Smokers Are Unique Fools
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They say the most annoying preachers are the reformed, the reborn. I must admit I smoked for a couple years back in high school, and yes, I judge smokers harshly.
The biggest differences between now and back when I smoked are the widespread availability of information demonstrating the detrimental effects that smoking has on your body. I regularly find stories percolating up at digg.com that tell of new ways smokers have higher heath risks than non-smokers.
To get straight to the point, I think smokers are fools.
I know some smokers who are complete idiots in numerous facets of their lives, and so their smoking does not surprise me much. Their smoking actually fits neatly in with the train wreck that is their lives.
However, I know some smokers who are actually very smart people, some of them almost brilliant. I may have known them for years, or I may have had deeply intellectual conversations with them that I sometimes cannot reach with non-smokers.
So it boggles my mind why some of these brilliant people would continue smoking cigarettes. They seem so logical and in control of their decision-making process, then they throw those intellectual values to the wind and give themselves into addiction.
Do they like their moods being uncontrollably tied to a product? Do they like their moods to be swung wildly out of their control merely because they cannot get regular access to a retail product? Do they like to stink up an entire room after smoking (yes, smokers, we can smell you as soon as you enter the building, and it is not a smell you want to be known for)?
I have a two-part theory about quiting smoking. The question smokers must ask themselves is when they think they will have had enough? All smokers must quit eventually, right? Taken to the extreme, smokers know they will eventually be in a cancer ward, hooked up to all sorts of life support machinery, and they know they will be forced to quit smoking at that point, right?
So I ask smokers if they want to wait until that moment to quit, or would they rather quit a few years before so they might not end up in that cancer ward? Then I ask if they plan to quit a few years before the cancer ward (which could be 20 or 40 years down the road), or if they want to quit sooner, like in the next few years?
I often the response that they figure they will quit in the next five years or so. I add five years to their current age and ask them if they will remember when the reach 35/40/45/50/55 that they wanted to quit by that age, that it was some kind of milestone marker? I ask them what benefits they expect from smoking another five years? They are investing their health in smoking, so what returns are they expecting from their health investment?
The other part of my quiting theory addresses how many times a smoker wants to go through the quitting stages. I know that tobacco has addictive properties, possibly on par with cocaine or heroine. I know smokers struggle hard with quitting, and most times they will go through days of hardship, only to finally give in and resume smoking.
Those days of hardship when smokers quit are no fun at all. Nobody wants to experience that, and yet smokers put themselves through it each and every time they try quiting. Since we know (a) that smokers must quit eventually, and (b) it is a hardship emotionally and physically each time they quit, it would seem most logical for smokers to quit once, and quit for good.
Do smokers like the feeling of quiting several times in life, and failing at quiting? I know I personally hate it when I failed at something I invested myself in. Nobody likes the feeling of failing or quiting, so why do smokers continue this depressing cycle?
At least chewed tobacco’s effects start showing faster than smoked tobacco’s, so chewers see holes in their lips and quit sooner. Tobacco chewers are a lot like kids that huff gasoline and other inhalants: they quickly fall apart or quit within 10 years.
Smokers who are looking to quit should Google the topic and will find more resources than you could ever need. Idaho has also funded Idaho QuitNet to help smokers quit.
What do you think of smokers’ quitting shenanigans? Smokers, what do you think?
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Comments
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0 
0 You make a great point, and I have to apologize for name calling.
My aim was to illustrate how smart some of these people are in all aspects of their lives, and then they flush their smarts down the toilet when they light up.
I can understand the smoking issues in the past, it’s hilarious to watch old television shows where the people are smoking on set.
However today we have so much more information about the first and second-hand effects of smoking, it is becoming a social pariah to smoke, and many intelligent people still smoke.
Quitting can be very tough, but it is not impossible.
Why do otherwise smart people continue then? I don’t get it.
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0 0 It just might be that for some people quiting IS impossible. I pray that I am not one of them — but its a fact, nicotine is more addictive than nearly any other substance. In your initial post you make quiting sound as easy as a Google search — “Smokers who are looking to quit can just Google the topic and will find more resources than you could ever need.” It isn’t that easy — as you know.
One thought I have always had… My mother smoked when she was pregnant with me, so in reality I was addicted to nicotine even before I was born. I wonder sometimes if that makes it harder to quit than if my mother had not smoked while pregnant. It might be that since this is my 2nd time around, and I was addicted as a newborn, it may be more difficult for me both mentally and physically than perhaps someone whose mother never smoked. An interesting point as well… the number of surgeons who smoke is really quite high compared to the national average. The AMA won’t tell you that, but I have seen it in my own life, and have had many nurses and Drs. tell me the same thing. I have always wondered about that as well.
I am geared up to try to quit News Years Eve. I have my patches, Welbutrin (sp?) and am at a point in my life where it is literally “do or die.” Wish me luck!
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0 0 Joe I hardly think “smoking for a couple years in high school” even qualifies you as an ex-smoker. Nor are you qualified to preach. Feelinlucky I wish you the very best of luck.
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0 0 I also wish you the best of luck, FeelinLucky. Please let us know again in a few months how you are doing. Even if you fell off the tobacco wagon, let us know why it was so difficult.
guest, I suppose it comes down to relativity. If I had smoked for a couple years and quit in the last few months, would I be “qualified” as an ex-smoker? If I smoked five years but quit 60 years ago, would I be qualified then? I think it’s relativity.
I think anyone who scrounged for money to buy packs and cartons and sometimes picked butts out of the ashtray because they were so hard up would qualify as a smoker, because only smokers do those things. Listen to me defend my ex-smoker cred!
Smoking is a subject I think even non-smokers are qualified to preach on, because everyone gets affected by the second-hand smoke, and because we can all plainly see the “quitting cycles” I described before.
I held off for months writing this post because I knew inevitably many visitors smoke, and I wasn’t sure how to bring up the subject without hurting feelings.
I am sorry for using the term “idiots” since it came across as name-calling. I meant it to actually describe idiotic behavior. There is a difference between a bad man and a man that behaves badly, right?
My biggest point is about these smart people who smoke. FeelinLucky has left some great intellectual comments that made me think of new things, and yet against the logical odds choses to smoke.
Maybe it’s one of those “I know I need to get around to it (quitting) someday” type of things?
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0 0 Feelinlucky
Thanks for writing. I do remember some of those other posts and I think it is good if we can all try to be as respectful as we can as others.
You are right about some health care professionals smoking. I’ve always heard it was more the anesthesiologists than the surgeons. And plenty of nurses and other technicians. High stress jobs make people have a need to relieve stress. If only as a society we didn’t make people feel guilty for just taking a break, no cigarette needed, just a chance to step away for a few moments.
The posts have been insightful. FeelinLucky, an interesting thought you have about your pregnant mom. The data now shows second hand smoke to kids who had parents smoking to be as damaging. Keep us updated on that part, if you learn more.
I’m pulling for you FeelinLucky! If you can’t sleep at night, get on here. We have a host of people who are either at work, are winding down or whatever and I know I’d sure be happy and proud to chat with you and hopefully give you a word of encouragement or suggestions of how to get through a tough time. I’ve never smoked, but worked with many who have quit. It is work and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise!
If you log on at nights, just remind us how many days it has been. I would like to hear about your progress more often than Joe has suggested. It might be cool if you wrote an article (BTW - I’m sure you know about holding a pen or pencil instead of a cigarette). What a way to get through a tough time, long-hand writing what you want to post here in a potential “Diary of a Smoker” or whatever you may choose to do. There is NO PRESSURE, only possibilities.
Good luck, I’m really proud of you for taking this big step! I’m in your corner.
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0 0 Well, I too am a smoker, so Feelin Lucky, I’m with you brother. I have been addicted to numerous things in my life and have found that this is the hardest to quit.
I know all the facts, read the articles, and listened to everyone complain. Yet I still smoke.
I have been smoking for about ten years now and have made the attempt to quit numerous times. For those of you who are non smokers, it is difficult to quit, harder than anything you can imagine.
Smoking has become just another part of the day, as routine as walking, eating, and breathing. To replace something that has that kind of grip on your mental and physical well being is difficult, what can you replace it with, or do I just become an awnry SOB for a week.
I hope my next attempt to quit, which will be soon is my last attempt, and hopefully I will be smoke free forever. I wish the best for anyone else who decides to get through the most difficult thing they will ever face, but hey, if we can quit smoking, we can do anything we set our minds to. It’s gonna take a whole lot of willpower, but it will be worth it.
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0 0 I wish you the best luck with your quitting, also.
“…do I just become an awnry SOB for a week”?
I think it is inevitable. The best you can do is communicate to everyone around you that you are quitting so they can cut you a little more slack that week.
I think most non-smokers are willing to be patient with people quitting smoking while they go through that difficult period.
What really burns us though is smokers who say they are quitting, ask us to be patient, act like a jerk for a few days, then revert back to smoking. If we give you the benefit of the doubt while quitting, we don’t want to see you start back up again!
Think about how each time you quit, it gets a little harder than each time before. How many times more do you want to fail at quitting, making it harder the next time you try to quit? I hope you can make the next time the last time.
One reason smokers do it is to help deal with life’s hassles. However you have to admit that smoking is itself a big hassle with everyone bugging you about it, the high prices, the stench, the ashtrays around your home, and the time taken up by smoking. Eliminating smoking will actually get rid of one of your biggest hassles.
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0 0 There’s been a lot of talk about how hard it is to quit smoking, but no one has mentioned how hard it is to start smoking.
You have to first ignore the fact that you are inhaling approximately 4,000 chemicals, at least 250 of which are toxic and/or carcinogenic.
You then have to overcome your body’s natural reflex to reject these hazardous compounds. You have to train your lungs to accept oxygen-robbing smoke, which also burns your eyes and the lining of your nose.
You must also disregard the mountain of medical evidence, the warnings printed right there on the packs, and the history of deception perpetrated by the tobacco companies…all of which are systematically killing off their best customers, and are constantly trying to recruit new ones: your children, nieces, nephews, etc.
Let’s not forget the social stigma that smokers are “forced” to endure. It’s hard to make friends when you have sticky yellow fingers and your breath and clothes smell like death.
This time of year, many smokers in the workforce have to withstand sub-zero temperatures in order to enjoy their regular nicotine fix.
And those who smoke in public have to ignore others’ rights to breathe clean air in favor or their own right to smoke, and pass all the wonderful health benefits of second-hand smoke on to them. The resulting cognitive dissonance can be stressful. It’s hard on a person’s conscience to do such a thing.
It’s not easy for smokers in the U.S. to kill over 30,000 non-smokers every year, or to send as many as 1 million children to the hospital with new cases of athsma. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work.
The moral of the story: Quitting is easy in comparison.
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0 0 And those are just the facts. My personal opinion of smoking? I believe smoking to be reprehensively idiotic, socially pollutant and irresponsible, and should be banned in public altogether.
Personally, I have a hard time relating to people who knowingly volunteer themselves for a lifetime of addiction and struggle. But I try not to judge smokers or any other addict harshly for their behaviors. After all, we are all equals. We all have our battles.
Many addicts are simply ignorant and don’t understand the consequences of their actions, and I wouldn’t necessarily consider them stupid. But anyone who starts smoking now (or anytime in the last 42 years) cannot claim ignorance. Only stupidity.
But in that regard, smoking is no more stupid than swimming with sharks, but people do it. It’s just one of the many ways that humans take risks with their own lives. And they’re free to do so.
However, it’s criminal to allow one person’s actions to harm others. Second-hand smoke is a murderous weapon, and those who use it should be punished severely, and spared no sympathy.
Whew! That’s enough for now. I’m going out for a smoke break.
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0 0 Having been called many things, “Unique Fool†is now added to the list. Smoking issues most certainly need to be addressed. There are many, many ways to approach and discuss the subject. The avenue that Joe took would not have been near the top of my list. A comment to his statement, “However, I know some smokers who are actually very smart people, some of them almost brilliant.†is Albert Einstein was a pipe smoker. I must be a victim of ‘smart people sometimes do, or say, foolish and idiotic things’.
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0 0 In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a smoker. I know it’s bad for me and I know I need to quit. I also know that I try to be careful, I never smoke in my own home (I can’t stand the smell) and I never smoke in my car if I have a non smoker in it. If I’m sitting with a group of people in a bar and I’m the only smoker at the table, I will either go outside or go to the other end of the bar. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but I’m tired of being labeled as a bad person because I have this one vice.
Smart people are not immune to addiction of any kind. What I fail to understand is that certain addictions are socially acceptable. Alcoholism is the first one that comes to mind. I don’t think those guys are idiots, I think they have a problem. Mental or physical or both, just as I think smokers have a problem. Alcoholism will kill you just as surely as cigarette’s will, but those guys aren’t idiots, they’re ill.
Please understand, this is not a slam on you, Joe, this is a venting of my frusterations! 
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0 0 Feelinglucky,
I’ve been thinkng about you today. During the last year several very important subjects have been posted and discussed here. However, perhaps this thread and any tips or encouragement previous smokers or non-smokers can give you and others who are trying to quit, may be the most important subject addressed here.
My offer still stands for you or anyone else who is a smoker who is quitting. If it is a rough time, log on and if I’m here, I’ll be more than happy to chat with you. I worked in Smoking Cessation professionally for several years. Hopefully, I might have a few suggestions.
That old rubber band around the wrist can help.
But mostly, remember relapses do happen. What is MORE IMPORTANT is what the person does after the relapse. Do they immediately start their smoking cessation again or quit?
Good luck to all of you. I’m truly in your corner on this one, and support you 1000%!
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0 0 i love cigarettes god bless them!!!!! smoking is good for the nerves. I wish I had 50 cartons and have no plans of quiting unless the church takes full control of the constitution and makes it illegal .
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0 0 i’m not a smoker, but u sound really smug and arrogant….so there is a difference between intelligent people smoking and the less learned?..u just cant figure that one out yet?
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0 0 what ever
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0 0 I don’t know what those last 3 comments are about, but anyways.
I can see I may have overstepped in language here. I just see normal anti-smoking techniques do not seem to work that well in convincing smokers to quit. I thought I would add my own observation, one I don’t ever hear.
I hope smokers might look past my offending them to the gist of my point: the smoking habit does not match up to the smart habits that some smokers exhibit most of their days.
It’s like seeing a normally reserved family person turn into a speeding maniac when they start driving.
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0 0 I just feel like us smokers are on the witch hunted list. I love to smoke and I see nothing wrong with it. So what it kills people. Yea when everything else is killing them that is. You all will die some way or some day some how. My great grandma lived to be 103 years old and she smoked alot. my uncle smoked and died at 67 from lung cancer. My aunt mary got throut cancer when she was 56 and is still alive and is now 63. My gandma is 79 years old and she still smokes and has an oxygen tank with her. Its pleasurfull to smoke I like the taste and the smell of tobacco and I will enjoy my freedom to do it as I wish to. I love to smoke.
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0 0 And, in the meantime, you and all your smoke blowing relatives are raising my health insurance premiums higher and higher. Get real.
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0 0 I honestly don’t care if you smoke or not - I tend to light up every now and then if I’ve been drinking. I don’t think it’s a big deal so long as you’re in a place where smoking is acceptable (like a bar, your own home, etc.)
I really get annoyed living in an apartment complex with smokers, though. I end up sweeping up piles of butts all summer. It’s ridiculous.
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0 0 I smoke but sure would like to quit. I’ts very scary cuz I do turn into a monster, and the first week is so.. difficult. We do add to the cost of insurance, but probably not more than obesity, and we at least pay smoker taxes plus whatever the State gets for law suits. Just a pet peeve I have. I have always wondered what would happen to the State budget if every Idaho smoker quit.
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0 0 Guest2 — good point. I wonder if Guest2006 above is 20 lbs. over weight — has high cholesteral, does not wear a seat belt or bike helmet or does not get enough excercise. If so — he/she is adding to my health insurance costs too. Or if he/she is a greedy money grubbing lawyer who has been involved in some medical malpractice law suit seeking millions and millions of dollars for some human error made by a Doctor. I might smoke, but I jog 2 miles a day, eat well and if I live 10 years less than my grandfather (who smoked for 55 years) I will likely outlive guest2006 when I die at 87. But nonetheless, I am trying to quit as we speak. Not for guest2006 or anyone else. For me.
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0 0 Feelinlucky,
Good for you! Hang in there. Nothing works if you don’t do it for yourself. And you were pleasant in your post.
Let me know if I can help in any way.
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0 0 I just recalled a memory that helps explain to myself why I am so passionate about quitting smoking.
When I was about 8, my neighbor (who was a little bit father figure) got trampled by his horse around Irwin.
He was really banged up and hurting from the horse trampling alone, but the worst was the first four days of him suddenly being off nicotine. It was horrible to see him in such double agony.
That’s why I say eventually every smoker will have to quit. I’m sure most people would rather quit in a more pleasant manner.
Anyone and everyone can quit.
Ability to quit is not in question.
Resolve to quit is the key.
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0 0 guest 2006
you said “And, in the meantime, you and all your smoke blowing relatives are raising my health insurance premiums higher and higher. Get real.”
For your information there is a real high tax on tabacco products and your raising health care cost are due to to many people abusing the medical system encluding doctors not people that smoke.
When you make comment’s try to make sense with them. try not to target someone based on habits.
May he who has no sin cast the first stone.
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0 0 “May he who has no sin cast the first stone.”
This should have been your only reply - the cigarette tax has little to do with health insurance, and more to do with our out-of-control tax structure in America. I’ll leave it to that.
But, he’s right. We all have our stupid addictions. Mine’s caffeine. It may or may not kill me, but it’s still an addiction. It’s no less harmful than a smoker when you think about it - how many people are killed by trade tariffs and child-labor that involves coffee? How many people die from consumer too much coca-cola in their lifetimes every day? (The answer may surprise you.) Most of our actions as Americans involves hurting somebody, and as soon as we realize that and stop making scapegoats out of smokers, drinkers, and hollywood movies, the sooner we can begin to amend our own behavior to live more mindfully.
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0 0 right on good reply jeremy
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0 0 I just found this post and had to put my 2cents into the mix.
As much as I hate to admit it, I have been a smoker on and off for about 20 years. (more off then on, but a smoker nonetheless)
If you do a little research, you’ll see that (and I’m not quite sure of the percentage) but there’s twice as many addictive chemicals in cigarettes today, then there was 10 years ago. So it’s definitely harder for people to stop smoking these days.
I didn’t start smoking until I got into college. It was just casual at first, because all my friends did it, and it was nice to have a smoke when you’re out having a beer with friends. I didn’t smoke all the time since my girlfriend at the time didn’t smoke and I didn’t smoke around here. So I didn’t have a problem with the addiction part. And a few years later we were married and I stopped smoking altogether. Six years later we got divorced and I started up again. I smoked for about 8 years and tried on and off during that time to stop.
I don’t know if it’s true, but a lot of scientists have said that cigarettes are more addictive then heroin. I wouldn’t know since I never tried heroin, but I do know nicotine is a monster of a drug! I’ve never been hooked on anything other then caffeine, but cigarettes took a hold of me and wouldn’t let go.
Like most people I tried everything to stop. I’d try cold turkey and make it a few days, then I’d have a stressful day and end up bumming a smoke from a friend or co-worker and tell myself, just this one won’t hurt or make me relapse. A day or two later I’d buy a new pack and was back where I started. Now granted I’ve never been more than a pack a day smoker, I’d buy a pack and it would last me almost three days, but a smoker is a smoker is a smoker, whether it’s a pack a day or a pack a week, I knew I needed to quit.
Finally this year I had the doctor prescribe me Wellbutrin and that did the trick for me. It takes about 2-3 weeks for the chemical in Wellbutrin to alter the dopamine levels in your brain, but once that happens, you really do loose the craving. I found that around the 3rd week, I was going a half a day without having a smoke and I remember thinking to myself, wow…I would have usually had a 2-3 by now, but I don’t a craving at all. It was amazing I must admit. Then I was sitting at home one night watching tv, and thought to myself, I sure could use a smoke. Again, I didn’t really have a craving, but it’s been such a habit for so long, it just felt strange not to go outside after dinner and have one. All smokers will tell you there’s nothing like having a smoke after a good meal. I have never smoked in my house or my car, so that night I got off the couch and went out on the back porch to light up. I took a couple drags and it tasted really nasty! I ended up putting it out right then and there and I haven’t looked back since.
It’s been a little over a month now and I’m still “smoke freeâ€. I feel SO much better since I stopped. I don’t cough anymore (except a little bit in the morning as my lungs are still getting rid of all that tar!), my sense of smell is so much better then it used to be, my sense of taste is a lot more heightened and I’ve got a lot more energy then I used to have. I’ve always been an active person, regularly biking, hiking, camping, snow/water skiing, etc. But since I stopped smoking, I can do all of these things for a lot longer, and without taking the time to rest and catch my breath as much.
I know like any other addiction that it’s always going to be something I’ll have to work on to keep from relapsing. But it gets easier and easier every day. It really is a great feeling to not have a drug like nicotine controlling my life anymore.
I know first hand how difficult it is so I implore the rest of you to not judge or call names because someone is a smoker, but to give encouragement. It is a very addictive drug and a habit that is extremely hard to break.
I know a lot of intelligent people that smoke, so to call someone a fool or an idiot, just isn’t fair. Sure, we all know it’s bad for us, but it’s easier said than done when it comes to actually quitting.
I wish you all the best of luck in your attempts to break free from this habit. And all I can tell you is that Wellbutrin worked wonders for me! I tried everything from nicotine gum, patches, cold turkey, weening down and nothing worked. Plus with the gum and patches, you’re still putting nicotine into your system so I hope you won’t continue to waste your money on those products.
I’m now slowly weaning off the Wellbutrin and won’t have to take it anymore by the end of the month. If you’ve got the insurance, go get some since its now covered by most insurance companies. It only cost me 15 bucks a month but without insurance its still only about a hundred bucks a month, and believe me it’s well worth it.
Like Jeremy said, there’s quite a few of you out there addicted to caffeine. You may not think it’s a drug, but it is. Try going without your coffee or pop for a week and then come talk to me. Sure it won’t be as hard a habit to break as nicotine, but I guarantee it WILL be hard. Personally I love my coffee and don’t see myself giving that up anytime soon. (one thing at a time I say)
Whatever you decide, please do whatever you can to get off the nicotine. You’ll be so glad you did. I know I am!
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0 0 Hang in there pal. I’ve never smoked but have lots of friends who did/do. The ones who quit had a rough time doing so. Many of them relapsed many times in the quitting process. Good luck to you.
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0 0 Yeah I wish you luck also.
I’m sure I’ve said it a couple times before but I might as well again: sorry for being a name calling hater.
My (muddled) point was that many people I admire for their brilliance do the stupid thing of smoking, and it just doesn’t make sense to me.
And I want to highlight meso’s point about “Many of them relapsed many times in the quitting process.”
How many more times do you want to go through the agonizing quitting process? Will this be the last time? Who wants to do it 5, 10 more times?
I hope you can make this your last time quitting.
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0 0 I spent 12 years in the military, and boy howdy, there are a lot of smokers in the military… and they had a hard time even waiting until they were out of the government vehicles to light up. Sometimes the only “clean” air in our command vehicle was the 2 or 3 inches near the floor where I had to dive down to for a breath of fresh air every now and then (remember that, Joe? - oh wait, weren’t you one of the ones there smoking?) Back then, it didn’t bother me that much… in fact, I kinda started liking the second-hand smoke.
BUT, now that I am a father, it REALLY bugs me when someone lights up near my kids. With all of the studies on second-hand smoke and the effects (especially on children) - ARGH!
Being a non-smoker, I can only imagine how hard it is for a smoker to stop smoking (heck, I can’t even quit drinking Mt Dew), but I agree with Joe. With all of the FACTS about the dangers and effects of smoking, it is hard to imagine why someone would start and/or continue smoking. Especially around children. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I am sitting at a red light and glance over to the car next to me and see (vaguely through the smoke) an infant in a car seat in the back and the parent in the front seat with a cigarette.
Good luck to any of you out there trying (hopefully successfully) to quit. For those that still choose to smoke, please do so courteously (i.e. not around my kids!).
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0 0 The only thing I’ve ever been addicted to besides alcohol and caffeine was SEX. I met this great girls and married her and would you believe she cured me of my addiction. I quit cold turkey too! I have made ot more than 10 years. If a guy can give that up to quit smoking should be a breaze.
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0 0 One eye - It’s fun to have you post again.
Yes, that is a great joke and you wrote it quite well.
I hope it brings a laugh to everyone’s day.
I’m really proud of everyone who is trying to quit smoking. Meso made a good point about relapses. If someone is an alcoholic and fals off the wagon, we don’t immediately say that person is an alcoholic. Rather, we focus on how to help the person stop drinking again.
Besides our words of encouragement, jokes from One Eye Trout and stories from those who have been successful quitting (and what they did), is there any other ways we can help or encourage you who are trying to quit?
I totally back you, if you’ve decided to make this change for yourself. If it’s not the right time, thanks for reading this thread. Maybe there will be a right time for you too.
But, I will never be anyone’s judge as the chemicals in cigarettes are so addictive.
Good luck!
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0 0 The two biggest mistakes in my life were made in my youth. Start smoking is number 1. No question.
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0 0 I’m very happy that Idaho has outlawed smoking in most public places. Nothing used to annoy me as much as being forced to breathe someone elses cigarette smoke. I rightfully used to feel that if they were going to force me to inhale and wear (odor) their secondhand smoke that I should be allowed to go make them inhale and wear the backwash of whatever I was drinking.
Now if employers would start deducting the ten minute smoke break that smokers take each and every hour out of their lunch hours I’d be happy. Or start letting me take a ten minute break every hour as well.
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0 0 So Neal Larson spoke about the proposed smoking ban in bowling alleys. He railed against it for personal freedom issues, and a caller said 90% of bowlers smoke and alleys depend on the leagues because families don’t bowl anymore.
Take one guess why people do not bowl anymore. I don’t want to take my kids into a smoke-filled bowling alley.
The restaurants howled against last year’s smoking ban, and then realized a family will be much more profitable than a single smoker.
Neal Larson howled about letting market forces guide bowling alley owners. I think he was naive to believe that telling the guy behind the counter that you don’t appreciate the smoke will cause them to ban smoking. Sometimes business owners need their heads forcibly jerked out of the sand. Idaho restaurants are a prime example of this.
If we should let market forces guide us, why not allow casinos and porn shops everywhere in Idaho?
I believe in some of the power of market forces, but keep in mind market forces were the prevailing wisdom during the middle (dark) ages.
Bowling owners should ask the North Hiway cafe if the smoking ban can help business.
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0 0 Exactly! That is the true reason why we do not bowl as a family and the reason that we never ate at the North Hiway Cafe.
We loved to have a beer at Lost Arts when they were around for the same reason.
Just a thought on the addiction to tobacco:
Changing the what you eat can actually help you quit smoking. Making your body more Alkaline versus Acid will help. By eating more leafy green vegetables this can help. Increasing your intake of Magnesium can also help.
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0 0 This is from Dr. Mercola’s website and what he has to say about smoking might surprise you. He says don’t do it until you have changed your dietary habits. Check out his video:
http://vitalvotes.com/QA/Why-I-Don-t-Recommend-That-People-Stop-Smoking-1943.aspx
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0 0 well Smoking should be put somewhere outside but have mercy on them. They should make a outdoor smoking area thats covered from rain and weather for smokers so there isnt any hard feelings. And then the rest of the community doesnt have to be around the smoke. Smokers will try and stay real close to the building if its rainy and cold. If they have a place to go then they will use that.
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0 0 Why should a business have to pay the expense of building a covered smoking shelter for smokers just because they can’t go an hour or two without smoking? They are the ones that CHOOSE to smoke, others shouldn’t have to cater to them just because they made that choice.
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0 0 you people really miss the boat on this one… “Why should a business have to pay the expense of building a covered smoking shelter…” blah blah blah. The fact is that if a busienss wants to be a smoking or a non smoking establishment — or if they WANT to build an outdoor area for smokers, it should be left up to the business owner to decide, AS A BUSINESS DECISION. If it attracts more business to allow smokers, then do it. If it detracts from business to allow smokers, then decide what you want to do. We don’t need the government once again telling people what they MUST do. A few posts up some rediculous nut says they never went to the North Highway Cafe because of the smokers. Like it matters. Like we care. The North Highway Cafe did a great business for a whole lotta years without her. And the beauty of it was that she didn’t have to go to the North Highway — and those that wanted to go in and have a cup of coffee and a smoke actually could. Imagine that. A free country. I personally prefer a non smoking establishment. However, I can fuction in either. I just get upset whenever government tries to play nazi and tell us what to do in increasingly more and more ways.
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0 0 I have actually heard that since they did ban smoking that North Highway Cafe has seen an increase in business because families will now go there where they would not before.
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0 0 I never said that it shouldn’t be up to the business to decide if they should build a shelter for the smokers. Actually I agree it should be up to them to decide.
I only meant why should they have to even consider putting up that extra expense.
If someone can’t even make it through dinner without having a cigarette, maybe they should consider getting help to quit.
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0 0 well this country is becoming more goverment controlled anyways. Might as well bend over and let them take it all away. resistance is futile. You will be assimulated
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0 0 I believe it should be up to each restaurant to decide whether they allow smoking in their establishments.
Permit the clientle to help the business owner / local manager choose which is best for their business. Take a poll. Let the customer have a voice.
I smoked in high school - back in the dinosaur days. I started college and still smoked. It became annoying when I had to leave class to take a smoke break.
I chose to quit - this is over twenty years ago. My partner @ the time and I quit together - he has since quit more times than I can count (including the time when my current partner and my former partner quit together).
Some people are more successful @ quitting cigarettes (or drugs or abuse of alcohol or gambling) than others. I don’t know why. If I did, and I was a savvy business person - I’d patent my understanding in a sellable form and market it for a large sum of money.
I believe that most serial quitters do want to quit - but they want more to not deal with the pain of quitting. When I quit I literally had to send myself to a school counselor because I entertained a suicidal thought or two - very out of character for me and very scary! THAT was pain. Quitting an addiction hurts, it feels lonely, it inspires depression. That’s why, I believe, some aren’t successful doing it. We are not designed to purposely cause ourselves pain - and although we do cause ourselves greater long term pain by continuing to be addicted to an unhealthy substance, our short term pain usually carries the weightier cards in the game of life - so often we cave under the pressure of not wanting to endure current pain.
It is almost as if quitting an addiction goes against one’s instincts - the defining meaning of addiction IS after all to be “reliant” on something. Like air and food. We rely on those things. In the mind, an addiction is much like air or food - you neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed it. Anybody who has been addicted to anything knows what I mean by that. When I was a dedicated smoking addict I felt I neeeeeeeeeeeded that toxic nicotine - giving it up was like giving up an unhealthy love affair. It hurts. That’s why some people remain for their entire lives in unhealthy relationships (a different topic I know).
My point is - smokers aren’t necessarily idiotic, they might just be choosing unwisely based on what their bodies are convinced they neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed.
There is probably not one here among us who has never neeeeeeeeeeeeeded something that we knew was not the best choice for us - even if it was a mere indulgence of the moment. Take that indulgence and multiply it by itself several
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I tried to just let this go – but I just have to make a few comments about this post. First let me say that I am amazed that Joe has such harsh words for smokers. He actually calls them “idiots.†That’s odd to me. Several times I have been in debates on this site with people who, in my opinion really were idiots. After trying to reason with these people, it became clear that they were in fact “idiots†and were just not going to get the point. Out of frustration, I gave up – and made what I believed to be a factual statement – calling them “idiots†as I signed off. Joe responded with comments similar to; “it’s a shame that people cannot make intelligent comments, and must resort to name calling.†I thought about his comment, and in my mind I felt as though I was stating what I believed to be a fact about these people (not just name calling†– but I also had to admit to myself that it was not very polite and I should have not used that word to describe these people.
I grew up in Idaho Falls back in the 60’s and 70’s. During that time, smoking was still pretty popular. You could smoke in the grocery stores, office buildings and just about everywhere else. Movie stars smoked in movies and on TV. The tobacco industry was spending millions of dollars in advertising to make sure that I and many in my generation would start. When you are young, you are invincible. You have no idea about how fast time passes or anything else related to your own mortality. I started smoking while in the US Army. At the time, I would say that 80% of the people in the Army smoked. If you didn’t smoke when you went in, you probably would by the time you got out. It was almost part of the culture. So, many people start “fooling around†with cigarettes when they are young. Some are able to quit (as was Joe) and some are not. Now I believe that people are all different. Not everyone who drinks heavily in their late teens and 20’s will become an alcoholic. I drank like a crazy man during my 20’s in the service. I was fortunate, and never became addicted to the booze, and now rarely if ever have a drink. But I have friends who are serious alcoholics. A few are not even really functional. These guys start drinking the hard stuff at 9:00 in the morning, and are sauced by noon. I guess I am smarter than they are. The truth is that we all do some pretty stupid stuff when we are young. Some people are lucky, and some are not. I had friends killed in car accidents drunk driving. I drove drunk a few times when I was young, but I was fortunate and got away with it. It’s easy for me to look back on those “idiots†now, and tell you that I am here today because I was smarter than they were. I dabbled in smoking and became hooked very, very badly. I have tried to quit but have not yet been successful. Am I less intelligent than Joe? Am I weak and he is strong? Or was he fortunate enough to not become as physically and mentally addicted to cigarettes as I am? Why do we look at so many addictions as “illness?†Alcoholism is now called a “disease.†Its not their fault (or so they claim) In today’s world we try so hard to be “tolerant.†We accept many different people for many different things. As long as it isn’t smoking. Those smokers are just “idiots.” Joe, you should try to be a little less judgmental of people with a terrible addiction, and just be thankful that you were able to quit.