Considering quitting and getting healthier in 2013

[Gary~]

I used to smoke packs a day [especially with the stress of university]. I tried all sorts of ways to give up and found the easiest way was the nicotine patch. When I first started using them, after only about a day, I was really appreciating the powerful [start on the strongest patch that you can get] pure nicotine high that I was getting rather that a more diffuse high mixed with other nasty toxins.

I greatly enjoyed the patches and although I will never start smoking again I don't rule out giving the patches a go again just for fun.

See the pic below for how cigarette packs now look in Australia. Plain packaging laws came into force a few weeks ago and our health minister was on TV this morning saying that smokers are now saying that they don't taste as good -- yet there have been no changes other than packaging made so purely psychological.

Big tobacco aren't happy though -- they were squealing like stuck pigs. Court challenge didn't work for them -- couldn't have happened to nicer people. Wish I could sue them for all the money I have spent -- I could buy a house with it. Cigarette advertising here has been illegal for years but when I was a teenager they made it look so cool and healthy. MFs.

[VoodooSyxx]

Hmmm not so sure how I feel about those Aussie cigarette packs. Seems overkill. Much like the "Truth" commercials over here in the US. Regardless, Ive been seriously considering hitting the gym again to get myself into some sort of shape, other than round. I imagine that alone will make me wish I had laid the smokes down.

[Gary~]

Voodoo, a lot of countries are looking to see how things pan out in Australia court-case wise. Phillip Morris I think is still trying to sue Australia in Hong Kong over this but it's not looking good for them. Many, many countries are considering going the same route -- the most recent that I have heard of is India. There is just so much money to be saved in health costs.

The other thing that I forgot to mention is the cost here. Every few months they ramp up the cost automatically with special taxes to discourage everyone. When I was 19 I could buy a 50 g [1.76 oz] packet of Drum tobacco with papers and matches for $1.00. Last time I looked it was $36.00 just for the tobacco -- probably more now.

I would be interested to know how much a packet of tobacco costs in the USA and how big it is. I bet, the USA being the consumer paradise that it is [I am being serious, not joking here] that it is much, much cheaper but I could be wrong.

The other day I was in town and saw a new discarded empty packet and it had a really disgusting pic of a gangrenous foot - if that doesn't put you off then nothing will. It looks incredibly painful. See the pic below -- it is the same except that where it says 'Brand' there is a brand name in plain script and where it says 'Variant' it would say 'menthol' or whatever.

I guess that the main point that I really want to make to anyone who wants to quit is that you shouldn't look at the situation as if you are giving-up something valuable and perhaps pleasant but realise that if you use good strong patches you will be gaining a much better, purer and much more pleasant nicotine high. This only takes a day or so to realise.


Who, in their right mind, wouldn't want to gain a great increase in pleasure from their nicotine?


No need to be too quick to stop the patches -- take your time. And when you get onto the smallest ones instead of just stopping them after the suggested time period you can cut them up into smaller and smaller pieces until you are just using 1/8 or 1/16 of a patch. I helped an old girlfriend get off smokes this way and she stopped the process when she got to 1/8 of a small patch. When she tried to stop without patches she was a complete bitch -- nowhere near as bad with patches.

Please people, give up smoking and gain more pleasure from your nicotine. It's even much better than smoking if you use patches for life so you never have to give up nicotine if you like it that much.

Disclaimer: I positively hate Big Tobacco -- as the internet archives show they are a pack of lying bastards who have robbed all of us blind for far too long. Tell them through your buying habits to 'go and get stuffed'.

[VoodooSyxx]

Yeah, the continually hike up the taxes on smokes here too. In my part of Texas, a pack is between 5 and 7 dollars now. It's been a while since I bought just tobacco. Last time was about 6 months ago. I went to a place that sells tobacco and a carton of tubes and then you put it all in a machine and it spits out a carton of cigarettes. Since they only sold tobacco and tubes and not actual cigarettes, there is no tax. I think it cost me about $42 for a carton.

[clarinetguy]

Hey guys, thanks for all of your feedback. Sorry to say I have not been successful at quitting yet. Enjoying it too much is an issue for sure. I am going to keep trying.

[Gary~]

Hey guys, thanks for all of your feedback. Sorry to say I have not been successful at quitting yet. Enjoying it too much is an issue for sure. I am going to keep trying.

When you say that you are enjoying it too much I think it is fair to say that what you are enjoying is the nicotine [try smoking cocoa husks and see how enjoyable it is -- I've tried this and it sucks].

Now, I suggest that you change from obtaining this enjoyable nicotine from tobacco to obtaining this enjoyable nicotine from transdermal patches. There are one or more nicotine analogues that the tobacco companies put in tobacco to make it even more addictive that the patches can't cover but it only takes about 1 or 2 days to get over these and it's easy if you are getting a high enough dose of nicotine into your bloodstream.

Once you have moved beyond the analogues you will find that the patch delivers a much stronger [if you so wish], more continuous, smoother, purer nicotine high than tobacco ever could. This purer nicotine high produces a greater amount of nicotine pleasure.

If you really enjoy the nicotine from smoking so much then why wouldn't you want to gain an even greater, purer enjoyment from nicotine -- especially when the patches are so much safer and more convenient than tobacco?

I wish that someone had come up to me when I was smoking and said "Listen man, if you love the nicotine so much then try slapping one of these babies on you arm and find out what pure nicotine is like." I was totally unprepared for how good and pleasurable patches are -- they never mention this. Do yourself a favour.

[Sir Harry]

clarinetguy, don't be so hard on yourself....Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, so to quit smoking cold turkey/overnight is something a very rare number of people can do and be successful. Back in July (I think) I started a thread about sly guys and their tobacco consumption (Thread name: Any sly smokers/tobacco users). I mentioned my aunt who is wearing a pacemaker and yet she still smokes! It may take a little willpower, but with the help of friends and maybe some new activities to keep you busy, you can head in the right direction. FWIW, my dad died at age 53 back in 2006 because of excessive smoking (and excessive drinking, but that's for another thread and another day). When I tell my smoking and dipping friends about my dad, my aunt and the horror stories of cancer and lost teeth, many get nervous and say they want to stop but it's all up to them. Good luck and keep us posted!

[clarinetguy]

Thanks SlySirHarry- I appreciate your words of support. It is indeed a challenge but hearing your words helps. I'll keep you posted

[slymyke]

...  Just wish I did not enjoy it so much still and to be honest since going sly I feel like it enhanced the look of me smoking for some strange reason...

Have you tried the electronic cigarettes?  I don't really know much about them, but they may be worth looking into. 

[clarinetguy]

Thanks for more encouragement everyone. It s a mindset I need to embrace. I will keep you posted.

[clarinetguy]

Okay here is an update- 2 days cold turkey so far- inspired to do it when hearing bad news about a relatives health- scared me. I will need support for sure. Can't say I don't miss it- and the physical cravings ad hard.

[Switchy]

Okay here is an update- 2 days cold turkey so far- inspired to do it when hearing bad news about a relatives health- scared me. I will need support for sure. Can't say I don't miss it- and the physical cravings ad hard.

72 hours you get through that and your good to go !  You already made it past the roughest.  Control your mind    don't fall in to the poor me stuff.  If you have any desires do something the urge leaves quick as it came.  Trust me I have been through it.  Mind of Matter.    Be Happy that you can breathe, imagine if you couldn't I had to come to that point, and I lucked out.  I am not on O2 but it is a heck of a life changer    Also stay away from anything that you used to like a cig.  say a nice cold beer , after 2-3 you have one and your right back where you were.  Go out take a walk.  Put in your mind how disgusting it smells and your clothing stinks and be happy !  Good Luck, and you can do it !   

[clarinetguy]

Hey Switchy, many thanks for your encouragement! I means a lot and gives me some ways to stay quit .

[bella]

Hope this reply is helpful and not preachy.  Doing the best I can and call me out on any preachy!

My father smoked 2-3 packs a day from when he was 12 til he was 50.  When he was 50 lung cancer caught up with him and he tried to stop, but his addiction was stronger and he died smoking whatever he could manage around his oxygen tank.  54 years old, I was 18.

I am thankful to my father because I have never smoked a cigarette in my life after watching him struggling to breathe through most of my adolescent life (he was diagnosed with COPD and on Oxygen from when I was 13). 

I am angry at my father because he managed to disguise from me his severe alcoholism and if I'd known about it, I perhaps never would have taken a drink.  I didn't learn until 10 years later that it was liver failure that killed him in combination with the lung cancer.   My mother finally told me the truth when my best friend died of cirrhosis at 27 years old and saw me headed in the same direction as best friend and dad.

I quit drinking and never smoked.  I'm so fortunate that I have no long lasting health issues as a result of abusing alcohol for the 8 years I did. 

I'm going to post this now and then save my encouragements for a new post cos I'm afraid some of the info I need to share might color my encouragement.

[bella]

Okay so now some from-the-heart, tried and tested tips for quitting a habit:

• Don't worry about years, months, weeks, etc.  Frame your consideration in a matter of hours or minutes.
• Feel free to trade the crap habit with a slightly less crap habit, like a slightly indulgent food. "If I don't smoke at all today I get to have a Big Mac" disaster for lifelong living, but more than okay for the hardest days!
• Reward your abstinence often and powerfully.  Don't go into debt or ruin your cholesterol, but treat yourself however you can.  After a bit you won't need to roll out the extravagant treats anymore.
• Spend 2-3 minutes (set a timer) a day writing down or telling someone (or telling us!) why you're quitting, the pros and cons, your challenges, etc.  Get it all out and reaffirm your committment to your goal.  The time limit is crucial, otherwise you may second guess yourself.