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Taming That Overwhelming Urge to Smoke
NY Times ^ | May 9, 2008 | MARTIN DOWNS

Posted on 05/10/2008 11:08:10 PM PDT by neverdem

click here to read article


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http://health.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-smoking-ess.html

That URL has more info about smoking and quitting.

1 posted on 05/10/2008 11:08:10 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

Remember, it’s not your fault.


2 posted on 05/10/2008 11:23:15 PM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (Who's worried about the Bolsheviks? They couldn't be worse than the Tsar!)
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To: neverdem

My urge to quit smoking is overwhelmed by the urge to p*ss off the nanny-staters.


3 posted on 05/10/2008 11:24:17 PM PDT by uglybiker (I do not suffer from mental illness. I quite enjoy it, actually.)
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To: SheLion; Just another Joe; Gabz

PING


4 posted on 05/10/2008 11:25:04 PM PDT by uglybiker (I do not suffer from mental illness. I quite enjoy it, actually.)
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To: neverdem

I did it for a few years as a teenager, but quit when I was 17. I’ve never missed it.


5 posted on 05/10/2008 11:37:32 PM PDT by AlaskaErik (I served and protected my country for 31 years. Democrats spent that time trying to destroy it.)
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To: neverdem

That “relaxation” after a cigarette a is the result of nicotine relieving the “tension” caused by withdrawal symptoms from nicotine in the first place. I was smoking as I read that one day and had what alcoholics call a “moment of clarity...” Of course that was it all along. What a sucker I was to ruin my blow thousands of dollars and health and almost ruin my health-a gift from God. I finally got off 20 years of smoking but it was incredibly difficult. I needed to taper off for 6 months and got down to a single cigarette at 11 pm. That was exceptionally tough to give up that last one.

I’m convinced that you just have to purge ALL nicotine out of your system, hold tight for 6-10 months while your brain’s entire dendritic network rewires and reboots and then live a life where you exercise your lungs with exercise and fresh air every day.


6 posted on 05/10/2008 11:40:04 PM PDT by Antioch (Benedikt Gott Geschickt)
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To: uglybiker

Great minds...


7 posted on 05/10/2008 11:41:01 PM PDT by TheZMan (Bitter backwoods east Texan Christian gun owner.)
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To: neverdem

Chantix. It’s working for me!!

With a couple more months of this drug, I may even quit burying democrat bodies under my house.


8 posted on 05/10/2008 11:42:14 PM PDT by Gator113 (Obama is a member of the Far Wright Conspiracy.......)
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To: El Gato; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Robert A. Cook, PE; lepton; LadyDoc; jb6; tiamat; PGalt; Dianna; ...
Suspected cause of type 1 diabetes caught "red-handed" for the first time

Trajectories

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

9 posted on 05/11/2008 12:00:25 AM PDT by neverdem (I'm praying for a Divine Intervention.)
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To: uglybiker
Thanks for the ping!
10 posted on 05/11/2008 12:04:55 AM PDT by SheLion
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To: neverdem

Just remember the worst cravings ony last 5 minutes. Primarily because you’re never more than 5 minutes from a convenience store.


11 posted on 05/11/2008 12:42:58 AM PDT by Royal Wulff
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To: Antioch
That “relaxation” after a cigarette a is the result of nicotine relieving the “tension” caused by withdrawal symptoms from nicotine in the first place.

I think you're right about this. It's not so much the pleasure you get from smoking as it is the hell you suffer from not smoking. The nicotine tends to filter out a lot of neural background noise, leading to a higher threshold of stimulation. When the nicotine levels go down, all that background noise comes rushing back, with consequent stress and its related physiological manifestations. Getting another fix relieves the stress caused by the withdrawal.

12 posted on 05/11/2008 12:53:01 AM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (Who's worried about the Bolsheviks? They couldn't be worse than the Tsar!)
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To: neverdem

I’ve quit 2x’s! The 1st time in Feb ‘87. Started up again in ‘93. Quit again in Oct. ‘05. Haven’t smoked since but think about it every day. Quit both times on my own. It takes about 2 weeks to get it out of the system. It’s mostly about breaking the habit at key times...like after a meal, with a cocktail etc.


13 posted on 05/11/2008 1:48:02 AM PDT by albie
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To: Mr Ramsbotham
Remember, it’s not your fault.

We have reached a mindset in this country where people are no longer responsible for their actions but rather an uncontrollable addiction forces people against their free will do do things that are harmful. Therefore, we excuse people who smoke, drink too much, snort coke or do smack because they are victims.

Instead, we must understand that everyone has a choice to smoke or do drugs and their substance abuse problem is not an addiction but rather a poor lifestyle choice. Thus, the concept of addiction simply provides an excuse for such behavior.

14 posted on 05/11/2008 2:40:12 AM PDT by trumandogz ("He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and it worries me." Sen Cochran on McCain)
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To: albie
It takes about 2 weeks to get it out of the system. It’s mostly about breaking the habit at key times...like after a meal, with a cocktail etc.

Quitting was hellish, after smoking for eighteen years. Fighting the cravings put me straight into lala-land a few times. And, when I finally quit for good, it took me three or four years before I could allow myself to think that maybe -- just maybe -- I had shaken the beast.

It took more years before I lost the "fond memories" of smoking -- at least ten, as I recall. I can still remember the day that it dawned on me that returning to smoking was a repellent idea.

15 posted on 05/11/2008 2:49:34 AM PDT by Brandybux (Importet ministros manus lavare antequam latrinam relinquent.)
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To: neverdem

I asked someone if they smoked after sex.

They said: “I don’t know, never looked.” :-)


16 posted on 05/11/2008 5:05:09 AM PDT by vietvet67
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To: Mr Ramsbotham

You are 100% right. I have quit smoking using many, many methods and always for the longest time was this ‘deprivation” (psychological ) for months. Either you are educated well in this area or you have tried Allen Carr’s way.

I used hypnosis which was of great help...but the ultimate way is getting the Book..The Easyway to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr. You read the whole book while you are still smoking. Trust me...this will deal with the number one problem, the Brainwashing in the mental part of your brain that keeps you psychologically hooked. This really does make it easier to quit and be comfortable and happy about it.

I know this sounds like such another stupid “Quit smoking “ book, but his method works and you don’t have the deprivation. He now has clinics all over the world. Willpower may work for some, but it never did for me, cause you don’t change the mindset with willpower to be a “nonsmoker.”


17 posted on 05/11/2008 5:15:38 AM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (WE NEED A TROOP SURGE IN CHICAGO !)
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To: neverdem

I’ve quit smoking cold turkey just this past week. Am tempted to smoke a cig when somebody lights one in company but have resisted the impulse so far.


18 posted on 05/11/2008 5:30:07 AM PDT by indcons (Please add the sarcasm tag, where appropriate)
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To: Antioch

BTTT


19 posted on 05/11/2008 5:31:42 AM PDT by indcons (Please add the sarcasm tag, where appropriate)
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To: Antioch
hold tight for 6-10 months

Hold tight for the rest of your life.

You have overlooked the "habit" and the power habitual associations will have over you for the rest of your life. The nicotine is out of your system in less than a week but the habits associated with the nicotine will remain.

The only true words of comfort when confronted with the habitual urge...it will pass.

20 posted on 05/11/2008 5:35:23 AM PDT by MosesKnows (Love many, Trust few, and always paddle your own canoe)
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