Smoke yourself to death.

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
The notion that people have a choice in whether to quit or not are full of it. Smoking is an addiction. The addict smokes, not the person. The person and the addict are two different individuals. The person says he will quit or not quit, that he chooses or doesn't choose to smoke, but he is not the one making the decisions. He is the one suffering dimentia, the notion that he is in control. But its the addict that is in control, who lights up, who says we have to have a cigarette, who makes the individual forget all about not wanting to smoke. Only when the smoker knows that he has no power, that all his mental ideas about why he smokes and how much he likes it are all complete and total lies told to him by the addict, can he began to muster the reserves to challenge the hideous monster that runs his life. The addict would rather you die than he quit.

Oh, bullshit.

I'm a smoker. I've been a smoker for about 10 years now. You know who's responsible for me smoking? ME! Not my addiction, not something I have no control over, ME!

Every time I pick up a cigarette and light it, you know who's decision it is to do that? MINE! Not the addictions, not some uncontrollable Force, MINE!

Yes, quitting smoking is very, very difficult to do. Non-smokers seem to have difficulty understanding this, but I compare it to hunger: during the day, you have this biological need that mainfests itself in your body as a feeling of hunger. You eat, and feel satisfied. Smoking works in very much the same way.

However, ultimately, it is the person doing the smoking who chooses to light up and puff away. And finger pointing at "the addiction" or "tobacco companies" or some other external force as the reason a smoker can't quit is simply an excuse that lets the smoker avoid all responsibility for his/her actions.

Many people are so small and weak minded that they just refuse to accept that they are in control of their own smoking. These are the people who will never be able to quit, since they refuse to accept responsibility for their actions.

Many people (myself included) have chosen not to quit because smoking DOES produce a physical pleasure, much like eating does. I see nothing wrong with that as long as the smoker is accepting responsibility for his actions.

As others have said, the smoker makes his/her own choices, and there's not a damn thing you can say or do to make them want to quit. (After they've made the decision is a different story. By all means, lend your support!)

It's obvious from this thread that many of you have never been smokers. While I personally agree that smoking is a stupid thing to do and that anyone who smokes given the known health consequences is an idiot, gues what-- I'm still puffing away.

BUT-- *I* am the one responsible for that, not some phantom alter-ego-addiction-person.


As it so happens, this thread comes at an interesting time. I've been smoke free for a little over 24 hours now. And it's been a cast iron bitch to do.

If I had it my way, cigarettes would be illegal to sell. We'd have LOTS of grumpy people for 2-3 weeks and some black market activity, but the problem really would go away if we quit selling the things.

 

[Freejack2]

Nicotine is physically addictive. Smokers go into withdrawl. Unless a smoker has uber willpower they need to gradually get off the nicotine addiction using a patch and they need something to do with their hands. Sucking on a lollipop is a popular one.

Now if only they made a patch for dieters. The hot fudge sundae patch would be good.

 

[Gaard]

It's obvious from this thread that many of you have never been smokers.

Over 20 years of polluting my lungs. Now smokefree for over 4 months and don't even think about them anymore (unless I walk past the front door to my work where all the smokers hang out and practically choke to death).

As it so happens, this thread comes at an interesting time. I've been smoke free for a little over 24 hours now. And it's been a cast iron bitch to do.

Good job! Keep it up...another few days and it's all downhill.

 

[Moonbeam]

Some of you folks crack me up, Corn and NogginBoink, to be specific. Clearly neither of you two gentlemen can see the guys sitting on your right and left shoulders whispering in your ear telling you what to do. I guess you know why. Part of what they are telling you is that they aren't there. You need a special polarized form of moonlight to see them.

Keeping in mind that the real issue here, for me at least, is motivating the smoker to quit I have provided a tool kit, a psychological frame work, from which a smoker can gain insight and thus a little better purchase or solid footing from whence to do battle against the enemy. You two and many others, doubtlessly, are probably confusing and extending your conservative personal responsibility nonsense into the smoking issue also. Well fine. I mean hey, Corn drugged himself unconscious to kill the addict and Boink addict is still blowing smoke up his ass. You want to claim personal responsibility for smoking, like the addict was some figment of the imagination or some foreign entity who came in a space ship, and not a fragment of the highly fragmented consciousness of modern people, go right ahead. But what people always do with personal responsibility is blame. I don't mind if you want to say that YOU choose to smoke. Be my guest. But lets not, by extension blame the smoker for smoking. What happens there is that the smoker winds up blaming himself for smoking which is exactly what the addict wants. Talking about the addict is a way of talking about self deception, self delusion. Smoking is my fault, I feel bad. I need a cigarette to make me feel better. When I talk about the addict I mean all those thought processes that go on when the nicotine intake stops and the craving starts. Instead of just feeling the craving, noticing it, allowing it to be, the mind starts up. I'll quit next week. I have to smoke because I'm beating up on the kids out of anxiety etc etc etc etc etc etc. All of this is your own mind, all right, but it is also the addicts mind, because it happens solely and only because you aren't getting your fix. It is all a bunch of self deceptive BS with just one aim, to get that nicotine back into the blood stream. It is an autonomic process that occurs only because of nicotine withdrawal. It is a fragment of your totality controlling the totality. It is the addict and the addict is the enemy. You are not responsible because it is autonomic, a chemical induced phenomena that disappears when the chemical dependency does.

The point is that the quitting smoker self talks and all that self talk is your minds way of getting it's fix. If you want to take personal responsibility then do this. Know that when you stop smoking you become the worlds most talented liar. Everything you think and try to do is a lie designed to get you to quit quitting smoking or never trying to stop in the first place. Know that if you smoke you are a deluded self destructive self manipulating lying, not a person who chooses to smoke for some fine and fancy reason of your own demented fantasy.

You can hate your false addicted self enough to quit smoking. Fine. You quit smoking and you still have your hate. Or you can love your good self enough to quit and you will quit and have love.

So if you want to say you are responsible for your smoking, go ahead. But be sure you know what you are talking about and what you is doing the talking. If you stop smoking, it was the right you. If you do not, it was the automaton, the addict that was talking and was in control.

It fascinates me that people are so wound up by the notion that they are not responsible for things because they aren't a single entity. Unless you are one, how can you be responsible for anything. No, the notion of personal responsibility aims at something good, being personally inspired to improve, but that notion is better served by understanding that the self is composed of different selves at different levels of maturity, if you will. We have our healthier and our sicker selves and we need to learn find out who is who and listen to the healthier ones. I'm just talking about the same things in different ways and the reason I do is because of blame. Blame is a disease. It is the product of an unhealthy self that wants to sicken our better parts. To become locked in a spiral of self blame is the quintessential nature of our insanity.

 

[Bluefront]

sandorski wants me to smoke a few packs of weed to see if I get addicted. sandorski, during my many years of bar-hopping I have breathed tons of second-hand cigarette smoke. It never did anything more than make me choke, smell up my clothes, recieve a few burn-holes in good shirts, made my eyes water, and did unknown harm to my lungs. I never got addicted, nor did I see any reason to start smoking.

Some people have an addiction-prone personality ( I think that's the term). They become alcholics, drug abusers, smokers, over-eaters, gamblers, etc, much more easily than other people. Nobody has come up with a satisfactory explanation of this yet...not that I'm aware of anyway. I have no such personality.

I did get addicted to morphine once....in the hospital. I had a badly broken leg from a motorcycle accident. Morphine was the drug of choice then for extreme pain. I was given 165 shots of the stuff, one every three hours or so, for three weeks. My withdrawl symptoms consisted of headaches, and I cut back on the morphine shots rather quickly...I was off it after about two days.

Does anyone seriously think cigarette smoking is more addictive than morphine? Anyone think a few packs of cigarettes will get me addicted? It boils down to your personality....you're either a strong person, or you're not. People quit smoking for good all the time...evidenced by many stories in this very thread. It cannot be too hard, little old ladies do it, decade-long smokers do it, kids do it. Anybody can do it.....

 

[sandorski]

Bluefront: No, secondhand smoke doesn't count. Go ahead and smoke...you chicken?

Nicotine has been repeatedly shown to be as addictive as Heroine. I'm not sure how Morphine addiction compares to that, but you should note that the degree that a drug affects the body doesn't necessarily increase with the intensity of the drugs affect.

A case in point would be the difference between Cigarrettes and Cannibis. Cigarrettes have little noticeable "high" after the first few, while Cannibis always produces a "high". However, a Cannibis smoker can quit with **no** withdrawal symptoms. I only bring this up because you seem to think that the more intense the drug the more addictive, this is a false assumption.

Corn: If smoking is Nature's way of enforcing Darwinism, Nature is losing the battle. The vast majority of smokers live past the age of reproduction, most live about as long as their non-smoking counterparts.

 

[Corn]

Moonie sez:

I have provided a tool kit, a psychological frame work, from which a smoker can gain insight and thus a little better purchase or solid footing from whence to do battle against the enemy.

Uh huh.

You two and many others, doubtlessly, are probably confusing and extending your conservative personal responsibility nonsense into the smoking issue also.

Well Moonie, since I applied that "nonsense" and quit smoking by using it......well I'll let you figure out the rest, if you can.

I mean hey, Corn drugged himself unconscious to kill the addict and Boink addict is still blowing smoke up his ass.

...and you're an idiot if you believe that. It's one thing to be sick with bronchitis, it's quite another to "drug myself unconscious", but then again, if anyone knows about that I'm sure it'd be you. The misery of being sick masks the physical withdrawl symptoms fom the lack of nicotine.

....like the addict was some figment of the imagination or some foreign entity who came in a space ship....

Hmmmm, maybe you really aren't an idiot........ Here Moonie *passes a dubie* have another puff. Perhaps you suffer from multiple personality disorder, that would explain a great many things. Don't project your chemical imbalance onto the rest of society though......LOL. As a smoker, there was only me. Left brain, right brain, together they made decisions. Hey, I never said *everyone* can quit, those that *can't* (not the same as those that don't try) are simply too weak to accomplish the task. The addict is the person, not the devil on his shoulder.

A little blame and shame can go a long way to motivate someone.....just ask anyone who has successful in quitting smoking exactly why they quit.

The point is that the quitting smoker self talks and all that self talk is your minds way of getting it's fix. If you want to take personal responsibility then do this. Know that when you stop smoking you become the worlds most talented liar. Everything you think and try to do is a lie designed to get you to quit quitting smoking or never trying to stop in the first place. Know that if you smoke you are a deluded self destructive self manipulating lying, not a person who chooses to smoke for some fine and fancy reason of your own demented fantasy.

Convoluted bullsh1t. You quit because you can, you don't because you can't, or haven't tried. That's the simple reality.



Tell me Moonie, have you ever been addicted to smokes......well you know, the ones with filters sold at convenience stores?

 

[vegetation]

I guess people don't believe until they actually "experience" it (which is dealth, or cancer).

The people who smoke "ALWAYS" tell people who don't smoke "Don't smoke, it's not good for your health". I have an uncle who died from lung cancer..

Some might get lucky when they smoke for so long, but that is just so rare. The rest of them will at least get a lung cancer.

 

[Moonbeam]

Quote

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Moonie sez:

I have provided a tool kit, a psychological frame work, from which a smoker can gain insight and thus a little better purchase or solid footing from whence to do battle against the enemy.
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Corn Quote


Uh huh.
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Well that was the intention, anyhow.

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I mean hey, Corn drugged himself unconscious to kill the addict and Boink addict is still blowing smoke up his ass.
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...and you're an idiot if you believe that. It's one thing to be sick with bronchitis, it's quite another to "drug myself unconscious", but then again, if anyone knows about that I'm sure it'd be you. The misery of being sick masks the physical withdrawl symptoms fom the lack of nicotine.
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Your words were: "buy some nyquil, call in sick to work, ingest the aforementioned nyquil in large quantities, and sleep your cravings away" Sounds like drugging yourself unconscious to me, but hey maybe I am a idiot. I did however thing I could understand English.
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A little blame and shame can go a long way to motivate someone.....just ask anyone who has successful in quitting smoking exactly why they quit.
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I said exactly the same thing, I also said there was a better way and described the reasons.

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The point is that the quitting smoker self talks and all that self talk is your minds way of getting it's fix. If you want to take personal responsibility then do this. Know that when you stop smoking you become the worlds most talented liar. Everything you think and try to do is a lie designed to get you to quit quitting smoking or never trying to stop in the first place. Know that if you smoke you are a deluded self destructive self manipulating lying, not a person who chooses to smoke for some fine and fancy reason of your own demented fantasy.
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Convoluted bullsh1t. You quit because you can, you don't because you can't, or haven't tried. That's the simple reality.

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Simple? Yes. Useful. Not very.

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Tell me Moonie, have you ever been addicted to smokes......well you know, the ones with filters sold at convenience stores?
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If I have smoked there will be those who criticize my words as coming from one of those stupid people who smoked. If I say that I haven't there will be those who say I don't know what I'm talking about. Some of either may be smokers looking for a reason not to quit. I once read something quite brilliant in a fortune cookie.

 

[Bluefront]

sandorski.....It is quite obvious you miss the whole point of this thread. It started out and still is a thread about death, about death caused by smoking, not really debatable any longer. You say smokers usually live past the age of reproduction.....wow! I guess it's ok then to die of smoking related disease at age 14....at least you could have reproduced by then. Ha.

If a psychological addiction to cigarettes was the only problem with smoking, causing you to spend money and get stained teeth...well big deal. Unfortunately there's a whole lot more to it , including such minor annoyances as lung cancer and death.

Sorry, sandorski, I'll have to pass on your stupid little test, not because I fear the "addiction", but rather because I fear the horrible death your beloved smoking inevitably causes, a sort of death I've witnessed close up to loved ones, a death I do not wish on myself or anyone else.

 

[compuwiz1]

I smoke like a chimney....that is my smallest issue in life. Never judge a man, until you've lived in his shoes.

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: Yo_Ma-Ma

I find it strange that my government makes me wear my helmet and makes me wear my seatbelt, but doesn't give a rats ass if I smoke.

Quiet, don't give 'em any ideas.

I find it even stranger that the government doesnt let me smoke weed and die a nice stoned lung cancer death , but doesnt give a rats ass if I smoke, no they would prolly hate it if I didnt because of all the tax money they would loose....

 

[Linflas]

Nicotine has been repeatedly shown to be as addictive as Heroine. I'm not sure how Morphine addiction compares to that, but you should note that the degree that a drug affects the body doesn't necessarily increase with the intensity of the drugs affect.

I have never been a heroine addict but I was a cigarrette smoker for 15 years. When I decided to quit I finished the last one in my pack, balled up the empty pack and threw it in the trash can. It was nothing more than a simple act of willpower. I experienced no physical effects from ceasing to smoke other than the increase in lung capacity and an improved sense of taste that comes with being a non smoker. This is unlike everything I have ever read regarding truly addictive drugs like heroine and as far as I am concerned likening cigarrettes to heroine trivializes what true drug addiction is.

 

[MichaelD]

I refer back to the title of this thread. And I mean it; go ahead and smoke yourself to death!!!!

I'm one of "those people" that signed petitions to get you and your cigarettes the hell out of the restaurants and out in the alley where you belong.

I'm so tired of being victimized and held hostage by your nasty, foul smoke. If you want to smoke, or drink or do drugs or eat raw rat meat, by all means go right ahead! But don't you dare do it where it will inconvenience myself or other non-smokers who much to your amazement, don't like their steak and potato with a side of cigarette smoke.

Oh BTW, when I'm in line at the supermarket, I can smell you a mile away. You stink. Period. Your skin (no matter how much makeup you wear, ladies) has a lovely yellowish tint to it. Teeth are dark yellow, fingertips always yellow too. Yellow looks great on you!!! Maybe you should line your casket with a lovely Marlboro-inspired yellow silk?

Enjoy your cigarette break. Outside in the heat and rain, where you belong. Thanks and have a nice day.

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: Bluefront
sandorski wants me to smoke a few packs of weed to see if I get addicted. ...

Are u talking about marihuana then smoke all u want - it is anything but addictive - if u get addicted to it is a mental addiction due to personal weakness but there is no physical addiction.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: B00ne

Originally posted by: Bluefront
sandorski wants me to smoke a few packs of weed to see if I get addicted. ...

Are u talking about marihuana then smoke all u want - it is anything but addictive - if u get addicted to it is a mental addiction due to personal weakness but there is no physical addiction.

Bahahahaha, oh'ye misinformed one...you've much to learn. Oh well, you opened this can of worms...good luck! *ducks head low and leaves room*

 

[compuwiz1]

MichaelD

, fvck you. I do what I do, and am generally very considerate of non-smokers. If the very fact that we smoke offends u, then find another planet! :|

A "petition signer"? If you had any balls, you'd have already been in congress, with the rest of the hypocrites of your ilk. Don't talk to me, you goat bung hole sniffer. If that offends you, then go somewhere else.

The marijuana habit will be easier to break!

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: compuwiz1

MichaelD

, fvck you. I do what I do, and am generally very considerate of non-smokers. If the very fact that we smoke offends u, then find another planet! :|

A "petition signer"? If you had any balls, you'd have already been in congress, with the rest of the hypocrites of your ilk. Don't talk to me, you goat bung hole sniffer. If that offends you, then go somewhere else.

Who pissed in your Cornflakes, @sswipe??
You can do whatever you darn please; that's the beauty of living in this beautiful country! If you wish to slowly kill yourself, then by all means, please go ahead; but don't inconvenience others with your habit.

To quote an old joke/saying:

I drink beer. Beer makes me pee. Urine is a by-product of drinking beer. You smoke cigarettes. Cigarettes make smoke. Smoke is a by-product of your smoking.

Do you see my peeing on your table while you're trying to eat? No you don't. So, please don't smoke while I'm trying to eat.

Have a great day.

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: B00ne

Originally posted by: Bluefront
sandorski wants me to smoke a few packs of weed to see if I get addicted. ...

Are u talking about marihuana then smoke all u want - it is anything but addictive - if u get addicted to it is a mental addiction due to personal weakness but there is no physical addiction.

Bahahahaha, oh'ye misinformed one...you've much to learn. Oh well, you opened this can of worms...good luck! *ducks head low and leaves room*

Oh informed one, then I guess all the research on THC as well as personal experience must be a fake. That THC and other halicugenic drugs are not addictive is a proven fact just as its a proven fact that nicotine or heroine are addictive. But anyhow thats not the topic of the thread

 

[compuwiz1]

Who pissed in your Cornflakes, @sswipe??

Where I live, pissing in cornflakes is not possible. We grow no corn, only tobacco, and cannibus. Got a problem with that?

Pass.....the bong.

Make MichaelD dissapear, as his face makes me hallucinate!

On a lighter note, MichaelD, don't go there with me. I am much older and wiser and I don't play.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: compuwiz1

Who pissed in your Cornflakes, @sswipe??

Where I live, pissing in cornflakes is not possible. We grow no corn, only tobacco, and cannibus. Got a problem with that?

Pass.....the bong.

Make MichaelD dissapear, as his face makes me hallucinate!

It's all good. Later.

 

[Corn]

Your words were: "buy some nyquil, call in sick to work, ingest the aforementioned nyquil in large quantities, and sleep your cravings away" Sounds like drugging yourself unconscious to me, but hey maybe I am a idiot. I did however thing I could understand English.

So, I take it you've never suffered from bronchitis......or taken cold remedies when sick......or perhaps you haven't mastered the concept of facetiousness.

If I have smoked there will be those who criticize my words as coming from one of those stupid people who smoked. If I say that I haven't there will be those who say I don't know what I'm talking about. Some of either may be smokers looking for a reason not to quit. I once read something quite brilliant in a fortune cookie.

I'll take that as a no then. Please refer to the 2nd sentence in the above quote.

 

[Sketcher]

I was an avid Cigarette smoker from 1986 to 1997.

From 1990 to 1992 I smoked an average of of 1 pack a day Camel & Lucky Strike Unfiltered Cigarettes. (Because that's all that was left in the Ship's store when we were out at sea (US Navy)). Otherwise my Cigarette of preference - Marlboro Regulars.

I said "was" an avid Cigarette smoker 'till 1997 because I quit smoking cigarettes when I fell in love with the woman I am married to. My wife didn't like the smell of cigarette smoke (+ all the health related issues). She's a RN. She has access to more factual data about health related issues than most you people are cutting and pasting about.

I VERY MUCH enjoyed smoking. But I even more enjoy the woman who loves me. At that time, I didn't quit smoking because of any sense of health preservation or politically correct thinking. I quit because I loved my wife more than I loved the habit. I would probably still be smoking cigarettes now if I hadn't met her or someone like her who I care about.

However, throughout this time I also smoked Cigars. Not as frequently, in fact - usually only for special occasions did I go for the premium stogies. But smoking a Cigar was something I'd done since a young teen fishing with my Grandfather and until recently - a guilty pleasure that I maintained for special times with friends. Any serious Cigar smoker can relate to the "Cigar Moments" with close friends and associates. It's a meaningful, relaxing experience. It is enjoyable in ways that are quite different from smoking cigarettes. In fact, it's not at all the same.

I will likely keep my Humidor maintained. Though I've given away most of my premium cigars, I'll hang on to a few Cuban and Domestics for memory sake and also for the scent. For me, there are few scents that I enjoy more than the aroma of a Cedar Humidor mixed with a quality cigar tobacco blend. And this is something that I can enjoy without having to smoke. That is somewhat the difference between cigarette smoking and cigar smoking. Cigarette smoking - is counted by many as a gratifying act that is an end in itself. Cigar smoking, also counted by many - is an experience that does not end in the smoking. But enough about matters of pleasure.

This post is to explain my quitting smoking. I quite smoking cigarettes because I love my wife more than my habit - no one begged, forced or baited me. I quite smoking Cigars, because I love my kids. No matter that my cigar smoking was infrequent and not habitual. Smoking, whether you inhale or not - is medically, scientifically and statistically proven to shorten your life, and reduce your quality of life through weakened health. I love my kids, and do not want to do something that so obviously increases my chance at lessening the time I have to enjoy life with them, and them with me.

It's more than just my personal interest in the habit. It's also, the personal interest that others have in me.

For me, it didn't take a patch. No twelve step approach. No detox centers, forums or support groups. I didn't use a reward system, and didn't taper off 'till done. I didn't fall off the wagon, or secretly sneak off for one. I simply made a choice. And don't tell me that I wasn't addicted. A pack a day for over 10 years, is more than just an innocent happening. The physical craving was over rather quickly. The mental habit not as quickly over, but not as difficult as most fear. Sure, there were the times of headaches, edginess and the weird aspects of withdrawal. But it all passes. It just comes down to a choice. Is it more important to reach for another, or be free. The rewards far outweigh any argument for maintaining the habit ? Energy, Taste, Breathing, Money, I enjoy it all so much more now? And those close to me, enjoy me much more. It?s a shame that so many years were affected ? in retrospect I regret validating the ?My Body/my choice? mantra. Now ?My Body? is well and continues to improve, but oh, what I would be like now had I quit sooner or even never gotten started. ?My Body? is no longer just mine, but my wife and my kids? as well.

So I full well understand the habit, enjoyment and life of a smoker. I know that for some, simply making a choice not to smoke, isn't enough - but a choice is still being made, just one that takes a longer road - that is if quitting truely is the goal, not just the idea of quitting. I also understand life as a non-smoker, and prefer it without question.


There?s my 2 cents,
and also my $10,037.50


-Sketcher

 

[Moonbeam]

Corn,

Well I suppose I can tell you, since I don't have any important intentions in the nyquil addiction issue personal information about me would prejudice, that I have never, not once, ever taken nyquil or any other cold remedy. I am, it would seem, not only immune to the voice of the addict but the ad-man as well. But least you start getting all weak and inferior feeling over the fact that I'm so much tougher than you are, know that, as a bleeding heart liberal, I simply cry myself to sleep with self pity. And yes, I know a little bit about facetiousness.

My point wasn't actually to make fun of your technique; it is an excellent one. The first three days are the killer days and if you can pass them oblivious to the addicts needs that's a tremendous opportunity. I am, after all, on your side here, right? I just thought it was rather funny that you should talk up the personal responsibility route and then pass the three days in a coma, and Boink hasn't even quit at all, saying the same thing. I was just enjoying the irony.

And I know, Corn, that you are a person who values honesty, so I know too that you will have to choose the fortune cookie because you can't be honest with yourself choosing option two since you just don't know.

And if you look at the compuwiz Michael exchange I hope it will give you some insight into why I prefer the route of compassion, the no blame, road to smoking and quitting. One form of self indulgent, self richeous contempt brings up the other. The contemptuous non smoker just lights up the smokers cigarette. Of course you won't let me get away with blaming the non smoker for the smoker's smoking, but I'm not talking about how I think. I'm talking about the kinds of opportunities the addict will sieze.

One other point to Linflas there, who generalizes from his individual experience. First off, congratulations on quitting. It is a known fact that a small but recognized number of people can smoke and quit at will without suffering physical withdrawal. You are one of the lucky ones, but it would be foolish to disgard the testamony and experience of millions of people who have paid dearly in suffering trying and or succeeding in quitting. For many it is brutal. So, although your experience is interesting, it is out of the ordinary and should not pass as a universal. To call nicotine a trivially addictive drug too easily serves the purpose of demeaning the difficulty most people have in quitting. To say that quitting is esy for those for whom it is really difficult only adds another hurdle they have to jump, the feeling that they must be very weak willed. I think most people need to prepare for a real war with the recognition that all it takes to win is a constant weakening of the enemy by denying him the source of his strength, the nicotine. Cut off the nicotine and the need, the desire, the mystique, the satisfction, the joy, the identification as a smoker, the relief from tension, the defeat of boredom, all the good things we think we get from smoking will completely disappear. Everything will be as good or as bad as it was, but we won't be killing ourselves and wasting money, so in some small way at a minimum, that will make us happier.

For some people it might help not to really quit smoking all cigarettes but only a single cigarette, the next one. Just don't smoke that one.

 

[DaiShan]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Thats their right. you can't take it away from them.

And theres alot of people that quit smoking, and alot of people that smoke their whole lives and don't die from it.

Don't make it seem like everyone that smokes will not be able to quit, and will die from it.

On the defensive? He never said he aimed to take it away from them, he simply asked what it would take for someone to realize that it is killing them (it is, don't try to tell me it doesn't affect you, my uncle smokes a pack a day and wheezes like hell) Sure people are able to quit smoking, I remember when I was about 5 I asked my mom to quite, she did - cold turkey, I didn't realize it at the time, but that took guts, I guess she wanted to be around with her kids for longer. I am telling you that 100% of the people that smoke for a prolonged ammount of time will have detrimental effects to their health. Lots of people play russian roulette too, does that make it safe to do?