quote:

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Smoking:

The thing is, I smoke more when I'm alone and I spend a lot of time alone.

I spend most of my time on the road alone. I don't have a "core" group of people to depend on every day. The people I DO see on a regular basis don't know me outside of the context in which I work.

I generally WANT to quit smoking but you really gotta' admit that as much as quitting is a "willpower" issue, it takes a lot of support from other people to keep you going. This I don't have and it makes it harder to keep off the ciggs.

Now, this sounds like a cop-out: The reason why I started smoking cigarettes was to replace the things I USED to smoke. At the time it was a lesser of two evils. After a while the habit stuck.

I really have been interested in quitting. I have a question about this:

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How can I calculate a mathematical progression to withdraw from smoking?

I have tried to figure this out several times and have never been able to find the information I want.

I smoke Winston (regular)-- How much nicotine does one cigarette give you, on average?

I smoke between 10 to 15 cigs per day on average. Some days I can suck down a pack. RARELY do I smoke more than a pack, unless I'm out at the bar having a few beers.

I weigh about 230 pounds -- What is the first "Half-Life" of nicotine in my system?

Is the first half-life of nicotine the same as the second and third, etc?

How long does the physical addiction to nicotine last in your average person of my stature?

What I'm trying to do is to limit my smoking so down to the first half-life for the period it takes to break the addiction. At this point I'll move down to the second half life and keep that pace until I'm at the third half life. Hopefully I'll be down to the point where I can quit.

For instance, I get 2 mg. of nicotine per smoke. Nicotine's 1/2 life is 1 hour. It takes 7-10 days to break the addiction. Therefore, I can smoke 1 cig per hour for the first week. Then I can smoke one cig every 2 hours for the next week.... One cig in 4 hours for the next week... etc. etc. etc.

I suppose I could just make up my own schedule but I'm a geek and I just want to know the information in the first place. Figuring out the necessary "schedule" is part of the process of quitting. It's an involvement device On top of that there's a sound biolocical basis for the schedule which ought to reduce the urge to smoke when I'm not supposed to.

Making a (quasi)scientific schedule fulfills the physical AND psycological aspects of withdrawl.

Try switching to Winston Ultra-Lights. Try not to double how many smokes you go through when you do. This should help (in theory) you when you do decide for good you want to smoke.

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At twenty five I know that smoking will kill me turns off eighty percent of the ladies and I couldnt walk down a street in L.A... lol. But I love smoking, I will blindly and dumbassedly continue - until my fall and summertime twenty mile biking trips leave me breathless. But then again, give me a non-cancerous ciggy and I will be the first to stand in line. And also again, if I was smart, I would of taken my b.a. and "done" something in life (ala me wonderful parents observation)and not manage that "theater place" ahh if only we all followed what we love - well through certain directions.

I tried many times to quit. Hypnosis, Acupuncture, Smoke enders, the patch and I tried several times to quit. At one time , I had quit for five months. I wasn't easy to live with and my family called a meeting. They gave me a choice of either I went back to smoking or I could pack a bag and go live somewhere else. I actually did not even like myself, I was miserable. I went out to walk my dog, went to the store bought a pack of Marlboro's went out and lit one up. I felt better but not great. I went back in the store and bought a pack of Camels lit one up and felt instantly better. I had smoked Camels for over 45 years..two packs a day.

Last August, I had gone for an Ultra-sound of the gall bladder as I was experiencing a lot of pain, in that area of the abdomen. While they were checking the abdomen they found a problem I did not know I had. They found an Aortic Anyurism that need to be treated as fast as possible.

I went into surgery a few days later after undergoing many tests. I smoked up to within an hour of being wheeled into the Operating Room. After a six hour operation , I awoke in the recovery room where I stayed for the next three days. I could not leave the recovery room because the oxygen level in my blood was to low. That was just the begining. I had what was called a "Zipper" cut down the front from my breastbone to just above the groin. I had been closed up with metal staples.

I had had a smokers cough from many years. Sometimes the cough's were heavy and deep.
Lying in recovery I warned the Dr's about my cough. I was cough lightly and everytime pain
reverberated throughout my body and I felt that the staples would not hold. On the fourth day I went out of recovery into a room for a day and I was sent home on the fifth day. Once home, I coughed and the top for stitches went flying out. I was rushed back to the hospital and was put back in a room. I kept warning everyone about my cough but they did not listen. The following morning at about 10:15 I coughed and every remaining stitch flew out. I jumped out of bed and I caught all of my innerds falling out. You want to talk about pain...whoa. Needless to say, I underwent two more operations and three months on my back before I could walk around. My primery doctor put me on a pill called "Welbutrin" to gether with the patch. Welbutrin was developed as an anti depressent. They discovered that 98% of the smokers who took this drug, stopped smoking. It woked for me..it took all of my desire to smoke away. I stayed with the pill for four months. I have now not smoked for eight months. I have no desire any longer to smoke. I do not mind other people smoking, I can sit and chat with them and I say, "I use to smoke."

I'll see if I can dig up some numbers on the amount of nicotine present in a system after cessation of smoking. It's the addiction to the nicotine that causes the most problems. My father tried to quite chewing tobacco several years ago and couldn't. It's just as hard to quit doing that as it is to quit smoking.

In the case of any tobacco use, the best solution is to never start. Those of you that are non-smokers: I beg you, Please don't ever even think about smoking. Those of you that do, if you are able to quit, I can appreciate the accomplishment becuase I've known very few people that have been able to break that habit. Those that do typically go through a very rough time in the beginning due to the withdrawal symptoms.

Since I'm not used to being around it, cigarette smoke will give me a headache quicker than anything, and I can tell if the slightest trace of it has gotten in my hair or clothes. The tobacco "particles" are quite interesting themselves, since they have their way of adhering to things. Back around 1991, I "inherited" a nice laser printer when a higher-up got a new one in his office. I spent at least an hour repeatedly spraying cleaner on industrial-strength Kleenex type wipes and kept removing yellow gunk from the case time after time after time. The person I got it from smoked a pipe in his office.

One way to quit smoking is just stop and make up your mind you're going to tough it out for a week or so. It's easier said than done.

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Info Site

I loved smoking!! I loved that first "rush" in the morning on the way to the office, the calming effect it would have before I DJ'd a wedding reception, and beer just doesn't taste the same without one. Ever tried going to a strip joint and not smoke... it can't be done!!

Although I loved to smoke, I hated the smell it left behind on my clothes and my hands. Especially after quitting, the smell "sometimes" bothers me. More than anything though, the smell conjours up old memories.
If somebody asked me what "Summer" smells and sounds like... I'd have to answer with "A combination of Hawaiian Tropic, Marlboro Lights, Jack Daniels - with a little Van Halen or Motley Crue in the background"

I read on a web-site somewhere about the effects of smoking on your body and the time it takes your body to start recovering. I was really surprised to see how fast your body starts recovering. The nicotine will susposedly work it's way out of your system within 2-3 days (which were the hardest!!) I remember the first several days of quitting, my eyes would start watering, my throat would get dry, and I was really restless.

If they could make a cigarette that didn't kill you, didn't stink, but still has that same calming effect... I'd still be smoking today.

Just my thoughts

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Barry Floyd
Floyd Entertainment Group
Nashville, Tennessee
(Drive-In Theatre - Start-Up)

Ah ha! Money to be made here, so Glaxo Wellcome repackaged it under the name Zyban. It apparently works for many people. More information on it can be found at: http://my.webmd.com/content/asset/uspdi.202098

M' Kay! That was low, I know.

Seriously, I have tried a couple of times. Basicly I found out that smoking is a learned behavior. You have to UNlearn how to smoke. To that end, what I do now is to try to recognize when I want to smoke and try make a time delay between the time I want a smoke and the time I light up. For instance, when I first wake up... I try to wait until I get out of the bathroom in the morning and get dressed before I have that first one. Sometimes I'll wait till I get to work before I have the first one. Another time is right after I eat. Instead of having one at the table I wait till I get outside the restaurant, etc. These tactics help a little.

My main problem is two-fold:

1) When I'm alone I want to smoke more. It kinda' keeps me company.

2) When I was a kid, my parents owned a saloon. Being a kid in a world of adults, all drinking and smoking sorta' teaches you that it's a "normal" thing to do. It's easier to start (and keep on) smoking when you don't see it as a bad thing. It sounds "warped" but I feel like I'm "left out" when I don't smoke.

This really isn't about quitting or anything like that, but instead smoking at work. Personally, if someone chooses to smoke, they should be forced to trek absolutely as far as possible to a remote location designated for them outside, regardless of weather. Also, any time the a smoker takes to smoke should be made up for (including the trek back and forth) by staying that much later before departing for home. So if a smoker takes 20 minutes a day (in addition to his/her regular lunch and provided breaks) to smoke, then he/she should have to stay 20 more minutes after work to make up for it (while not being payed, of course). Either that or the time they take should just be deducted from their check. I've seen people take up smoking just so they have more time to socialize!

Just 'cause you're a smoker doesn't give you special rights.

*Rant mode off*

Don't start smoking! And if you smoke, please try to quit. Smoking is very likely to kill you and harm those you love, and the death it causes is usually slow and agonizing.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Sorry, but it really affected me too.

The key to quitting, in my estimation, is it's gotta make you mad. I, too, smoked for a good many years. One day, I had a cold and the cigarette cough made it worse. I got so aggravated that I never picked up another smoke from that day forward.

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Better Projection Pays!

I remember a little kid asked me this question, and this is how the conversation went:

"Mister, why are you smoking?"

I looked at the kid and said, "Because I am stupid."