lol,

Not to worry my friends, the daddy is still smoke free. I have not had a one, not even a single drag since I quit.

So I've got that going for me.......which is nice :D

But seriously, it's all in your head. Refuse to give in, it really is that simple. Sounds like bull I know, but it's true. Good luck! But truth is you wont need it once you've truely made the decision.

Alright Len!!
Must have been quite a test of your willpower over the last few weeks.

It's really not as bad as you might think anymore. The stress has been (and remains) quite impressive, but I haven't really thought about smokes at all. The power of the mind:) But seriously, the yes/no absolute things in life are easy. Smoke, don't smoke...it's a yes no thing. Don't allow the yes and you're golden. It's the grey areas that are difficult. Like eating right, that's much harder since "right" is a grey area. If it was a simple as don't eat anything red...or green..or salty or well you get the idea.

jyl - stick to crack. It's less addicting so i've ben told.

lendaddy: Our friendly brothers in the Carolina's will be sad to hear that they lost another to common sense and inner strengh. Tobaccy has the highest concerntration of veg protein than most all other plants - or so I have read. It's too bad it can't be used for benefits rather than for the pleasure it creates short term. Make no mistake, it is pleasurable until you hack up half a lung.

Len,

Congrats! Glad to see you were able to tough it out. In the end its a decision that you will be very happy that you made. It will make life better for you and your family!

Joe A

Two cases come to mind;

Years ago I saw a special on smoking and they profiled several smokers. One was of a woman who allowed herself one smoke a day. As of the airing she lost one lung to cancer.

Peter Jennings (the newscaster) quit 20 years ago and is currently very ill with lung cancer.

That said, I smoke socially. Nevr during the day and rarely on the weekends. I need to quit.

I have smoked occasionally since I was 14 and normally when beer was involved. There are times as an adult that I won"t smoke for months then will have a couple of gigarettes when a smoker friend visits.

Bottom line is, I enjoy the occasional cigarette (and have for decades) but have never been "hooked " on them. And yes I do inhale!

I'll smoke a cigar a week for 3-4 weeks, then not touch them for months...

I would, on occasion, smoke a whole pack of cigarrettes in a night in college (with heavy drinking). I've discovered the surest way for me to get a headache while drinking is to smoke. I only did a whole pack two or three times.

I smoked 'other stuff' every day in college (and vacations) from the middle of freshmen year until the beginning of senior year. The day I got my job offer I quit. Too much risk. Now I wouldn't know how to get my hands on any even if I wanted to.

You can get lung cancer even if you don't smoke...right?

I smoke cigarettes when i travel, 2 packs a week when i am in Japan and zero when i am home in Seattle. Never really had a problem with starting and stopping smoking at will.

alf

Sure, but it's pretty unusual. And like I said, lung cancer may be the kindest death for a smoker.

Steve McQueen had the double negative of both niccotine and asbestos exposure. That didn't work out too well for him.

Unfortunately synergy exists in the world of toxic exposure.

Exchusss Me??? Please ask anyone who has worked in an area of second hand smoke about this.

I work with a flight attendent who flew during the time when smoking was allowed on airplanes and she still has problems from time to time and is concerned with getting lung cancer later on in life.

Second hand smoke is as dangerous or more than smoking because its not filtered. You get the raw crap in the smoke and depending on how much you are exposed it can be extremely dangerous to your health.

JoeA

A flight attendant has to deal with increased cancer risks due to the increased exposure to cosmic rays. Increased exposure to carcinogenic chemicals surely doesn't help things much.

Didn't say anything about second hand smoke, did I?

There is so much ambient radiation at 35, 000 feet that a coast-to-coast flight can cause up to 50 millirads of exposure, pretty close to a chest X-ray.

I always love the 2nd hand smoke complaints.... Here's a great comparison for that:


It's almost like complaining that just because you can smell fast food restaurants, that you are going to instantly gain weight....

Sure second hand smoke can have an effect, but you would have to subject yourself to a daily routine of sitting in a car filled with smokers for a prolonged period of time before any effects would begin to show, and even at that you wouldn't be as exposed to the ppm's of intake that an actual smoker subjects him/herself to.

Stepping outside for a 'breath of fresh air' is just as hazardous to your health as being in a restaurant with a smoker.

I agree the data about second hand smoke is not completely clear, but that is a bit of a stretch.

No, but many of these people did not smoke and they are still ending up with lung cancer. Your comment was that its pretty unusual and its not in many cases. Just talk to anyone who flew during this time period.

Easiest way to be safe is to not be around smoking at all.

Joe A

My point is that I'm not sure someone who lives their life in a smoke filled room can be reasonably referred to as a non-smoker. Lung cancer occurs in people with no exposure to cigarette smoke, but it is rare.