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by Vinnie
And to any ex-smokers here, how did you give up?

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Cold Turkey - I just stopped. That was 12 years ago.

Was it hell? - Yes.
Do I feel better for it? - Oh hell yes!
Have I lapsed? - Yes. For one week, 10 years ago - very mitigating circumstances.

I occasinally have one at Christmas, but it's not always the case. Though after Christmas dinner is the one time I when I still really fancy a cigarette. This year I induldged in 2 on Christmast eve. But, it's no big deal. I haven't even had the slightest desire to have any since and I probably won't even think about it until next Christmas.

There's various ways of going about it. But at the end of the day, the person in question really has to want to stop for there to be any chance of success. 12 years ago, I really wanted to stop and I did.

i've tri3ed with my sister many times and she even smomed when pregnant, theres no way she'll ever stop however when she was younger she did stop for a year or too after falling off a swing and swallowing a roll up or something, so that works if you eat them i think.

Information about quitting:
quitsmoking.about.com/index.htm

the about.com network has information on a lot of subjects, so search around.

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by Vinnie
Does anyone know of any good sites for information about all the dangers and diseases?

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It was a letter from a university research lab that was the final straw for me. I had an abnormal smear result about 5 months ago and they were looking for women with such results for their study on smoking and cervical cancer. Basically...

"Research shows that smoking increases the risk of developing cervical cancer, possibly because smoking weakens the immune systemÂ’s ability to eliminate HPV" [Human papillomavirus infection - causes abnormalities in the cells of the cervix]. Taken from the Cancer Research UK website.

It was just one more thing to add to the list of negative things about smoking, but I couldn't think of one positive.

Problem is though, every smoker has to make that choice for him/herself, so I'm not sure that your good intentions will have much effect. Good luck though.

Vinnie, no offense here, but do you really think that your sister is unaware of the health dangers that smoking involves?

Everyone is aware now of the damage smoking does to our health. It's a personal choice (that only an adult should make) as to whether they are prepared to take this risk. Just as it is with alcohol, fatty foods and junk food in general. Trying to convince your sister to quit isn't going to work. Even if you do get her to stop, if she doesn't feel compelled to stop herself then she will quickly go back to smoking. People only stop when they convince themselves to do so.

Personally, I smoked cigarettes for about 13 years. Gave up just after new years so I haven't had one for about 3 weeks. Just went cold turkey. Yes, I still get cravings but because I made the decision because I wanted to, refusing offers and not buying my own isn't that much of a problem, even though the last three weeks have been incedibly stressful for non-cigarette related reasons.

Sometimes, the worst thing you can do is try and pressure someone into quitting. By doing so you can make them feel defensive and therefore less likely to stop. Or that it isn't their decision, and therefore less committed. Just something for you to think over.

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Vinnie, no offense here, but do you really think that your sister is unaware of the health dangers that smoking involves?

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I should hope so as she works in the local Hospital. But knowing that smoking is dangerous is different that knowing exactly what it is damaging.

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Just as it is with alcohol, fatty foods and junk food in general.

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I don't think fatty/junk food is quite in the same league as smoking.


My sister has tried to stop before but has always given up. If I can give her new ideas and more information then that will hopfully give her the incentive to totally stop. And it's not just her health, she has twin boys who are constantly in her smoke.

Actually, the fastest growing cost to the NHS is from fatty/junk food. Obesity is a serious problem and eating the wrong food regularly is a serious threat to your health. This is a serious health matter that no one seems to take seriously.

And if your sister works in a hospital then I would have thought she would be more than aware of the damage smoking does to her health. As someone who had no doubt of the damage smoking would do from the first time I lit a cigarette to the day I gave up, I would suggest that the problem isn't lack of knowledge but lack of desire to quit. Fact is smoking feels nice. It's up to the individual what risks they are prepared to take for 'feeling nice'.

As for her kids, while I would usually try to make sure that my smoke was kept away from kids (and non-smokers in general), there is no scientific evidence that passive smoking presents any serious threat to your health. The levels in exhaled smoke are too low to show any causal link. There isn't even any serious statistical evidence of a causal link. Just anecdotal.

Look, end of the day this is none of my business. If anything I have send has offended you I apologize, and if you inform me so I won't post here again. All I am trying to say is that pressuring people into quitting doesn't work. The reason your sister has tried to give up before and failed is probably because she wasn't 100% committed to quitting. She started again because she wanted to. Nicotine is not that physically addictive. All traces of it leave the system within two days. It is, however, very psychologically addictive. That's why you really have to want to quit to be able to do so. All this gum and patches and shock treatment are no replacement for someone just wanting to quit because they don't want to take the health risk anymore.

I understand that in Canada they place photos of damaged organs on cigarette boxes as a warning of the damage smoking does. I am unaware of any evidence that shows this has decreased smoking in Canada one iota.

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by SPIKE
i've tri3ed with my sister many times and she even smomed when pregnant, theres no way she'll ever stop however when she was younger she did stop for a year or too after falling off a swing and swallowing a roll up or something, so that works if you eat them i think.

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OMG!!! She swallowed a rollup

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by JayjayIf anything I have send has offended you I apologize, and if you inform me so I won't post here again.

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All comments greatfully received. It's only when you get a smokers perspective that relevant help and advice can be given.

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by lizzieslayer
(quotes)


OMG!!! She swallowed a rollup

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yeah, see i quite like the licourish (dunno if i spelt that right) paper to eat, but she ate all the tabacco too so she didn't really want one on her mouth again for a while.

Spike you can help out, use your electric power to give an electric shock everytime someone tries to light up