Anyone stopped smoking?

Only problem with smoke free pubs is you can now actually smell what a farting belching sweating room of men (and 'fragant' women) really smells like.
We fucking stink.

BringMeMyFix The day I stopped saying "no thanks, I've given up" when people offered me a fag, and started saying "no thanks, I don't smoke" I knew I was never going back.

In the last 8 years since quitting (during some of which I continued to pipe a bit of hash here and there), I think I've shared tobacco/dope spliffs 3 times. On each occasion, obviously I was pissed out of my mind, but it wasn't like 'oh shit, that's it, I've relapsed and will now go back to 40 a day'. I just passed out and woke up with a bit of a sore throat.

Having said all that, I still think people have a right to smoke fags. Smokers seem to have become scapegoated as much as cyclists (in differing contexts), and to be honest, there are a shed load of other things detrimental to your health that could do with being legislated against/monitored more closely.

And it still looks fucking cool on the big screen :)

i agree and think we should ban the morbidly obese, we can send them to a forced labor camp some where in the vacinty of brimingham and have them do manual labor untill they lose the excess poundage, or kick the bucket.

chris crash [quote]

i agree and think we should ban the morbidly obese, we can send them to a forced labor camp some where in the vacinty of brimingham and have them do manual labor untill they lose the excess poundage, or kick the bucket.

They should be forced to eat outside their offices on the pavement, patronized by health professionals and reformed junk-foodies, not allowed to eat in company vehicles, and have to justify frequent holidays in the Med in order to stock up on cheap snacks.

As for banning tobacco, that's ridiculous. Every smoker knows that smoking is bad for them, but they choose to do it.
Personally I find all of the 'stop smoking' campaigns a little patronising. I do see their good side, but they seem to assume that every smoker wants to quit.
I enjoy smoking! I have no plans to quit. If i wanted to quit then I would!
Although having said that I have cut down quite a lot recently (but not really as a conscious decision).
K

Like I said before, people want to think about other evils like environmental pollution (automotive, industrial, chemically based fixtures and fitting), cholesterol, food additives, crops and livestock and associated pesticides/growth hormones etc, stress levels, work-life balance, lack of exercise, alcohol abuse, blah blah blah.

This sort of comment dumbfounds me.
Yes, there are plenty of things around that can shorten our lives to various degrees and which we have varying degrees of control over.
But to even suggest those sorts of factors can have any comparison with the shear magnitude of harm caused by smoking just sounds crazy to me.
Somebody please show me the medical studies which prove any of these factors will reduce a user's life by anything like an average of 10 years or be anything like 50% likely to be the direct contributor to a person's death as smoking will. And that's not to mention the 'less serious' potential side-effects like bad skin, bad smell, lack of smell/taste, impotence, financial cost, reduced general fitness and such like. (OK, maybe serious alcohol abuse or obesity could be up there)
So my request: Smokers, I'm all for free will, personal responsibility and your right to do what you wish with your body, but at least be honest and realistic about why you do it and the potential for harm when justifying your choice to other people.
Then I can take you seriously. But when I see arguments like that I assume the person is either completely ignorant or in denial.

its all pointless shit mate armageddon cant be far off so HTFU

ive just started 80 a day and a pipe when i feel saucy

joachim [quote]Like I said before, people want to think about other evils like environmental pollution (automotive, industrial, chemically based fixtures and fitting), cholesterol, food additives, crops and livestock and associated pesticides/growth hormones etc, stress levels, work-life balance, lack of exercise, alcohol abuse, blah blah blah.

This sort of comment dumbfounds me.
Yes, there are plenty of things around that can shorten our lives to various degrees and which we have varying degrees of control over.
But to even suggest those sorts of factors can have any comparison with the shear magnitude of harm caused by smoking just sounds crazy to me.
Somebody please show me the medical studies which prove any of these factors will reduce a user's life by anything like an average of 10 years or be anything like 50% likely to be the direct contributor to a person's death as smoking will. And that's not to mention the 'less serious' potential side-effects like bad skin, bad smell, lack of smell/taste, impotence, financial cost, reduced general fitness and such like. (OK, maybe serious alcohol abuse or obesity could be up there)
So my request: Smokers, I'm all for free will, personal responsibility and your right to do what you wish with your body, but at least be honest and realistic about why you do it and the potential for harm when justifying your choice to other people.
Then I can take you seriously. But when I see arguments like that I assume the person is either completely ignorant or in denial.[/quote]

Just because contemporary attitudes and scientific wisdom make smoking the highest profile evil of the moment, doesn't mean that any of the other things I mentioned are any less pertinent. It wasn't that long ago that the harmful side-effects of smoking were denied by many, and conversely it won't be long before politics and research funding are focussed on something else that people are currently down-playing.

Just to reiterate, I did give up, about 8 years ago; and have no intention of starting again. It was a personal choice based on various factors, and that choice - along with my attitude regarding other people's combustible proclivities - was not driven by complete ignorance or denial.

And, there are plenty of studies looking into stress and its effects on long/short-term health - stress that often manifests as hypertension, but is not necessarily caused by regular use of intoxicants. I've been involved in the rehabilitation/coping strategies of people who've had strokes that never smoked, drank in moderation, but were (according to both themselves and their partners or loved ones) highly strung stressed out individuals who failed to manage the physical or psychological demands of their lives effectively.

Feel free to remain dumbfounded, but don't give yourself a heart attack over it.

Gonna try to quit, even though i smoke the good ciggies American Spirit- would like that extra sprint the lungs somehow don't allow at times- what about Drinking though?

Simpson79 what about Drinking though?

OK, maybe I'm misunderstanding you but this is the sort of thing that (politely) dumbfoundeds me.

Are you seriously suggesting the harmful effects of 'moderate' smoking are even remotely comparable with the harmful effects of 'moderate' drinking?

Just in case you are, as suggested in my previous message, current scientific knowledge suggests that an 'average' smoker is 50% likely to be killed by effects directly attributed to smoking, or put another way, on average have their life limited by 10 years. 'Average' drinking? looking across studies, there is no clear answer either way as the effects are difficult to distinguish.

Compare these numbers - 50%/10 years with 'difficult to distinguish'.

[cite]BringMeMyFix:[/cite]doesn't mean that any of the other things I mentioned are any less pertinent.

Fair enough - but discovering other factors contributing shortening people's life-expectancy isn't going to change the raw statistics regarding the huge effect smoking has.

sometimes I think that it is a shame that people can't die from self rightiousness

or enjoyment?

Buy a load of these

and if those cravings get too hot on you stab yourself in a nipple . No pain no gain. It really works.

bang! decided to attempt quitting today again after a nasty cigarette. went into boots to browse the nicotine devices and discovered you can get 5 weeks worth free or for £7.20 (if you aren't eligible to get it free, me? i'm a student, innit). fill out a form, and go in once a week to have a chat, get more stuff, and get your carbon monoxide level tested. start, or rather stop, tomorrow.

Nicorette Microtabs ftw

I have not even thought about having a fag since I stopped a week ago. I read this book and it worked, give up without will power or the need for nicotine replacement. My copy says 12 million copies sold. Give it a go.

I quit without any help, except for the fact that my brother quit at the same time. So I guess I'd recommend a quitting buddy. Makes it sound cooler too, like you're recovering from smack addiction or something.

ive been half arsed with quitting, im starting to feel the effects of years of smoking these days, so i decided to not smoke when im at home or work. realistically i know that im not going to be able to resist when im in a pub with my mates.

i think the only way i could really ever give up is if i went out with someone who was an adamant anti smoker, but that would never happen to begin with.

That all sounded really negative & twattish.

Goog on you for giving up for this long - And good luck with keeping it going.

It's in the mind, I have given up before and always struggle in the first month, deep down knowing I will probably start again, this time it feels different. I feel confident I will never smoke another fag. I am a non smoker.

It's in the mind, I have given up before and always struggle in the first month, deep down knowing I will probably start again, this time it feels different. I feel confident I will never smoke another fag. I am a non smoker.

Good man keep off the fags.

Good man keep off the fags.

I'll just finish the ones I have got now, then I'll quit

;p

It's in the mind, I have given up before and always struggle in the first month, deep down knowing I will probably start again, this time it feels different. I feel confident I will never smoke another fag. I am a non smoker.

Exactly how I felt after my last fag. I knew immediately that I would not take it up again. I couldn't tell you how; Unlike every previous attempt to quit I just knew. Never read that book though. When did the ban come in? Apart from a very rare scabbed one when pissed I've not smoked a cigarette since then.

^
What they said. Tried numerous times in the past but this time it feels different. Cold turkey from Jan 1st, missus still smoking, no real cravings... Like with most drugs, there comes a point when the bad outweighs the good to the point you don't want it any more. Fortunately it's not as physically hard to kick as heroin or what-have-you, but stopping made me ill for a good few weeks and I've read lots of other accounts which match mine - feeling really out of it, flu-like cold, burning eyes, sore chest... I guess you can't expect to inhale loads of crap for nigh on 20 years and not feel some side effects.

I used the Nicotine inhaler thing- looks rather like you are smoking a plastic tampon.

However crucially it works, in that it gives you an immediate dose of nicotine when you want one.

The most difficult time for me was the first 48 hours, however vigorous use of the inhaler and -and this is far more important- reminding myself why I was quitting worked.

I've not had a fag since the first of November- a few cigars, but hey- they don't count.

To sum up- you have to *want *to quit, and I found that the inhaler helped me a lot.