Possible alternative for smoking

[mandru]

An interesting approach Art.  I'm cheering you on towards success.   :-X

[fragger]

Me too :-D

That's terrific Art! I'd say I hope you stick with it, but it sounds like you've got it licked already. Self-psychology - that's a great way to come at it :-X Thanks, that'll benefit me too when I try to quit, which will be anytime now, I think. Our government has decreed that soon, all tobacco products will be sold in plain packaging with gross-out pictures of diseased organs and rotting flesh taking up most of the pack's surface area, ostensibly as a deterrent, and they can only be sold essentially "under the counter", or in this case in opaque cabinets where the kiddies can't see them and decide on the spot to become smokers when they grow up. Actually, the horrible pictures have been there for a few years already, but now the gov wants the pictures made bigger, to take up about 70% of the pack's face. Big closeups of tumour-encrusted lungs, gunk-filled arteries and fully extracted, stroke-smitten brains. Lovely.

So if a government is of the opinion that tobacco is so horrifically life-threatening that they feel the packages must have these truly sickening images printed on them to discourage people, why exactly are they allowing these products to be sold in the first place? Why is tobacco not on the illicit drug list, along with other addictive and/or harmful substances like heroin or amphetamine-based drugs? These are rhetorical questions, and the answers are: a) the Australian government makes an absolute fortune from the sales taxes on tobacco products (10% on every tobacco sale), and; b) tobacco companies make huge donations to the major Aussie political parties to stay in the game. Politicians aren't going to allow a gold mine such as this to cave in, so they'll spend a fraction of the fortune they make from tobacco sales on disgusting pictures, media quit campaigns and anti-smoking propaganda and paint themselves as caring and concerned citizens in the process, even while they continue to shamelessly profiteer from the sale of tobacco.

Therefore, it's my belief that my government does not in fact want anyone to quit, and unless someone can convince me otherwise, that's the belief I'm sticking with :-()

Sorry to rant, but it makes me rather cranky when I think about it >:((

So I'll stop thinking about it and get back to the main point: Well done Mr. Blade! Here, have a kudo :-X :)


EDIT: Since I posted this, I've discovered that Oz isn't the only country to feature horrible images on cigarette packs. Some countries' images are milder than ours, some are a lot worse. Brace yourselves in the US - your turn is coming after September 2012.

[Art Blade]

cheers  :) :)

I feel good and am not tempted. The thought "now a cig" is not repeating itself every other minute any more. Today I did only think it twice and shrugged it off with a big smile on my face.  :-D

[JRD]

Good for you Art. After a couple weeks you`ll be able to see what cigarettes were doing to you and fully appreciate your decision.  :-X

A slap on the back, mate!  8)

[Art Blade]

Thanks :) I'm fully aware of what they did :)

When I return to my old apartment, everything smells of cigarettes. I am very lucky that my new apartment has only new furniture. Imagine, DVDs that I brought from my old apartment smell of smoke. I mean, I can smell my DVDs and CDs ??? Whoa. I am not sure I want to clean every DVD.. Let's just hope the stuff wears off after a while  :-()

[mandru]

Brace yourselves in the US - your turn is coming after September 2012.

I've been following this development here in the U.S. fragger.   :-X

We already have 3X larger than life posters of a woman that suffered larynx cancer proudly displaying the big gaping stoma on her throat from her tracheotomy plastered up on bus stops all over town not to mention full sized billboards on roadsides (which opens the door wide for my thoughts on a rebuttal to be presented further on in my post) and it's all thanks to the Truth against tobacco lobby here.  Yeah Truth with the slant of "We're going to meddle in, limit and deny you your personal decisions but you can still run out and catch AIDS because that's a protected species and a quarantine would be so very unfair against those disease vectors that make it a continued threat.   >:(( 

I've come to the opinion that even if I manage to quit completely the trouble maker in me needs to turn it back against the very people that are pushing this heavy handed and intolerable initiative.  Our lives are steadily being filled with more and more intrusion by leaders that are supposed to be representing us, not ruling over us and they definitely own no part of us but still they feel that we are a commodity that needs to be managed.

"Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty apes!"   :-D

The general bent behind this issue ("Were going to drag them to it"  :D ) goes so far beyond Nanny State I've started calling it Nurse Ratched State (see One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) every time I discuss politics with anyone.

My thought is launching a word of mouth campaign that "empty" picture packs (I wouldn't want to break any laws   ;) ) should be collected by remaining smokers and scattered in school yards, on the shelves in the children's section of public libraries and play grounds or just about anywhere children would be concentrated.  The previously mentioned Truth lobby posters have paved the way for this as they are a widely accepted organization with no official opposition.  So there should be no problem at least with the content of the distributed material in applying my plan.

These pictures are Govt. approved and generated  Necro-Porn which will be widely welcomed by disease fetishists and I think all of the kids should collect the full set.  "Be the first in your neighbor hood!"   :-D :-X

After all if the Govt. is spending all this time, attention and money putting this into effect at some point in the future a full set of the classic official Govt. sanctioned Necro-Porn collector series might sell for a whole lot on E-bay.   ^-^

Children should be allowed to enjoy and benefit from the legislative efforts of their leaders in full portion the same as the rest of us.   >:D

[Art Blade]

 :-() :-X

When I walk around on the streets and see people coming out of a restaurant just to have a quick smoke (not allowed inside) or someone getting off a bus with a cig already between his lips, the first step off the bus and click goes the lighter.. (I mean, what is it -- do you need to reward yourself for having sustained a bus trip?) .. someone throwing away the paper wrap of a sandwich just being eaten and sure enough, time for a cig thereafter. A couple of people, one breaks a pack of cigs and miraculously everyone around starts to light one.

Makes me enjoy observing how smokers are addicted to "feeling good." I see the compulsive behaviour of smokers: They think, "damn it, that was good," and act upon that by non-verbally thinking, "let's make it feel even better by adding a smoke."

Generally, smokers cannot just enjoy. They need to emphasize something nice, just push it a couple of notches higher. The "feeling good" is too weak, almost worthless, without the emphasis of a nicotine-induced slap on the back telling them, "only now it feels right."

I'm sitting outside of that theatre stage of life, I'm a spectator watching smokers and how they're trapped on that stage.

I'm free. :)

[nexor]

It's purely a habit and most people do it without realizing they doing it, in that way I was fortunate, I never lit a sig without wanting to do it, and I allways enjoyed having a sig, there were many times when I lit one and after the first or second drag I found that i'm not enjoying it so I destroyed it there and then

[Binnatics]

@Art: Congratulations mate!!! And good philosophy :-X Indeed you earned a slap on the back. Hope it will push out the last bit of tar inside. Then all there's left is to remove the tar on your... moddest record collection >:D
No, serious, I'm jealous. But I'll be following soon ^-^

@Fragger: Government not wanting the smokers to really quit: absolutely true. And also; Government claiming that smokers cost society money due to the fact that they get ill: absolutely false.

@Mandru: I support your rage to the max. Usually that rage is one of the things that keeps me from quiting. It makes me feel solidary with the smokers. I just realized that I can feel solidary with the smokers without being one ????
...Maybe it's time to quit now ;)

[Art Blade]

Thanks, guys :)

It is not just a habit (see PZ's explanation regarding nicotine) but it was precisely that which made me want to "just quit" even more than ever  :-() I'll keep JRD's warning in mind, that the cravings won't disappear, but that combined with the biological explanation (receptors put on stand-by mode only -- one cig and they're fully operational again) make me even stronger to resist. No falling-back. Not "just one" for whatever reason.

I'd tell myself, "hey! It's bloody toxic! And expensive! And it stinks for days!"  :-D

[JRD]

Just the other day I dreamed I was smoking and I was "Oh no! What did I do? Now I`ll have to quit again!!  :D "

Silly, I know, but maybe it was one lonely brain receptor squeaking during my sleep just to see if there was anybody out there listening  ;D Luckily my sub conscious was alert and pasted a feeling of regret upon smoking an imaginary cig!!  ;D

[Art Blade]

haha, horrible yet beautiful that dream/reaction of yours  :-() :-X

[nexor]

Remembering what my friend's Dad told me about the craving not going away   :(    for the first few months after I stopped smoking when I got the urge to take a sig I would in my mind replace the craving for a sig with the thought of seeing a sexbomb walking down the street and wondering what chance do I stand in having a roll in the hay with her..........    :'(  helped me get over the urge       :-D :-D

[Binnatics]

...Maybe it's time to quit now ;)

I did. Well, yesterday I did. Until half an hour ago :'(
I was cooking (I allways enjoy the brake when I have to wait until e.g. the dough is ready) and I couldn't resist anymore.
20 hours without smoking. Not too hard. When I lit up another I felt that I'd been feeling quite good actually. No pressure / stress feeling in the chest. Only that damn doubt, all the time. Stop? restart? keep on stopping? That makes it all so damn hard. It gave me a flashback to my last serious attempt. Having that doubt running through my brain every second during 3 months :D
I felt the nicotine in my entire body, and that felt (except for the nice dizzle) like I was poisoning myself again. f@#k me!!!

I'm going to do it again. Right now.  >:((
Wish me luck

[nexor]

 I wish you all the luck in the world my friend       :-X :-X     

[JRD]

Good luck, mate!  :-X

Instead of thinking how good it feels to have a cig, think about how long you already spend without any cig and that it will all be in vain if you do light one!  ;) or think about how much you can improve your performance for the next street run you sign up for!  8)

[Binnatics]

Damn me, this is getting harder then I'm up to. I hate it when I get sulky due to quiting, and that's what's happening now. I get mad for any small incident and start to argue with my daughter and wife. I need a plan before I really stop. Gotta think this over...

To be continued :-\\

[fragger]

Do you think maybe nicotine patches/gum might help? I don't know how effective these are as I personally don't know anyone who's tried them, but a possibility maybe? I know exactly what you're saying, I got snappy and irritable the last time I quit (omg, about twenty years ago ??? ) and I'll probably get that way again this time around. But it passes. Last time it took about a week before I began to stop being a pain in the bum to everyone. I don't know of any silver bullet for that, some quitters seem to suffer that way and some don't. Just reassure your family that it has nothing to do with them, it's addiction withdrawal that's doing the talking, the crabbiness will pass and in the meantime, beg for their patience.

I hope you can get there Binn, I'm rooting for you! Good luck :)

[JRD]

Listen to fragger and hold on, mate. It will last for one maybe two weeks tops and then it's gone. The urge to smoke that is so strong that has some physical outcome such as grumpiness won't last for long. In fact it get weaker and weaker till is manageable and then disappear.

It's easier than it might seem at first!  ;)

[nexor]

Hang in there Binn, everytime you get grumpy go and cut the lawn      :-D :-D

[Art Blade]

Good luck Binnatics. Maybe try compete with me (I know you're the competitive guy) and imagine how every time you smoke one (or even fight thinking that) I'm just leapfrogging ahead of you, grinning and putting more distance between you and me  >:D

I haven't touched a cig since and I don't intend to. I admit I had a 24-hour snack-attack (always needed different tastes and food in general) but I've overcome that now. Hehe  :-D

I think I'm over the most brutal obstacles now. ;)

[nexor]

The first 48 hours is critical my friend, I know what you going through, our prayers and thoughts are with you guys......... :go

[Binnatics]

Hang in there Binn, everytime you get grumpy go and cut the lawn      :-D :-D

I had that same idea Nexor. I don't have any lwan to cut but I was thinking of making a walk in the park.
Thanx @ all for the support. I will fix myself a plan together with plan B tactics and escape zones and stuff, and I'll get finally rid of it, I'm sure.

I did some chat with the family that I want them to literally throw me out once I get grumpy. I'll have my walk then :-D

I'll have to arange some stuff to blow off steam as well. Thought about painting ond/or a good shooter. Too bad they postponed Batman AC :-\\ But we still have Rage to come >:D

[Art Blade]

Strap two huge juicy blood-dripping steaks to your ankles and calves and pay a visit to those neighbours who have extra big dogs with drool-riddled faces and.. just walk past them if you need a distraction.  :-()

[mmosu]

Not that (as a non-smoker) I would never pretend to know what you guys are going through, but this topic has been on my mind as I have had a number of patients discuss this topic with me lately.  One of my hygienists is an ex-smoker and I've discussed how she quit extensively with her, mainly for my own information.  One big key to her success was getting rid of them - no back-ups, no unopened pack to "remind me how strong I am", and no bumming a smoke off of anyone else.  She felt that making it unreasonably inconvenient and time consuming to actually obtain even a single cigarette help fight off the cravings.  I don't know if this would w%&k for everyone, but I do know that when my grandfather quit he went cold-turkey, threw away his last unfinished pack, and simply refused to buy anymore.  His thought was, "I can't smoke if I don't have anything to smoke".  Good luck guys, this is a happy and exciting happening indeed and I look forward to news of continued success!  :-X