Anybody else doing the traditional new years "I Will Not Smoke That Many Fags For About A Week And Then I Will Go Back To Chain Smoking" thing?

It's 10:30am here and I'd really like to smoke a fag. I managed only three fags yesterday, and zero fags the day before, but if I smoke a fag now I will surely smoke more than three today and that would be bad. Right?

Not smoking sucks. I don't understand how you non-smokers do it.

Its SO difficult to cut down on the smokes.

I try to do it all the times, but when you try to restrict the fags pr. day count,
all you can think about is the next smoke.

Wish I could stop smoking.

Smoking causes numerous lung and liver cancers.... It also smells bad to non-smokers and stain ur teeth black . I hate cigarettes I mean, what pleasure do u derive from it? Makes u high, I guess. It's like taking not-so-serious-drugs hehe.

Quote from Alkanphel :

Smoking causes numerous lung and liver cancers.... It also smells bad to non-smokers and stain ur teeth black . I hate cigarettes I mean, what pleasure do u derive from it? Makes u high, I guess. It's like taking not-so-serious-drugs hehe.

If you're gonna start with the anti-smoking blah at least get it right

It makes our teeth yellow (but not as much as black coffee).

I've given up too. I actually gave up at the end of October, but a small 'personal problem' in the middle of December caused me to start again. So, as of the New Year I'm continuing my giving up.

It's NOT easy. I'm using Nicorette gum to quell the urges (patches don't appeal, and the silly under the tongue things just get crunched when I use them). But I know I can do it, and I'm going to keep trying.

Don't give up too easily Kev! Buy some gum and give it a try! I use the 2mg mint flavoured ones. Non-mint, or 4mg of any sort, are disgusting and will make you start smoking again. The downside is that my jaw is getting such a workout I'll look like Coulthard in days!

Heavy smokers DO get their teeth stained black... Not all, per se, several Teeth getting stained yellow is for those not-so-heavy-smokers ^^ There's one "joke" that goes: Smoking is defined as a piece of tobacco wrapped in paper being lighted on one end and with a fool on the other. Not exactly very funny, but smoking is harmful physically

In understandable terms, SMOKING DOSNTT ROOOOLZZ IT SUXXKKKZZZ!!11!111!!!1
U get the idea.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Not smoking sucks. I don't understand how you non-smokers do it.

Easy, don't start in the first place

I can't understand how you smokers do it, not only does it shorten your life span and cost a bloody fortune, it stinks to high heaven too.

Maybe the country wide smoking ban this year will help

I hate Banning stuff.

I don't like taking drugs (other than nicotine) but I would supports someones right to do it for as long as I live.

Banning smoking won't make a difference. The problem(s) will just move elsewhere, and become a taboo subject. And it will make it even more appealling for kids.

@thisnameistaken
Stick with it, it's a very difficult but very worthwhile thing to do. Not just because of the dangers to your health but also as an anti-social habit. Good luck, because you'll need it.

I've never smoked but my girlfriend gave up over 4 years ago so I understand some of the process. Here are a couple of tips that she learned when she worked for a smoking cessation service:

It's important to reward yourself at milestones. One week, two weeks, one month, etc. Do something fun, buy yourself something, whatever. Just so that your body knows that despite the cravings you might be suffering, there are other rewards you can get from quitting.

Give yourself something else to do. At times you'd normally have a cigarette, suck on a mint or something instead. Start with nicotine replacement stuff then gradually switch to regular stuff. My gf wouldn't eat and smoke at the same time, so having a sweet meant that she didn't feel like she should've been having a cig and took her mind off it.
Sugar-free is a good idea since you don't want to rot your teeth or put on weight if you can avoid it. But since a lot of sugar-free sweets have a laxative effect after too many, be careful (I know this because I'm diabetic)

You might already know all that, but if not then it's some free advice
And think of the money you'll save too!

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Ah. I was going to get around to asking about these. My friend Magnus did the patches and he said they were a real help, but I don't like the idea of being on a constant nicotine "drip" - it doesn't sound like the ideal way to get off the stuff, really. So does the gum help a lot - does it reduce the withdrawal symptoms enough for you to stop thinking about having a fag every five minutes?

:arge:

Yes, the gum helps. I carry nicotine gum and regular sugar-free gum with me. If it's just a mild craving I now use the normal gum, and when it becomes a bigger craving I use the special gum.

Everyone's different, but it does work for me. All I can say is try it. Buy a pack of the nicotine gum and see what happens/if it works for you.

Quote from tristancliffe :

I hate Banning stuff.

I don't like taking drugs (other than nicotine) but I would supports someones right to do it for as long as I live.

Banning smoking won't make a difference. The problem(s) will just move elsewhere, and become a taboo subject. And it will make it even more appealling for kids.

The ban is pretty uncalled for, and lack of common sense really.

On one hand we have the smokers whose hobby is perfectly legal, on the other we have the HSE employment rules which state that employers should minimize the exposure to employees of substances that can be harmful to their health. The ban was never about creating places for non-smokers to enjoy, but enforcing HSE rules.

In many occupations harmful substances are used, but the employees are given free protective clothing as per HSE regs. So if we apply common sense, we can have smoking and non-smoking pubs/clubs/etc where the staff at the smoking establishments are given a protective mask...it's up to them whether the choose to wear it or not, and non-smokers have a choice to enter them or not.

The newest one is the raising of the age limit to buy tobacco products from 16 to 18 in October. This will only make it more appealing to a generation of people who naturally rebel against rules, and will also drive them towards sellers of imported cigarettes that the Gov see no taxation from. Also the added cost of the 16-18 yo (now legal) smokers who I suppose would have to give up using NRT from the NHS. Under 18s don't pay for their prescriptions, so this is going to have to be funded by the taxpayer.

At the end of the day if the Gov really wanted to stop people smoking, they would ban the sale of cigarettes. But this would cause a significant hole in tax revenue, and I can imagine the moans from the anti-smoking brigade when they have to pay a lot more taxes themselves to cover it.


Rant over, I'm off for a smoke.

Hehehe typical smokers, trying to justify their addiction .

Glad I never started, but each to there own, if you enjoy being a slave to the white sticks more power to ya

I support the public ban, but I have no problem with people choosing to smoke. It's been active in Scotland for a while, and despite the fact that I've not been home for years, it's apparently working well.

My problem comes that I choose not to smoke, but when I enter a pub I don't get the choice. My clothes and hair end up smelling of it and I do who knows what damage to my lungs. And y'know, smokers at least get the filtered end

And having a smoking area of a pub or restaurant is like having a peeing area in a swimming pool. It doesn't work.

So smokers can choose to smoke, but in a place where they are the only ones affected. Seems only fair to me. Alcohol and drugs don't affect anyone else when people take them (the effects afterwards are another matter), but smoke affects everyone around you.

I do agree with Bean0 that if the government really cared that much they'd ban it entirely. It's a huge taxable income and no mistake. I think what they're trying to avoid is all the non-smokers suing people when they get smoking-related cancers.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I think it's more a matter of not wanting to be condescended to by the government, but if you prefer being treated like a child then more power to ya.

Sound like you need a fix mate

Quote from Dajmin :

I support the public ban, but I have no problem with people choosing to smoke. It's been active in Scotland for a while, and despite the fact that I've not been home for years, it's apparently working well.

My problem comes that I choose not to smoke, but when I enter a pub I don't get the choice. My clothes and hair end up smelling of it and I do who knows what damage to my lungs. And y'know, smokers at least get the filtered end

And having a smoking area of a pub or restaurant is like having a peeing area in a swimming pool. It doesn't work.

So smokers can choose to smoke, but in a place where they are the only ones affected. Seems only fair to me. Alcohol and drugs don't affect anyone else when people take them (the effects afterwards are another matter), but smoke affects everyone around you.

I do agree with Bean0 that if the government really cared that much they'd ban it entirely. It's a huge taxable income and no mistake. I think what they're trying to avoid is all the non-smokers suing people when they get smoking-related cancers.

As I said though, with smoking and non-smoking places available, we all have the choice. The smokers choice has now been removed.

The suing part would probably only apply to employees, again this would be solved by giving them protective equipment. You can't really claim for industrial deafness if you choose not to wear the ear defenders provided.

Look at what's already happened Stateside though - people have sued cigarette companies when they get lung cancer and fast food places when they get fat. It's crazy the extent people will go to these days. And you know that whatever happens in America is what's going to happen here in a couple of year's time.

And besides, smokers can always choose not to smoke in a non-smoking place. Their choice is affected by a number of factors, one of which is a chemical dependency, but it's still their choice to light up and therefor they also choose to go stand outside (or be relegated wherever) when they do so.
The other choice is not to have one and possibly be a bit grumpy or start shaking.
But my choice would be to not inhale other people's smoke. Should I have to go outside to not do anything? Should we evacuate an entire building because one person wants a cigarette? That's just silly, so obviously the easy option is to evacuate the minority.

[Edit: @thisnameistaken
No I don't drive. There's not a whole lot of point in London
But I know what you mean. Car fumes are filthy too. But even in a busy city, the fumes you inhale aren't confined and mix with a lot more air than in (for example) a club, therefor you're less likely to suffer health-wise.]

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I don't understand how you non-smokers do it.

we are all born that way... maybe???


illepall

I never implied kicking the non-smokers out, but to have non-smoking places where a smoker could choose to go and not smoke, but likewise have smoking places where the non-smoker could choose to go and put up with it.

This would of course be up to the landlord or whoever to decide if they wanted to be a smoking or non-smoking venue. I mean proper smoking or non-smoking btw, none of these smoking areas any more.

Now, I'm no smoker and I never was, but I think the nicotine addiction is actually a relatively small problem and easy to overcome after one or two days.

The real problem of stopping seems to be the psychological association of certain events with smoking. If you're used to smoking a fag after chugging a few beer, or every time during lunch break, or as soon as you come home from work, or... then THESE situations are the real problem, because it's so easy to stumble over them and without even noticing you've already lit up a new one and then the loop starts all over.

Quote from Bean0 :

I never implied kicking the non-smokers out, but to have non-smoking places where a smoker could choose to go and not smoke, but likewise have smoking places where the non-smoker could choose to go and put up with it.

This would of course be up to the landlord or whoever to decide if they wanted to be a smoking or non-smoking venue. I mean proper smoking or non-smoking btw, none of these smoking areas any more.

The way I understand it, some places are exempt from the law. I can't remember what the rule is and I could be wrong, but I don't think it's going to affect everywhere.

@AndroidXP
Like any chemical, nicoteine is out of the body in a few days. On top of the issues you mentioned, the big problem is that you have to want to give up. Just doing it because you think you should won't work and you tend to relapse very easily.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Banning smoking won't make a difference. The problem(s) will just move elsewhere, and become a taboo subject.

Actually banning smoking in public places is one of the best things the Irish government has ever done. For those of you who dont know, Ireland was the 1st place in the EU to ban smoking in public indoor areas and the workplace.
I have never smoked and before after a night in a club i'd have a hangover plus i'd be stinking of smoke and have crap in my lungs that i didn't want there! Now though, i just have the hangover the next day
It has also forced a lot of people to give up smoking. 2 of my mates used to smoke, and on a night out now they would be forced to go outside (in the freezing cold) to smoke so they just decided to quit.
The same thing has happened for plenty of other people.

So my point is it does make a difference, to me, as a non-smoker i dont have to suffer the problems that passive smoking causes. I dont really care if other people chose to smoke now because they will have to do it outdoor.

I used to be a half box of cigarettes per day smoker. Then one day I realized how ****ed up I was while playing soccer because of the damn tobacco.

So I decided to gave up and never smoked since then. Got a heavy bag of chewing gums and became addicted to that. Got some weight on too, but it worked and even if it was only 10 smokes per day, It really really made a difference.

Its not impossible, it just takes a strong will.

Over here in Singapore, food centres now have a special area cordoned off for smokers. These are government rules, and these areas are usually very far away from the rest of the crowd. Smoking in non-smoking areas results in a heavy fine... This shows that the government is trying to discourage smoking. I wouldn't recommend total ban, as this would cause a world civil war between smokers and non-smokers in which the non-smokers would probably lose... haha.

Quote from Dajmin :

The way I understand it, some places are exempt from the law. I can't remember what the rule is and I could be wrong, but I don't think it's going to affect everywhere.

I think that the only exempt places are the likes of prisons, old-peoples homes, etc. There was talk about private members clubs being exempt but I'm pretty sure the ban was adjusted to cover them as well (possibly because it would have meant that the bars in the Houses of Parliament would remain as smoking areas).

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I'm not so sure. I ought to try looking up some facts before I continue with this discussion, but I would imagine that a typical car at idle pumps out a good deal more toxins than a smouldering cigarette does. I've never seen any data concerning the chemical consistency of unleaded fuels though, so I don't know how deadly they are in comparison to cigarette smoke. But again, I'd be willing to bet there are more carcinogens in there than there are in my fags.

Your probably right, but, cars generally run outdoors when most of the fumes mix with air and escape into tthe atmosphere. In a club it's alot more confined, less air to mix with an d none of the fumes escaping.

It's more damaging to your health to be stuck in a bar with lots of people smoking than it is to be standing on the side of a busy road.