Blowing off steam <smokers rant>

Dave, how often do you need to replace your keyboard?

and where are all the replies...?

First off. Whoa. i never thought I'd see a post quite as impressive as Dave's in Social Chat.

Secondly, I'm a light smoker, and I'm addicted to about 4 a day currently. A majority of my friends from the age of 15 to where I am now, at 21, in many different social groups, have been smokers. I started smoking through spliffs (Damn you Husky), and have been smoking for 4 years.

My boyfriend is a fairly heavy smoker, smoking upto 20 a day. I asked him to at least cut down over the weekend, and he said he would but that his appetite goes up when he does. Heyahoney said the same thing a few posts up this page.

So here's my question: Does nicotine, or maybe another chemical in tobacco, act as an appetite supressant?

Yes.
Without a shadow of a doubt.

As Troy McLure said:
You might rember me from such self help videos as: "Get confidence, stupid!" and "Smoke yourself thin"

So if smoking leads to a decrease in appetite, when you stop, does your appetite then go back up?

If you're someone who has issues with their weight, and even though you do lots of exercise and eat healthily as a vegetarian you still put on weight easily, having your appetite go up makes you eat more (obviously) and you get depressed... cutting down on smoking is gonna be even harder. Can anyone give advice?

sorry its late and I can't think. Nini!

The weight gain issue is perhaps one of the most difficult to give advice on.

Firstly, many people do not gain weight when they quit smoking.

Others however, do.

The reason it's difficult to advise is because, as you've just pointed out, weight issues are linked to depression (and poor self-image etc).

To me, there is also a connection between smoking and depression- certainly in my case there was; and, gven that nicotine is a drug, and known as a highly toxic substance by those who use it, I feel that in many cases smoking is akin, in some ways, to self-harming, and, in others, is an attempt to manage an underlying depression.

However, the good news is that, using the Carr method at least, weight gain not a problem, as

1. part of the method is to understand that your own habitual patterns of thought are the prime factor in keeping you addicted to nicotine. It's a fact that, when you quit, you must be very much on guard about attempts, by that part of your mind that wants you to stay hooked, to delude into lighting up again.

So, the most effective way to deal with the weight-gain issue is to view it as one such attempt- and the best way to deal with any of these attempts, is to simply not engage with them- i.e. don't worry about it.

Easier said than done you may think; nevertheless, it does work, and, for the majority of quitters, there will be persistent and niggling thoughts that are urging them to light up again- for some it is the niggling doubt that they will fail to quit in the future (so they may as well light up now); for others it's the fear that they won't be able to handle social situations without a cigarette.

For you, it is weight gain- that's no harder, or easier, than any of the others.

2. Weight gain, if it occurs, will almost certainly be temporary- eating more will be an attempt to fill the 'void' of not smoking. The truth of successful quitting however, is that there never was a void to fill- once you're successfully free of the addiction and negative thought patterns that sustained it, the compensation eating should cease and weight loss occur.

3. Even in the unlikely event that you end up a few pounds heavier, this is far preferable to an addiction to a drug which makes you less fit, less healthy, saps your confidence and ultimately, may lead to a horrible death from cancer.

4. As I mentioned earlier, depression and smoking addiction (or any addiction) are good bed-fellows- if you diminish one, it tends to diminish the other. Freeing yourself from smoking makes you feel better- you can be proud of yourself for overcoming something which most fail to overcome, you will be less depressed and more confident.

Where weight is concerned, there are two possibilites-

a. you're not overweight, and it's actually poor self-image that's to blame- in which case, quitting smoking will help as it tackles the negativity/depression that underlies poor self-image

or-

b. you are somewhat overweight- in which case quitting smoking will help as it leaves you fitter, healthier and more confident, all of which will increase the effectiveness of any weight-management strategies (eg exercise) you decide to adopt.

If you're serious about quitting, do get a copy of Allen Carrs book- he explains it all much better than me, and getting the book really will increase your chances of success.

personally i'd choose a few extra kilos over the negative health effects and copious amounts of money smoking can steal from you. i must say though that controlling eating can be as hard for some people as quitting smoking.

honestly drudwyn, i think (and i'm not fully aware of your particular circumstances) that at the moment you are dealing with one problem by diverting your worries to another. smoking may help you control your apetite, but the negitive effects of smoking could end up having you sick in hospital getting no exercise and putting on weight anyway. As OWD and i have previously mentioned smokers, when addicted, will generally use whatever illogical reasoning possible to continue their addiction. now i'm not meaning to sound rude, but to me that seems to be exactly what you are doing. Saying 'smoking is good because it controls my apetite' seems to be an excuse to keep smoking, when in reality you would probably be much much better off not smoking and talking to healthcare professionals about any worries you may have in relation to your diet.

sorry if this sounds a little harsh, but it seems right to me.

I am smoking as I consider it to be one of the least social damaging habits/ addictions one can have

No seriously - I might be smoking 1-3 cigarettes/day +/- occasions like parties, raves, social dinner...

Personally I dislike

a) smokers throwing their plastic filters all over nature and
b) those who don't bother even asking whether I might feel disturbed by them smoking in a confined space/ at a meal

c) non-smokers who try to dominate me, as they are "more clean" and cram their attitude up my backside and
d) try to missionise me, even though I am not pregnant have children on my backseat, and/ or covered by their health plan...

As long as nicotin ab/use is not considered suicide by definitions of law, everyone should be able to do as s/he pleases... and I would always use spearmint chewing gums before kissing my non-smoking lover... which I appreciate vice versa after she was drinking her coffee (I don't like the smell of coffee - sometimes it even makes me feel like puking)

coffeeeee.....eeeeugh!!!! The most repugnant substance on the planet, closely followed my marmite. It makes me want to puke too, once our receptionist brought in a coffee perculator thingie in from home so she could have fresh, I very almost barfed when I walked into reception, not expecting it I think I subconciously drew a deeper breath to detect this unfamiliar aroma, then left quickly to regain my normal non-nausious state of well being.

but anyway, back on topic......

i love seeing little rants turn into big discussions.....if i would have known it was going to go this far, i would have put it discussions


Beth: some have taste. from time to time i get cherry falvored ones, or vanilla. but for the most part they taste like crap. why did i start? damn good question, i often ask myself the same thing seriously, everyone in my family smoked. so it just seemed like a natural choice for me. now do i want to quit........yes. but i have to be on xanax for the anxiety. the patch leaves a nasty red mark on my arm. itches like hell too. the gum tastes worse than the cig.....even the orange ones. so at this point whil i am ready to stop. i'm not ready to trade up for another addiction.

I trying to quit smoking, again heh heh. SO far I managing to only smoke in evenings and weekends. Small steps, soon i take the plunge. The enjoyment of smoking is so losing appeal to the lack of breath in the mornings.
Problem is that in tribal days smoking was an occasion, a moment of spirituality. With the advance of western culture natuarally everything from our past was forgotten or lost its true meaning. Tobacco replaced traditional herb-mixes and became a cheap and casual affair. big chief says 'bring back the peace pipe'

Without wanting to throw a spanner in the works, i've noticed a few mentions of 'cutting down'.

There are serious issues with cutting down as an aid to quitting; the main one being that it usually doesn't work

The best arguments I've seen against cutting down are in Carrs book, and they're very convincing.

However, they're not the only basis for my distrust of the method- I attempted many variations of it personally and, more important, I've seen many of my friends use it and fail- looking back, it's more usually a sub-conscious attempt to keep smoking whilst simultaneously giving the impression that one is addressing the addiction

Of course, some do succeed in quitting using this method (though I can honestly say that I've never personally witnessed it), but, as Carr puts it, it's in spite of cutting down, not because of it.

I won't here go into more details of why cutting down is not a good way of quitting, but, if requested, can do so.

I think it was Mark Twain who said it best:

"To stop smoking is the easiest thing is the world to do. I know becasue I have done it over 1,000 times."

Thanks for the advice Dave, Mr. Majestic, but I'm perfectly fine with my body image. I asked the question in relation to my boyfriend's response when I asked him to cut down or quit.

Like I said, I've been on max of 4 a day for the last 4 years, and I already eat 4 meals a day, so I don't think it's gonna be a problem for me having my appetite increase!

Although, I can see your point about linking worries together.

Now all I have to do is try and persuade Nick to do the same, and quit with me.

Oh, and pure weed spliffs are so very much better.

"cutting down" is NOT "quitting"... to me: why quitting in the first place?

Health hazards? then I should quit motorbike and sugars (also in the form of alcohol) too.
Ugly smell? Sometimes I really do enjoy it. When I don't then I put it out.

Is there anything to prove for anyone?

If you feel uncomfortable with smoking then stop! STOP NOW AND NOT THEN! All this "then" is just a lie! When you're finished you're finished, not before... but after....