Quitting smoking

[Shaun Harris]

Nah that was the reflection from yer ginga mop

what, are you suggesting i have lost my hair now also

[Hoon]

Good on ya Shaun. Giving up smoking is probably in the top 3 best decisions I ever made in my life. I've just realised that I've now been smoke free (15 years) for longer than I had been smoking.

Keep it up! You're over the nicotine withdrawals which is the hard part. Now you just got to get over the other hard part which is the habitual side. Not lighting up after every meal, drink, break, getting in the car, going in the garage, etc takes some adjusting.

You're either a smoker or a Non-smoker. There's no in between. Non-smoking means not a single puff....ever...for the rest of your life. Anything less is just a smoker between smokes so stay strong and beware of the "just one puff" or "only when I drink" excuses that keep that door open.

[Drew]

Keep it up! You're over the nicotine withdrawals which is the hard part.

Ummm, the human body craves nicotine at about a tenth the level it does caffeine. The physical addiction is so close to nil that an addiction created by putting patches on a non smoker for three months, would barely be noticed when they were no longer applied.

Now you just got to get over the other hard part which is the habitual side.

I don't think 'habitual' is at all the right word. The habit is as easy to break as the physical addiction. Ten times of incorporating a new thing into daily tasks is supposedly the seed well and truly planted for a habit. Stands to reason that ten times of removing something is that habit all but broken, and it requires less and less thought each consecutive time.

So, we're left in a very grey area. With no easy fix as it happens. Which sucks for those of us deeply entrenched in sparking up. I've got nothing going on right now (hence I'm tapping away at this long winded reply), but I am prolly gonna go for a smoke as soon as this post is finished. Why? Fucked if I know. There's no explanation I can come up with to do it, and plenty of reasons not to. I know them all. Yet...

Psychologists have done loads of research, but not one of them seems to have come up with a sure fire way to knock it on the head with no ill effects. Be it physical or in our heads.

We're fucked. Need to battle with ourselves to overcome it.

"Smokers are perceived as weak willed. This is untrue. It took a lot of will power to continue smoking those first cigarettes, they're horrible and it's unnatural to smoke them". Alan Carr. (I paraphrased that a bit, but that's the gist of it).

Off for a fag now.

[Katman]

Off for a fag now.

Here you go.

http://wellington.gaycities.com/bars/

You're welcome.

[Murray]

Here you go.

http://wellington.gaycities.com/bars/

You're welcome.

So what are you doing searching gay citys and bars???? (one has to ask)

[FJRider]

So what are you doing searching gay citys and bars???? (one has to ask)

He probably has no need to use search ... my guess is ... he has them on saved favourite sites ...

[bluninja]

Ummm, the human body craves nicotine at about a tenth the level it does caffeine

Do you have any facts that I could look at for that? Just interested as it's not consistent with anything that I've learned about the 2 drugs.

] I don't think 'habitual' is at all the right word. The habit is as easy to break as the physical addiction. Ten times of incorporating a new thing into daily tasks is supposedly the seed well and truly planted for a habit. Stands to reason that ten times of removing something is that habit all but broken, and it requires less and less thought each consecutive time.

Habits aren't "broken" or removed, they are modified, redirected or replaced. In order to focus on "NOT smoking" one must first focus on "Smoking", so probably best to focus on a new more beneficial (or less harmful) activity. Of course you could "program" yourself to be violently nauseous anytime you hear the word "cigarette" or smell tobacco, or tobacco smoke...that might work too..for a while...

Just my quack psychology to behavioural adjustment. I've trained my dogs and they don't smoke, so it must be right

[Shaun Harris]

Ummm, the human body craves nicotine at about a tenth the level it does caffeine. The physical addiction is so close to nil that an addiction created by putting patches on a non smoker for three months, would barely be noticed when they were no longer applied. I don't think 'habitual' is at all the right word. The habit is as easy to break as the physical addiction. Ten times of incorporating a new thing into daily tasks is supposedly the seed well and truly planted for a habit. Stands to reason that ten times of removing something is that habit all but broken, and it requires less and less thought each consecutive time.

So, we're left in a very grey area. With no easy fix as it happens. Which sucks for those of us deeply entrenched in sparking up. I've got nothing going on right now (hence I'm tapping away at this long winded reply), but I am prolly gonna go for a smoke as soon as this post is finished. Why? Fucked if I know. There's no explanation I can come up with to do it, and plenty of reasons not to. I know them all. Yet...

Psychologists have done loads of research, but not one of them seems to have come up with a sure fire way to knock it on the head with no ill effects. Be it physical or in our heads.

We're fucked. Need to battle with ourselves to overcome it.

"Smokers are perceived as weak willed. This is untrue. It took a lot of will power to continue smoking those first cigarettes, they're horrible and it's unnatural to smoke them". Alan Carr. (I paraphrased that a bit, but that's the gist of it).

Off for a fag now.

sorry dude but Fact is, You either trully want to give up/stop or you are just kidding yourself. I was such an habitual smoker that I could some days smoke 5 with in 2 hours in the mornings, and if I was driving long distance, wow shit loads more. I am having no physicall issues at all and NOT using patches or anything, the only difficulty I find accasionally is the habitual habit is missing, ie, you are aware of a little bit of stress going on in my life currently and that is nothing compared to some thing else that is quite personell that I am heavily involved in, some times when I recieve a text or email about it that stresses me more over it, I THINK a smoke would be good, ( and there lies the habitual side of it using it as stress reliefe) then laugh at myself for being a soft cock and potentually giving into the crap again. I am DONE DONE DONE, join in man!

[Drew]

Do you have any facts that I could look at for that? Just interested as it's not consistent with anything that I've learned about the 2 drugs.




Habits aren't "broken" or removed, they are modified, redirected or replaced. In order to focus on "NOT smoking" one must first focus on "Smoking", so probably best to focus on a new more beneficial (or less harmful) activity. Of course you could "program" yourself to be violently nauseous anytime you hear the word "cigarette" or smell tobacco, or tobacco smoke...that might work too..for a while...

Just my quack psychology to behavioural adjustment. I've trained my dogs and they don't smoke, so it must be right

Many moons ago, I had to learn about it for a biology assignment. That's about all I retained.

[swtfa]

I have tried and failed in the past, but NOT this time. Today is my day 7 and I am 100% Tobacco free after 37 years of averaging 20 a day

Eight months have passed... how is it going?
I hope all is well and you are still smoke free

[BuzzardNZ]

Eight months have passed... how is it going?
I hope all is well and you are still smoke free

Judging by the following link, not too well :

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...post1130854869

[bluninja]

Maybe it's chewing tobacco

[BuzzardNZ]

Maybe it's chewing tobacco

Could be. I tried that muck once ( an Indian variety http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutka ) it tasted ok, but damn, it sure packed a punch, I almost chundered. I was told that each sachet ( you chew that much in one go ) was equal to 4 ciggies worth of nicotine. Never again

[Shaun Harris]

Eight months have passed... how is it going?
I hope all is well and you are still smoke free

NO, I have allowed my self to Fail. I am down from smoking 20 a day too 10 a day now. I went 31 days with NONE! better, but not good enough still.

[Drew]

So this thread is basically just the same thing as all your "I'm going back to the Isle of Mann" threads?