Smoking Addiction & Recovery Support Group
The CDC claims that nicotine is a "very addictive drug" that can be "as addictive as heroin or cocaine." Nicotine is typically eliminated from the body within 2 to 3 days, however, physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms may last for much longer depending on the individual. If you are trying to kick the habit, this community is dedicated to giving smokers the...
I have been cigarette free for 6 weeks. Yeah for me. I find the anti-smoking commercials offensive - Madison Avenue is paid a pretty penny for those commercials - they are teaching children to disrespect their elders because they smoke - Why is this money wasted on such propaganda - why does the government not put this money into smoking cessation classes or more free help clinics or more websites like DS???
Is it just me or are others offended by such anti-smoking advertising. Does Madison Avenue really think a diseased lung or a tracheatomy victim will help one cease smoking cigarettes.
I don\'t think so. Do you? Cigarettes cost $7.40 in New York City.
Is it just me or are others offended by such anti-smoking advertising. Does Madison Avenue really think a diseased lung or a tracheatomy victim will help one cease smoking cigarettes.
I don\'t think so. Do you? Cigarettes cost $7.40 in New York City.
I don\'t know anything about Madison Ave. ads or the particulars mentioned. I am very familiar with \"The Truth\" series. I am also familiar with some of the ads produced by the tobacco companies. Now those are an outrage. Go to the Surgeon General\'s site and see if they still have the new article up about them.
These ads do help people. Mostly they are intended for youth in order to prevent smoking. They can be a means for talking to kids of parents that don\'t talk about these things.
They get on your nerves because you are not yet on the other side of this addiction. When they come on, it is reality in your face. They keep your fear of what smoking does to you in your conscious mind. We, as humans, have a tendency to suppress what we don\'t want to hear.
Thery grate your nerves because you are in withdrawal or facing the pain of quitting. When you are in withdrawal or under an addiction, your perception is altered. How many times did I want to throw something heavy through my TV screen in connection with those ads. That is not rational. I thought it was OK at the time. I cussed back at them, switched the channel and felt angry. They may only play a few times a day, but it feels like someone is standing over you all day, pointing their finger and nagging you. It\'s all OK.
I promise, a year from now, you will love those ads. When you hit the year mark, or progress along and find that quitting was the best thing you ever did, you will wish there were more of them. A year from now, you will see a smoker saying the same thing, and go \"I don\'t believe that was me once.\"
The ads are right. Tobacco is as bad as you hear it is. I work in a hospital. I watch people die from this stuff. I know I smoked myself into some very serious, irreversable diseases. Not to lecture. It\'s my truth.
For now, I would not waste energy being offended by them. You need your energy to heal. This is a process and it is going to take months - I always say a year - to heal. When you put your energy there, you are putting energy back in supporting the addiction rather than the freedom from it.
I care about you. If this note angers or irritates you, please just mull it over for awhile before you take any action or reply.
I am so proud of you - 6 weeks of not smoking is incredible.
Every state has a 1-800-QUIT NOW hotline. You can talk to a tobacco addiction specialists every day for free. There are locally offered courses, online courses, and all of the major health associations have toll free numbers and web sites and they are ready to send free info. If you get a prescription for the new drug Chantix, you get a counseling program with that.
One method or product is not going to be enough for most people. Cold turkey works for a small minority and rarely works for life. Those that seek help from other people, such as this web site and a class, and those that use as many strategies as possible - drug therapy/herbs, behavior changes, thought process changes, planning, etc. - these are the people that quit and quit for good.
I did not smoke today!
Ree
I think you should be so proud of yourself.
I also find the anti-smoking commercials offensive. If you smoke, you feel guilty, and they don\'t really influence anyone too much.
Wish me luck for the 1st!
When someone lights up again, they make a very conscious choice to do so. Making the choice intentionally starts early in the treatment. There is no middle ground. You smoke or you don\'t smoke. You have to wrestle with your consciousness. If not, you have to convince yourself that you are strong enough to stand up against nicotine and you bargain with yourself to have that \"just one.\" Then you have to take action to acquire one. You drive to the store, choose a store, park, get out, go in, ask for a brand or single, reach into your pocket and pay the clerk money, possibly buy a lighter or ask for matches, leave the store, light the cigarette and hopefully you are already sitting down. Or, at a group meeting, you have to overcome your nervousness, walk to a smoker, possibly one that knows you don\'t smoke, ask for a cigarette, ask for a light, light the cigarette, and again, find a seat. At what point do you stop yourself?
In treatment, you never let down your guard, you realize you are addicted and cannot have even just one. You go through the complete greiving process and reach the point of acceptance. You no longer bargain with yourself and can recognize any thoughts of bargaining. You tell yourself, \"I don\'t handle stress that way any more\", or whatever else. When a scarce, but inevitable craving comes, you intentionally take care of yourself. You follow the plan that you made when you quit and have been evolving with. You take care of what needs to be done, and take care of yourself; bust the stress, eat well, sleep well and get up and do what must be done that day. It never stops. When you are active in treatment every week of your life, you are less likely to ever light another cigarette. When you find true acceptance, there are no conditions. You don\'t smoke.
When you want to become something that you have not achieved, you listen, watch and learn from those that have become what you can be. I already have had the experience of relapse x 6. I choose to learn from that and from those that have gone before.
I just buried my mother before Thanksgiving. Using the above plan, I went through 5 weeks of Hospice care with her, and held her as she passed, and buried her. I did not have cravings or any desire to smoke. I did what I could. I told myself that I do not smoke when times are tough. I rewarded myself each day with an beautiful peice of fruit (apples, pineapple, etc) on my way home intentionally for not smoking, I ate well, slept well, got up every day to care of her and still have not had a craving.
This time last year, I had to have a heart cath. I wanted to smoke. The cravings had bite. I stood up and said I don\'t handle stress that way anymore. I went downtown to Namaste center and got a full body massage and then went across the street for a good dinner. I no long craved, I was no longer reacting negatively to a stressful situation, I slept well and the cath went smoothly. I did not smoke. I chose treatment.
I know I am in a glass house, stil. One cigarette can knock it down. Each time that stone is thrown, I have a choice.
Folks, the minute by minute phase passes in a few months. In no time, you will be saying you haven\'t even thought of one in a couple of weeks. You will get there. I lived minute by minute in the beginning, too. Be conscious of choice.
And.... It is OK if you get mad at me. It\'s part of the process. I hope not. Just trying to help.
God Bless and give us Strength!