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On Smoking

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Re: On Smoking

#381

Post by subpixel »

neor wrote: post #312
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,…

Reading this, I'm happy it was different for me. After smoking for years I became a weekend smoker; in weekends I'd go out and after some beers the urge to smoke because so much stronger. It took me a few years to give up smoking in weekends, what helped me the most is all my friends trying to give up smoking so no cigarettes were around anymore when we'd go to a bar. Eventually most of my friends started smoking aga…

Me as well. I smoked a bit for a decade and change, but I very rarely even finished a pack of cigarettes. There were circumstances during which I smoked, but I never enjoyed smoking much, and certainly never for its own sake.

Which is a shame, because this means I probably shaved years off my life span without the pleasure that drives many to do so.

Re: On Smoking

#382

Post by fest »

developer2 wrote: post #76
whereis wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I smoked for ten years. Took Chantix for a week about fifteen years ago, which increased the frequency and intensity of my suicidal ideations. I then quit for good, with help from the Carr book, about a year thereafter. Quitting was horrible, but it got better. Now, the thought of smoking a cigarette is repulsive. Zero cravings, and the smell is highly offensive now. There's no light switch. YMMV.

I'm very thankful for Varenecline (aka Chantix/Champix); it's what got me to quit after many years of pack-a-day. I didn't even set a quit date when I started. That drug took away every tiny ounce of satisfaction I ever got from smoking. Every cigarette became a cigarette that did not give me what a cigarette is expected to provide. The best way I can describe what happened to me is that I felt like a non-smoker tryi…

For those in Europe, a similar medication is sold under the Tabex brand name. The active ingredient seems to be different (cytisine) but the effect is the same: no satisfaction from cigarettes, just the bad smell/taste plus some mild stimulation (at least I felt less sleepy in the first few days quitting with Tabex as opposed to cold turkey). I liked to visualize the effect of this drug as: binding to the same receptors in my brain as nicotine, robbing the dangerous molecule of it's power.

It still takes a tremendous amount of willpower to stay off the various forms of nicotine after the initial quitting. The pretense of having that first nicotine hit, seeking a consolation from life events, an excuse to make yourself feel better and all the other lies you'd be telling yourself are still very tempting (and exactly the reason I have been using the same pack of medication to __quit__ several times already.

Re: On Smoking

#383

Post by jessriedel »

greenshackle2 wrote: post #373
jessriedel wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, no one knows with complete confidence the long-term effects of nicotine alone (i.e., nicotine when taken without all the carcinogens in cigarettes associated with combustion that are not found in nicotine gum). But the evidence we do have suggests it's vastly safer than cigarettes. In fact, I don't even think we know if it's harmful on net. https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine Given the appetite suppression, and the kn…

Yeah, I'm not overly worried about it, I've read the gwern page before. I wouldn't have tried the gum if I thought it was nearly as bad as cigarettes. I stopped because I found out my blood pressure was pretty close to hypertension range already, and I didn't have the discipline to control the addiction and only use it sparingly; my use ramped up until I was using it most of my waking time, which felt gross. Chewing…

Interesting. Nicotine is generally an appetite suppressant, so I'd have thought the weight would go in the other direction. Glad it's working out for you.

Re: On Smoking

#384

Post by InitialLastName »

rkk3 wrote: post #380
InitialLastName wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That year > This year Your other points aside (I agree, they should probably at least include some citations to their statistics), this article is from 2015, so I don't think anyone is making it about 2020/covid other than you.

I cited the article. The initial refutation was not even the date (covid) but a baseless claim that the statistic was at some point in there lives.

I understood and was pointing that out (given that GP appeared to be insinuating things about 2020, but to be clear the list of one-sided talking points you posted puts no effort into citing sources for its "facts", so the technicalities of the 12% number (what qualifies as abuse, for how long, etc) are left for the reader to interpret.

Re: On Smoking

#385

Post by brachika »

qq4 wrote: post #202

Since there seem to be past smokers in this thread, can any of you chime in for me what smoking did or does for you? I don't mean this as a insult, but I've never understood the addiction, at this point I feel like it's impossible for me to experience, and I don't desire to. I've smoked maybe a dozen or so times in my life, each time a dumb decision often for comedic effect where I asked myself afterwards, "am I addi…

I had issues with self-confidence and it helped me relax. Sitting alone in a coffee shop felt a lot easier with a smoke, going out with girls I felt easier going with a cigarette in my hand, I and my boys would go out for weekends and destroy two packs each.

I believe that it became a triggering addiction in certain social situations.

And even now when I talk about it I can feel that first drag and the buzz in your head.

It might be glorified and 'cool' but it is the worst addiction there is definitely, just because it is legal.

And if anyone else still struggles with smoking and wants to quit I suggest Allen Carr's great book - "The Easy Way"

Re: On Smoking

#386

Post by irthomasthomas »

Renaud wrote: post #345
irthomasthomas wrote: post #310

Some fun facts about the ingredients in tobacco.. The reason smoking causes cancer is the high amount of polonium 210, yes, that stuff they used to kill Litvenchenko. The reason for the presence of polonium 210 is flavour. Truly. It sounds far fetched, but, while the polonium is thought to contaminate the plant from the environment. Tobacco plants have lots of sticky little hairs which attract particles. It could be…

I didn't know about this and was sceptical but it appears to be right and the CDC[1] mentions it, along with lead-210 being a source of radioactive accumulation in the lungs. Apparently an information that cigarette manufacturers tried pretty hard to hide[2]... [1]: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/smoking.htm [2]: https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2008/08/29/radioactive-pol...

Brilliant, thanks. I'm glad this ain't reddit.

Re: On Smoking

#387

Post by grillvogel »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #125
deesep wrote: post #86

I started smoking when i went to study in China. Someone gifted me an expensive brand of cigarette, and I kept it hidden in a drawer for two weeks as I didn't smoke. One very cold day with no where to go and nothing to do, I took the pack out and lit one stick. My did it have a lovely scent. The heat it created inside me was also soothing. It took me about a week and half to finish the pack of 21 cigs. I couldn't aff…

Related to this, a lot of the reason smokers around me smoke is to just go outside. It’s an excuse to hang out on the porch. You might think that such a societal excuse isn’t needed, but it’s a powerful force.

the random networking is one thing i miss about not smoking anymore. you get to socialize with tons of people/coworkers you wouldnt normally talk to, you all start out with a shared interest and everyones in a good mood.

Re: On Smoking

#388

Post by grillvogel »

josephcsible wrote: post #233
sidcool wrote: post #226

In a few years, someone will make a post like this for the internet, the YouTube, the reddit or Insta. Avoid addictions of any kind.

None of those things are actual physical addictions like nicotine is.

social media is probably worse for humanity than nicotine

Re: On Smoking

#389

Post by josephcsible »

grillvogel wrote: post #388
josephcsible wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of those things are actual physical addictions like nicotine is.

social media is probably worse for humanity than nicotine

I'm not convinced this is true, and even if it is, it'd only be because so many more people use social media. For any given individual who uses both, there'd be way more personal benefit to quitting nicotine than giving up social media.

Re: On Smoking

#390

Post by ay »

I smoked a pack a day for 18 years. In the past 10 years I smoked maybe 2-3 packs.

The key hacks to this change for me were:

0) decided I will not put a hard barrier (“quit”) but rather reduce (“stop”). This reduces the guilt during the inevitable setbacks.

1) find and break the frequent routines that involve smoking (first coffee + cig => replace with tea. It tastes terrible with cigarette; colleagues asking for a smoke => work from home, etc)

2) very consciously ask myself for every cigarette what is triggering it. Why do I think I need it. If there is no reason - then abstain from smoking, but if there is a good reason - focus on the reason. It’s ok to have a cigarette if there is a good enough reason but I need to think hard about this reason and try to eliminate it.

3) even for relapses, arrange them such that they do not ever turn into micro routines. Smoking in a rarely visited club or place is ok. At home - not okay.

4) make experiment with alternating 2 weeks of non smoking with 2 weeks of smoking, noting my well being. The difference is obvious and very visible.

As a result, now I sometimes socially smoke at parties, with smoker friends - but each time after careful consideration of whether the inevitable headache in the morning is worth the “fun” - and again, very carefully checking that the situation didn’t have a potential to turn into a micro-routine.

I never quit and if I want, I can always smoke again. But I consciously don’t want to.

These hacks are obviously specific to my wiring and may not work for everyone, but just thought to write it in case this helps someone. Good luck!

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