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On Smoking

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Re: On Smoking

#191

Post by ridethebike »

isoprophlex wrote: post #9
murat131 wrote: post #3

The thing about smoking is that when you quit smoking you quit it every day. Imagine a light switch on the wall. You turn it off by quitting smoking and you can always go back at a desperate time for instance and turn it on. And some time later off again. Smoking your first cigarette implants that light switch on your mind and you can't make it go away. Since you know how it makes you feel good when the switch is on,…

I don't even smoke. Never have in any capacity. I purchased a single pack once as a teenager, and gave most of it away. But from the stray cigarettes bummed off friends in a drunken mood, or that time smoking hookah till i puked... I have that light switch now. You gave a VERY apt description of nicotine.

Tried hookah couple of times with friends. Still don't get it.

Re: On Smoking

#192

Post by avemg »

nverno wrote: post #130

The best thing about quitting is having that occasional cigarette

I don't know if you're making a joke or you're serious. If you're able to quit regular smoking and have only the occasional cigarette then more power to you. But for me, the "occasional" cigarette has doomed many long bouts of smoking cessation. Sometimes i'd fall right off the wagon and other times I'd manage the "occasional" smoke for months. But make no mistake: once I had that one cigarette and opened the door, the intervals between the occasional smoke would get smaller and smaller until I was back to my old habit.

I just passed the 10 year mark since my last cigarette. It's easy these days and I almost never think about cigarettes but I still wouldn't trust myself to have one.

Re: On Smoking

#193

Post by ridethebike »

Baeocystin wrote: post #169
mavhc wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do people start smoking? Surely they know it's addictive, expensive, and bad for you

I don't smoke, but my roommate does. After living in the same house for a couple of years, now, I think I understand the social aspect of why people start. A cigarette break is the perfect amount of time to sit down and have a little chat, and provides a reason to stop once it's done, too. Meet on the deck, catch up on each other's day, see you later, back to work. That kind of thing.

Never smoked but always liked to get out of the office with my smoking friends for some (ironically) fresh air and a chat. There was a bit of zen in this. And hey, my lungs didn't have to pay price for it :)

Re: On Smoking

#194

Post by [deleted] »

mavhc wrote: post #52
dimmke wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I quit smoking back in 2016 and I don’t think of myself as a smoker at all anymore. I sometimes have to remind myself I used to smoke.

Why do people start smoking? Surely they know it's addictive, expensive, and bad for you

[deleted]

Re: On Smoking

#195

Post by antiframe »

ac42 wrote: post #158

I think one reason that quitting is so hard is that it is assumed to be a 100 to zero transition. I believe that just as getting addicted, weaning off is a process. Without having established a mindset of truly wanting to quit and without clearly understanding your very own reasons for it, it's way too easy to consider that occasional misstep a total failure of the project.

I used to think it was hard too, but then I read _Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking_. I followed the instructions and continued smoking while reading the book, sometimes literally standing outside my apartment building with a cigarette and book in hand. I read it all the way through in two evenings in a random November. I forget the year; it was long ago. After I finished the book, I put it down and told my girlfriend at the time (now wife) that it worked. I haven't had a craving or cigarette since.

It was a 100 to zero transition. Previously when I tried to quit, spending time with smoking friends would get me to smoke again. This time, it didn't. One of my smoking coworkers, mid chat, said he would be back. I told him I can keep talking with him while he goes out for a smoke. He asked if I was crazy, I had just quit, he didn't want to be a trigger. I went out and joined him for some fresh air while he smoke and nothing. Not even a small inkling of a craving.

It worked.

Re: On Smoking

#196

Post by rapind »

nyolfen wrote: post #96
mavhc wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do people start smoking? Surely they know it's addictive, expensive, and bad for you

it's a pleasant social activity when you're young; you have a ritual you perform together and share informal bonding time. smoking also gives a physical sense of relief once you're addicted to it and it gives you something to punctuate your day with, little benchmarks -- i will finish writing these emails so i can have a cigarette, etc. i smoked for 8 years then switched to vaping. i don't want to vape for the rest o…

I quit smoking ten years ago (smoked for about 15y before that) and the only thing I miss is the enforced ritual to go stand outside for 5-10 minutes.

I’d pay for an addictive product that gave me that back without killing me!

Re: On Smoking

#197

Post by JKCalhoun »

murat131 wrote: post #3

The thing about smoking is that when you quit smoking you quit it every day. Imagine a light switch on the wall. You turn it off by quitting smoking and you can always go back at a desperate time for instance and turn it on. And some time later off again. Smoking your first cigarette implants that light switch on your mind and you can't make it go away. Since you know how it makes you feel good when the switch is on,…

Quitting was very hard. I finally quit when my daughter was born.

For a year I still wanted a cigarette. Every day.

For two years I would still be smoking in my dreams.

That was over 20 years ago. I am no longer a smoker. I do remember the pleasure from it though.

Re: On Smoking

#198

Post by meristohm »

mavhc wrote: post #52
dimmke wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I quit smoking back in 2016 and I don’t think of myself as a smoker at all anymore. I sometimes have to remind myself I used to smoke.

Why do people start smoking? Surely they know it's addictive, expensive, and bad for you

My dad started smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol in his teens. From what I’ve gathered, he had a rough childhood. If you’re not sure you’re going to live very long, putting harmful things in your body for the immediate high isn’t the worst. It might feel worse to deny yourself the pleasure of (temporary, and in his case ultimate) escape.

Re: On Smoking

#199

Post by santiagogo »

efields wrote: post #177

One of the rare posts here where I read most of the comments, top to bottom. It’s fascinating so many of us can get so articulate and reflective about smoking. Couldn’t smoking be considered a perverse form of breathing exercise? Not a beneficial exercise, but definitely a practice of sorts. Modern (American) society went from taking several breaks a day for breathing to quitting this practice while getting more over…

As an ex-smoker I think the same and that's what actually made it harder to quit for me.

Smoking forces you to find open air spaces, is relaxing and induces slow breathing. In some ways it's a form of meditation. Other times it forces social spaces with other smokers in which you have to ask for a ligher and you have a conversation starter.

A nice practice with a terrible health outcome.

Re: On Smoking

#200

Post by [deleted] »

enneff wrote: post #72
unixhero wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I quit smoking, and it was very very hard. I don't agree with you that the addiction, need and nicotine + other triggers will remain with me until the end of time. Deprogramming is part of the process of quitting to smoke. I do now never want to smoke. It is not attractive to me as a way to relax or focus. I can stand in a tobacco section of an airport taxfree shop holding a 5 cartons in my hands with absolutely no d…

A big part of my process for quitting was associating smoking with feeling disgusting and sick instead of feeling relaxed (which was never true anyway). For me it was more like reprogramming than deprogramming. But in broad strokes my experience was similar to yours.

[deleted]
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