Smokers?

[Jabba 18389]

Ok, I confess, I'm an ex-smoker. That admission of course, makes me the most annoying personality to be around for those who indulge.

 

Forgive my musings:

 

I hear the trend is slowly dying (no pun intended). Anyone have any quitting stories?

 

My quitting experience sucked. I did the patch. Weird dreams...stuff I haven't experienced before. I had to do some serious drinking and walking just to cope with the withdrawal. Family thought I went bonkers.

 

Having gone through quitting, I would never again take up smoking....unless maybe if I was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Meh, not even then. Too expen$$ive.

 

Anyone gonna quit soon?

[cat 262460]

I was a long time smoker and in January 2011 I switched to an e-cigarette. Technically, I quit smoking but I took a very slow path towards cutting down the nicotine. I still have my e's and I enjoy them like I did smoking without the smell or the carcinogens. The cool thing is that I use them wherever I want, on airplanes, in restaurants, movie theaters and no one says anything.

What motivated me was the effort it took to keep myself and my house from smelling like a smoker. Weekly wall washing, steam cleaning and dry cleaning bills were overwhelming...

cat

[spud271 47779]

All this talk of smoking...I'd better go have one!!!!!

[Parker 19761]

I adore my e-cig. It's really clean and smells like fruit... I don't think I could ever go back to real cigarettes.

 

I never really liked cigarettes though, I use to quit and then slip and have one then quit again. It was overly stressful.

[Jabba 18389]

Had a relative who did the laser treatment thing. I think that's more about hypnotism, but what do I know.

 

1st day off cigarettes, said relative ate an entire bag of carrots and basically OD-ed on 'em. Even the skin turned orange. Sick as a dog for a few days. EEuuyyuk!

[Boomer 33202]

I started when I did my basic training when I was at University. We would sit around on the grass after doing drill,and it just seemed to be the thing to do. I made many tries over the years, just about ever way I could think of, and I eventually was doing a pack and a half non filtered at my peak. It was physically taking it's toll. I guess you know you're overdoing it when you're checking to see if you can get in another one before coffee break is up.

 

It finally came down to an incentive and the will to go cold turkey. I was driving home from the maternity hospital with a two day old son strapped in the back seat. Without thinking I reached into my breast pocket for a fag, looked at it, and threw the pack out the window. I have tried a couple of smokes since then but found that once I had regained my smell and taste it was pretty awful.

 

I do have sympathy for smokers when I drive by a hospital in winter and see one dragging around an IV out in a shelter by the street. They really are becoming second class citizens.

[Shelly Lane 13856]

Well just in case we are all still here at the end of the year...where do you get these e-smokes... I looked into one company but they had a terrible rep and alot of complaints about customer service. im sure theres other manufactures out there...

[Jhena Grey 25615]

Well just in case we are all still here at the end of the year...where do you get these e-smokes... I looked into one company but they had a terrible rep and alot of complaints about customer service. im sure theres other manufactures out there...

 

http://www.buy-electroniccigarettes.org

 

I have also seen them at a Daisy Mart.

[oldblueeyez 15475]

For those who insist on deliberately inhaling carcinogens with alarming frequency, kindly allow me to refer your attention to Inositol Hexaphosphate,

other wise known as IP6.

 

Inositol Hexaphosphate (IP6): Fiber-Derived Support for Mutagenic, Cardiovascular, Antioxidant, and Immune Concerns

 

The many references in this albeit product-promoting article are bonafide and genuine and will send you on a very enlightening journey on PubMed, should you decide to do so.

 

The good stuff: IP6 Gold

 

In my small-brained but open-minded opinion, the key to cancer prevention is not soley the avoidance of carcinogens, for most of them are everywhere and unavoidable. We all know the big ones, like tobacco smoke, but consider these: for those who live in older home, you could be breathing in asbestos fibers and lead and mercury dust; for those do-it-yourselfers who insulated their homes wearing stupid little practically useless dust masks, you inhaled a bunch of cute little pink carcinogenic glass fibers; woodworkers exposed to sawdust; Fukishima fallout which has spread across the entire northern hemisphere; radioactive particles from nuclear bomb tests; X-rays and more importantly CT scans; alcohol (EGAD!); H. Pylori stomach bacteria; virii like Epstein-Barr; BPA; sun exposure; mycotoxins in poorly stored grains; sodium nitate in preserved meats; oh for heaven's sake, even potato chips and bread crust (acrylamides)! God, just shoot me!

 

No, the avoidance of carcinogens is utterly impossible. What is possible is the neutralization of the irritation and inflammation these substances cause and our body's reaction to it.

 

JMHO of course. Drink up and enjoy the day!

[cat 262460]

There are several e cigarettes on the market but I don't recommend anything bought at a gas station or convenience store. The brand I use is the "ego". They don't have cartridges that need to be purchased but refillable atomizers that you have liquid to refill them. They are pretty much indestructable, have manual, secured, rechargable batteries and are by far the best I've ever used. I've tried many that were substandard and not feasible as a smoking replacement.

The very best source of information is the Electronic Cigarette Forum. It is a world wide user board that contains everything you need to know about this product. Here in Ottawa the best distributor was banned for being hot headed and uninformed as to board policy but he is wonderful to deal with in person. Google Capital Nicfit; he does mail order and delivers. If you choose the delivery option, he will come in and set you up along with giving you a hands on demo with Q and A...

cat

[brockvilleman 615]

what is a e-cig? never heard of them. i must admit i am a smoker and my wife died of cancer. but to be honest i still enjoy it. i do use these plastic filters that cut down on the nicotine etc which has helpped with my smokers cough. sometimes i wonder how much longer it will be before the gov't bans them altogether.

[Guest Wa**ard S**]

I quit smoking a gazillion years ago cold turkey as that's what we had to do back then. I took up running, something I still do, and it was a good motivator for me as it's hard to light a cigarette while running. I have never heard of an e-cigarette before so please pardon my ignorance...just heard of e-bikes and that's all. Anyhow, if an e-cigarette is safe and keeps you from smoking, yay! Keep at it and all the best.

 

I adore my e-cig. It's really clean and smells like fruit... I don't think I could ever go back to real cigarettes.

 

I never really liked cigarettes though, I use to quit and then slip and have one then quit again. It was overly stressful.

[cat 262460]

Go to...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/

It will answer any and all questions...

cat

[billybob 20128]

what is a e-cig? never heard of them. i must admit i am a smoker and my wife died of cancer. but to be honest i still enjoy it. i do use these plastic filters that cut down on the nicotine etc which has helpped with my smokers cough. sometimes i wonder how much longer it will be before the gov't bans them altogether.

 

Sorry to hear about your wife.

 

I hate to sound like a know-it-all ex smoker but I really think you hit the nail on the head. 20+ years ago I was a pack a day smoker, I woke up one day and said that's it, I don't want to smoke anymore, haven't had a cigarette since. I know it's easy to say, I realize everyone is different and there's more than one way to quit smoking but I recommend cold turkey.

 

E-cigs, patches, pills, there's a lot of products out there to help you and if it does the trick go for it.

 

In the end you have to want it, not because it's bad for you, not because you saw a picture of an aborted fetus on a cigarette pack or read an article that scared you, you need to quit because you don't want to smoke any more, period.

 

If you're attempting to quit for any other reason then you want to, it will be near impossible.

[Guest Wa**ard S**]

Please accept my deepest condolences on the loss of your wife. I am very sorry to hear that and I hope you are able to quit smoking in the near future. Good luck and all the best.

 

what is a e-cig? never heard of them. i must admit i am a smoker and my wife died of cancer. but to be honest i still enjoy it. i do use these plastic filters that cut down on the nicotine etc which has helpped with my smokers cough. sometimes i wonder how much longer it will be before the gov't bans them altogether.

[Katherine of Halifax 113932]

I am one of the biggest ani smokers in the world. However if I am with a firend that smokes and I am having a drink I will have one. I totally enjoy it and do not feel the least bit guilty.

 

I believe the reason I do not smoke is I am fitness fanatic and probably would not be able to run with smokey lungs. If I have a cigarette I can feel it in my body for a few days.

[Chanel Reign 28097]

I tried once for 6 months to quit and did it the gov't's way. But sitting in bars listening to music got in the way, and the next thing I knew there was that damn ciggie back between my fingers.

 

About 10 years ago I was sitting at the comp writing a dry history article with half my ear to CNN. There had just been a study released by the AMA that there was a direct link to smoking and the cancer I was in the middle of fighting. Put my smoke out and that was it.

 

However, having said that, I do enjoy one from time to time. Especially if alcohol and lots of happy people are involved. lol

[piano8950 32577]

I'm like Katherine. Many people scoff when I say this, but eventually realize it's true soon enough, but even though I smoke them, I am not addicted. Months can go by without me smoking one, but if I'm with friends, we're out in the woods eating sandwiches, or perhaps its a nice starry night in the middle of Nova Scotia, I might light up and smoke a couple if a friend has one.

 

I had 4 after a friend's wedding, and someone thought I wouldn't be able to just quit. I told her I wasn't addicted in the first place. We made a bet that I couldn't go a week without smoking for $100. Suffice to say, by the end of the week, I made the easiest $100 ever.

 

 

But I do impose restrictions on myself, I'm scared of the slippery slope that might lead to an addiction. I've never bought a cigarette, only smoke if being offered, never two days in a row, never 5 times in a week, and after that week is done, I never touch one for months. I've just added arbitrary rules as I've gone along.

 

But unlike most people, I never did have an issue with the smell from people smoking around me. I actually liked it.

[Jabba 18389]

I used to have dreams where I suddenly and randomly discovered I had a cigarette in my fingers. I couldn't believe it cuz I quit. I was so disappointed in myself. Didn't want to even take a drag.

 

Frigging stupid dreams. Guess it was just a subconscious though to reinforce or test my quitting resolve. Don't have any more dreams like that. My insecurities have been laid to rest.

[Chanel Reign 28097]

I used to have dreams where I suddenly and randomly discovered I had a cigarette in my fingers. I couldn't believe it cuz I quit. I was so disappointed in myself. Didn't want to even take a drag.

 

Frigging stupid dreams. Guess it was just a subconscious though to reinforce or test my quitting resolve. Don't have any more dreams like that. My insecurities have been laid to rest.

 

Well that's much more spectacularly bizarre than me waking up every so often because I think I have my glasses on. :icon_eek:

[Guest S**a*Q]

I've been smoke free since Jan 2012. I used Champix. I tried the ecig but it just lead me to smoking all the time. There was no more "smoke break", it hung out of my mouth all the time. I still enjoy the occasional cigar, but I find the smell of cigarettes gross now. I may have one or two a month if and when I'm drinking but thats more if there are other smokers around me, I think. Plus I save money, meaning more tattoos :)