Poll for Smokers Only, Please

[rucky]

I smoke because...

[RJ Connors]

1. Cigarettes are just one of the many ways the people are enslaved

to their own wants and desires in the American model of consumerism.

See:

[walldude]

26. So is DU and the internet and driving

what's your point? Or was this an attempt to paint yourself a a better person than someone who smokes?

[Soylent Brice]

2. sad to admit this, but both.

i wish i didn't choose to. i don't want to choose to.

i'm "in the process" of trying to quit.

[YOY]

6. Me too.

Be strong. Non smokers never really know just how hard it is to quit.

I've heard heroin addicts saying that it is about the same level of addiction.

[Soylent Brice]

13. funny you mention that

just heard that from another DUer.

[sharp_stick]

12. It's a bitch

I lost count of how many times I quit before I actually quit. It's been 10 years now, from a pack a day or more when exams were coming up.

I found the patch along with a real desire to keep starting to quit every time I started up again really helped. I think I got so sick of starting to quit that I eventually just powered through. I did continue to use the patch for awhile as a security blanket even after I'm pretty sure I didn't need it any more.

Keep telling yourself that you can do it and do it for Soylent baby.

How is the new addition? Are you getting any sleep yet?

[Soylent Brice]

16. thanks for asking! actually, SB is an amazing sleeper.

this is our 3rd child, so we kinda got an idea of what makes for good sleeping habits. from the time she was born we would go to bed around 11pm-1am. she would only wake up once at 4am, eat, and go back to sleep. recently we've had a few nights in a row where she has slept for 7-8 hrs. not even 3 months old.

at first we were freaked out, but with each child they were better and better sleepers.

thank you for asking about the baby!!

in regards to the smoking. i can see myself using the nicotine gum much like you did as a security blanket as well. i hope not, but pretty sure i will.

[sharp_stick]

23. Glad to hear it

My first one (daughter) never enjoyed sleeping, still hates going to bed (4 yo) but #2 (son 19 mo.) heads for the stairs when we ask if he's ready for bed.

I'm glad we had the "bad" sleeper first, if it was the other way around we wouldn't have known what to do.

Don't worry about using the nicotine as a security blanket. It's a lot better for you than the butts, use it as long as you need too.

[Speck Tater]

3. Recovering smoker here. Today makes 80 days smoke free. nt

[The River]

9. Congratulations

I'm still trying to put more than a few days at a time
together. Always some damned excuse.....

[Soylent Brice]

17. excellent! congrats!!!!

[Auggie]

22. Congrats. Stay strong.

Seven and half years here

[Beam Me Up]

4. "Both" is an interesting poll option.

This morning I woke up to two cigarettes left in the pack. I could go across the street to the filling station and buy another pack -- and I may yet -- but as of somewhat after noon my time, I've decided not to. I'd really like to quit -- and have in the past sometimes for years at a time -- but I also know that isn't exactly "easy." Why do I smoke? Because, among other things, I suffer from buts of anxiety. I've tried prescription medications under the supervision of a psychiatrist. They didn't work -- in fact they made things much worse. The one thing that does "work," oddly enough, is tobacco. If I get too stressed out in my life, I can start smoking and that, for a time, seems to alleviate the symptoms. On the other hand, after I've smoked for some time -- a couple months -- the other negative effects of tobacco begin to move me toward making the decision to "quit". Thus this morning's decision. The thing is, I know from past experience, when I quit, I have to be emotionally together enough to face the consequences of NOT smoking. I have to be willing to stay with the anxiety that transforms into a craving. I learned long ago that this craving will go away whether I have a cigarette or not, provided I turn my attention to 'something' else. Time passes during which I don't 'think' about having a cigarette. Then at some point the craving comes back into conscious view as an 'emotional sensation' of craving and once again i have to make the intentional decision NOT to act on that craving. This cycle repeats itself but if I have the emotional wherewithal to stay with it, over time it subsides to the point where it isn't much of a 'contest'. I stop smoking. It is only later, sometimes years later, that a stressful circumstance will erupt in my life and the desire will reassert itself. Anyway, today, I haven't had a cigarette for several hours -- will this be sustained through the day? Will it continue through tomorrow and the day after that? :shrug:

[scarletwoman]

27. Wow! You really hit the nail on the head with what you said about "emotional craving"!

I quit for thirteen years. THIRTEEN YEARS! Then, my partner died. And all I could think of was how much I wanted a cigarette.

After he died I used to cry in my car all the way to work every morning. I'd pull my shit together to get through my workday, but as soon as I got in my car to drive home the grief would hit me again and I'd be crying all the way. And whenever I was stopped at a traffic light and saw a driver in the next lane smoking, the craving for a cigarette would hit me like a tidal wave.

Oh gawd -- I wanted a cigarette SO badly! I fought it off from March until August, and then I gave in. It was such a RELIEF! Tobacco was my friend, my greatest comfort, my unfailing ally.

That was 1988. I've intended to quit many times since then, gone days without smoking, determined to be done with cigarettes, but I haven't been able to bring myself to let go. I'm not even sure I care anymore.

I go through my entire work day without smoking -- 9-10 hours without a single cigarette and it's no problem. But once I'm home alone, forget it. I grab for my cigs and go at it. I can't bear the thought of being totally without them.

*sigh*

sw

[Beam Me Up]

31. That basically is what happened to me too, SW ...

I'd stopped smoking in 1986. In 1997 my partner died unexpectedly of a brain tumor. I managed to fight the temptation for a while but ultimately just gave in. I have managed to stop for periods of time since but not for as long a stretch. I did give in and bought a pack today but I'm feeling it is time to seriously try quitting again -- especially due to the cost. I believe I can do this and that is half the battle -- and I've learned to not 'beat myself up' mentally or emotionally when I slip or 'fall off the wagon.' I think one has to be 'ready' inside, somehow. Good luck with whatever you decide or however you decide to do it!


:hug: :toast:

[MrSlayer]

5. I smoke when I want to.

And I don't when I don't. Some days I'll smoke up to two packs, some days I don't smoke at all. It varies depending on my desire. I control it, it doesn't control me. I don't have to smoke.

[DS1]

7. HA! I read that as Pot Smokers only

and I thought, man, sure are a lot of freepers freepin this poll. Then I further.


And I don't even smoke pot anymore

[bridgit]

14. Oh I know, cept I totally read that as "Poll Smokers only"

:smoke:

[Soylent Brice]

19. awesome.

[Soylent Brice]

18. ...

[bigwillq]

8. Mentally addicted.

I am sure there are some physical addictions, but, for me, I think it's more mental, more habitual. And because I choose to.

[Fuzz]

10. I'm a tobacco enthusiast.

[tammywammy]

11. Working up the courage to try quitting again. n/t

[LanternWaste]

15. I'm down to three smokes a day...

I'm down to three smokes a day. After having smoked a pack a day since 1984, I see this a a pretty good improvement :)

I don't blame anyone, any companies, any marketing campaigns, any organizations, or any thing for my addiction. it was my choice, my prerogative and my money freely given....



I have but myself to blame for having spent over $20,000 on that stuff. Hopefully, I'm on the road "outtathere!"

[able1]

20. "A woman's a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke" EOM

[waiting for hope]

21. If I quit - what would we do after sex?

:crazy:

[Speck Tater]

25. Chemotheraphy? Radiation treatments?

After 45 years smoking, it only took a few weeks of driving my best friend to her daily lung cancer chemo treatments to decide I really didn't want to smoke any more.

[rucky]

24. Does the choice of "Both" come from giving up on trying?

and opting for the Dennis Leary / Bill Hicks attitude?

for me it does.

[Toucano]

28. Total junkie. n-t

[rainbow4321]

29. Well, I'm on my second round of antibiotics and I'm still lighting up

Last week:
First round: bronchitis and sinus infection

Tonight: went to the doc to get a second round of antibiotics and a steroid nasal spray for the sinus infection that will not go away.


Yes, as a nurse, I know better. I really do.

Worst scenario was a few years ago when I had bronchitis with a bad enough cough that I fractured a rib (hydrocodone got me thru that) yet I still lit up.

I'm just not ready or willing to give it up :-(

[Midwestern Democrat]

30. Both - I'm totally addicted, but I also really enjoy smoking. NT