AusCelebs Forums

Skavie, it's emphysema. I had an uncle die of it about 10 years ago.

I was at a conference a couple of months ago, and a fella in his 50's kept popping these tablets/capsules into his mouth. At smoko(!!) I asked him if he had a cold. "Nah, they're nicobate. I gave up smoking 8 years ago, and now I'm addicted to 'em."

I swear these patches are doing nothing!

I just wish this was over and done with!!!

My experiences in quitting were patches, then failed. Gum, then failed. Champix (the supposed wonder drug) stopped for 6 months then failed. I finally read a book that said none of the NRT concepts had any scientific validity or effectiveness for long-term quit rates apart from ameliorating withdrawal symptoms. I then quit cold turkey, not relying on any crutches - been smoke-free 2 years, and don't miss it a bit, in any situation. I can even sit around a group of smokers at a pub, and not feel any temptation. I won't lie, it's much more difficult than with NRT, and I wasn't much fun to be around for a couple of weeks. But after the withdrawals, it was like someone just turned off a switch.

The trick was to convince myself that I was indeed born a non-smoker, and that the only power cigarettes have over you is what you hand over to them.

And SKaVeN, any doctor who tells you smoking is more addictive and harder to withdraw from than heroin has never been in a detox center, or shot up. The scene from Trainspotting was lightweight...

The doctor who told me that specialises in drug addiction & has heroin users referred to him by other doctors. I figure he'd know more about it than I would.

Anyway, I found this on the QUIT site:



Quite interesting stuff actually:

http://www.quit.org.au/browse.asp?ContainerID=1633

Amazing what just a few minutes on Google can turn up.

That's because even doctors (gosh...) confuse "More addictive than", which generally compares the level of physical addiction and re-wiring of the brain with use, and the changes the body & brain undergoes when the drug is withdrawn - with the reality of the level of instrumental conditioning, associated with drug use.

A typical herion user might (with difficulty) go up to a week between uses, and would almost never use in a general social, or public situation. where a typical smoker uses nicotine many times a day in all sorts of public & social situations. This is part of the confusion of the (very loosely subjective) labelling of "nicotine more addictive than heroin".

The plain issue is that physical sequelae to withdrawal from heroin (even alcohol) are far more acute, and severe than nicotine, which is in reality a relatively mildly physically addictive substance.

At the end of the day and the argument - half of long-term nicotine addicts (and far less heroin addicts) will die as a direct result of their continued use. This makes nicotine a more urgent issue for society to address than the heroin one. So it doesn't really matter how or what you argue on which substance is "more addictive".

Zero minutes of googling required, since I am a professional in the field myself.

Well, I am now onto my sixth week without a smoke.

I am still hanging in there, but I can now tell when my patch is "running out".

I have noticed that I am drinking more than usual: But my excuse is that I am trying to break the association between alcohol and smoking.

I've found that the more I drink, the less I think about cigarettes: When I fall down, drunk, I don't think about cigarettes at all!

Following on from what others have said: I think that NRT only "buys you time" by suppressing cravings. What you do with that time will determine whether you do indeed give up, or relapse.
I know that I am dealing with a 30 year pattern of behaviour, and that is where I have to focus my attention.

Well, the Melb Cup weekend proved it!

I am a non smoker: Unless I am on a long weekend away with "the boys", and you get a bottle of red, plus a couple of balloons of Brandy into me; then I am back in smoking mode.
So, after that weekend, it was straight back on "the wagon".

In other words: I am not out of the woods yet!

I am sure that I am not the only one confronting the same problem: Almost all of my mates smoke.

On the whole, though, I am still disappointed in myself.

I think I built up to much pressure on myself leading up to the weekend: It was almost as though I convinced myself beforehand that I would fall off the wagon.
However, I bought some more patches, and some nicotine gum for extra ammunition, and I haven't had a smoke since.

I figure this is a war of attrition. I doubt that a smoke would taste very nice at the moment unless I am "three sheets to the wind".

Alcohol can make you do bad things

HumphreyBBear, any updates on your progress?

My background is from a country where almost everyone smokes. I started at the age of 12 and was addicted soon after due to an older cousin who was supplying me with cigarettes. He then moved to another city and I started getting withdrawals but I was too young to know it. I just remember this weird sensation in my lungs that I couldn't explain. That stopped after a few weeks.

Since then I haven't had any. And I'm very happy about it.

My stepmother was a smoker and died at 36 from the lung cancer that spreaded to her brain.... :( Seeing "live" how it has been devastating her body until death was pretty much the best prevention I could ever get and also got me know how difficult it is for a smoker to quit after many years of addiction. There are definitely many good reasons to do that though, so good luck everyone...

My progress has been slow, but positive.

I made it through the Festive Season, but I have fallen off the wagon a few times.

This couple that I know are going through a separation. He smokes; she used to smoke.
I have been good mates with them both for about 40 years.

Whenever I drop in to see him (which at the moment is a couple of times a week), he makes his smokes available to me, saying, "I am not going to offer you one, but if you want one just take it".
He then goes outside for a smoke. I feel stupid sitting alone in his house, so I go out with him, and next thing you know I have a smoke in my hand.

Then his wife dropped around to my place the other week, for dinner and a talk. She actually went down the street and came back with a packet of cigarettes and a bottle of wine.
Evil wench!!! She left the packet behind when she went home. Of course the temptation was too much for me. I had every intention of throwing them in the bin after she left, but couldn't do it.
Still, at least I have not bought a packet myself. After each transgression I have used nicotine gum, and just tried to put it behind me.

My challenge is to stop associating my friends with having a smoke. This is hard because almost all of them smoke.
We all went to see a movie (Avatar 3D) the other night, then back to a mates place for a drink and to discuss the movie.
Of course, the discussion took place in the backyard while they were all smoking.

I think what I need to do is start routinely exercising. Over time, smoking should become less, and less, palatable. Maybe if I buy myself a pushbike?


Anyway, so, at least I no longer smoke by myself. My smoking is largely around this one mate of mine, and afterward I would rather buy some gum than a packet of smokes.

I regard this as some form of progress, even if it is poor progress.