I'm 27 now and I keep quite fit – Running, Gym, Hiking (etc), I dont drink much and only beer when I do and I eat quite healthy too, so at present i'm very healthy – the thing is I smoke occasionally and cant shake the need for it in certain situations – like if i'm stressed, if i'm drinking beers with friends (regardless if they smoke or not so its nothing to do with peer pressure or looking cool before anyone says so,in fact a lot of my friends get pissed with me for going for a smoke) and sometimes with a coffee or after a big meal, by smoke I mean at most about 10 – 15 a month. I first smoked when I was 12 and have smoked occasionally on and off since then,usually i give up last a few months (once I lasted two years) but I always go back to it. I know the dangers cigarettes have but I cant shake the comfort of it for the longterm. I've just become a dad and now I really feel guilty for smoking, today I got the craving and tried to fight it,I chewed nicotine gum, went for a five mile run, did weight training after, I ate two dinners, a pizza and a bag of cookies all in an effort to quell it but i'm sorry to say I couldn't and just had a smoke tonight. I know its not the nicotine that i'm addicted to so does anyone have any other tips to help not smoke when the craving comes?
Suggestion:
This may sound a bit silly, but give it a shot. I was an irregular like you and when i decided to quit I realised I needed something to to do with my hands instead of smoking when i drank or was stressed. Do you remember those Popeye Cigarette candies from when we we were kids in the 80s? I swear, they were my saving grace when i was quitting. Yeah, I got razzed a bit by my friends, but it also became a bit of a conversation piece too. I did that in conjunction with nicotine gum and i haven't smoked more than twice in 10 years (32 now). Eventually, I was able to learn healthier coping strategies to deal with stress and I didn't need to have smoke with my beer.
good luck.
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I smoke only when A)Offered B) Drunk C) Listening to 2pac.
I can still hold my breath for over 3 minutes. Just everything in moderation
Dave, here's the deal.
I was a college athlete, and have been a top level amateur racquetball player.
And, silently, over the years, there was some plaue buildup in my arteries, even with a cholesterol level at a reasonable 158. Last year I had one of my "occasional" cigarettes and suffered a mini-stroke. At age 51, it was the first trip to the hospital in my life and my first sick day in 17 years.
My understanding is that the nicotine, which is a vaso-constrictor, literally shrank one of my arteries around some plaque buildup, creating the mini-stroke.
I will never smoke again, knowing that one cigarette can kill me.
I hope you are as lucky as I am, to have a warning first. Let this be your warning.
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Have you put your cost of cigarettes into an excel worksheet? At a rate of return of, say, 7%, how much could you earn in 40 years by saving your smoke money (plus any incidental drinks, gum, etc)?
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