Quitting Smoking

That is an inspiring story Frost. You made a proper decision based on your financial status.
I have seen people blow rent and food money on vice's!
 
That is an inspiring story Frost. You made a proper decision based on your financial status.
I have seen people blow rent and food money on vice's!

I'd like to think I could kick any addiction for the sake of a roof over my head and a hot meal, though the things you'd do for a beautiful woman...
 
Last edited:
I'd like to think I could kick any addiction for the sake of a roof over my head and a hot meal, though the things you'd do a beautiful woman...
By Vice's I was in reference to drinking and smoking. I have known many people whom have spent their last dollar on booze and smokes,
 
By Vice's I was in reference to drinking and smoking. I have known many people whom have spent their last dollar on booze and smokes,

Yeah I know man, just making a joke (Sheens non coke addiction), kind of landed up not making a lot of sense due to missing a three letter word.

Grats on kicking the habit, I feel sorry for those people you know, my exes mother was the same way, it's horrible watching someone spend their last bit of cash before pay on some smokes when they have next to nothing to eat.
 
"Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times."

Seriously, good luck. I've never been a smoker but I know plenty.
 
Congrats Bob!!! It is an example of the "indomitable spirit" of man. The chemical addiction for nicotine in your brain is powerful, and the ability to circumvent that by will alone to beat an addiction is a real tribute. I did the same thing some thirty years ago. I was a three pack a day guy so I curbed to a pack and a half (just the habit of smoking) and then went cold turkey. I took up chewing gum which bout drove my room mates insane-they encouraged me to start smoking again LOL. The only problem was suddenly food tasted insanely good so I packed on some pounds. But the silver lining was I took up walking then jogging then starting running like a maniac- endorphin-driven "run Forrest, run Forrest" (so I replace one addiction for another for a good ten years). I think the addictive personality is genetic. I had two siblings who could smoke and quit a will and then my elder brother and I struggled with about every addiction known to man. Fortunately the "indomitable spirit" thing again for me-sadly he is still addicted to everything. I wish I knew the answer.
 
$12 is a cheap pack in Oz. Usually about $15. Heaps of tax on them by the govt, which is a great way of pretending to deal with the issue.

Love your irony Pol. Wow. I did not know this. I am officially flabbergasted. You can also add disgusted, angry, fed up. Did I mention angry?

F-in governments bleeding their people dry of money, ruining their health...it constitutes abuse of it's people in my mind. I never got hooked. I always hated the smell of it, never thought it looked cool, hated dating girls who smoked...there's nothing good about it. Eww.

Don't give your money to major corporations is a very real thing you can do to fight back.
 
Grats sir!

I'm in the same boat, I quit (cold turkey) almost 2 weeks ago (4/4 @ 9:00pm) after ~20 yrs at not-quite-a-pack-a-day. It's going well so far...

And yea, as someone above said, doing it when you're sick makes it a lot easier. Also, I don't (err... didn't) smoke in my car or house so that makes it easier too...
 
Love your irony Pol. Wow. I did not know this. I am officially flabbergasted. You can also add disgusted, angry, fed up. Did I mention angry?

F-in governments bleeding their people dry of money, ruining their health...it constitutes abuse of it's people in my mind. I never got hooked. I always hated the smell of it, never thought it looked cool, hated dating girls who smoked...there's nothing good about it. Eww.

Don't give your money to major corporations is a very real thing you can do to fight back.

Yeah, the Australian government has odd ideas about tax rates on certain items. We pay $15 for a pack of 25 smokes generally, and a six pack of beer costs between $15-20 outside of a slab. We do however have the best cheap wine in the world, you wont find a $5 bottle of wine outside Australia with the same quality.
 
I see that many of you either are, or have been in the same place that I am in right now.
At my age, If I didn't turn my life around I surely would have died in just a few years.
At least now I have a chance.
I was also making other people lives miserable. That is not the person who I am, or want to be for that matter.
I find that I can handle stress much better now because I don't look for the crutch of nicotine to mask the problem. I have the energy and patience to face the problem, look it in the eye, and solve it.
My friends all really love the new me and I feel a responsibility toward them not to let them down.
Its not just about me anymore! That is a wonderful feeling. I have the capacity to care about others.
My playing has improved immensely. The extra oxygen in my brain really helps.
I remember every stupid little thing now!

I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize to all of you for any of my stupid rants from the past that may have offended you.
I have apologized to many people recently and I have been forgiven. That really makes me feel good!
 
Last edited:
Why I didn't do this 30 years ago???

At least you did it now. I never smoked but my wife did. I hated it. She doesn't now and hasn't for a long time.

Congratulations on being a "clean air breather". Now, take some of that money you are saving and go buy some more gear!
 
My brother's father-in-law died last year from emphasema and he was only in his late-60's. For decades he worked in advertising for a cigarette company and was a heavy smoker. He quit 15 years ago but it was too late, as the damage had been done to his lungs. For the year prior to his death he had to carry an oxygen tank around with him to breath. He was always out of breath.

Now my father has been diagnosed with emphasema and is out of breath after going up a flight of stairs. As did everyone, he smoked as a teenager and all through his stint in the military in the 1940s, before quitting in his late 20's. He hasn't smoked in over 50 years, but the damage was apparently done then as well.

I have never smoked, but I am afraid of the affect second-hand smoke has had on my lungs. Up until 15-20 years ago, people were allowed to smoke right in the office, and up until only 5 years ago people were allowed to smoke in restaurants (non-smoking areas were a joke). The casinos are still filled with smoke. In my teens and twenties I probably inhaled as much smoke as a smoker.
 
In the end I just ran out of money due to problems with my job and cut them out due to necessity, I haven't smoked since (except for the odd one after a few beers).

What is with the association between smoking and drinking alcohol?

I hope no one minds a little dark comedy about smoking from a smoker...

Bill Hicks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh2wST3eLBg
 
Congrats to all who have quit. I'm coming up on 3 years... I switched chairs on the titanic and got addicted to Nicorette.
 
This is just an ironic anicdote.. I have a friend from college who got reverse addicted to cigarettes. As a non-smoker he would chew Nicorette gum when he studied because the nicotine helped him stay awake. But 6 months into that habit he dropped the gum and picked up the cigarettes. Haha, the things people do for school...
 
What is with the association between smoking and drinking alcohol?

I hope no one minds a little dark comedy about smoking from a smoker...

Bill Hicks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh2wST3eLBg

I honestly don't know, cool video by the way, Hicks was a legend.

I've wondered before if it's an Australian social thing due to the fact we associate almost everything with drinking at a certain age or if there is some kind of chemical link between the two.
 
I honestly don't know, cool video by the way, Hicks was a legend.

I've wondered before if it's an Australian social thing due to the fact we associate almost everything with drinking at a certain age or if there is some kind of chemical link between the two.

I'm also not sure if their is a chemical link, but I know plenty of people who decided to "try" a cigarette at a party while they were drunk, ended up having 4 cigs that night, and have been hooked ever since.
 
Same association between smoking and gambling. Many people sit down at the one-armed bandit or craps table and they chain smoke.
 
I'm also not sure if their is a chemical link, but I know plenty of people who decided to "try" a cigarette at a party while they were drunk, ended up having 4 cigs that night, and have been hooked ever since.

I know plenty of people that only smoke while drinking. It could have something to do with alcohol releasing inhibitions, including self-restraint from smoking, allowing that ever lingering addictive nicotine to creep up again.

Really I have no idea though, there is always an exception to break the rule, I know people who have never smoked outside a drink, and that I find bizarre, maybe the tastes compliment each other. I find cigarettes go well with most beer and you get the old clique of the whiskey and cigar.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top