LOL Wendy you want to hear government at work--they passed a smoking ban in VA when I lived there, but guess where you are still allowed to smoke? Give up? It would be the state house. Your tax dollars at work. Or should I say RJ Reynold's campaign contribution dollars at work.
Slave to the ciggies
- Thread starter dss62467
- Start date
Bobbi
Cathlete
Andrew Weil has an interesting article about nicotine. In med school heroin is used as the standard for addiction but he pointed out that nicotine requires the addict to get a hit every 20 minutes. I know first hand how addictive it is and grew up with a heavy smoking dad and tried it early on. Doctors used to pitch cigarretes for their calming benefits and tobacco was once thought medicinal! It's a product which if used according to the directions, may very well kill you and yet it's still marketed to us. As dangerous a drug as nicotine is, I wonder why it isn't only available by RX for those addicted to it. That would surely help teens who are at the greatest risk for becoming smokers being that they feel immortal and like to rebel. Tobacco companies are a powerful lobby and donate heavilty to politicians. But numbers of smokers continue to decrease and we may see a nicotine free world someday. Weil also says we are all addicted to something. It's human nature and how we carry on. Nicotine, caffeinefood, love, work, relationships, exercise can all qualify. Some people are naturally more moderate and others more susceptible to substance abuse. Over-eating related health problems are overtaking tobacco use as the number one killer or humans. Some addictions kill quicker than others and some seem quite benign but it's in our nature to cling to certain things. Cigarettes killed my dad, who died at 70 from emphysema and heart disease. His oldest sibs who didn't smoke lived to be 89, the oldest sib still lives at 94. That's sorrowful to me but he never could kick his addiction. It had him. I have the utmost compassion for all addicts and the hope that we can find a way to change the ones that kill quickly but how I do not know how. I have tremendous respect for people who have kicked butts. 
That's a tough one! Alcohol and pain killers have also wreaked havoc in my life. Still do. I have no answers only hope! I think it's great to discuss it like this.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"
Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.
-Ann Landers
That's a tough one! Alcohol and pain killers have also wreaked havoc in my life. Still do. I have no answers only hope! I think it's great to discuss it like this. Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"
Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.
-Ann Landers
wendymin72
Cathlete
Aquajock and 40something....
Thank you both for posting what I either didn't have the nerve to, or couldn't find the right words to say...
Smoking is a bad, nasty habit than can affect others health as well the smoker him/herself, but the way some people (over)react to it just astounds me...
There are so many other horrible things going on in our world today but yet, somehow, smoking ends up always being the target, as if it's the WORST possible thing someone could ever do...and it's certainly far from it...IMO anyway....
Have a great work out!
~Wendy~
I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?WENDYMIN
http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]
Thank you both for posting what I either didn't have the nerve to, or couldn't find the right words to say...
Smoking is a bad, nasty habit than can affect others health as well the smoker him/herself, but the way some people (over)react to it just astounds me...
There are so many other horrible things going on in our world today but yet, somehow, smoking ends up always being the target, as if it's the WORST possible thing someone could ever do...and it's certainly far from it...IMO anyway....
Have a great work out!
~Wendy~
I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?WENDYMIN
http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]
An addicton is an addiction to a POINT, and that point is when I have to smell the smoke from the cigarette or the smoke that is exhaled from the smokers mouth.... then they are infringing on my rights..... I have a right to clean air, and the oreos don't stink up a room... Rhonda
wendymin72
Cathlete
>LOL Wendy you want to hear government at work--they passed a
>smoking ban in VA when I lived there, but guess where you are
>still allowed to smoke? Give up? It would be the state
>house. Your tax dollars at work. Or should I say RJ
>Reynold's campaign contribution dollars at work.
Yup, I'm in NJ and smoking is still allowed in most public places and I personally have no problem with it.
I am just so tired of this "battle" between smokers and non-smokers which is why I just wish it would come down to it being outlawed completely...I said that even when I smoked, believe it or not! If you are going to put THAT many rules and regs on where a person is allowed or not allowed to smoke then why even bother having it be legal at all?
Have a great work out!
~Wendy~
I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?WENDYMIN
http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]
>smoking ban in VA when I lived there, but guess where you are
>still allowed to smoke? Give up? It would be the state
>house. Your tax dollars at work. Or should I say RJ
>Reynold's campaign contribution dollars at work.
Yup, I'm in NJ and smoking is still allowed in most public places and I personally have no problem with it.
I am just so tired of this "battle" between smokers and non-smokers which is why I just wish it would come down to it being outlawed completely...I said that even when I smoked, believe it or not! If you are going to put THAT many rules and regs on where a person is allowed or not allowed to smoke then why even bother having it be legal at all?
Have a great work out!
~Wendy~
I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?WENDYMIN
http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]
wendymin72
Cathlete
This post is meant for everyone:
Ladies, I sense this topic becoming heated...opinnions are very strong on this one (mine included). Why don't we just agree to disagree and stop this thread before it turns into an all out flame war, okay?...Just a suggestion, ofcourse!
Have a great work out!
~Wendy~
I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?WENDYMIN
http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]
Ladies, I sense this topic becoming heated...opinnions are very strong on this one (mine included). Why don't we just agree to disagree and stop this thread before it turns into an all out flame war, okay?...Just a suggestion, ofcourse!
Have a great work out!
~Wendy~
I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?WENDYMIN
http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]
Aquajock
Cathlete
I've yet to see a police report in which a person killed or maimed somebody driving while under the influence of nicotine. I've yet to read a police report in which a woman was raped while under the influence of nicotine. I've yet to see a police report in which a parent assaulted a child while under the influence of nicotine. And so on, and so on, and so on.
Don't get me wrong. Although I'm still a 2-cig-a-day smoker myself, I've never thought smokers' rights were worth fighting for. But the decibel level of the anti-smoking brigade, which seems so intolerant of the evils of second hand smoke and yet so accepting of the nuisances that drinking drivers, party-goers, bar-hoppers, home-drunks, etc. create with their accidents, their liver and kidney problems, their poor work performance, their verbal abuse, etc., is beyond all fathoming.
Make no mistake about it: alcohol is still our Number One drug problem. And it will be ever thus. At times I think the anti-tobacco shriek-fest is psychological displacement, because people are too squeamish to look at the other legal drug-menace in their midst.
A-Jock
Don't get me wrong. Although I'm still a 2-cig-a-day smoker myself, I've never thought smokers' rights were worth fighting for. But the decibel level of the anti-smoking brigade, which seems so intolerant of the evils of second hand smoke and yet so accepting of the nuisances that drinking drivers, party-goers, bar-hoppers, home-drunks, etc. create with their accidents, their liver and kidney problems, their poor work performance, their verbal abuse, etc., is beyond all fathoming.
Make no mistake about it: alcohol is still our Number One drug problem. And it will be ever thus. At times I think the anti-tobacco shriek-fest is psychological displacement, because people are too squeamish to look at the other legal drug-menace in their midst.
A-Jock
I smoked as a teen and in college... until I collapsed a lung at age 22. This is apparently very common... and VERY painful! I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It did, however, get me past my addiction. (Three days in a hospital bed with multiple tubes in one's body is somewhat motivating.)
Although I will tell you that even now, 15 years later, I still sometimes have those dreams where I am smoking and I wake up terrified it is true....
The reality is that nicotine is arguably one of the most addictive substances on the planet.
Marie
Although I will tell you that even now, 15 years later, I still sometimes have those dreams where I am smoking and I wake up terrified it is true....
The reality is that nicotine is arguably one of the most addictive substances on the planet.
Marie
Hate to add to this, but - your cookie eating habit can't kill me. Only you. Your smoking habit, however, can kill me. That's where the problem lies. For example, what about the baby whose mother or father smokes? (the worst) That baby has absolutely no chance - no choice. Yet the health implications to that child are well-documented. The parents say it's their choice to smoke and they will deal with the ramifications. Not true. If one wishes to avoid alcohol, its easy. You can go to a bar and still order soda. (obviously, drunk drivers are another issue, but they get tickets and jail time when caught). If you kill someone when drunk driving, you can go to jail. Not so if you harm others through your smoking addiction. Many European and Asian countries have now banned smoking in public at all. Some have even begun to ban tobacco sales. Perhaps that is the route we must go.
However, all addictions do have one thing in common. They can be beaten. And we must make strides to help those addicted beat whatever their habit may be. We all pay for it in the end - through increased health care costs, lost productivity, and most importantly lost time spent with loved ones. Whether watching your father die of emphasema or watching your sibling die of obesity. That part is the same for everyone. Many addicts say it's their own addiction to bear, and their own consequences to suffer. Perhaps they need to think of the bigger picture and how they are harming those around them - not just physically but emotionally as well. When people talk to you about kicking your "bad habit" it's not just to get on your case or because of how it effects them. They're saying it because they care about YOU. Perhaps we can all repay the favor.
However, all addictions do have one thing in common. They can be beaten. And we must make strides to help those addicted beat whatever their habit may be. We all pay for it in the end - through increased health care costs, lost productivity, and most importantly lost time spent with loved ones. Whether watching your father die of emphasema or watching your sibling die of obesity. That part is the same for everyone. Many addicts say it's their own addiction to bear, and their own consequences to suffer. Perhaps they need to think of the bigger picture and how they are harming those around them - not just physically but emotionally as well. When people talk to you about kicking your "bad habit" it's not just to get on your case or because of how it effects them. They're saying it because they care about YOU. Perhaps we can all repay the favor.
candi
Cathlete
>And we must make strides to help those addicted beat whatever their habit may be.
With all due respect, we can provide tools and support but only they can help themselves. Denial is one of the worst symptoms of addiction. An addicted person can rationalize their way out of anything.
I'm just so thankful that in a family where almost everyone smoked, I had asthma and could not tolerate smoking.
With all due respect, we can provide tools and support but only they can help themselves. Denial is one of the worst symptoms of addiction. An addicted person can rationalize their way out of anything.
I'm just so thankful that in a family where almost everyone smoked, I had asthma and could not tolerate smoking.
I want to give anyone who has quit a cyber pat on the back!!!!! That is a huge accomplishment!!!!! Here are some interesting facts about what happens to your body when you stop smoking:
WITHIN 20 minutes, blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate will drop to normal
WITHIN 8 hours, smoker breath disappears. Carbon monoxide level in the blood drops and oxygen level rises to normal.
WITHIN 24 hours, chance of heart attack decreases.
WITHIN 48 hours, nerve endings start to regroup. Ability to taste and smell improves.
WITHIN 3 days, breathing is easier.
WITHIN 2-3 months, circulation improves. Walking becomes easier. Lung capacity increases up to 30%!!!!!!!
WITHIN 1-9 months, sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia that sweep debris from the lungs regrow. Energy increases.
WITHIN 1 year, excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a person who smokes.
WITHIN 2 years, heart attack risk drops to near normal.
WITHIN 5 years, lung cancer death rate for the average pack-a-day smoker decreases by almost half. Stroke is reduced. Risk of mouth, throat and esophageal cancer is half that of a smoker.
WITHIN 10 years, lung cancer death rate is similar to that of a person who does not smoke AND pre-cancerous cells are replaced.
WITHIN 15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a person WHO HAS NEVER SMOKED!!!!!!
Great points regarding the dangers of smoking, it is a public health concern. I think I have been in public health too long though, because I think about the impact of everything we do (eating, lack of exercise, drinking, sex, etc.).
Uh oh!! I forgot to credit the ACS for the facts I shared!
WITHIN 20 minutes, blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate will drop to normal
WITHIN 8 hours, smoker breath disappears. Carbon monoxide level in the blood drops and oxygen level rises to normal.
WITHIN 24 hours, chance of heart attack decreases.
WITHIN 48 hours, nerve endings start to regroup. Ability to taste and smell improves.
WITHIN 3 days, breathing is easier.
WITHIN 2-3 months, circulation improves. Walking becomes easier. Lung capacity increases up to 30%!!!!!!!
WITHIN 1-9 months, sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia that sweep debris from the lungs regrow. Energy increases.
WITHIN 1 year, excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a person who smokes.
WITHIN 2 years, heart attack risk drops to near normal.
WITHIN 5 years, lung cancer death rate for the average pack-a-day smoker decreases by almost half. Stroke is reduced. Risk of mouth, throat and esophageal cancer is half that of a smoker.
WITHIN 10 years, lung cancer death rate is similar to that of a person who does not smoke AND pre-cancerous cells are replaced.
WITHIN 15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a person WHO HAS NEVER SMOKED!!!!!!
Great points regarding the dangers of smoking, it is a public health concern. I think I have been in public health too long though, because I think about the impact of everything we do (eating, lack of exercise, drinking, sex, etc.).
Uh oh!! I forgot to credit the ACS for the facts I shared!
My only complaint about the smokers I work with, is how many breaks they seem to allow themselves. No one ever says anything because it would be infringing on their rights. If smokers want to end up confined to a chair with an oxygen tank when their 70, (like my dad) that's their problem. I remember laying in my bed when I was younger and listening to my dad hack up a lung and thinking why would anyone want to smoke and go through that every morning. That was the best deterrent for me. My friends would all smoke and I had no trouble saying no to cigs.
allwildgirl
Cathlete
I hear that. I'd love to see what my boss had to say if I routinely said "okay, I'm going to stand outside for 15 minutes" several times a day. But if you're going for a cigarette, it seems to be okay. Nobody in my office smokes, so we don't have that problem. And here (in Ontario), there is NO smoking in public buildings, and they've just banned smoking in bars and restaurants. It's amazing the difference it makes when you come home from a night out.
I smoked for a number of years. I quit in 1989, because I didn't like the hack I was developing. I quit cold turkey. I've had two cigarettes since. Once the day my brother died, and one the day my sister was in surgery having a double mastectomy.
I agree that smoking is an addiction that doesn't affect only the person doing it. I quit because I didn't want to smoke anymore. I don't want to inhale your second-hand smoke, thanks very much.
I smoked for a number of years. I quit in 1989, because I didn't like the hack I was developing. I quit cold turkey. I've had two cigarettes since. Once the day my brother died, and one the day my sister was in surgery having a double mastectomy.
I agree that smoking is an addiction that doesn't affect only the person doing it. I quit because I didn't want to smoke anymore. I don't want to inhale your second-hand smoke, thanks very much.
Bobbi
Cathlete
Arizona allows smoking in bars and resturants with separate ventilation in the smoking section. The issue of second hand smoke is very powerful. I would never infringe on the right of someone to smoke but I do think our of doors is the way to go. Even semi-enclosed patios can be stinky for non-smokers and a smokers rights end where his mouth and nose end and a non-smokers begin. I don't think any smoker wants to end up in a bad way but the power of addictive substances is different for different people and we all have a different psychological make up. That's why some addicts, make it some don't regardless of the poison. Some people naturally take more risks and are more short-sighted and that factors in. One of our neighbors just told me whe won't let her son's enter another neighbors house because they smoke inside although they have kids and I don't blame her. It does seem border criminal but how to change it when parents don't take heed of the well known statistics? Tricky stuff.
In memories of my dad, he always has a cigarette in his hand. He tried hypnosis, patches and a number of things to quit. He failed. I myself became involved in a Universtiy of Arizona study to guage the effects of high doses of nicotine in patch form on heavy smokers. It included a support group and the start of an exercise program which changed my life! I got the double dose, I learned later, 42 miligrams. And I switched addictions to the more positive addiction to exercise, namely running. Then nutrition. And Cathe and this website! And with my propensity for injury I learned to be less compulsive or I had to give up the fabulous feelings and effects of working out. I'm living proof it can be overcome but it's not as simple as saying it's stupid and it should be given up. It took retraining and support for me. If I can quit anyone can but it was the most difficult thing I ever did. Alcohol was easier and that was no walk in the park. I have read that people from lower socio-economic groups make up a larger percentage of smokers and that's interesting. There is a link between a life of struggle, feeling of hopelessness and using substances. Also, when smoking is glamourized in movies, more people smoke. This is very complex and it's everybodie's problem not just smokers in the way the obesity epedemic affects us all, fit or no. Rare is the addict who chooses addiction over freedom from it unless some pretty powerful physical and psycholgical stuff is happening and I have to opt for compassionate understanding and minimal judgement because I have been there and done that. I honestly forsee a day when nicotine could become unavailable. Could take 10,000 years but it's acceptance has changed drastically over the years and it has no redeeming qualities except it makes some people rich. We could also change to less indulgant and more sustainable coices for our food intake. Who's game?
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"
Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.
-Ann Landers
In memories of my dad, he always has a cigarette in his hand. He tried hypnosis, patches and a number of things to quit. He failed. I myself became involved in a Universtiy of Arizona study to guage the effects of high doses of nicotine in patch form on heavy smokers. It included a support group and the start of an exercise program which changed my life! I got the double dose, I learned later, 42 miligrams. And I switched addictions to the more positive addiction to exercise, namely running. Then nutrition. And Cathe and this website! And with my propensity for injury I learned to be less compulsive or I had to give up the fabulous feelings and effects of working out. I'm living proof it can be overcome but it's not as simple as saying it's stupid and it should be given up. It took retraining and support for me. If I can quit anyone can but it was the most difficult thing I ever did. Alcohol was easier and that was no walk in the park. I have read that people from lower socio-economic groups make up a larger percentage of smokers and that's interesting. There is a link between a life of struggle, feeling of hopelessness and using substances. Also, when smoking is glamourized in movies, more people smoke. This is very complex and it's everybodie's problem not just smokers in the way the obesity epedemic affects us all, fit or no. Rare is the addict who chooses addiction over freedom from it unless some pretty powerful physical and psycholgical stuff is happening and I have to opt for compassionate understanding and minimal judgement because I have been there and done that. I honestly forsee a day when nicotine could become unavailable. Could take 10,000 years but it's acceptance has changed drastically over the years and it has no redeeming qualities except it makes some people rich. We could also change to less indulgant and more sustainable coices for our food intake. Who's game?
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"
Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.
-Ann Landers
dss62467
Cathlete
I'm certainly not addicted to the Oreo Crisps. Plus...my Oreos aren't affecting anybody else. I'm not addicted to sugar or food.
I don't really know if you know what Oreo Crisps are, but they're not really anything on par with an oreo cookie. There's 100 calories in the whole bag and only 2 g of fat, (0 saturated and 0 trans). I actually haven't had a "real" cookie in I have no idea how long. If I make a batch homemade, we keep maybe a dozen at the house and send all the rest to school with my daughter. Of those dozen we keep, I'd say about half get stale and thrown out. If someone in my office buys a package of Oreos, I might have one. But most of the time I won't have any.
I was definitely not sitting at my desk after drinking my milk and eating my apple flipping out because I couldn't have the crisps. I was just a little disappointed. And I wouldn't really have a problem not having them at all.
WAIT! I just thought of something I am addicted to which is bad for me. Diet cola. That's one thing I've tried to totally phase out of my diet several times, but it always comes back. Still, it doesn't hurt anybody else.
I don't really know if you know what Oreo Crisps are, but they're not really anything on par with an oreo cookie. There's 100 calories in the whole bag and only 2 g of fat, (0 saturated and 0 trans). I actually haven't had a "real" cookie in I have no idea how long. If I make a batch homemade, we keep maybe a dozen at the house and send all the rest to school with my daughter. Of those dozen we keep, I'd say about half get stale and thrown out. If someone in my office buys a package of Oreos, I might have one. But most of the time I won't have any.
I was definitely not sitting at my desk after drinking my milk and eating my apple flipping out because I couldn't have the crisps. I was just a little disappointed. And I wouldn't really have a problem not having them at all.
WAIT! I just thought of something I am addicted to which is bad for me. Diet cola. That's one thing I've tried to totally phase out of my diet several times, but it always comes back. Still, it doesn't hurt anybody else.
kathryn
Cathlete
>Now you just said on another thread that you like to eat Oreo
>Crisps at work and you decided to continue to have them two
>days a week. How is that any different from a smoker saying
>she is only going to smoke 2 cigarette's a day?
>
While I agree that sugar and junk food are addictiv, I'm sure she isn't spitting her Oreo crumbs all over other people and invading their space with her "addiction" the way smokers invade other people's air space. I'm sure her Oreo "addiction" isn't harming other people's health.
>Crisps at work and you decided to continue to have them two
>days a week. How is that any different from a smoker saying
>she is only going to smoke 2 cigarette's a day?
>
While I agree that sugar and junk food are addictiv, I'm sure she isn't spitting her Oreo crumbs all over other people and invading their space with her "addiction" the way smokers invade other people's air space. I'm sure her Oreo "addiction" isn't harming other people's health.
toastythemosty
Cathlete
A number of catheites have quit smoking here...just goes to show you what a strong bunch we have here since many cannot quit! That takes serious will power!! I have much respect for anyone who can quit smoking which I know is extremely difficult since we are talking about nicotine addiction, not just food addiction or the likes thereof which is something I don't get...sorry, JMHO. Average person cannot do Cathe's workouts either. So I still say, it is all in the mind...if you want something bad enough, you will do it!
Charlotte~~
Charlotte~~