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Anyone want to quit smoking with me? (second try) (1 Viewer)

Jan H

Senior HTF Member
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Nov 6, 2001
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Rain,
All the best in your endeavor. I'm a 3-in-the-morning-with-coffee guy, and a 3-in-the-evening-to-unwind guy. But on the weekends, it gets to be a pack-a-day (because beer is involved). Have been thinking of quitting, too. I don't feel like I'm addicted to cigarettes alone (but I realize I may be fooling myself), but the idea of drinking coffee and beer without them, is, as of now, unthinkable. Good luck! :)
 

Mike__D

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 27, 2000
Messages
617
Week 1 update

I'm still smoke free! And I had a HUGE test on Saturday. I throw my buddy a bachelor party which consisted of golf in the morning, followed by a tour bus trip to Philly "gentleman's clubs" & finally some Geno's steaks. I golfed with the groom (i'm his best man), and he smokes alot. No urges on the golf course, even though I had about 6 beers. Then came the bigger test. On the bus half of the guys were smoking cigars or cigarettes, and we had two coolers full of beer. Once again, I didn't get the urge and did drink alot, which usually dwindles my will power to nothing.

I'm a huge believer in the patch! Rain, I think you should give it a try... this is child's play I tell you! Couldn't be easier!

Mike D.
 

Rain

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Rain
Ok, ok. It looks like I need to try something else.

I still don't like the idea of the patch, so I'm going to try the gum first.
 

Mike__D

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 27, 2000
Messages
617
I still don't like the idea of the patch, so I'm going to try the gum first
I tried the gum about 4 years ago. It tasted like sh*t, you couldn't chew it for more than 15 minutes, you had to "park it" between lip and gums when not chewing, and you had to wait an hour or two after eating before using it.

Well, I lost track of time, chewed for longer than suggested and my stomach got upset, then I still had the urge to smoke, so I lit up a cigarette, only to get severely light headed from nicotine overdose.

What's not to like about the patch? Stick it on and your done! Take it off before bed, or in the morning, put new one on. Wait a week until you can re-use the same spot on your body. Simple, and it works!

Mike D.
 

Greg Rakaska

Stunt Coordinator
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May 16, 1999
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111
Yes!

Rain, do whatever is necessary. It's worth it (like I have to tell you that).

I did the gum thing about 8 years ago, took a few months, but smoke free since (after several failures w/o 'da gum).

I liked the sensation of "parking" it, unlike the previous poster. But then again I used to chew and dip. If the gum don't work, go for the patch....
 

Rich Malloy

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Apr 9, 2000
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Rain, doesn't work for everyone... but, as you know, the patch worked for me! :emoji_thumbsup:
But the gum? I tried that for a long airline flight one time and hated it. But my biggest problem with it is that it's taken orally! With the gum, I fear you may simply be replacing one oral fixation (smoking your nicotine) with another (chewing it).
The key to the patch is that it helps you whip the oral fixation of cigarettes without suffering the physical withdrawal of going without nicotine. The psychological aspect related to the routine of smoking is nearly as powerful as the physical addiction to nicotine. After all, it's a ritual you've done many times a day for many years... it's like second nature.
But at least it's not as bad as that "nicotine delivery system" that looks just like a plastic cigarette that you suck on like, well... exactly like a cigarette! (Remember that one? dunno if it's still on the market). I don't see how that could work for anyone, as everything about it is just like smoking... except for the smoke.
BTW, someone upthread mentioned how not a day goes by that they don't crave a cigarette. My experience is just the opposite. Not only have I not craved a cigarette in years, I'm seriously put-off by the very idea of smoking one. And this is after smoking at least a pack-a-day for 15 years. It's no longer a struggle at all. It's a breeze.
 

Bob Cornwall

Auditioning
Joined
Sep 22, 2002
Messages
2
hi! I quit smoking two months ago! I used zyban and it was a piece of cake, you take it for 7 days while still smoking and then just stop smoking and continue taking the pills twice a day for as long as you feel comfortable (I took them for about 2 weeks). I don't know how it works, all that matters is it does!! It doesn't contain nicotine, but it does contain bupropion hydrochloride which is the same medication that's found in anti-depressants. You do have to have a doctor's prescription for it and it costs about $65. I highly recommend it for anyone who's serious about quitting!!
 

Mike__D

Supporting Actor
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Dec 27, 2000
Messages
617
I don't know how it works, all that matters is it does!! It doesn't contain nicotine
It works by blocking Dopamean (sp???) from your brain. Dopamean give you pleasure, I think. The reason you take it while smoking, is that it stops that feeling of satisfaction when you smoke, so you'll likely smoke more at first, looking for that pleasure, then the amount you smoke rapidly drops off.
It worked great the first time I tried it. But I stopped using it prematurely and eventually started again. The second time I tried it, it didn't work at all.
I like the patch since it completely takes care of your phyisical addiction by supplying you with nicotine and slowly weening you from it.
On another note, I've inspired one of my buddies to quit :)
Mike D.
 

Rain

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Rain
I'm glad that some of you had success.

I'm kind of wishing that this thread hadn't been resurrected as I have not been successful to date.

I think next time I try, I'll just do so quietly to avoid further humiliation. :b
 

Mike__D

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 27, 2000
Messages
617
I resurrected this thread because I wanted to see how long ago I quit... Sept. 16th. So it's it's been 3 months and 3 days. I'm also no longer on the patch (a few weeks now). I still get little cravings, but they are easy to control. I do enjoy the smell of second hand smoke, but am disgusted by the smell of a smoker. I hoping I'll eventually dislike the smell of second hand smoke...

Mike D.
 

Mark C Sherman

Second Unit
Joined
May 14, 2001
Messages
300
I am glad that this thread is back up again. I QUIT in December 1st without any help from the patch or the Gum or anything else COLD TURKEY BABY. The one thing that I have noticed is the FOOD tastes SSOOOOOOOOOOOOO Much better now. I went to Outback last week and just Cleaned my plate along with everything else on the table
 

Jon_Are

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Jun 25, 2001
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Mark - Them jeans feelin' a bit snug these days?? :D
Just messin' with you; congrats to you and all others who are discovering the real taste of food, the multiple health benefits, the extra coin in your pocket, the satisfaction of knowing you have a strong will, etc., etc.
Jon
 

Rain

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Rain
Oh please, can't you guys just let this thread die?
:b
:frowning:
 

Jon_Are

Senior HTF Member
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Jun 25, 2001
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I write a monthly essay for a newsletter. I thought I'd share a recent piece that is relevant to this topic:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last three times I’ve visited my credit union, I’ve arrived to find the door being held open for me by the same woman. No, she wasn’t the official greeter; rather, she was an office worker trying to simultaneously smoke a cigarette and remain warm. The bulk of her shivering body remained in the lobby, except for a foot to prop the door open, one arm (up to her elbow), and, during times of exhalation, her face. She didn’t seem to notice, or care, that each customer who entered the building was required to wade through the cloud of toxins she was emitting.

I smoked my first cigarette at the age of 13. I was with a friend, walking in front of a drugstore, when a woman in front of us flicked her still-burning cigarette butt to the ground. My friend and I glanced at each other, picked it up, and each took a puff, just to see what it was like. I remember being unimpressed. A couple of years later, I bought a pack of Kools from a vending machine for 45 cents and smoked all twenty within the week. That was the last time I’ve smoked.

Viewed intellectually, there are few human behaviors as absurd as smoking. Imagine having grown into a reasonable, intelligent adult and having never encountered smoking or smokers. Then imagine someone explaining the habit to you: You grow a plant, harvest it, then dry the leaves. Next, you chop them up into little pieces, roll it up in a paper tube, and light it on fire. Then, you put the unlit end in your mouth and draw a deep breath, inhaling the smoke from the burning leaves deeply into your lungs, then blowing it out your nose. Repeat a few times every minute until the tube is burned down to the end. A little while later, you do it again. Do this twenty times a day, every day. It’s fun! Really!

Now, I’m not normally one to preach about self-destructive behaviors; ask any double-beef Whopper with cheese and heavy mayonnaise. But I just don’t get smoking. It is not clean. It is not healthy. It is not attractive. It is not fun. And, most of all, it does not taste good. If I’m going down as a result of a bad habit, it’s a habit that, damn-straight, is gonna taste good. Ask any sack of White Castles.

Mention must now be made of a friend of mine who recently, after having smoked burning tubes of leaves for more than fifty years, decided that she is stronger than smoke. A salute, then, to CV and her newly-astonished lungs.

Each of my parents smoked, on average, about a pack a day. Calculating conservatively, I estimate that they smoked 36,865 packs – or 737,300 cigarettes - combined in their lifetimes. At today’s costs, this amounts to a total of more than $110,000 spent, if bought by the carton (not including discount coupons). $110,000 spent on what would ultimately kill them both. Talk about a poor investment.

Jon
 

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