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Quitting smoking....sort of.

I have been addicted to cigarettes since I was 15.   I have quit twice in the past (once for two years), but always find my way back to them.  Such comfort in the middle of a long night.  The warm glow, smoke trailing of the cigarette in a lively dance, and of course the nicotine. 

 

I've been sick with bronchitis for over a week and have defintely Not been enjoying my smokes.  Bad taste, sore airways.  So I decided to 'sort of' quit.  I took all of my cigarette money for the month (basically all the money I had after bills) and invested in an e-cigarette.  It's an electronic device that vaporizes small amounts of nicotine when you take a drag off the 'cigarette'.  The good is that there is no tar/smoke/carcinogens, it tastes pretty good, and you exhale water vapor (looks a little like smoke).  The bad is I'm still addicted to nicotine which is not a healthy thing of itself.

 

I would like to say that I'll use the device to wean myself off the nicotine and eventually quit.  I think that would be a lie.  I love my smoke breaks and rituals as well as the calm that the nicotine brings.  So I hope that at the least I'll be a little healthier and a lot less stinky.

 

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Well the clocks have turned and the weather has mostly broken so I've make a resolution to get exercizing again.  Walks in the park with the dog.  She loves it and I need it.

 

 

BTW, still hanging in there witht the Geodon, feeling better, and eating like a horse.

 

 

3/10/09 10:46am

Hi OceanBlue,

 

Alas, I never smoked, yet I can understand your attraction to it for the calming properties it brings.  Statistically, it's been reported that people with SZ smoke at a higher rate than the general public.  It is like a form of medication.

 

Enjoy your day,

 

As always, I look forward to your SharePosts.

 

Cheers,

Christina

3/11/09 4:50pm

I started smoking at age 17 and quit at 43.  I still crave the menthol drag and how I was calmed by the cigarette.  I still want one, and I admit I have given in to the urge a few very high stress times.  But over the past 7 yrs I have basically not smoked.  The ones I like (Capri menthol) are now over $6/pack so I'm glad I am not paying for that.

 

When I stopped smoking, I took up the habit of drinking diet Cokes.  I guess it satisfies that oral urge.  I have heard that the phosphoric acid in it is bad for your kidneys, your heart, and it is even more likely you will be overweight if you drink them.  I keep telling myself I need to switch to water...or lemonade...or something else.  But it is proving harder to drop the diet Cokes than to drop the cigarettes.  I don't know why.

 

I am moving by May 1 and hope at my new apartment I will choose better habits.  I know I will want to smoke because moving is stressful and because I will be in my own place where I could smoke indoors.  At my mom's, I always had to go outside.

 

Best wishes,

Carolyn

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