The first day without a cigarette

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AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around an individual's attempt to quit smoking, noting the challenges and strategies involved in the process. The participant has managed to go a day without cigarettes, motivated partly by illness, and expresses curiosity about how long they can maintain this progress. There is an emphasis on the importance of staying active and focused to combat cravings, along with the idea that discussing quitting openly may lead to failure. Other participants share their experiences with quitting, highlighting the difficulty of withdrawal and the psychological aspects of addiction. Some mention alternative methods to cope with cravings, such as chewing gum or eating sunflower seeds. The conversation also touches on the relative harms of different forms of tobacco, with some arguing that pipes and cigars may be less harmful than cigarettes, while others caution against any form of smoking due to health risks. Overall, the thread conveys a mix of personal anecdotes, advice, and reflections on the complexities of quitting smoking.
  • #51
Moonbear said:
Again, that's untrue. Just because there is one small benefit of something, it doesn't negate all the harmful effects. It drives me nuts when that's what people end up taking home from such studies, the assumption that something is good for you because there was a benefit on one small area of function.

It is TRUE that correlational studies have shown this for cigarette smoking. I never said smoking was good for you, and of course it isn't. But smoking occasionally isn't going to be measurably bad for you either. I've never smoked a cigarette in my life and don't plan to, because I think it's disgusting, and I also care about my athletic performance/health quite a bit. It is possible though that nicotine, or a similar chemical, could be used in the future to treat or prevent alzheimer's, safely and effectively. Morphine, cocaine, and other "bad" drugs still have legitimate uses in medicine. So you can't rule it out.
 
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  • #52
usahockey said:
It is TRUE that correlational studies have shown this for cigarette smoking. I never said smoking was good for you, and of course it isn't. But smoking occasionally isn't going to be measurably bad for you either. I've never smoked a cigarette in my life and don't plan to, because I think it's disgusting, and I also care about my athletic performance/health quite a bit. It is possible though that nicotine, or a similar chemical, could be used in the future to treat or prevent alzheimer's, safely and effectively. Morphine, cocaine, and other "bad" drugs still have legitimate uses in medicine. So you can't rule it out.

Sure, you can do that, but I highly doubt a doctor will smile when you tell him you're smoking because it can help prevent Alzheimer's even if it runs in your family!
 
  • #53
light_bulb said:
lol, I'm not going to be walking around with it hanging out of my mouth in public.

But it beats laying around in a mortuary twenty years earlier than you should.:wink:

I got off of cigarettes at age 24 by smoking a pipe.
 
  • #54
radou said:
I wouldn't go public with that fact if I were you. :biggrin:

I don't like that sort of policy. I think it's harmful society and to our own wellbeing to sweep stuff like that under the rug.

Btw, how do you know you're just psychologically addicted to pot?

I've tried quitting both nicotine and tetrahydrocannabinol either one at a time or both. It's matter of ambition and school course-load. During school, I can't get anything done if I don't smoke because it interferes with your thoughts. Your receptors are firing off sending you urgent signals as if you're hungry or something. Both are very distracting, especially with physics.

It's also a matter of ambition. For instance, this week, I've been started a strength/cardio workout, and I never feel like smoking after working out, so it's definitely a big help.

I still get decent grades (third year 3.0 physics student) but I'd like to be at least a 3.5 by the time I graduate and more importantly, I really want to prove to myself that I have willpower.

I'm going to try to reduce my intake for now (only smoke when it's distracting me from my homework) and try to totally quit this summer (I'll just be taking a class or two so it should be considerably easier)

edit: I didn't notice the 'just', so I thought you were asking how I know I'm psychologically addicted. I'm sure I'm physically addicted to it since I have thc receptors in my body, but it's definitely not as raging of an addiction as cigarettes. With pot, I don't really have a problem with it, it's not as threatening to me, I like it. Unlike cigarettes, which I don't like. I think the physical addiction to pot is insignificant in comparison to the psycological addiction, and i know it is compared to the physical aspect of cigarette addiction
 
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  • #55
JasonRox said:
Sure, you can do that, but I highly doubt a doctor will smile when you tell him you're smoking because it can help prevent Alzheimer's even if it runs in your family!

It doesn't mean smoking cigarettes...which, by the way, contain many added chemicals that make cigarettes quite a bit more harmful than just straight tobacco, or especially just nicotine on its own. Nicotine patches could be used to help offset alzheimer's in people who are genetically predisposed to the disease. With this information, people are starting to see ways to prevent and possibly treat the problem, which will spark more research in medicine...perhaps a drug could be synthesized which is similar to nicotine, and which acts effectively to halt alzheimer's, without causing other harmful side effects. There is a problem when people see the results and automatically say "smoking is bad", because that's what TV ads have programmed you with. This has nothing to do with smoking, but just the way nicotine works in the brain, and its relation to alzheimers. Medical marijuana is another similar issue, although not many real studies or advances can be done with it, as it is a class 1 substance.
 
  • #56
usahockey said:
It doesn't mean smoking cigarettes...which, by the way, contain many added chemicals that make cigarettes quite a bit more harmful than just straight tobacco, or especially just nicotine on its own. Nicotine patches could be used to help offset alzheimer's in people who are genetically predisposed to the disease. With this information, people are starting to see ways to prevent and possibly treat the problem, which will spark more research in medicine...perhaps a drug could be synthesized which is similar to nicotine, and which acts effectively to halt alzheimer's, without causing other harmful side effects. There is a problem when people see the results and automatically say "smoking is bad", because that's what TV ads have programmed you with. This has nothing to do with smoking, but just the way nicotine works in the brain, and its relation to alzheimers. Medical marijuana is another similar issue, although not many real studies or advances can be done with it, as it is a class 1 substance.

I think you misunderstood what I said. I didn't disagree at all.
 
  • #57
The cigarette companies sneaking under the radar have done a number on the public in recent years. And they did it while supposedly trying to produce cigarettes lower in tar and nicotine.

Cigarette manufacturers are increasing the level of nicotine in cigarettes, according to an analysis of cigarettes sold in Massachusetts from 1997 to 2005. The independent review found increases in smoke nicotine yield per cigarette averaged 1.6 percent each year, or about 11 percent over the seven-year period. Nicotine is the primary addictive agent in cigarettes.

In addition to confirming the magnitude of the increase, first reported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health MDPH, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) extended the analysis to:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/01/18/tobacco-companies-increase-nicotine-levels/

Companies like Phillip Morris (now Altria) have also divested into other areas. Until recently Kraft Foods was owned by Altria.
 
  • #58
In my experience, just trying to quit on will power is tough and often not enough over the long haul. I quit about a year ago, because at the time I was going through a string of panic attacks (now long gone, thankfully) and somehow the attacks came to be associated with smoking. Well, that did a number on my smoking habit right quick.

The lesson to take home from that, I think, is to use the behavioral conditioning that can come with aversive emotions to your advantage if you want to quit smoking. Not to say you want to try to induce a panic attack of course. But for instance, disgust is often quite effective in conditioning behavioral avoidance. Now, I don't know exactly how one might implement that advice-- use your imagination-- but I imagine it could a very effective supplement to a willful decision to quit.
 
  • #59
My town now has a no-smoking law in all of the bars and restaurants...it's pretty nice to be able to go out to eat/drink/watch a musical performance without breathing in large clouds of cigarette smoke. The smokers were all up in arms though, angry that their "right" to smoke had been taken away...more like the rest of us all finally received the right to breathe clean air.
 
  • #60
Neitzsche wrote, "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger." Hopefully, quitting smoking won't kill you!

I do believe that pain and difficulty can make us stronger, but I think our attitude to it is paramount. If we can meet it willingly, instead of pulling back, then it makes us stronger.

May you succeed in your struggles and find peace in your victories.
 
  • #61
Pythagorean said:
During school, I can't get anything done if I don't smoke because it interferes with your thoughts. Your receptors are firing off sending you urgent signals as if you're hungry or something. Both are very distracting, especially with physics.


Are you trying to say that unless you get high every so often, you lose your train of thought easily? Or just plain cannot concentrate on schoolwork when doing homework(for example) ??:confused:

Just wondering since I have quite almost all contact to marijunana since I started University (only done it 2 twice since september). This was quite a feat for me from when I was in high school I felt much less compelled to limit the amount that I was smoking (ie a few times a month).

I am not sure if it is from the atmosphere of the University vs Highschool, but I find it harder to concentrate when studying/homework/during lectures. Not that I am putting blame on my habits that I had in high school especially since the university is still quite new to me, but I was just wondering if you (being a 3rd year student) have had any similar problems?
(Not trying to derail the thread or anything ^_^ )

Thanks,
~Ren
 
  • #62
Pythagorean said:
I don't like that sort of policy. I think it's harmful society and to our own wellbeing to sweep stuff like that under the rug.

Depends on what type of "sweeping under the rug" we're talking about. My point was only that when you go public with that, there is always a number of people who'll judge you because of that. Then again, if you don't care what other people think, good for you. Amof, it's a blessing. :smile:

Pythagorean said:
I'm going to try to reduce my intake for now (only smoke when it's distracting me from my homework) and try to totally quit this summer (I'll just be taking a class or two so it should be considerably easier)

I wish you good luck!

hypnagogue said:
In my experience, just trying to quit on will power is tough and often not enough over the long haul. I quit about a year ago, because at the time I was going through a string of panic attacks (now long gone, thankfully) and somehow the attacks came to be associated with smoking. Well, that did a number on my smoking habit right quick.

Extremely interesting, since this seems to be similar to my case. I can't say I'm trying to quit because of panic attacks (ironically, I want to quit since I started smoking), but they certainly relate to smoking somehow. Not that they are severe, but one still feels their presence.
 
  • #63
renigade666 said:
Are you trying to say that unless you get high every so often, you lose your train of thought easily? Or just plain cannot concentrate on schoolwork when doing homework(for example) ??:confused:

Just wondering since I have quite almost all contact to marijunana since I started University (only done it 2 twice since september). This was quite a feat for me from when I was in high school I felt much less compelled to limit the amount that I was smoking (ie a few times a month).

I am not sure if it is from the atmosphere of the University vs Highschool, but I find it harder to concentrate when studying/homework/during lectures. Not that I am putting blame on my habits that I had in high school especially since the university is still quite new to me, but I was just wondering if you (being a 3rd year student) have had any similar problems?
(Not trying to derail the thread or anything ^_^ )

Thanks,
~Ren

Cigarettes are more distracting during tedious homework where I'm okay with the intuition and the problem solving, but I have to grind through a whole bunch of derivatives and approximations.

Pot is more distracting when I don't do know what to do with a problem. When I've turned about four or five pages on it and ended up going down the wrong road too far or I can't find a mistake in the math (when it's obviously a mistaken assumption I'm making somewhere). I just want to take a break, and not think about it it anymore so that I can reset my mindset on the problem. I'll often play a video game and hit the bong at this point, then I'll read some of the chapter to gain some intuition and totally new perspective before going about the problem.

This is especially true for my classical mechanics class, where there's about a hundred different ways to approach a given problem, but only some of them will take you to the answer symon wants (symon is our text author)
 
  • #64
All, I'm going to say quit smoking, but if you don't want to then smoke dominican cigars. Not because of only the taste, but you know help a fellow country :-p
 
  • #65
The third week today! Yahoooooo! o:) :biggrin:
 
  • #66
radou said:
The third week today! Yahoooooo! o:) :biggrin:

I think the biggest advantage to quitting smoking is food tastes so much better. I gave the habit up 7 years ago and think even if I wanted to I couldn't afford to go back.
 
  • #67
radou said:
The third week today! Yahoooooo! o:) :biggrin:

Nicely done, keep going.
 
  • #68
Ronnin said:
I think the biggest advantage to quitting smoking is food tastes so much better. I gave the habit up 7 years ago and think even if I wanted to I couldn't afford to go back.

Yup, food tastes better, and in general, everything smells better! :smile:

My whole room used to stink like cigarette smoke, and I wasn't smoking at home! It was just because of me and my clothes! Now I see how disgusting it really was.
 
  • #69
radou said:
The third week today! Yahoooooo! o:) :biggrin:
Congratulations!
 
  • #70
ME TOO! I quit on St. Patrick's Day! GOOD FOR US RADOU! :biggrin:
 
  • #71
Tsu said:
ME TOO! I quit on St. Patrick's Day! GOOD FOR US RADOU! :biggrin:

Congratulations, I hope we keep up the good work! :cool:
 
  • #72
Just to check in, it will be two months now that I didn't smoke. I didn't even feel tempted! Amazing, it's easier than I thought it was going to be. Or am I just lucky? Anyways, the point is that I didn't, at any point, say that I have quit smoking. And I think that is the "catch" which helped me the most.

Good luck to everyone else with the same "issue"!

Btw, Tsu, I hope your next reply in this thread will be good news, too. :wink:
 
  • #73
Congrats radou! :approve: :smile:

Wow Tsu, you quit?? I hope you'll say you're still off of them. :approve:
 
  • #74
radou said:
Good luck to everyone else with the same "issue"!

Thanks. This is Day #7 ... this time. I think I am past the worst of it. I do not want to go through the last seven days again. Quitting is so easy. Staying "quit" is the hard part. I have "quit" smoking many times, once for ten years.
 
  • #75
Congrats, keep it up (all of you).
 
  • #76
Well done radou, and others who have "quit." I am very impressed! :approve:
 
  • #77
Congrats to radou, Tsu, and everyone else! I smoked for about 10 years and quit October 27, 2005. Woot!

How are you doing, D H and anyone else who wants to quit?

The physical discomfort wasn't so hard to deal with for me. I think the hardest part was worrying that I would miss it. I suppose that might not make sense now. But if anyone else is feeling the same way, it's not like it would be hard to start smoking again if you did end up missing it after giving smoke-free-ness an honest chance. It would take enormous amounts of money or some terribly extreme scenario to get me to start smoking again.
 
  • #78
D H said:
Thanks. This is Day #7 ... this time. I think I am past the worst of it. I do not want to go through the last seven days again. Quitting is so easy. Staying "quit" is the hard part. I have "quit" smoking many times, once for ten years.

Congratulations, D H !

And don't say the word "quit", it may help yoo too! :wink:

Btw, I have been smoking for seven years, and it's a lot. I thought of it this way: in three more years it would be ten years, and I would be 26, which is YOUNG, and I'd have a 10-year-smoker profile! Ugh! Further on, in ten more years, I'd be 36, which is still young (well, relatively, but definitely not old :smile:), and I'd have a 20-year-smoker profile, which definitely IS something. And we all know how the years fly past us... :rolleyes:

honestrosewater said:
I think the hardest part was worrying that I would miss it.

Yes, this definitely is the hardest part.
 
  • #79
radou said:
Just to check in, it will be two months now that I didn't smoke. I didn't even feel tempted! Amazing, it's easier than I thought it was going to be. Or am I just lucky? Anyways, the point is that I didn't, at any point, say that I have quit smoking. And I think that is the "catch" which helped me the most.

Good luck to everyone else with the same "issue"!

Btw, Tsu, I hope your next reply in this thread will be good news, too. :wink:

Congratulations! I found the same thing, that saying I'd quit smoking seemed to be setting myself up. I quit the last time, shortly before my daughter was born. She's 29 now, so that was at a time when non-smokers were a minority and people were always offering. With people I didn't know, I'd just say "Thanks, I don't smoke" instead of "I'm trying to quit". Because the way I saw it, once you stop smoking you're a non-smoker.
The cravings were a passing thing. They were intense sometimes, but pretty soon you realize that they don't last long and you just have to wait them out.

Continued best wishes.
 
  • #80
it took numerous tries but after 12 years I quit for good in august of 05. If you truly want to quit bad enough, you'll make it. If you cheat, don't give in, just move on and keep trying to quit.

Do or do not, there is no try
 
  • #81
I am smoking for 10 years now and although i know it is bad, i like it soooooo much. I like the taste, the smell, the effect etc etc. I want to quit but the problem is just that i like smoking a lot. To me, to quit smoking is like to quit having sex. I would say i am in deep trouble...

marlon
 
  • #82
marlon said:
I want to quit but the problem is just that i like smoking a lot. To me, to quit smoking is like to quit having sex. I would say i am in deep trouble...

marlon

If it's really like that, then you're definitely in deep trouble, marlon.. :biggrin:

Hint: quit smoking and have more sex as a compensation. Perhaps that would work..? :smile:
 
  • #83
actually smoking diminshes your ability to have sex since it shrinks the blood vessels, and also obviously provides a substitute satisfaction.

It took me a long time to quit, smoking that is. Do not celebrate quitting until it is at least 5 years. After a lifetime of smoking (20+years) I finally "quit" at age 35.

For at least one year after that my fingers involuntarily went into my shirt pocket. And I thought fondly of having a cigarette for many years after that. I think the 5 year mark was when I finally felt little or no desire for them.

There is no habit so strong, except maybe arguing. So hang in there. It will save you, at a pack a day, maybe what?, a thousand dollars a year for tobacco, and much more in health costs.if you do the math, notice that a pack a day for 10 years is as many cigarettes as half a pack a day for 20 years, and 2 cigs a day for what? 100 years? it is never too soon to quit. the only way i know of is to not take that first one. in my experience there are no substitutes.

never give into the desire to have "just one". think of that as not quitting and put that first one off aS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AND THEN WHEN IT SeEMS INEVITABLE THINK ABOUT putting it off another day.

i was finally motivated to quit partly by reading an article pointing out the second biggest risk factor for heart attack, after genetics, was smoking. i thought, heyy..., i control that one.

It changes your longevity by several years, some say 7-11, and that's also quality life. But quit and stay quit as young s possible. I still have serious respiratory problems 30 years after quitting, although chalk dust is partly responsible.

for chalkdust, I recommend using a bucket of water and a sponge in the classroom if no other option exists. This is one more little technology that has not migrated from europe to the US.
 
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  • #84
mathwonk said:
for chalkdust, I recommend using a bucket of water and a sponge in the classroom if no other option exists. This is one more little technology that has not migrated from europe to the US.
I think we started doing that when I was a graduate student, but it was more periodically cleaning the chalk tray and washing the board, probably once per week. I noticed the difference.

It did occur to me to wear a dust mask, but I probably would not have wanted to do so anyway.
 
  • #85
mathwonk said:
actually smoking diminshes your ability to have sex since it shrinks the blood vessels, and also obviously provides a substitute satisfaction.
I don't have that impression though (i am only talking about the need for sex here). My sexual appetite is big enough (and no i am not bragging here).

What i adore is a cigarette after sex(:wink:), luch, in the morning when i go to work, late in the evening in between commercial brakes etc etc...

I JUST LOVE IT. Really, sometimes i fear that i will never get rid off this habit i adore.

marlon
 
  • #86
appetite is not performance.
 
  • #87
mathwonk said:
appetite is not performance.

:smile: :smile: :smile:
 
  • #88
mathwonk said:
appetite is not performance.

:smile:

Did i ever say that ?

marlon
 
  • #89
what exactly are you smoking, if i may ask? (civet poop?)
 
  • #90
mathwonk said:
what exactly are you smoking, if i may ask? (civet poop?)

:smile: zingggg. (that made me laugh out loud :) ) <thats for drinking, and you know it>


I've smoked Cigars and cigarettes before. Honestly, I don't care much for them. There not horrible, but there not a 'great taste' by any stretch. I do love the smell of them though. I think they smell great. Tobacco in general smells good.
 
  • #91
mathwonk said:
what exactly are you smoking, if i may ask? (civet poop?)
?

Dont' get it

?

What the hell is (civet poop) ?


I assume this is a retorical question, right ?

marlon
 
  • #92
I believe a civet is a small rodent that eats coffee beans. The excrement of the civet is collected and used to make a distinclty flavored coffee.

I'm still smoking by the way, and hating it. I'm not ready to quit yet though. It's hard to be focused enough to quit when I'm not particularly concerned with living into old age.
 
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  • #93
Huckleberry said:
I'm still smoking by the way, and hating it. I'm not ready to quit yet though. It's hard to be focused enough to quit when I'm not particularly concerned with living into old age.

Hating it is a first step.

I was hating it for a pretty long time.

Regarding the "living into old age" thing, if you think twice, I believe you should get concerned. Perhaps I'm wrong, but don't answer until you did think twice. :wink:
 
  • #94
Well done, radou!:approve: Congrats on you becuase of your great will power!


radou said:
Hating it is a first step.
I was hating it for a pretty long time.

Regarding the "living into old age" thing, if you think twice, I believe you should get concerned. Perhaps I'm wrong, but don't answer until you did think twice. :wink:
That's a very good point! You know my freind's told me that he used to smoke but he's quit it but he said he'll probably restart it since he really likes it. Now the question is how to make him hate it as you did?
You know it was quite surprising for me when I heard that he used to smoke sinc he seems to be very concerned about his health and he certainly knows that how bad smoke is for his health. I'm afaid that your suggestion wouldn't make him to hate smoking!
 
  • #95
Lisa, ask your friend whether he likes how not smoking makes him breath easier, run faster, taste/smell better, and not burn holes in his wallet, his clothes, and his life span.

My count: I bummed a few butts in the last 1.6 weeks. Danged if I didn't put a new hole in my best shirt with the last one I bummed.
 
  • #96
Lisa! said:
You know it was quite surprising for me when I heard that he used to smoke sinc he seems to be very concerned about his health and he certainly knows that how bad smoke is for his health.

Typical. This is another apparent smoker-paradox (people being concerned about their health in general, but still smoking). But the point is that you don't feel the harm that smoking does to you instantly. Hence, it perfectly fits into the typical "Blah, I've got enough time to quit, these few cigarettes won't do me any harm!" and "Oh, it won't happen to me for sure, so why bother?" framework of the human mind.

If one, with every cigarette he smoked, felt pain in his throat/lungs and coughed out blood, I assure you that very few people would continue smoking.

D H said:
Danged if I didn't put a new hole in my best shirt with the last one I bummed.

:smile:
 
  • #97
D H said:
Lisa, ask your friend whether he likes how not smoking makes him breath easier, run faster, taste/smell better, and not burn holes in his wallet, his clothes, and his life span.
Amen. :biggrin:
My count: I bummed a few butts in the last 1.6 weeks. Danged if I didn't put a new hole in my best shirt with the last one I bummed.
Yay! (To the first part.) Congrats. Are you feeling the health improvements already? They should continue getting better for quite a while, methinks.

Someone asked years ago about the huge bottles of water that I brought to work everyday and someone else replied that I'd be a regular health nut if not for the smoking. :rolleyes: I suppose there might be some people who genuinely enjoy it, but for me it was just a wickedly strong habit.
 
  • #98
Hey, how is the smoke-freeness going? D H?
 
  • #99
honestrosewater said:
Hey, how is the smoke-freeness going? D H?

If you're interested in mine, it's going perfectly well.

Btw, I had a dream last night that I lit up, and I felt like crap. So, apparently that's a good sign.
 
  • #100
radou said:
I had a dream last night that I lit up, and I felt like crap.

Funny! and a good sign.

One of my sons brought a cold back with him from college and gave it to us. Stuffed nose, difficult breathing, stand-ten-feet-back dragon breath --- just like smoking!
 

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