Cigarettes
I quit smoking 9 months ago as of yesterday. I haven't had one since September 17, 2004. Shell's post made me think about it. I quit about a month into my first year of law school, and managed to stick with it all the way to the end, AND managed to do quite well in school at the same time. This was actually an incredibly empowering experience for me.
Stuff I realized while quitting smoking:
1) It actually is addictive, and I actually am addicted to nicotine.
2) An ex-smoker trying to have "one" cigarette is like a recovering alcoholic trying to have "one" beer. You may get away with it the first time, but if you do, you'll do it over, and over, and eventually you'll be a full time junkie again.
3) Life sucks. There's always a reason not to quit, or to give up if you have.
4) People who smoke smell like shit. Yeah, I actually thought I covered it up... but based on the smell coming from every single smoker I meet, I guess I didn't.
5) I saved more than enough money to buy my books this year by not smoking.
6) After about 3 months... it's really *not* that hard, as long as you remember #1 and #2.
7) Non-smoking bars rule. Seriously.
Yeah... I hate smoking. In real life I'm not that preachy, unless someone expresses an interest in quitting. When this happens I launch into the lecture, but I realize how f'ing annoying naggy ex-smokers are when you're a current smoker. So I'll leave you alone, unless you light up in the non-smoking section, or my house, then we got problems.
Stuff I realized while quitting smoking:
1) It actually is addictive, and I actually am addicted to nicotine.
2) An ex-smoker trying to have "one" cigarette is like a recovering alcoholic trying to have "one" beer. You may get away with it the first time, but if you do, you'll do it over, and over, and eventually you'll be a full time junkie again.
3) Life sucks. There's always a reason not to quit, or to give up if you have.
4) People who smoke smell like shit. Yeah, I actually thought I covered it up... but based on the smell coming from every single smoker I meet, I guess I didn't.
5) I saved more than enough money to buy my books this year by not smoking.
6) After about 3 months... it's really *not* that hard, as long as you remember #1 and #2.
7) Non-smoking bars rule. Seriously.
Yeah... I hate smoking. In real life I'm not that preachy, unless someone expresses an interest in quitting. When this happens I launch into the lecture, but I realize how f'ing annoying naggy ex-smokers are when you're a current smoker. So I'll leave you alone, unless you light up in the non-smoking section, or my house, then we got problems.
posted by Snubligent at 5:17 AM
5 Comments:
Two of my friends who quit told me that the hardest point was about 6-7 months in b/c your body starts releasing a lot of the toxins that it had been storing. Thus, your mouth tastes like you just had a cigarette, etc. and you suddenly have strong cravings again. Was this true for you?
Nah. The toughest part was the first two months or so. I had incredibly realistic dreams where I was smoking. I'd wake up and be afraid that I'd started smoking again. I would wake up and be able to taste the smoke in my mouth for a few seconds. It was weird. After the third month it was much easier (I also started running again right around this time... maybe that helped?)
I remember 90% of people exposed to nicotine became addicted to it. It's one of the most (if not THE most) addictive substance, even more so than heroine.
Congrats on kicking the habit.
Yeah shell... nicotine = crack. seriously. I know a few people who can smoke only when drunk, but they are very few and very far between. Heroin addicts do have lower relapse rates than smokers. I think that's skewed though, because heroin addicts don't face a barrage of "heroin advertisements" every time they go to a grocery store or a gas station. The fact that nicotine is readily available, and it's (relatively) socially acceptable to use probably influence the relapse rates a lot.
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