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OK, so I'm a smoker. You heard it here first. Don't lecture me. Or I'll smack you in the face.
I want to quit. Or at least cut down considerably on cigarettes. As do some of you reading this. Maybe. And I know that willpower isn't enough. So I've been looking at alternatives beyond the listing of the disadvantages of smoking which I already put together and keep peeking at. I also bought a box of nicotine gum (which I've yet to open) and Internetted all those "e-cigarettes" which promise to give you the "hit" experienced when one smokes.
Let's first look at replacing ye olde cigarette. It seems to me a couple of things are required to accomplish this. Firstly, there's the supply of nicotine to satisfy the brain's demand for it. And secondly, the habit of smoking itself. This includes the putting-of-something-into-one's-mouth-for-a-puff, and the sensations; taste and so on.
What advice, dear smokers-who-are-inclined-to-quit and ex-smokers, can you offer?
(Apologies for all these hyphenated-words-cum-phrases but I haven't had a smoke for fifteen minutes and feel somewhat edgy and in-need-of-a-ciggie-but-aware-that-I'm-supposed-to-be-trying-to-quit.)
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I smoked for a VERY short time when you were about 5 years old, so thank the Lord I never got hooked. But maybe I can help anyway.
You were born in 1964, so you're 46 or heading that way. Any kids? Family that loves you?
I've lost both of my parents, and Joe Camel was involved in both of them. It doesn't have to be cancer, BTW. My mom's lungs were like a leather baseball glove burned in a fire; all scarred up, and unable to keep liquid out, so she tended toward pneumonia pretty easily. Since she already had a heart problem, that just made things worse. She finally died when her heart was unable to unable her lungs to function correctly. She's been gone 20 years and I can still tear up when I think of her. Very intelligent woman doing a very dumb thing. If I could go back 40 years and slap her up along side the head (it would be the one and only time I'd ever hit her, just to get her attention), and say, "I love you! I want you around a long time! Quit Smoking!", I'd jump at the chance.
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Well, Andy, I'll wish you luck if you return the favour - I'm trying to quit myself. In my case, scarification of my lungs has already set in, so I'm a damn fool to continue. But it is difficult: nicotine addiction is harder to kick than opiates. As far as that goes, there isn't the least shame in getting all the external help you can lay hands on. Maybe the NHS covers certain therapies? Anyway, here's some offhand tips, hope they may be of some use.
-Two other habits combine famously with tobacco: morning coffee and alcohol, especially beer. It might help to cut down either or both, or even stop them completely for a while. That way you can reward yourself with a pint or a triple cappucino after say, a week of abstinence.
-Negative motivations are probably the weakest, as many smokers get the yen when faced with stress. Contemplating the hazards of smoking or realising how much difficulty you're having in quitting are both stress situations. Better to take up some sport or exercise, run into your limitations there, but soldier on regardless. That might entail a big change in lifestyle, but so is quitting itself. You may as well go the whole hog.
-Or if being scared witless does help, go to your doctor. Complain about being short of breath and suggest a spirometry. I had two last year and now know that my efficiency in oxygen intake is 59%. That's down from 70% in healthy lungs, a 16% decrease. Oh, and the damage generally never goes away - all you can hope for is that it stabilises. Cancer is the risk, COPD is a dead cert. (Note Tewald's story above!)
-There's a part of the brain that generates desires and a part that judges and perhaps inhibits them. Smoking, more than any other habit, disrupts the inhibiting signals from reaching the former centre. This centre, when uninhibited, sends repeat signals until it gets its way, like a child that keeps asking and asking and asking for that lollipop. This niggling centre has another name, or function. It is your Free Will(!). Think on that, maybe there's something in that insight you can use.
Good luck, and don't light that gum by mistake!
F.
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| If I could go back 40 years and slap her up along side the head...I'd jump at the chance. |
I'm sure you would, Tom. And I'd probably do the same with my brother, who I lost to lung cancer last July.
Thanks for the quick replies, guys. Got to turn in for the night so I'll call back here tomorrow.
| Good luck, and don't light that gum by mistake! |
It's so tempting 
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Right, that's sleep over with 
| Well, Andy, I'll wish you luck if you return the favour - I'm trying to quit myself. |
Starting today, I'll be taking a closer look at "safe" cigarettes. Watch this thread for my findings and whatever.
I'm interested in something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbg8AWbpg84
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Maybe "safe" cigarettes are the thing, who knows? I've tried two nicotine replacement thingies: gum and patches.
Gum gets rid of the worst part of wanting to smoke, which actually leaves you with the good old positive motivations: 'Just the one won't hurt...' etc. Also, you have to remember not to keep chewing. If you do, your nicotine intake will put cigarettes to shame. Gum does have the gesture element of lighting up, though.
Patches spread out the dose, and do better at stopping the yearning, but you miss the ritual of smoking. The important thing, though, is taking them off in time. If you leave one on overnight, you may well get very vivid dreams, for better or worse. Forget to take one off too long and they give you a rash.
Acupuncture also worked quite well, though the effect wears off fully after two weeks. If you're not covered for it, it can get expensive.
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