Smoking is safer the Fascism

[Ladyzekke]

How do you know I've never tried Heroin Neb? Or any other drug for that matter? I've tried a little bit of everything LOL. Wasn't impressed by Herion, nor speed for that matter, made me feel sickly hyper. Went out with a guy for a year that did PCP. Did it now and then with him for six months, but it made me paranoid and scared sometimes, and sometimes it impaired your ability to actually talk. My brain was fine, knew what it wanted to say, but when I opened my mouth, this retarded gibberish came out. Had no problem quitting that drug! Never felt addicted to it at all. Cocaine though I love-love-loved for a few years, but it affected my sleep and I got to dreading my Last Man Standing situations (for those of you that know what I'm talking about LOL). Pot I was addicted to 24-7 for years, but visited relatives for a week where I couldn't smoke it, and when I came back, I didn't feel I needed it anymore. I also used to drink a lot, to where I would get uber-drunk and would get sick and black out, etc. etc. I don't do that anymore either. In my own personal experiences, I say ciggarettes was harder to quit than anything else. Because ciggs are legal, you can feel free to just smoke em anytime, all the time, anywhere. They become a part of your life in such a personal way. They integrate themselves into your daily routines. They give you something to do with your hands when you are bored. The craving for a cigg is very physical, in your chest, and when you smoke a cigg it is very relieving, and relaxing. It's wonderful. Just like I remember snorting coke was wonderful. God I loved that drug. Never quit it cause it sucked and I didn't like it, nope, quit cause it was a slave drug, and ciggarettes is the same deal.

And when I quit smoking, cold turkey, oh yeah I had some withdrawals LOL. First 24 hours of quitting I had a big headache, I felt lethargic, and funny enough my chest hurt as if I had just smoked 100 ciggs in a row. I wasn't able to sleep at night very well for 4 days, my body would literally jerk every so often and it would wake me up frequently. I finally went to the drug store and bought some Sominex (a sleeping aid) and took that for a few days until I was OK to sleep on my own again. After a few months went by from no smoking, I didn't physically crave ciggs anymore, but the mental part of the addiction, which is major, still was there and I started to fall into depression, feeling that since I couldn't smoke I wasn't having fun. That now life sucked cause I had to sit there and not smoke, when I so enjoyed sitting there smoking, ahhhhh.... That went on for weeks, and it was just so bad and I felt so depressed I couldn't look ahead and see anything good without ciggs. Support from friends helped me get through it, and they know who they are. [img]smile.gif[/img] It's not just the nicotine when it comes to the addiction factor for ciggs, it's the other ingredients too, and also the habit factor that ciggs worm their way into that illegal drugs cannot do.

Keep on arguing about it though if you want, I've said my opinion and am done.
[img]smile.gif[/img]

[PurpleXVI]

If you had, then why did you not immediately say so? It was all I asked about and it would have lent some degree of credence to your statement.

I must also request that you read my posts more clearly, I never said that nicotine-addiction would result in no withdrawals, but honestly, would you compare it to seizures? Would you compare it to a risk of death? I also never commented on how hard they were to quit, I only said something about the severity of the withdrawals. You're commenting on a lot of things I never even brought up. Except for the parts of your drug history that are pertinent to this discussion, I really am not interested in it.

Aside from that, you've handily ignored everything I've said except for one comment about nicotine withdrawal versus heroin withdrawal. There is nothing for me to argue with or reply to, so unless someone else replies to my posts or writes something I feel necessitates a reply, I am also done with this debate.

[SpiritWarrior]

And god, the withdrawals from nicotine are fugly. It truly is more about habitual stuff than the actual physical craving. The craving is there but for long-time smokers (years), sometimes our whole routine is based around it. I couldn't go outside and simply sit in my garden while I was trying to quit. Even now, I have to be doing something when I am. At the moment, I can basically no longer sit there and honestly say I feel calm without a cigarette - because this is where I would always light up and soak in the outside world. Now, I am only off them about 3 months and I imagine this will eventually subside (I hope) but man it is a tough habit to kick as far as habits within habits go.

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Indeed... It seems to me that quitting smoking might be more difficult than quitting, say, heroin, because it's fairly easy to distance yourself from the heroin psychologically. You can just, you know, not go to the heroin dealership and stay away from rubber hoses and the like. This is obviously oversimplifying it, but, physical withdrawl aside, there appear to be less triggers for heroin than smoking. Cup of coffee in the morning- cigarette. Angry while driving- cigarette. Break from work- cigarette. Sitting idly- cigarette. Heroin can't possibly have that many cues.

[Ladyzekke]

Originally posted by SpiritWarrior: And god, the withdrawals from nicotine are fugly. It truly is more about habitual stuff than the actual physical craving. The craving is there but for long-time smokers (years), sometimes our whole routine is based around it. I couldn't go outside and simply sit in my garden while I was trying to quit. Even now, I have to be doing something when I am. At the moment, I can basically no longer sit there and honestly say I feel calm without a cigarette - because this is where I would always light up and soak in the outside world. Now, I am only off them about 3 months and I imagine this will eventually subside (I hope) but man it is a tough habit to kick as far as habits within habits go.

SpiritWarrior - I ended up buying a subliminal tape that I listened to before, and a little bit during, my quit. It just basically says to not smoke and do things like drink water and take deep breaths. LOL those things work too, as I think a lot of the time now wherein I'd want a cigg I just feel like a swig of water, or I just take a deep breath and revel in breathing fresh air in my nose.

I quit once and failed after 3 months because I thought it would never get any better, that if 3 months had gone by and still I was thinking and suffering, then it was just enver gonna go away. Not so though SpiritWarrior. This time around when I quit I kept in mind my previous attempt and knew I needed to just keep on going beyond that 3 month point. And let me tell you, what a difference 3 months vs. 6 months makes. Tomorrow actually will be my 6 month anniversary, and except for conversations like these, and visiting my one friend who still smokes, I just don't think about them anymore, they are forgotten. I swear it's all about going through time until you just forget, kinda like when a loved one dies! I can watch people smoking on TV now and it doesn't bother me. If I get any urge at all anymore, it is now directionless and I probably take a swig of water or a deep breath and move on unknowingly.

I'll be glad when spring and summer arrive, as I can then get out and move around and do things, things I never felt like doing before cause I'd rather sit and smoke. Don't be discouraged SpiritWarrior cause it's been 3 months and still you are feeling a bit uneven, it DOES get better, just slow as hell Unfortunately LOL. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Ladyzekke]

Originally posted by Illumina Drathiran'ar: Indeed... It seems to me that quitting smoking might be more difficult than quitting, say, heroin, because it's fairly easy to distance yourself from the heroin psychologically. You can just, you know, not go to the heroin dealership and stay away from rubber hoses and the like. This is obviously oversimplifying it, but, physical withdrawl aside, there appear to be less triggers for heroin than smoking. Cup of coffee in the morning- cigarette. Angry while driving- cigarette. Break from work- cigarette. Sitting idly- cigarette. Heroin can't possibly have that many cues.

You have it right Illumina. For instance, I smoked on average 2 packs of ciggs a day, that would be 40 ciggs. It takes about 10 minutes to smoke a cigg (can be longer I know but let's just do 10 min.). So that means that I spent about 400 minutes every day smoking? Am I right on that (suck at math)?

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Yup, that translates to 6 and a half hours. Scary when you think about it, huh?

[robertthebard]

When I last quit, I had the advantage of something to do with my hands when a craving kicked in while I was home. I'd pick up a guitar. People that have never smoked will never truly grasp the physical side of the addiction. It messes with your head, yes. Your body craves the nicotine, fiercely sometimes, but there is also that part of you that reaches for the pack, even when it's not there. A parallel to that is when I cut off my hair. I had grown it to my ass, and chopped it all off because I was tired of taking a 1/2 hour in the shower taking care of my hair. However, for a year after I cut it off, I'd find myself trying to tuck my pony tail into my hooded sweatshirts, or under my jacket when I was firing up the bike to go for a ride. It was a tough habit to get out of, if harmless, but smoking is the same way. It's the little things that you don't seem to notice while you smoke that kick you when you quit.

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

I actually know a kid who would fidget with and suck on chopsticks to help with the oral fixation and the fidgeting when he quit. Of course, for a few years he got addicted to the chopsticks, but hey, they probably won't give him the cancer.