Smoking

Parent Cafe
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<p>A classmate showed us a picture of his father before he died from a complication caused by smoking…You wouldn’t believe that the man in the picture was the age he truly was. </p>

<p>More evidence that poor people are often stupid people.
Tobacco does curb your appetite.
<em>spits out water and stifles a chuckle</em></p>

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<p>More evidence that ignorance transcends all demographic characteristics…</p>

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<p>Why do you think there are so many smokers in developing nations?
Ugh.
<a href=“Tobacco consumption by country - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_cigarette_consumption_per_capita&lt;/a&gt;
I think it comes down to genes.
I know folks who are in their 90’s with horrible habits and those who lived half as long and worked at staying healthy.</p>

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<p>Oh, no question. The surveys do show that a small percentage of people quit using nicotine gum or patches. It’s just not the most common way to be successful and it’s not the shortest way. You took 90 days to get off the nicotine. And, that’s short. Many people chew the gum for years. The odds of relapse to smoking if you don’t get out of the nicotine trap are astronomical. </p>

<p>Here’s the big Gallup survey on smokers and ex-smokers from last year:</p>

<p><a href=“Most U.S. Smokers Want to Quit, Have Tried Multiple Times”>http://www.gallup.com/poll/163763/smokers-quit-tried-multiple-times.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Of the ex-smokers in the survey, 5% said they used the nicotine patch. 2% said they “cut down, then quit”, which is a particularly torturous way to go, giving yourself just enough nicotine to stay in constant hard-core withdrawal. 1% said they used nicotine gum.</p>

<p>The statistics that pharma uses to support the efficacy of nicotine gum are a riot. They take smokers and put them on the patch or gum for 12 weeks and then see how many are not smoking at 12 weeks. Well, duh…they are still taking nicotine all day every day. They haven’t even started to go through the drug withdrawal! That’s the common factor in the way you quit and the way I quit and the way any successful ex-smoker quits. You have to go through the drug withdrawal. It’s just a question of when. Until then, you are still a nicotine junkie and inevitably headed back to smoking.</p>

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<p>On smoking and “thin”. Nicotine is a stimulant and an appetite suppressant. So, to a point, it perhaps contributes to weight control. However, at some point, smoking will take such a toll that you can no longer exercise. At that point, smoking has robbed you of the capacity to be fit and staying thin is pretty much out the window. Not a very smart health and fitness strategy.</p>

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<p>Thin and fit are two different things. :)</p>

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<p>My H smokes & he has a very physical job although at almost 60, its hard to work overtime so regularly.
He also skis & rollerblades.
I still say it comes down to genes.
Not that I would suggest anyone start smoking.
I was probably lucky I quit easily 35 years ago. I just said I was going to quit & I did.
I can do the same thing to wake up.
I just tell myself what time.</p>

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<p>On “cutting down”… my all-time favorite quit smoking lesson:</p>

<p><a href=“Quitting by gradual withdrawal - YouTube”>Quitting by gradual withdrawal - YouTube;

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<p>I was amazed at how many kids smoked at my dd’s college.</p>

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<p>Interesteddad, I think it took 3 months to get off the gum because I had a prescription for 3 months. There were no patches then, just the vile-tasting gum. I was grateful for the assistance, atlhough I may have been able to do it with only one month. And during the 3 months, all the cues to smoke were extinguished. </p>

<p>When I quit, cigarettes cost less than 50 cents a pack and people smoked everywhere. I am so glad that that is no longer the case. It pains me to notice the little group of smokers down the block from my daughter’s high school when I drive her to school. Fortunately she considers it a vile, filthy habit.</p>

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<p>I wish I had quit when cigarettes were just 50 cents a pack… You were smarter than I was. That’s the crazy thing about nicotine junkies. Nothing you or I or anyone else says will get them to quit until the moment when they decide that enough is enough. The only thing we can do is let them know that, yes, they can quit.</p>

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<p>I had such morning sickness with ds1 and could not stand the smell of cig smoke. People in L&D at work laughed and said “oh, the first thing you’ll do after delivery is ask for a cigarette”. Inwardly I said “no, after 8 months without them, no way”. I’m so thankful. And I have never craved them. I tell you there is just simply an addictive gene in some people. I cannot imagine craving them years and years later. It’s such a shame. These genes of addictions need to be identified and tested for. IMO.</p>

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<p>Add me to the list of those who believe it’s in the genes. </p>

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<p>My dad and all three of his brothers hate cigarettes. His parents never liked them either. My sister, many paternal cousins, and myself all hate them. My mom’s family otoh all smoked from a fairly young age including my cousin younger than me. </p>

<p>I’m so grateful I got my dad’s genes with this. </p>

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<p>Advertising. In many developing nations they don’t prohibit the Marlboro Man from being you best buddy. </p>

<p>I think laws prohibiting advertising of alcohol and tobacco violate freedom of speech, but I hate both so I only am a little bit outraged instead of my customary level of outrage. </p>

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<p>My father in law quit smoking when he was my age (56) because of his Drs warning.
He didnt quit drinking, but with age I believe he has cut back.
H quit drinking years ago & has quit smoking multiple times.
I am grateful that abstaining from alcohol has stuck, but cigarettes & coffee seem to be huge with AA groups.</p>

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I’ve noticed this, as well.</p>

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<p>NA and AA groups meet at the church down the street from me. I figured out why the parking lot was full every Saturday night when I saw the huge group of smokers outside.</p>

<p>I don’t smoke. Never have, even though Tobacco/Cigars/Pipes/Cigarettes were the family business. Attitudes were very different 50 years ago. My dad died very young from the effects of smoking coupled with a family history of heart issues. The store kept us with a roof over our heads and food on the table, but I think we all drew a big sigh of relief when mom retired and sold the business. </p>

<p>Nicotine addiction isn’t easy to overcome. Yes, lots of people just up and quit and never smoke again, but I thought I read that most try several times to quit before it finally works. I’d rather have someone with a nicotine patch or whatever nicotine transmission device there is for years and years if it didn’t hurt heart and lungs and they could live longer than 46 years. </p>

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<p>True. And, in fact, on-going use of their nicotine products is what the drug companies are really marketing. Supplying junkies for their entire lives is a reliable and profitable business model. That’s why they partner with the tobacco companies in putting the word out that quitting smoking will turn you into a zombie. Both benefit from junkies believing that living a day without nicotine would be hell.</p>

<p>The catch is that, keeping the active nicotine addiction going leaves you incredibly vulnerable to smoking again. Still getting the actual physical cravings for the drug whenever the levels fall, nothing fixes the withdrawal better than the POW of nicotine hitting the brain 8 seconds after the first puff of a cigarette. Now you are talking serious willpower to make do with a piece of lousy Nicorette gum. The beauty of breaking the drug addiction is that the physical cravings are gone. There is no more withdrawal every 60 minutes, when the last dose starts to wear off. It takes zero willpower for me not to smoke. If I were still chewing Nicorette after six years, it would STILL take willpower every time I smelled a cigarette or found myself standing in store with a rack of cigarettes. It’s a tough battle to fight brain chemistry.</p>

<p>The people who successfully quit with nicotine products do it like oldmom, above. Transition to nicotine gum and then, in very short order (days or weeks, usually), stop the gum and get through the nicotine withdrawal.</p>

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<p>The nicotine addictive genes <em>have</em> been identified. Several of them have, at least. If you’ve got one of the bad variants of CHRNA5, for example, you’re going to have a tough time quitting.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2013/2/science-nicotine/”>http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2013/2/science-nicotine/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>People with one of the bad variants of CHRNA6 also have a tough time quitting, as was demonstrated by this novel study:
<a href=“Why Have Tobacco Control Policies Stalled? Using Genetic Moderation to Examine Policy Impacts”>Why Have Tobacco Control Policies Stalled? Using Genetic Moderation to Examine Policy Impacts;
When cigarette taxes rose, people with the non-bad variant of CHRNA6 were likely to quit. People with the bad variants didn’t change smoking rates at all.</p>

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<p>Interesteddad makes a very good point, which is also relevant to a previous thread since CVS is now going to sell those products instead of cigarettes. More profit and a little good PR. They win.</p>