Smoke-less Cigarettes???

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by ken0042

You are in your early 20's right? When I was that age; all of my friends were "smokers but unly when drinking." Out of 20 of us; I was the only one not to get hooked. But let me tell you it was touch and go there for a while for me. As you said will power was a factor; but it was just as I was becoming adicted.

Some people can be social smokers, but most can't. Even now when I have my one or two smokes per year, there are times when I feel like I want another a few hours later.

I do find it amazing how many of these social smokers who were in their 20's go on to become full time smokers in their 30's. All my co-workers were those social smoker types and as they got older they started smoking more and more and next thing I knew all my co-workers were all full time smokers. Even my boss and his wife who are ex smokers from their teens and quit for like 7 years, sort of started smoking a bit again and now they are what I'd consider to be casual part time smokers who will have a pack a week type of thing. No longer do they need to be having a drink to want to have a cigarette, and if they are drinking, they're smoking as well.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

You guys are right I have never smoked. But I know lots of people who have casually smoked at bars and what not, or they only smoke while fishing or something like that.

No disrespect man, but it is worth the risk of becoming addicted?

Surely there must be safer means to stimulate your brain.

I knew casual smokers growing up and they became fulltime smokers. Now they're struggling to quit.

[Hemi-Cuda]

i'm real glad i took the route i did as a kid. i remember in grade 6 or 7 there were a bunch of us who were trying to be cool and act like the older kids and started smoking. well i remember one time having a cigarette at a friends house, didn't feel so well afterwards and then got sick and started dry heaving. i thought what the hell is the point of this and stopped doing it after that, and never had a single urge to try it again later in high school because i knew what it was all about and didn't see the point. so out of my entire family (mother, father, and brother) i was the only one who didn't become a full time smoker

[OilKiller]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

What makes it so they can smoke once or twice and not be addicted?

Some people can be like this all their lives. I'm not sure anyone has figured out how it happens or why it happens only to certain individuals, but really...do you want to take that chance and become addicted to this very powerful drug?

I have a friend who has been like this all his life. Just a smoke here and there, a couple when he's drinking or watching a game on the tube. Now that he's over 40 though, I never see him without a pack of cigs. He is smoking more and more.

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i'm real glad i took the route i did as a kid. i remember in grade 6 or 7 there were a bunch of us who were trying to be cool and act like the older kids and started smoking. well i remember one time having a cigarette at a friends house, didn't feel so well afterwards and then got sick and started dry heaving. i thought what the hell is the point of this and stopped doing it after that, and never had a single urge to try it again later in high school because i knew what it was all about and didn't see the point. so out of my entire family (mother, father, and brother) i was the only one who didn't become a full time smoker

Yep...I think it would be safe to say that any of us who became fulltime smokers had to work very hard at it. I got sick the first few times, but I kept at it until I didn't get sick. Sure wish I would have been smart like you.

[Bobblehead]

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by OilKiller

Oh boy...

Only a non-smoker would say that.

I'm sorry, but I smoked for 26 years...up to 2 packs a day toward the end. It is an awful, awful addiction that many people struggle with on a daily basis. It just kills me when someone says "Oh...just quit. It's not that hard."

I've been quit now for almost 15 months. It was the HARDEST thing I've ever done in my life and is the world's MOST ADDICTIVE drug. I'll always have to watch myself to never even have a single puff of a cigarette again because once that nicotine gets back in my system (like an ex-drinker who has a single shot), I'm right back at it again.

Please don't take smoking or the use of nicotine in general lightly.

it is all will power. some people are just weak in that department.

[Burninator]

Nicotine is as addictive as heroin?

Seriously?

That sounds more like a scare line from an anti-smoking ad than the actual truth.

[ken0042]

Well Burninator; I've only tried one of those two drugs, so I can't say for sure. But keep in mind the scope of what was said- that it is more addictive. Not that is is more damaging, or worse for your body, nor does it have a greater effect on your mind.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Well Burninator; I've only tried one of those two drugs, so I can't say for sure. But keep in mind the scope of what was said- that it is more addictive. Not that is is more damaging, or worse for your body, nor does it have a greater effect on your mind.

I understand what was said. I have only had one of them and been addicted to neither, so I can't speak from experience. But when you hear about the withdrawal that people go through with heroin or cocaine, it usually isn't comparable to nicotine. If you've been a heavy user of heroin and you take that drug away, it is a severe shock on your body. Not just a headache and being in a bad mood. That is saying that your body was very dependent on that drug (read: addicted).

[Neeper]

I think will power is totally the key to quitting smoking. I myself am a former smoker. Quitting was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. I did unsuccessfully tried to quit twice before that so I knew how hard it would be to quit. I remember lighting my last cig and saying it would be my last one ever. The withdrawl was horrible but I knew it was temporary and the benefits of being successful was enormous. All guys that are trying to quit, just bear down and do it. You already want to quit so you do have some will power on your side.

[Dion]

Some food for thought.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/28809.html

The same study found that 32 percent of tobacco users had experienced substance dependence. Figures like that one are the basis for the claim that nicotine is "more addictive than heroin." After all, cigarette smokers typically go through a pack or so a day, so they're under the influence of nicotine every waking moment. Heroin users typically do not use their drug even once a day. Smokers offended by this comparison are quick to point out that they function fine, meeting their responsibilities at work and home, despite their habit. This, they assume, is impossible for heroin users. Examples like the businessman described by The New York Times indicate otherwise.

Still, it's true that nicotine's psychoactive effects are easier to reconcile with the requirements of everyday life than heroin's are. Indeed, nicotine can enhance concentration and improve performance on certain tasks. So one important reason why most cigarette smokers consume their drug throughout the day is that they can do so without running into trouble. And because they're used to smoking in so many different settings, they may find nicotine harder to give up than a drug they use only with certain people in secret. In one survey, 57 percent of drug users entering a Canadian treatment program said giving up their problem substance (not necessarily heroin) would be easier than giving up cigarettes. In another survey, 36 heroin users entering treatment were asked to compare their strongest cigarette urge to their strongest heroin urge. Most said the heroin urge was stronger, but two said the cigarette urge was, and 11 rated the two urges about the same.

[Bobblehead]

It took open heart surgery before my mother would quit.

[OilKiller]

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

it is all will power. some people are just weak in that department.

Can we please try to be not so ignorant?

Have you not read what people are posting? Have you ever been addicted to nicotine? I've got 26 years of experience. Go check out some stop smoking forums or better yet, go check out a stop smoking group in person.

I'm sorry, but I really hate comments like this. I think I stated things pretty clearly in my post and you try to tear it all down and make light of it with one simple sentence. Guess I was just a little "weak in that department" when I tried to quit all those times over the years. We can't all be as strong as you.