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View Full Version : I hate trying to give up smoking



dish
2008-06-17, 11:44 AM
I hate the fact that nicotine is so addictive.
I hate the fact that cigarettes are so unhealthy.
I hate the fact that trying to give up means I'm constantly distracted, constantly annoyed, constantly light-headed, constantly spaced.
I hate the fact that nicotine gum tastes horrible.
I hate the fact that nicotine patches actually hurt.
I hate the fact that this is one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do.
I hate the fact that I'll probably fail - again.
I hate the fact that giving up means no more cigarettes ever again. Ever.

Apologies, this should probably go in the 'rants' thread or something. But I'm in a very bad mood (did you guess? :smallamused:) so it's going here.

Children, teenagers, college students - they keep on telling you never to start smoking. Well, for once, they are actually right. You might think you could never get addicted, but, yes, you could. And addiction happens very quickly and very easily. Unlike the reverse.

(I'm dealing with this like a rational adult :smallconfused: ie. drinking beer after beer in an attempt to stop thinking about smoking.)

Spiryt
2008-06-17, 12:02 PM
I heard that weed is pretty good help in giving up ciggarets.

(Please don't kill me for that comment)

Totally Guy
2008-06-17, 12:09 PM
If anybody is thinking of starting, start with the small patches ands work your way up to full cigarettes. Is that a joke? :smallconfused: Well it started off as one, but but it really gives the humourous V sign to peer pressure. And psychologically you'd have to spend money on something dumb, just to make a dumb joke.

I've never had a cigarette, I've got enough insecurities without that one, and enough needs like water food and sleep to consider.

dish
2008-06-17, 12:17 PM
I heard that weed is pretty good help in giving up ciggarets.

(Please don't kill me for that comment)

I won't. :smallamused:
Did you know that in the UK most weed is mixed with tobacco to form a joint? Thus, it is not in the slightest bit helpful in giving up nicotine.

I haven't smoked a joint in many, many, many years. On second thoughts, I have never and would never dream of doing such a thing. Not online and not in real life. I mean, I'm a teacher for goodness sake. We're incredibly boring. :smallwink:
And, sad to say, alcohol is legal while marijuana isn't. So that's a big factor.

Player_Zero
2008-06-17, 12:28 PM
I won't. :smallamused:
Did you know that in the UK most weed is mixed with tobacco to form a joint? Thus, it is not in the slightest bit helpful in giving up nicotine.

I haven't smoked a joint in many, many, many years. And, sad to say, alcohol is legal while marijuana isn't. So that's a big factor.

You could always just get high. That'd solve your problems.

...Besides, the amount of tobacco you put in a joint isn't very much anyway! You'd have to get pretty DAMN high to account for the amount of tobacco you smoked... Wait, are we allowed to talk about this? :smalltongue:

*Ahem*... Back ON topic, I still don't see why people start smoking... It isn't cool unless I'm doing it, ya' know. :smalltongue:

dish
2008-06-17, 12:43 PM
I still don't see why people start smoking... It isn't cool unless I'm doing it, ya' know.

There was this guy. Tall, dark, and handsome. Many moons ago...

Mauve Shirt
2008-06-17, 12:47 PM
It isn't cool unless I'm doing it, ya' know.
Says the viking wearing a top hat, monocle and a multicolored afro. :smallamused:

Cigarettes taste and smell gross, and basically are just something to do with your hands. That's addicting and bad for your health.

My sociology textbook says marijuana should be legalized and it would solve social problems. My sister thinks that our social problems would be less dreadful if everyone were high.

dish
2008-06-17, 01:00 PM
Says the viking wearing a top hat, monocle and a multicolored afro.
I thought he was a pirate skeleton?

In other news, one of the snakes just escaped and nearly ate one of the cats.

Thoughts on marijuana: it's illegal. Thus, this forum is not an appropriate place to discuss it.

Personally, I wish some government somewhere would actually ban nicotine. I would move to that country.

Spiryt
2008-06-17, 01:09 PM
Cigarettes taste and smell gross, and basically are just something to do with your hands. That's addicting and bad for your health.

My sociology textbook says marijuana should be legalized and it would solve social problems. My sister thinks that our social problems would be less dreadful if everyone were high.

Hmmm. Actually I felt somewhat bad after smoking weed, while it's definetly not what should happen. And after smoking ciggarete I always feel kinda relaxed.

However :
a) My brain is generally in sorry shape
b) I smoke only when someone is giving it for free (never actually bought ciggarets it's kinda a waste of money)

Player_Zero
2008-06-17, 01:11 PM
Hey, being weird IS style. :smallamused:

The viking comment refers to the style of clothing I am planning to buy in order to complete my transformation into the ULTIMATE weird-guy.

...Still don't understand addiction, though. I mean, sometimes I could really go for a cup of tea, but if that cup of tea had a reasonable chance of eventually giving me cancer, or made my teeth turn yellow then I'd think twice...

I'm not really helping, huh? :smalltongue:

dish
2008-06-17, 01:24 PM
Cigarettes taste and smell gross, You've got to understand that when you're addicted to them, they taste and smell delicious.
(Well, in moderation. The tiny little smoker's lounges at international airports can still get a bit too much even for me.)

and basically are just something to do with your hands.
My hands like having stuff to do.

That's addicting and bad for your health. Hence the original point of the thread.

CannibalHymn
2008-06-17, 02:17 PM
Cigarettes taste and smell gross,
Cloves.

Personally, I don't see why people quit. Cigarettes cause cancer. As does the sun, sunscreen, artificial light, the chemicals in the air (moreso than cigarettes; in Providence, I would be safer smoking a pack of cigarettes a day inside, and wearing a gasmask outside), so you're pretty much out of luck avoiding carcinogens unless you live in a lightless room with filtered air. Which you don't, since you have a computer screen.

As for addiction, you're already addicted to air, water, protein, fat, and various vitamins. What's wrong with adding something debonair to the list?

Tempest Fennac
2008-06-17, 02:21 PM
Reiki could help here. I tend to get my best results when sending it over IM or Gabbly. ( http://www.gabbly.com/www.giantitp.com ). In regards to being addicted, nicotine isn't actually essential for keeping you alive, and it's expensive.

reorith
2008-06-17, 02:36 PM
acupuncture might help. although it might be hard to find :(

Player_Zero
2008-06-17, 03:01 PM
So, CannibalHymn, you're gonna' overlook that it makes you smell bad to other people and turns your mouth into something unholy, then? Sure it's not the worst habit ever, but it's still a bad one. I could start picking my nose all the time and the likelihood of me needing medical treatment over it may be low, sure, but it doesn't mean it's a good idea.

The threat of something you don't want happening happening if you don't quit could help, I suppose... A mortal threat would work best, I feel. :smallbiggrin:

...Or you could get one of your friends to cancel your internet connection if you don't do it or something... :smalltongue:

Getting some friends know you're trying to quit would also be a good idea... That way you'd have more reason to work at it...

Tom_Violence
2008-06-17, 03:26 PM
I'm one of those really annoying people that gives up smoking surprisingly easy. Which I prove regularly, since everyone knows that smoking is incredibly cool and I find that actually staying non-smoking holds some difficulty. :smalltongue:

Narmoth
2008-06-17, 05:28 PM
try chewing on ordinary gum every time you want to smoke. My father quit that way (he didn't cut out smoking at once, but smoked less and less over half a year until he stopped completely)

Zarrexaij
2008-06-17, 06:41 PM
Heh, my mom used to be a smoker but quit a few years ago. We've saved so much money from her quitting, she used to smoke at least a pack a day, sometimes two or three.

Having asthma, I can safely say it's not something I'm willing to try. I view it as a very gross habit. Smokeless tobacco is even worse.

Collin152
2008-06-17, 06:53 PM
You can do it!
When you feel you need a stick of that nauseous vegetable matter, just bite your knuckles so hard they bleed! That's how I kick my addictions!

Klose_the_Sith
2008-06-17, 09:20 PM
Yeah? Well I hate working, but it must be done.

I believe that you can quit, like what other people have said

Tell other people

That way theres peer pressure on you to quit.

Also, find some nice but really anti smoking friends and hang out with them frequently. Things like that can rub off. As for the hand thing, take up knitting. It helped a guy I know. (I am completely serious). If knitting is too cool for you try tapping out tunes on a surface, you get addicted to it and then your hands are occupied.

Mando Knight
2008-06-17, 11:54 PM
My grandfather once told me that he quit smoking "cold turkey" a long time ago after realizing how much it cost him... though he might not have ever started, since his Alzheimer's messes with what he saw/read/heard about and what actually happened to him...

No personal offense to smokers itP, but I've always found the smell of tobacco smoke to be one of the most disgusting smells on earth, (maybe not ranked as high as a skunk's spray, but still up there...) and that fact alone is a major deterrent.

Illinois has banned all smoking inside or within 15 feet from public buildings, and so my workplace (Wal-Mart...) has cleaned out the employee associate smoker's lounge... (regardless, there are quite a few on the night shift who still smoke...)

Semidi
2008-06-18, 02:25 AM
It was easy for me to give up smoking.

When I was 16 I moved to a completely different state without any connection to buy cigarettes from, and was too shy to make friend quickly enough.

Blammo, I was forced to quit. Though I'm now sort of glad I quit, it would be nice to smoke without the whole cancer thing hanging over my head.

Though the first few days of schools sucked.

poleboy
2008-06-18, 02:36 AM
I quit cold turkey.. sorta. I had a really nasty cold one winter and couldn't smoke (or at least enjoy it) because of it. After a week or so of not smoking, my nicotine addiction was manageable, and even though I lapsed a bit, I was more or less clean after a month or so.
I still smoke sometimes, if smokers are around and I'm drunk (the combination is fortunately rare), but I can't handle more than half a cigarette before my throat starts to hurt, so it never amounts to more than that.
While I can't say for sure, pacing might be a good idea. If someone else is there to keep tabs on you (and you on them) you will likely be much more motivated, perhaps even feel guilty if you do have a smoke.

Icewalker
2008-06-18, 02:37 AM
I suggest not trying to stop suddenly or do something else, but rather slow down. Reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke every day by a little. I've done this to get rid of habits, but not addictions, so I'm sure it'll be a lot harder, but it seems like a good way to do it.

As to the "everything gives you cancer so screw it" comment...basically all of those can either be protected against or are a myth. The air quality one certainly isn't true (at least not to any seriously influential extent), unless Providence is several orders of magnitude more polluted than anywhere else on the planet.

Amotis
2008-06-18, 04:02 AM
I hate the fact that I'll probably fail - again.

Funny thing is that from what I've heard and experienced, that's the way most people quit and it's kinda a good sign that you've tried it before. Most people don't quit the first time, they try and try again until they do. Like when I first quit it was after going cold turkey, failing, going cold turkey, failing, etc. Until the cold turkey finally stuck. Of course, I started again but I had quit for a year or so and started again outside reasons of addiction so I think I really did quit. Now I just don't care. ^_^

Narmoth
2008-06-18, 04:50 AM
Now, to ruin everything: I have a work colleague that smokes tobacco that smells very nice, almost so nice that I'd consider to start smoking.
That is, if I still was in junior high, not in medschool

dish
2008-06-18, 12:34 PM
Cloves.

Now you've made me think of clove cigarettes. (Mmm, Indonesia.)

So, I should get my friends to nag me. This seems to be the consensus.
I'm not sure if I could give up gradually. I strongly suspect it's got to be cold-turkey. :smallsigh:

CannibalHymn
2008-06-18, 06:44 PM
So, CannibalHymn, you're gonna' overlook that it makes you smell bad to other people
I reiterate: cloves.


and turns your mouth into something unholy, then?
You ever eaten sugar? Yeah.

Gorbash
2008-06-18, 07:18 PM
I actually tried to start smoking a couple of times. Every time I almost puked after the ordeal, and lost every notion of ever trying it again. It's still beyond me how is that fun/cool/enjoyable thing to do.

reorith
2008-06-18, 11:54 PM
I actually tried to start smoking a couple of times. Every time I almost puked after the ordeal, and lost every notion of ever trying it again. It's still beyond me how is that fun/cool/enjoyable thing to do.

i light up on occasion. like i carry a couple cigarettes, marlboro reds, in the case i use instead of a wallet. if i'm engaged in a boring conversation, i'll interrupt the speaker and whip one out and light it, pull a few drags on it dramatically and then blow a cloud of blue-grey cancerous indifference before making my escape. i've yet to do this often enough to lead to an addiction. my life is so boring and pathetic that i'm willing to damage my health in the name of showmanship. also when i drink, i drink red wine with near exclusivity, but thats only because of the book the outsider i haven't seen sideways, but i'm sure it sucks.

and smoking is cool just ask

james dean
albert camus
sean penn
humphrey bogart
gillian anderson
christian bale
colin farrell
johnny depp
kate beckinsale
lindsay lohan

Mando Knight
2008-06-19, 12:19 AM
Personally, I don't see why people quit./QUOTE]

You're... serious about this? It's expensive (a $3 pack per day costs you about $1085 per year... I'd be able to afford an Xbox 360 and 10 games for about the same price... or maybe extra car insurance...) in addition to being bad for your health. (The average lifespan of a smoker is 2.5-10 years less than non-smokers, and tobacco smoke is involved in 30% of all cancer-related deaths)

[QUOTE]...in Providence, I would be safer smoking a pack of cigarettes a day inside, and wearing a gasmask outside)

Really? What about staying inside and not smoking?


As for addiction, you're already addicted to air, water, protein, fat, and various vitamins. What's wrong with adding something debonair to the list?

It smells bad, it messes up your face, your voice, your lungs (lung cancer's 1 in 6 for men who smoke, 1 in 75 for non-smoking men), your heart... is it really so debonair that the sacrifice to your health and appearance is worth it?

Player_Zero
2008-06-19, 01:31 AM
You ever eaten sugar?

Nope. In fact, I don't know why anyone actually eats sugar. It's a waste of money, time and effort when you better spend that time poisoning yourself. It hardly causes cancer at all, so what's the point? I'd rather delude myself into believing my bad habits have no harmful or negative side-effects if it's all the same to you.
There is bound to be someone who takes this literally rather than a comparison to show how sectarian CannibalHymn is being.

Tom_Violence
2008-06-19, 04:58 AM
Wow, people are surprisingly preachy here. Never would have guessed that. What's the big deal anyway? Just chill out and enjoy life. Smoke, don't smoke, who cares?

A lot of people here seem to be trying to tell others what they should and shouldn't value in life, and that's a much worse habit than smoking.

Felixaar
2008-06-19, 05:57 AM
Have you tried chewing gum? Not nicotine, just plain gum. thats how I broke sugary foods. or bite your tongue/pinch yourself when you feel the craving.

Player_Zero
2008-06-19, 06:10 AM
Wow, people are surprisingly preachy here. Never would have guessed that. What's the big deal anyway? Just chill out and enjoy life. Smoke, don't smoke, who cares?

A lot of people here seem to be trying to tell others what they should and shouldn't value in life, and that's a much worse habit than smoking.

It's because I know better than everyone else, see. If they don't listen to my viewpoint and do as I say then they'll just be doing it wrong.

But seriously, it's still generally considered bad to let people hurt themselves, wheter or not that makes you preachy or not. And since it's generally the consensus that smoking is bad for you, then even if I am an annoying tasbard about it I shouldn't just let people perpetuate the idea that it isn't and/or that it makes you cool.

I'm da Rogue!
2008-06-19, 06:16 AM
I quit smoking 3 years ago.

I sometimes smoke tobacco, but that's only once in a while, and I'm no longer addicted to it.
I just smoke when I go out and have a couple of drinks.

And no, I don't miss it. I still enjoy it, but I don't care if I don't have something to smoke.

I simply woke up one day and decided I won't buy cigarets again.

Narmoth
2008-06-19, 07:23 AM
Have you tried chewing gum? Not nicotine, just plain gum. thats how I broke sugary foods. or bite your tongue/pinch yourself when you feel the craving.


try chewing on ordinary gum every time you want to smoke. My father quit that way (he didn't cut out smoking at once, but smoked less and less over half a year until he stopped completely)

:smallbiggrin:

grumpyboater
2008-06-19, 07:53 AM
(Take my advice with a pinch of salt as i am rubbish at giving up, and keep re-starting..)

Things I have found helpful, having something to do with my hand. Try origami. Try googling 'Starwars Origami'. Now try origami.

Celery Sticks.

Telling a loved one you want to be with them for longer, so are giving up smoking for them.

Incidentally, it is perfectly possible to get hooked on nictotine from smoking joints with tobacco in them.

Tom_Violence
2008-06-19, 09:12 AM
It's because I know better than everyone else, see. If they don't listen to my viewpoint and do as I say then they'll just be doing it wrong.

But seriously, it's still generally considered bad to let people hurt themselves, wheter or not that makes you preachy or not. And since it's generally the consensus that smoking is bad for you, then even if I am an annoying tasbard about it I shouldn't just let people perpetuate the idea that it isn't and/or that it makes you cool.

Who's getting hurt? In the short-term at least, smoking is quite the opposite of painful. In the long-term of course its hard to deny that smoking is bad for you. But you see, that's when the problem kicks in, since you end up telling people that they should value the long-term over the short-term, and there's no reason why someone can't strongly disagree with you there. I understand the desire to inform people about the risks of different behaviours, but once you stray into paternalism I can't see any justification for it.

Player_Zero
2008-06-19, 10:04 AM
In what manner do debateable short-term benefits outweigh long-lasting repercussions? If I go out and spend all my money on a load of crack then you're saying that the short-term benefit of being completely trashed could conceivably outweigh the fact that afterwards I would have no money and most likely not be able to walk for a week?

...Besides, I'm telling people that it's a bad idea to smoke, not that I command it of them. :smalltongue:

Tom_Violence
2008-06-19, 11:30 AM
In what manner do debateable short-term benefits outweigh long-lasting repercussions? If I go out and spend all my money on a load of crack then you're saying that the short-term benefit of being completely trashed could conceivably outweigh the fact that afterwards I would have no money and most likely not be able to walk for a week?

...Besides, I'm telling people that it's a bad idea to smoke, not that I command it of them. :smalltongue:

Because some people don't care about the long-term stuff. Some people would rather spend all their money on an amazing holiday than saving it up for their old age. Some people would rather go out and party every night instead of stockpiling all their cash for a rainy day. Some people would rather sit on their ass all day long instead of going for a jog. And yeah, I'm sure some people would rather buy a big bag of crack than not. Now, you may totally disagree with all these decisions, and you may think you're living a much 'better' life than these people, but you have no idea what their value systems are and you mustn't be allowed to make their decisions for them.

Just as you think its irresonsible and reckless for people to go on smoking, so they may well think you're dull and watching your life fly by. Horses for courses, horses for courses. Give out as much information as you like, but I'm just not a big fan of being told what is right for me. :smalltongue: