8th grader and went from the slowest on the team and butt of all the jokes to running a 4:53 mile (1600m) in 2 years. I quit track when I was at my best ever because my heart wasn't in it anymore and I could no longer force myself to keep up a dead passion. When I quit I lost all my friends and connections. At this point I was 120 pounds (anorexic with a bad eating disorder and body dysmorphia) and I started going to the gym daily. My own parents were even vehemently against this, I remember my dad once saying "I would have never got you that gym membership if I knew you would quit track." I didn't care, I was lonely but I had something to prove. I bulked up till I was in the best shape of my life. I even decided to rejoin the track team for my final year of high school and had my best season ever. Deciding to go cold turkey was one of those things that I just knew I had to do. I feel like this has been another important event in my life that showed me that I still got it in me to push myself and be disciplined. Of course, theres no correct way to quit a drug, as long as the result is the same the means of getting there don't matter too much. 

I'm indifferent on pot use, I took 2 weeks off and felt really good. However recently I've gotten back into it and i'm finding that the effects are slowburn and buildup over time. It kind of messes with your reward system, but smoking a joint while listening to some sabbath or a visit to newport hospital is admittedly a lot of fun. To follow up on the friend I mentioned. I must've been having some cranky withdrawals when I typed that, because I no longer resent him and he is my best friend and I know neither of us really want to see that end over something like this.

I'm in broad agreement with this but I think Davesax1965 is simply pointing out there is a broad historical consensus in the medical community that some substances can more readily lead to addiction while others can be restricted to habituation: (but the lines are blurred by different personality types and there is no hard and fast agreement as to which substances belong to which category)

Addiction - can produce tolerance (higher doses are required over time to produce the same effect) and physical dependency (where biochemical and physiological changes at the cellular level occur to cope with the stress of withdrawal) e.g. Morphine, heroin, opiates, and to a lesser extent codeine, alcohol, and barbiturates etc

Habituation - caffeine, nicotine, bromide, cocaine, speed and other stimulants, and certain tranquilizers and sedatives (depressants) are not normally taken in sufficient amounts to result in physiological changes at the cellular level. They typically but not necessarily induce a strong need or craving emotionally or psychologically without producing the physical dependence that is associated with so-called 'hard' addiction.

Having gone through the trauma of quitting smoking, I'm not even remotely prepared to be lectured by anyone who claims my symptoms were figments of my imagination that by simply exercising logic could have been prevented. Also, most smokers smoke more gradually over time before they stop, so for me, contrary to the conventional wisdom quoted above, nicotine did produce tolerance.

There's no doubt, of course, that cigarettes damage your health. Please don't think I advocate smoking. Too many dead friends and relatives. But follow that argument and you also ban motorcycles. 

I agree here, but there are times that I think this "prohibition" in the States is more about something else ... the richest have no money invested in that industry, so they want to create as much of a hassle and prevents, until such a time as they can buy out the originals (that's coming in the next 3 years ... bet me!) ... and then change the law with a fake filter for this or that!

I wonder if it has been like that for hundreds of years!

PS. I quit smoking almost 4 months ago, and have had no bad reactions. I had quit before some 40 years ago when I was playing tennis regularly and helping in several workshops. Restarted about 10 years ago, and quitting, this time ... was easy ... 1, 2, 3, ... done! No emotional hangups, no bullsheepdip ... I just didn't feel the need for it anymore!

Ciao baby ... ohhh, my pocket has a couple of extra bucks ... should I take my chances once or twice in the lottery?

Seriously, it will pass. Just stick with it and try not to do things that are triggers. Easier said then done, but do somethings that you don't usually do.

Just need more music to keep you going. New stuff is better than the old stuff for these things in my case ... I love the thrill of finding something new that is far out!

A psychic friend of mine in Australia, dang ... a PHD now!!! ... used to say it funny ... you look for a box to help you, and when you done with that box, you look for another box, and then another box ... and he used to say ... there is an inherent problem there ... there is no box to get rid of the box-creating process ... and ... you get stuck!

For me, no excuses, or thoughts is the decision maker ... has nothing to do with anything else, other than feeling a bit healthier (at 69? like the doctors care!), but in general, the medical usage and costs are the same even without the purchases of the smokes!

I like to say ... you either do it or you don't. Case closed!

Hi,

You're probably not gonna like the answer ... look in the mirror. 

It's an 'acting" trick used in theater and film ... and in the end, you find ... what do I want to see and work with, which is helpful in defining and creating a "character" ... but in this case, and this time, it is about you ... not anything else!

dougmcauliffe wrote: Might be an offbeat topic, but I’m curious if any of you have experience in quitting nicotine addictions or habits. I, like many people my age (18) got hooked on vaping a while ago and after realizing it was just making me feel lethargic and sh*tty, I went cold turkey 10 days ago. Still the cravings and withdrawal have been really awful and honestly haven’t been getting better. So if some of you have stories I could use some motivation. Obviously quitting cigs is harder, but this has been one of the most difficult things I’ve done in my life.

I smoked for about 15 years. I was up to 2 packs a day when I finally decided to quit. I tried cold turkey, but was unsuccessful. Then I realized that there were many times I had to postpone the next cigarette for a short time because I was, for example, in a non-smoking area. We (smokers) have all been there. The pain of waiting that extra 15-30 minutes after the first urge hit me was not all that bad. So I put on my wristwatch and timed the interval between normal light-ups. Let's say it was 30 minutes. I'd increase that to 45 minutes, and not light up more often than every 45 minutes. I'd continue that for days -- maybe as much as a week. Eventually, the 45 min interval felt normal. No urges to light up more often. Then I'd increase it to 60 min, and keep that interval for a several days. Then 90 min. Then 2 hr. Then 3 hr. Then 4 hr. The trick is to keep your eye on your watch. When you extinguish a butt, look at your watch and mentally set the next light-up time. Don't light up before then. (Knowing that time will elapse and you'll eventually get your "reward" really helps with the mental anguish). After several weeks, I was down to just two cigarettes a day, then I quit completely. It was many days of a little discomfort, rather than the sharp, physical and mental agony of cold turkey - which this weakling couldn't handle. I haven't smoked since.

It took me 10 years on-off quitting. I haven´t had a smoke since November 2019, and I seldom miss it. It´s only when I get pissed drunk that my craving for a smoke starts, but since that rarely happens these days, it´s only been an issue once in the last two years, and even then I didn´t give in to the temptation.

On topic, I´ve tried all sorts of nicotine substitudes, but really you´re just replacing one habit with another. In my opinion there´s only one way...cold turkey. Maybe some therapy (it doesn´t need to be professional, maybe just talks with a friend) to motivate you when it´s getting hard.

One aspect of tobacco addiction that many do not know is that tobacco contains naturally occurring radioactive elements that are concentrated as well as some fertilizers that make it even more densely packed.

That means every smoke you take, you are ingesting radioactive elements! This is generally what causes lung cancer.

This is well known the scientific world.

So next time you want to smoke, just remind yourself that you are treating your body like a hazardous waste dumping ground!

http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21926418/" rel="nofollow - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21926418/

Cancer may not be a certainty but diminishing your quality of life and shortening your lifespan is all but guaranteed.

Tobacco smoke is a significant source of free radicals which are basically unstable electrons that destroy your DNA. http://%20en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telomere" rel="nofollow - Telomeres are the extemities of chromosomes and are sort of like a carbon copy machine that allows cells to divide and replaced the ones that die.

Free radicals destroy the transfer of information and thus allow undesirable mutations in cellular reproduction.

If you think you are not being affected by tobacco usage then you like countless others are deluding yourself.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1568603/" rel="nofollow - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1568603/

^ definitely agree that it's your body and your choice. I'm not here to judge anybody for making their own decisions as long as it is informed consent.

Science can basically be broke down into two distinct categories:

1) the scientific method which yields results that are able to be replicated, questioned and scrutinized AND

2) scientism, which is blind faith in any claimed results from the so-called masters of this religion

Regarding the effects of smoking, they are detrimental and that is without a sliver of controversy

Regarding any old timer that lived a long age as a smoker.

How do you know they wouldn't have lived longer, healthier or happier if they had not smoked at all?

Keep in mind in the last several decades that the pollution has grown at an exponential rate and therefore such effects of tobacco are compounded by negative synergistic effects.

I have a friend who smokes a pack a day, drank vodka every day and smokes pot for decades. She showed no effects at all and then suddenly EVERYTHING in her body gave out and now she's the most miserable person i've ever encountered.

Your carbon-based meat suit is like an edifice that can sustain damage for a period of time before one day the remaining pillar gives way allowing the entire thing to collapse.

Only chiming in on this thread because it causes me great pain to see so many suffer the effects of something that is so easily avoided.

And YES, instant coffee is not healthy either but nothing in comparison to radioactive tobacco!

Wishing you health and prosperity  and hope you escape these likely eventualities :)

Gentle and Giant wrote: Radioactive Tobacco - sounds like a good name for a band (I'll file that one in case I ever form a band so no one else can nick it)

Reminds me of this song!

Back on topic. It's tough to kick any habit. I'm still a occasional smoker.