[Winstonm]

jdonn, on May 3 2009, 11:15 AM, said:

I have always justified not smoking by not wanting to spend the money. It's a relatively dumb reason but hey whatever works. A better reason would be watching my grandfather have 3 heart attacks, burn down his house, and die of lung cancer.

I do have a cigar about once a year when the mood strikes, which is not often enough to addict me to anything so I equate it to an occasional unhealthy meal.

Winstonm, on May 2 2009, 06:10 PM, said:

I fully believe genuine cigarette addiction should fall into the same category as alcoholism or narcotic drug addiction in that you are never cured, never an ex-user but at best a user who is not using right now.

Or gambling?

The dopamine release I believe is the same but I can't say for sure - I did work with a guy once who had multiple addictions, to alcohol, speed, and gambling. He told me the hardest of the three to give up was gambling.

[Lobowolf]

matmat, on May 3 2009, 12:39 AM, said:

watching captain kangaroo.

Don't tell me

[Winstonm]

Lobowolf, on May 3 2009, 12:03 PM, said:

matmat, on May 3 2009, 12:39 AM, said:

watching captain kangaroo.

Don't tell me

Don't you have something you could be doing?

[sallyally]

I smoked by my count for 43 years. I was working at 17 and could buy my own. My parents were smokers. I tried to quit several times without success. The last time, however, I knew I would never smoke again. It seemed as though some adjustment was made mentally but I don't know how it occurred. It would be nice to know so it could be applied to food!

The office I started work at had a policy of allowing men only to smoke at theirs desks. The women had to rely on lunch and break periods. When we were made "equal" it was the worst thing. Now smoking at your desk could go on all day long.

I am glad to be rid of the habit for a lot of reasons not the least of which is the social acceptability of smokers these days - no more huddling outside in the snow and rain! No more going out at midnight because I was out of cigs!

To see the young smoking is saddening.

[matmat]

Winstonm, on May 3 2009, 12:13 PM, said:

Lobowolf, on May 3 2009, 12:03 PM, said:

matmat, on May 3 2009, 12:39 AM, said:

watching captain kangaroo.

Don't tell me

Don't you have something you could be doing?

who? me? no.

[sireenb]

Thanks for the advice guys. You have convinced me to quit ASAP. I am not quite ready to do it this instant but I think I can talk myself into it within the next couple of days and I have already cut down.

I am not very worried about the weight because I am already on an easy diet and have lost a lot already slowly and steadily.

There is a lot less smoking in public areas here because of a new law they passed a few months ago so I hope that I will not have a bad problem with the eye allergy. Our home is already a non-smoking zone because my husband hates cigarettes.

So thanks again and I am working on it

[Aberlour10]

Go for it!

Everybody has to solve this problem individuel. From my experiences... I was not able to cut my consume radical from one day to another, several tries have failed miserably. I tried it different way, reducing from 30 cigs/day step by step in +-5 months to zero. It was successful and I had no problems with "weight jumping" this time.

Robert

[barmar]

My mother was a heavy smoker when I was growing up. I couldn't stand the smell and never had even the slightest temptation to take it up myself. My vice is overeating (I'm 5'6"" and 230 lbs).

[dicklont]

sireenb, on May 4 2009, 01:40 AM, said:

Thanks for the advice guys. You have convinced me to quit ASAP.

Way to go sireenb.
Keep us posted, I would love to hear that you´re succesfull!

[Oof Arted]

I started at around age 11 'Wills Wild Woodbines' in packets of 5's ;

Gave up 26 years ago and have not looked back since

Give it up ASAP

[helene_t]

kenberg, on May 3 2009, 05:52 PM, said:

It's not just that cigarettes will kill you. They reduce your ability to live life fully and the endgame is often awful. We are all going to die, but there are ways to live and ways to die.

Right. The fact that smokers live 8 years (or something like that) less that non-smokers often does not impress people because they say that the last 8 years of most people's life is pretty worthless anyway.

The fact is, you loose 8 (or something like that) of you best years. Smoking makes you start decaying earlier, it doesn't make you die faster.

I never smoked for the same reason that I didn't listen to pop music or or wear fancy clothes as a teenager. Peer pressure repelled me rather than attracted me. Of course the fact that I had no money and found tobacco smoke disgusting added to that. I just never saw any reason to start smoking.

[Fluffy]

I trusted all the anti-tobacoo (and every drug) propaganda when I was young, so never touched tobacoo.

As a child I kept telling both my parents to stop smoking every day. They both quit, but I am not really sure if I had something to do with that. Mom died anyway from hepatitis wich had nothing to do with smoking.

[blackshoe]

Heh. My first reaction to the poll results is that most of the 62% who claim to have never smoked are lying. But then I considered the average age of bridge players, and concluded that a large number (historically) of bridge players who did smoke are dead already.

[Gerben42]

I have never smoked, and no that is not a lie. I have never even remotely been interested in cigarettes, other than getting as far away from them as possible. No propaganda needed, I figured that out by myself.

My mom used to smoke (but luckily not a lot) and even as a kid I would try go get her off it because of the yucky smell.

Now that smoking has been banned in pubs and discos, I now can enjoy going there. Before I've been there like zero times. And especially restaurants. I cannot enjoy a meal if someone is smoking at the next table.

No, I don't have asthma, I just really dislike going places that stink.

And like Helene, peer pressure repelled me even more. I remember going to a shoe store with my mom and I stated before going that I would NOT want Nikes.

For some reason I ended up with Nikes anyway because I have very slim feet and most other shoes wouldn't fit correctly, but that wasn't the point.

[PassedOut]

blackshoe, on May 4 2009, 07:15 PM, said:

Heh. My first reaction to the poll results is that most of the 62% who claim to have never smoked are lying.

Many years ago I read a book on how to take the psychological tests given by corporations. One of the points I retained was that these tests contain certain questions to identify liars.

One example given was, "I have never smoked a cigarette, true or false." If you answered "true" you were deemed a liar.

[helene_t]

PassedOut, on May 5 2009, 03:21 PM, said:

One example given was, "I have never smoked a cigarette, true or false." If you answered "true" you were deemed a liar.

Wow. That's crazy. The version I heard was "Have you ever lied to your parents?"

Another one was "My mother is/was a good person". But I am not quite sure what it is supposed to suggest if someone answers "no" to that one.

[jdonn]

blackshoe, on May 4 2009, 07:15 PM, said:

Heh. My first reaction to the poll results is that most of the 62% who claim to have never smoked are lying. But then I considered the average age of bridge players, and concluded that a large number (historically) of bridge players who did smoke are dead already.

I don't think anyone is lying, I just think non-smokers are more likely to answer.

[Aberlour10]

Making this poll, I thought about one more choice : "I have never smoked, not even a single cigarette" but it would be in my opinion a pure hair-splitting, sorry.

[G_R__E_G]

Winstonm, on May 2 2009, 06:10 PM, said:

I fully believe genuine cigarette addiction should fall into the same category as alcoholism or narcotic drug addiction in that you are never cured, never an ex-user but at best a user who is not using right now.

The addiction to nicotine is the most powerful addiction known to man, worse than heroin addiction, so anyone who has successfully given up tobacco is to be congratulated.  Ask any real cigarette addict who has quit for a number of years and he will tell you the urge to smoke never completely goes away - even after the years and years of non-use.

The only difference is that it gets easier to tell yourself, no.

This is as true as it gets. It's been 4 1/2 years since I stopped (after smoking for about 20 of the first 35 years of my life). To this day I still love the smell and I know for a fact that if I were to ever have even one cigarette, I'd be back at it again. While I still constantly crave them I have brought myself to the realization that I don't need them - this coupled with being terrified of starting again keeps me from falling off the wagon.

PS I'm also surprised by the number of people who say they've never smoked. Maybe it's different elsewhere - but here in Canada several years ago the statistics were that 35% of people smoked. One would have to assume that the number of people who had smoked at one time would be significantly higher than that.

[Phil]

G_R__E_G, on May 5 2009, 09:46 AM, said:

PS I'm also surprised by the number of people who say they've never smoked.

I guess it depends on your definition of "smoked". Does taking a single puff when you are 13 count? Then I'm guilty.

Really, the whole smoking thing just disgusts me. It always has and it always will. Second hand smoke is acrid, and I hated going to tournaments back in the day when they allowed smoking.

I can't stand the smell of smokers, their cars or their clothes.