Smoking

[Comrade]

When I was about 12 or 13 years old I and my friend fooled around with cigs for a while. Then we had no idea how is one really supposed to smoke. We did that without inhaling smoke.
Later when I found out that you are supposed to "swallow" the smoke I was eager to try that out. Of course the obvious result was hell lot of coughing, eyes full of tears and more. Since them I've never touched those things.

IMO getting rid of a habit is one helluva mind war. It's all about willpower. A few years ago I was hooked on candy. I mean I couldn't pass the candy shop without buying something. It went on for a while until I decided to get rid of this habit. The hardest part was that I ha no problems with this habit. It didn't hurt my financial situation, my teeth were fine, everything.
So, whenever I saw a candy store I asked myself: "What is willpower?" And the answer was simple. "Willpower is the power to say 'no' when nothing bad happens by saying 'yes'." All i had to do was to say this to myself and the want for candy gradually disappeared.

[aohige]

Alright, every single one of you, I demand you go watch "No Cure For Cancer" by Denis Leary.
One of the funniest stand-ups I've ever seen.

There's a guy- I don't know if you've heard about this guy, he's been on the news a lot lately. There's a guy- he's English, I don't think we should hold that against him, but apparently this is just his life's dream because he is going from country to country. He has a senate hearing in this country coming up in a couple of weeks. And this is what he wants to do.

He wants to make the warnings on the packs bigger. Yeah! He wants the whole front of the pack to be the warning. Like the problem is we just haven't noticed yet. Right? Like he's going to get his way and all of the sudden smokers around the world are going to be going, "Yeah, Bill, I've got some cigarettes.. HOLY SHIT! These things are bad for you! Shit, I thought they were good for you! I thought they had Vitamin C in them and stuff!"

You fucking dolt! Doesn't matter how big the warnings are. You could have cigarettes that were called the warnings. You could have cigarrets that come in a black pack, with a skull and a cross bone on the front, called tumors and smokers would be lined up around the block going, "I can't wait to get my hands on these fucking things! I bet you get a tumor as soon as you light up! Numm Numm Numm Numm Numm" Doesn't matter how big the warnings are or how much they cost. Keep raising the prices, we'll break into your houses to get the fucking cigarettes, ok!? They're a drug, we're addicted, ok!? Numm Numm Numm Numm Numm *wheeze*

[ToxicNarcotic]

[QUOTE=Ledgem;1317777]If the price jump is something incredible - say, 500% in a day - then the scenario you describe may be correct. However, if the price hike is a gradual increase then people are more likely to go along with it. Higher prices mean that fewer people will have the resources or desire to even start smoking. Gradually raised prices also means that current smokers will start thinking twice about their habit, and it'll give them a good reason to quit.

As for nicotine withdrawl being worse than those of "hard drugs" - I don't believe so. It's possible that some people may experience similar symptoms, but generally the people you find in therapy or on psychiatric drugs are those who did the hard drugs. Not that I'm a definitive source, but I've never heard of a case where a person reached that sort of level due to cigarettes alone.

/QUOTE]

It's not the withdrawl type symptoms nicotine is compared with, it's the level of addictivness. The level of addictiveness of nicotine is what is up there with drugs such as herione and cocaine.

[arcadeplayer987]

I haven't finnish yet my first cigarette and I started it 10 years ago

[Daughter!]

I love the people coming into this thread and saying stuff like, "Just stop smoking! You're killing yourself."

Honestly, grow up.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Pop-Punk Sucks

I love the people coming into this thread and saying stuff like, "Just stop smoking! You're killing yourself."

Honestly, grow up.

Stop trolling. Your post is nothing more than a poor attempt at flaming.

Oh, you disagree? Then come up with something a little deeper than "grow up" and perhaps I'll change my mind that your post was intended to insult half the people in this thread.

---------------------------

@aohige - Nice find. Of course, you have to enjoy an angry guy ranting for two hours, but you won't find anyone better at making it funny than Dennis Leary.

[DarkBlood]

Hmm, I have smoked for a 13 months and a couple of days.
In the beginning I just wanted the kick from the nicotine but now in the end all I am after is the feeling of having a smoke when I feel for it.

[Dxon]

Originally Posted by DarkBlood

Hmm, I have smoked for a 13 months and a couple of days.
In the beginning I just wanted the kick from the nicotine but now in the end all I am after is the feeling of having a smoke when I feel for it.

That is pretty much the same, isnt it?

[vwonder123]

My ex girlfriend got married last May 5 and everything between us were done.. I was badly hurt... I promised a total changed so then, from that day...

1. I stopped smoking (smoking since 2001)
2. I go to gym for 3 times a week (never done before)

Do you think this is a good idea?... it's been hard to quit smoking during the firt 5 days but it's getting better now.. I just drink plenty of water when I want to smoke...its working..

[yezhanquan]

Kudos to you. I'm sure you're feeling a little better when it comes to breathing.

[Cyz]

The earlier the better. It's better to quit rather than to suffer the consequences for it later on . Oh and good job handling those withdrawal symptoms. I'm pretty sure it must've been really hard.

[Mystique]

Here’s the good news: the health benefits begins almost as soon as you quit. After…
20 minutes Blood pressure and pulse return to normal
8 hours Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood are halved, oxygen levels in the blood return to normal
24 hours Carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body and the lungs start to clear out the build up of tar
48 hours There is no nicotine left in the body. Taste and smell are greatly improved.
72 hours Breathing becomes easier, bronchial tubes begin to relax, energy levels increase
2 - 12 weeks Circulation improves, making walking and running a lot easier
3 – 9 months Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as the lungs have room for up to 10 per cent more oxygen
1 year Risk of heart attack is halved
10 years Risk of lung cancer is halved
15 years Risk of heart attack is at the same level as non-smokers

Financial benefits are here: (double for US dollars)

Spoiler:

A packet of cigarettes costs around £5.20 so quitting will give a 20-a-day smoker an extra £36.40 a week.

The benefits of stopping smoking soon start adding up ...

* One day £5.20 - a movie rental or a few magazines
* One week £36.40 - a cheap flight abroad or a few CDs
* One month £156.00 - a shopping spree or the monthly food bill
* Three months £468.00 - two weeks in the sun or a new computer
* Six months £936.00 - a family holiday or some new furniture
* One year £1898.00 - a second-hand car or the start of a deposit for a house

And don't forget you'll also save money in other ways. Life, fire and car insurance can all be cheaper when you quit.
Now that you've stopped, here's what you're not putting in your body anymore:

You’ve heard of nicotine but, when it comes to health, that’s the least of your worries. Each cigarette contains around 4,000 chemicals, many of which are known to be toxic.

Here are a few of the nasties you’ll be inhaling in every drag:

* Acetone - widely used as a solvent, for example in nail polish remover
* Ammonia - found in cleaning fluids
* Arsenic - a deadly poison, used in insecticides
* Formaldehyde - used to preserve dead bodies
* Cadmium - a highly poisonous metal used in batteries
* Shellac - becomes a wood varnish when mixed with a form of alcohol
* Benzene - used as a solvent in fuel and chemical production
* Cyanide - a deadly poison
* Tar – a mixture of chemicals (including formaldehyde, arsenic and cyanide). About 70 per cent of the tar is left in smokers' lungs, causing a range of serious lung conditions.
* Carbon monoxide (CO) - an odourless, tasteless and poisonous gas; makes breathing more difficult as it combines with the blood that carries oxygen around the body. Up to 15 per cent of a smoker's blood may be carrying CO instead of oxygen, making the heart work harder, and potentially leading to coronary heart disease and circulation problems.

I remember a woman told me at work last week that she stopped smoking after 10 years, when she used to be on 40 a day.
I told her she just made my day, i was really happy for her
So yeah, it's an addiction, so it's damn hard to beat, but here's hoping you'll last another 5 years (and more)
as they say: "Stopping smoking isn't about losing something - it's about gaining a lot!"

Well done ^^

[HayashiTakara]

honestly, do what you wanna do. The fumes that come out of cars are more harmful than cigarette smoke and we breathe in car fumes on a daily basis and in high dosage if you live in a heavily populated city. Life is short, do what you want, granting that its in no way shape or form a good habit, its a terrible habit, but don't let others dictate your decision. If you're smoking, quit because you want to, not because someone is telling you to. Its a lot easier to quit when you're doing it out of your own resolve.

[Irenicus]

I was just raised Puritanical I guess. I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I don't like the idea of doing either things. I'll go so far as sacrificing my social life if I need to 'cause I hate those things oh yes I do.

And I call myself non-religious.

Originally Posted by HayashiTakara

honestly, do what you wanna do. The fumes that come out of cars are more harmful than cigarette smoke and we breathe in car fumes on a daily basis and in high dosage if you live in a heavily populated city. Life is short, do what you want, granting that its in no way shape or form a good habit, its a terrible habit, but don't let others dictate your decision. If you're smoking, quit because you want to, not because someone is telling you to. Its a lot easier to quit when you're doing it out of your own resolve.

That we breath in car fumes doesn't mean that we like breathing in car fumes.

Cars just happen to be a lot more necessary than tobacco. Sorry guys, your habit isn't necessary to keep modern society running, so you've got the short end of the societal stick. It'll have to do though, I honestly don't like the idea of me paying the externality cost of smoking for you, especially if that cost doesn't come in dollars, but rather the length of my one-time chance at existence. My existential crises are bad enough as it is, worsening it is murder.

[Wervy]

Well at least in some places now you will get fined if yoru caught smoking with kids in your car. I am really floord by just how fucking stupid some of these smokers can be (which says alot since they are pretty darned stupid) to be killing their own kids with second hand smoke. Its amazing just how many smokers will get mad when you tell them to put it out or go outside. I have lost friends before because I didnt want them smoking in my house or car, but I supose that isnt much of a loss since they must be retarded anyways.

I have always hated smokers, they stink worse than cat piss and have to run off to take a toke more often than a old man with an enlarged prostate has to pee. Not to mention the mess of butts around any area where they gather, it makes any area look horrible. I really do think it should be banned since it does nothing for you and really you have to be braindead to start in the first place. I say ban the sale of tobacco and let the people who are too weak to quit on their own to go to rehab like any other garbage or just curl up and die.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by Wervy

Well at least in some places now you will get fined if yoru caught smoking with kids in your car. I am really floord by just how fucking stupid some of these smokers can be (which says alot since they are pretty darned stupid) to be killing their own kids with second hand smoke. Its amazing just how many smokers will get mad when you tell them to put it out or go outside. I have lost friends before because I didnt want them smoking in my house or car, but I supose that isnt much of a loss since they must be retarded anyways.

I have always hated smokers, they stink worse than cat piss and have to run off to take a toke more often than a old man with an enlarged prostate has to pee. Not to mention the mess of butts around any area where they gather, it makes any area look horrible. I really do think it should be banned since it does nothing for you and really you have to be braindead to start in the first place. I say ban the sale of tobacco and let the people who are too weak to quit on their own to go to rehab like any other garbage or just curl up and die.

Yeah, let's *ban* cigarettes. You've got to be kidding, but the rest of your post leads me to believe otherwise.

Sure, smoking is harmful and kills tons of people, and obviously people shouldn't smoke in front of small children.
All people who smoke are stupid? That's so mind numbingly ignorant I don't even know how to respond.

You obviously harbor a lot of animosity towards smokers, I won't psychoanalyze you or anything, but perhaps you should get to know some new people. I could recommend a few great people who happen to smoke to you. Expand your horizon a bit, I'm sure you'll find your preconceived notion of what a smoker is to be unsubstantiated.

[yezhanquan]

To tell the truth, I don't hate the smell of cigarette smoke. I know it's harmful, but seriously, I won't mind puffing on second hand smoke on a semi-regular basis. Kinda missed those days in the army where I gathered around my mates who puff, to chat (and for me, inhalation).

[WanderingKnight]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

I don't drink

Waaah! Abomination! How can you deny the glorious taste of wine! GLORIOUS, I tell you!

Just kidding Alcohol is one of those things I got into because of the social experience, but wine is simply something I've fallen in love with. It's not an addiction (I drink maybe one bottle a month or something), it's a goddamn pleasure.

On an unrelated note, I'm only smoking like a single cigarette a day or something like that, so I guess I'm getting better. Though I still chug down an entire 10-pack whenever I hang out with friends at a bar.

[Wervy]

Originally Posted by Echoes

All people who smoke are stupid? That's so mind numbingly ignorant I don't even know how to respond.

Why not? Anyone who picks up a habit thats not only addictive but deadly, while getting no real gain from it is a idiot. These same people would probably wack themselves over the head with a crowbar if someone "cool" did it. They are just sheep, people who cant think on their own so they try and latch onto some image that society has thrown at them.

I don't hate smokers, I hate people who are too weak to think on their own. Sure, smokers fall into that category, but so do drunks, druggies, scene kids, or even religious zealots. There is no reason why a person would take up smoking outside of trying to be like or to impress others.

[felix]

Originally Posted by Wervy

Why not? Anyone who picks up a habit thats not only addictive but deadly, while getting no real gain from it is a idiot. These same people would probably wack themselves over the head with a crowbar if someone "cool" did it. They are just sheep, people who cant think on their own so they try and latch onto some image that society has thrown at them.

They supposedly get the same thing you would from alcohol or medical drugs. It's some sort of "mediation" state they like to go into to get away from stress and pain to relax. I don't smoke, but I drink alcohol. My personal addiction is fuzzy drinks, particularly coke, I don't really know why, I've just formed a habit of drinking it a lot more then water. I'm assuming smoking is something similar.