Quitting Smoking - Page 2

Yeah, you totally missed my point. Just because you think its cool and "bad ass" doesn't make it so. Just like people thought dressing like MJ was cool for a few years, and then people grew up and realized wearing a red leather/vinyl jacket with 100 zippers was idiotic. If that doesn't work for you, maybe I can use Zoobas as a metaphor - or male perms.

I'll admit that I used to think it looked cool to smoke. The tough kids in school and the "bad asses" in movies smoked. Then when I started to grow up and most of my friends gave up smoking, I started to feel pretty stupid smoking in a group by myself. I ended up smoking for about 10 years and quit cold turkey two years ago.

I can buy into the fact that people think its cool to smoke when they start out doing it in their teens, but I think the coolness wears off pretty fast for most mature people.

On the other hand, being addicted to tobacco is a more legitimate excuse to smoke. I can sympathize with people who have tried to quit and can't break the habit, but smoking cuz it's "kewl" is just plain 'tarded.

Electric Cigarettes. These fuckers are everywhere - they vapourize the nicotine so you can still smoke indoors (yay!) and they're cheap as sin.

These things just suddenly cropped up everywhere where I work - you don't look cool smoking it, but you have the habit of inhaling, exhaling and having something between your lips(!) which makes it easier to adopt. Most people still have one or two cigarettes a day at this early stage though, but it's a drastic reduction.

Don't get me wrong - i'm a non-smoker and think smoking's disgusting.

That said - It's one of the most cinematic devices out there for a filmmaker. The scene in True Romance inside the caravan between Walken and Hopper is intensified by the sound of the cigarette being inhaled, that slow crackle, the light inside the caravan breaking through that smoke. Hopper lighting up his last one. It's not always about being a "bad-ass", it's simply aesthetically very "cool".

In reality, the stained teeth, bad breath and health problems override any potential benefits it has for making my shots look nice - but I think completely dismissing it as a fad might be underestimating the longevity of the cigarette's appeal and the fact it's associated with being 'cool'.

I'd never heard of these before, so I looked them up. Kind of neat, but I'm not even sure why you'd want one that looked like a cig at that point. Maybe there's some comfort level with the shape or something.
I'd totally give them a try, but it sounds like they can't be sold here until the FDA has their way with them.

Currently I'm trying to pop down from 5 a day to 4. Yippee!

It's the act of smoking, holding it between your fingers - seeing the vapour. It's an association thing I guess. You get your dose of nicotine and still keep the "habit" whilst you give up.

Bottom line is that it works - and from the people i've seen using them, they seem to work better than patches or gum. I suspect it'd be down to the individual though.

I smoke less than 3 cigarettes a day but still can't find it in me to swear them off completely. It's more than just the nicotine, it's the oral fixation and the conditioning. The act of ripping the foil, seeing those spongy white filters, and lighting up is just a psychologically fun process. It's almost like you're bored if you don't have them. It's like, "here's something else I can put in my face to distract me from the everyday death crawl."

Sad thing is, I don't even LIKE they feeling the give me. I smoke one and I feel like a can of ulcer. But I've been conditioned to enjoy the whole process. What's worse is that here in Wyoming you can still smoke in restaurants, and to sit there and have a cup of coffee without a cigarette just makes me antsy.

By the way, is it good or bad that the bigger states and cities have banned smoking in public areas and taxed smokers to death? Here in rural Wyoming, where that hasn't caught on yet, we have the highest rates of smoking pregnant women anywhere (also highest drunk-driving rates: YEE-HAW! and alarming obesity rates). Seems like urban societies have evolved beyond many of these problems by simply making it too difficult/expensive. And I happen to think that's a good thing, because unhealthy, unsafe people burden the health care system.

What awful things. It's amazing how often hedonism trumps good sense.

I know!! soo great. however, i do not buy my own so rarely get the full smoking experience. oh well

That is the single greatest thing i've ever heard about dick cheney's home state. is that true? are there other states where smokers still have rights like that?

trust me, i live in massachusetts, its bad. government should not be in the buisness of taxing cigs or alcohol. its just wrong. also, banning smoking in PUBLIC areas? i cannot think of many things that make my skin crawl more than that idea

Yeah, I bum from my enabling friends. If I bought my own pack I would smoke myself sick.

LOL, the dick cheney mention makes me cringe. He graduated from my high school and we named our shitty fake football field after him.

BTW, the single greatest thing I can say about Casper is that Klendathu is 20 minutes outside of town. I remember visiting Hell's Half-
Acre when I was 12-years old and thinking "Casper Van Dien probably stood right here in this spot....."

Oh my god, seriously? That is terrible! Wow.. lol

Klendathu though? thats hella cool. i love that you were as excited about casper van dien as some people are about famous historical figures (not bashing you, starship troopers is one of my favorite films. ed neumeyer's daughter is in my little sisters dorm, and she called me up in june and was like "the writer of robocop is here!" and i was like "ED NEUMEYER!!?". she got his autograph and communicated my starship troopers praise. it was epic. plus i told neil patrick harris i loved him in starship troopers when i met him last summer)

I quit almost 12 years ago and the smell of a single lit cigarette still smells great to me.
However, anymore than the one, especially in an enclosed room, makes me sick.

But still, every now and then, I think "Maybe I'll just have ONE".
Even after all this time, I'm not COMPLETELY over cigs.

Mississippi and Alabama.

maybe being on the chud boards is just the void-filling activity I need to replace smoking

ugh....i have to grudgingly give some 'mad props' to the south on that single issue i guess

To say nothing of the simple joys of going to a bar without the scent of your clothes being affected by the decisions of others. Smokers are unwitting fascists when it comes to clothing odor.

If smokers would consent to containing their godawful stench and cancer-causing exhaust in public (perhaps through some sort of air collection device that they could exhale into or a giant hamster bubble with an air filtration system), I'd have no problem with them, but barring that, they should shut the fuck up and get on board with the quite simple "your rights end where my nose begins" concept that the rest of us have somehow learned to live with.

Any smoking Chewers in the MN area that want to accompany me to the Oncology department next Weds just let me know. I guarantee talking to, or simply seeing any lung cancer patient will make you quit cold turkey.

Grossest shit I've ever seen = someone smoking through a trach.

wow.... and SMOKERS are the fascists. not the government who says cannot buy flavored cigs because kids with bad parents might illegally buy them from people illegally selling them a product that says "CAUSES CANCER" in big black-on-white lettering. riiiiiight.

you DO understand what public means? i should be able to smoke a tobacco (or other, but thats a dicsussion for a different time) product in a public space because its a not only a free country, but this is earth and i am alive on it. if we do not say a word about car exaust and factories pumping crap into the atmosphere, how DARE you tell me i cannot sit outside in a public place and smoke.

how we put fat people who fart alot in hamster bubbles? why isnt that ok? after all, they're CHOOSING to ingest junk that leads to flatulance

Just quit smoking, people. Christ knows I love self-destructive behavior as much as the next guy, but smoking kills puppies and kittens and Patriots fans. Cut it out already.

Go away.

Make me!

You're easy. I can bribe you with booze.

Or boobs!

It never fails to shock me when vastly intelligent, politically aware people around me, mostly friends that I look up to in every other way, buy into the silliest propaganda because it's easier to justify smoking than quit smoking. They don't believe the oil company trash concerning Global Warming, they know their grandmothers aren't going to be killed if healthcare reform goes through, but they're somehow convinced that there's no proof that smoking causes cancer.

Smokers are Jokers!

of course smoking causes cancer. however, much of that is due to all the crazy crap the companies put in cigs. how on earth can you add poisons to them is beyond me. when i speak out in favor of cigs, i am speaking out in favor of TOBACCO and mostly only american spirit cigs.

it should be illegal to produce a product that you then willfully add poison to

also, some of the research on second hand smoke causing cancer is, flat out, bogus. it is no worse than living in LA nad breathing hte air.

Also, a lot of it is flat out TRUE. Actually, almost all of it. Sure, it's similar to breathing in LA, which is why I don't live in LA.

I didn't realize this came after Jacob's post. It was meant for Princess Kate.

This response isn't really for Princess Kate's benefit because she won't understand it, but I'd just like to say that I'd be okay with smokers if they and their cigarettes were subject to regular inspections and regulations on what they pump out. These regulations should probably be somewhat stricter, though, since cars and factories actually serve useful purposes for society. I also support both the electric car and the smokeless cigarette.

Is it ironic that this thread keeps getting bumped by the Cigar Chewer's thread? I vote yes.
Something tells me you don't understand the basic tenets of "freedom" in this country. Or that a disregard for the freedom of others leads to inconsiderate licentiousness.

I've been cutting back a large amount the last couple of months, a pack has been lasting about two weeks, but out of no where I'm back up to almost a pack a day. I wish I had the desire to want to quit, but I'm not there yet. Hopefully soon.

Good luck to the people who are going cold turkey.

I think I've said this before, but what helped me when I quit (cold turkey) was to continue going through the actual motions of having a cigarette. Like from time to time at work, I'd get up, go outside, and walk around as if I were on a smoke break, but without actually smoking. It really helped fulfill that psychological need I had, since once you've gone a week or two without, the actual chemical addiction is all but gone.

If you smoke while you drive, try taking a different route to and from work as well, keep your mind on where you're going rather than wanting to have a cigarette.

My grandfather used to take out a toothpick from a pack in his pocket every time he wanted a cigarette. To this day he still always has toothpicks with him, and he hasn't smoked in 40 some-odd years.

One thing that helped me through the first rough patch was isolating myself from my usual routine and smoker friends.

It's hard to do but it's really important if you want to break your usual smoking patterns and start over. You simply can't go to a smoky bar or get drunk with your smoker friends and watch them light up cigarette after cigarette if you expect to quit for real. Even your day to day working routine needs an overhaul if you are used to having cigarettes before work and on breaks and such, you need to find something else to do that's pleasurable and healthier during those times so you don't go crazy.

My first two weeks I spent a lot of time in bed and didn't really hang out with anyone. I was incredibly bitchy and felt like going on a rampage a lot of the time so it's a good thing I didn't anyway.

Smoking a lot of pot does help if that's something you're into, otherwise some other smoking replacement or herbal cigarette would help to fill that psychological void.

Also exercising, it makes you feel better and it helps to counteract any weight gain. It's a wonderful distraction for especially hard moments too, whenever I felt like I really really needed a smoke or I was going to scream I would go for a run or do jumping jacks or anything else to completely exhaust myself and then I'd be so tired I'd forget all about it for awhile.

Quitting is a process that takes a long time to get the hang of completely but it does get easier and easier as time goes on. The first 2 weeks to a month are the worst depending on how addicted you are, but after that as you get used to a new routine you start to think about it less and less.

It's been about a year and a half for me and while I've had a few slip ups and still occasionally smoke when I'm really drunk I've never gotten re-addicted since I initially kicked the habit.

I'm a classic example that anyone can do it if they really decide they want to, because I have little or no will power at the best of times.

This is excellent advice too! I used to go to my smoking spots and walk around on my breaks at first as well, you can kind of trick yourself into thinking you are going about your usual routine.

I found even just holding my pen like it was a cigarette helped fill that need, having something to do with my hands was a huge part of the attraction for me so that miming really helped until I found various other ways to fidget and keep my hands busy.

I hope your grandpa eventually overcomes his crippling toothpick addiction.

I'm guessing he got toothpick induced gum cancer, and the people around him suffered the effects of second hand toothpicking.

I stepped on a toothpick barefoot one time. I still have no idea how it managed to impale me, but it did. Hurt like hell. I also support the electric car and smokeless cigarette, but this shit is tough man. Just because one is a smoker it doesn't negate their useful purpose in society. I know you don't mean that, but it did come off that way.

I tend to be a polite smoker. Even if I'm outside I try to get away from people, and I'll flick off the cherry and put the butt in the trash. I am all for inspecting cigarettes, but not smokers(well maybe some of the idiots). As much as cigarettes have gone up in price, mostly from taxes, I have no idea why the FDA hasn't cracked down on additives in cigarettes. They're making addicts poor(er), basically. Cut out the additives, I think I have a much better chance against some pure tobacco than some of the crap they put in these things.
I've heard different info as for American Spirit and Winston, and far as how "pure" they are.

Haha I think my point got lost in the shuffle there Dave. I'm not making any sense anyway because I haven't had a cigarette today.

Has anyone ever purchased a "cricket" lighter before? its one of those half electric butane ones that use an electric spark to ignite? last night my lighter was shocking me every time i used it, it would send a jolt up my arm. is this normal? what should i do?

I heard if you smack it against your forehead 15 to 20 times before you try to light it that you won't get shocked. You should start doing this immediately. And if it doesn't work at first...keep doing it.

uh huh... anyone have any *Real information regarding the product safety of the cricket lighter?

somehow placing an object that is sending out electrical shocks right next to my brain does not seem like a good idea "bloody wanker"

Haven't you ever heard of electric shock therapy?

which has, for the most part, gone the way of ice pick up the nose therapy

Well, I don't know about that...but you could always try jamming your lighter up your nostril before lighting it as well. Boogers and nose hair are an excellent recipe for dissipating shocks from lighters.

Thanks for living up to your user name.

No problem. Maybe you should actually be creating posts about quitting smoking since this forum is about......wait for it.....quitting smoking. If you want to learn how to use a lighter, google the fucker.

people who need to quit smoking are most likely familiar with the tools used to ignite a cig. hence my lighter question. i did google it. i googled "cricket lighter shock" and all i got were results for prank lighters that are SUPPOSED to shock you.

Maybe someone pulled the ol' switcharoo on ya.

Anyways, I'm continuing with my 4 smokes a day(down from a pack a day-ish for... 15 years?), so I think this must be related...
Migraines. I haven't had one in 6 months, now I'm having them every other day. Anyone get anything similar?

i get a migraine when my lighter shocks me.

As to the original intent of this thread, I found it much easier to quit smoking by falling in love with someone who couldn't stand to kiss me with my cigarette breath. Worked like a charm...but it's not necessarily an easy treatment technique to implement.

Especially if, in addition to your addiction, you are insufferably obnoxious.

there isnt anything wrong with cigarette breath.. to each his/her own i guess