About twnty minutes ago I fired this up... ;-)
Posted on 05/10/2008 11:08:10 PM PDT by neverdem
In Brief:
The brain of an addicted smoker treats nicotine as if it is essential for survival.
Genetic traits may predispose some smokers to stronger addiction.
Most smokers try to quit unaided, resulting in a high failure rate.
If you smoke, no one needs to tell you how bad it is. So why haven’t you quit? Why hasn’t everyone?
Because smoking feels good. It stimulates and focuses the mind at the same time that it soothes and satisfies. The concentrated dose of nicotine in a drag off a cigarette triggers an immediate flood of dopamine and other neurochemicals that wash over the brain’s pleasure centers. Inhaling tobacco smoke is the quickest, most efficient way to get nicotine to the brain.
“I completely understand why you wouldn’t want to give it up,” said Dr. David Abrams, an addiction researcher at the National Institutes of Health. “It’s more difficult to get off nicotine than heroin or cocaine.”
Smoking “hijacks” the reward systems in the brain that drive you to seek food, water and sex, Dr. Abrams explained, driving you to seek nicotine with the same urgency. “Your brain thinks that this has to do with survival of the species,” he said.
Nicotine isn’t equally addictive for everyone. A lot of people do not smoke because they never liked it to begin with. Then there are “chippers,” who smoke occasionally but never seem to get hooked. But most people who smoke will eventually do it all day, every day.
New discoveries in genetics may explain why certain people take to smoking with such gusto and end up so addicted. Some people, for instance, produce a gene-encoded enzyme that clears nicotine from their bloodstreams rapidly, so they tend to smoke more and develop stronger addictions. Others possess special receptors in the brain that bond...
(Excerpt) Read more at health.nytimes.com ...
I talked to a guy who had been smoke-free for thirty years or so and he said he still would love nothing better than a smoke.
If I smoked one today, I’d have a carton hidden under the seat of my car by tonight.
find a good Hypnotist they can help
Indcons, I’ll ask you since you are “recent. My experience and observation is that the thought of quitting is worse than quitting itself. The act isn’t as bad as one imagines. Your thoughts on this?
Great point...I admit I did think quite a bit about how I would manage stressful situations, my regular “after meal” smoke, and the rest.
I’m trying to figure out if it is better to be around people who smoke when you quit, or not being around them. Seems like being around smokers would strengthen your willpower eventually, but when I quit I believe that I was fortunate that I wasn’t around anyone who smoked. Went cold turkey October 29, 2006. Had a strong craving the other day, but it only lasted for a few seconds and was forgotten. Got a really nice gift (new compound bow) on my first anniversary of quitting, which was a great incentive during those first crucial months. I wish you success!
Thank you
Yes, it will pass. You need to distract yourself each and every time you want a cig for the first couple years. That distraction can be as simple as deciding to brush your teeth, channel surfing or checking the weather online etc.
I used to smoke 3 packs a day and the urge lasted for 7-8 years. Don’t be discouraged - by lasted I mean it was down to wanting one 2-3 times a YEAR by then. Never want one now. No matter the situation - stress, others smoking around me etc.
I still think success depends on how much you want to quit. I was determined...this time! When I've tried to quit in the past, I didn't want to quit as much.
Hey, my doctor told me that you can't do much harm if you start smoking again when you're 75. I can't wait until I'm 75! LOL
My husband quit chewing tobacco cold turkey, after 50+ years. Of course a double by pass helped. He knew the tobacco made him have sneezing fits where he would sneeze 20 or 30 times without stopping. the last thing you want to do is sneeze after your chest has been cracked open. It has been 6 months for him now and he is still Redman free.
I quit smoking about twenty minutes ago, but I don’t think I’m gonna make it...
If you smoke after sex you are doing it too fast.
See my post #12.
Read it yourself also. It will help you help her.
See my post #12...it will really help.
She is 34 and has her own life. We are best friends but I don’t intrude. She says she is sorry she started smoking and she is sorry about that tattoo as well. LOL!
My family is threatening to rent a jail cell for me for the next 2 weeks....
L
About twnty minutes ago I fired this up... ;-)
Before I had read the Allen Carr book I was on Nicotine gum for 3 years. It was not good to get all that nicotine, but...it was still way better than smoking.
If you have to, read the book twice through.
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