Gerry, I didn't reply to any threads lately, but this is good news. Hang in there bud, you can do it! I stopped myself just after GrandpaBW did. Just like that, after about 25years. Anyway good luck !
Howdy All! Thanks for all the good wishes and I'm still doing very well! Day twelve and counting GrandPa! I'm chewing nicotine gum but even that seems to be tapering down ... in large part because I'm too uncoordinated and can't chew gum without biting myself over and over again. I'm on my guard, naturally, but it really hasn't been too bad but the motivation is still high ... I have to be careful for the next time I'm in a pissy mood as that's what gets me every time. Anyway, I'm still going strong! @Rav .... I'm only 54 guy! Don't send me to the knackers yard before my time (I love that term). eshop has an interesting sig...that's one way to quit smoking!
good luck Gerry!! may the force be with you!! and damn your good Grandpa. thats awesome 150 days...wow...good luck to you gerry!
I wish you the best of luck with this quitting smoking thing. I quit on February 5th this year and I couldn't be happier with that decision. After all, it only took 7 freakin' times trying to quit!
This is true. Twice I've had to douse partially-used cigarette packs in rubbing alcohol to avoid being able to fish them out of the trash later.
way to go Gerry you can do it, i have gone 17520 days without one but i never smoked one in my life lol!!
Well, if it was day 4 on the 12th of June, then its now the 24th day (as of July 2nd) if he's kept up with it. Good luck Gerry. Hunter007
One whole month tomorrow guys!! Thanks for the good wishes. Seems so much easier this time around but I'm not going to let up my guard so soon. I'm not much of a drinker but still ain't gonna touch booze for a while...that will just kill everything right after drink number one. I've really lightened up on the nicotine gum ... not using much at all which is a good thing because I'm a clutz and keep biting myself. You heard of guys who can't chew gum and walk at the same time?...I can't chew gum period! Thanks for the good wishes; I'm sure I'll succeed this time!
SOME GOOD REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING Why Smokers Feel Good By LiveScience Staff posted: 29 October 2004 6:30 am ET Smokers enjoy their habit because it stimulates the flow of "feel good" chemicals in the brain, according to a new study involving just a handful of test subjects. The system of the brain affected is the same one that is stimulated by heroin and morphine. The study is the first to show smoking affects the brain's natural system of chemicals called endogenous opioids, which also help quell painful sensations and heightening positive emotions, the researchers said in a statement today. The system includes the release of endorphins that produce the oft-sought "runner's high." Participants did not smoke for 12 hours before the test. Then they smoked two cigarettes which had the nicotine removed from them, followed later by two cigarettes with nicotine. Their brains were monitored the whole time, and they were also asked how they felt at each step. "It appears that smokers have an altered opioid flow all the time, when compared with non-smokers, and that smoking a cigarette further alters that flow by 20 to 30 percent in regions of the brain important to emotions and craving," said David Scott, a graduate student in the University of Michigan Neuroscience Program. "This change in flow as seen on a brain scan correlated with changes in how the smokers themselves reported feeling before and after smoking." The orange dots on these brain scans show the areas where the biggest changes in opioid activity took place after smokers began smoking a regular cigarette. On the left is the cingulate, where activity increased 20 percent. On the right is the amygdala, where activity decreased by more than 20 percent. Credit: University of Michigan The study involved just six smokers, however, all males in their 20s who said they normally puffed 14 cigarettes a day. Scott and his colleagues say that despite the small number of participants, they were surprised at the large effect on opioid levels. The research will be expanded to include more participants. Further study, the scientists suggest, might reveal why the habit is so hard to kick. "The interaction of tobacco, and especially nicotine, with brain chemistry is a fascinating area that we're just beginning to understand, especially when it comes to correlating neurochemistry with behavior," said study leader Jon-Kar Zubieta, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at the university. "Just as with the ‘hard' drugs of abuse, such as heroin and cocaine, the phenomena of pleasure, addiction, increased tolerance and craving from tobacco are firmly rooted in neurochemistry." The research will be presented Tuesday in San Diego at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/041129_smoking_feel.html Smoking and Obesity Curb Sex By Robert Roy Britt LiveScience Managing Editor posted: 27 June 2006 04:36 pm ET For a man addicted to cigarettes and plagued by obesity, which together raise the risk of cancer and diabetes, life might seem a bit grim. At least there's sex. Well, maybe not. In a new study, scientists examined a survey database of 22,086 healthy subjects between the ages of 40 and 75, including 17.7 percent who reported new onset of erectile dysfunction between 1986 and 2000. Physical activity (beyond mere sex) played a key role in helping men avoid the dreaded ED, as clinical researchers fondly call the condition. “We found a 2.5-fold difference in risk of ED when we compared obese men who did little exercise with men who were not overweight and averaged 30 minutes of vigorous exercise a day," said Eric Rimm , associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. Smoking, too, was associated with a higher risk of getting ED among men who previously had good erectile function. The same bad habits up the odds of getting heart disease, the researchers point out. And in fact a study earlier this year in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that ED was a warning sign for heart disease. But perhaps the idea of missing out on sex can serve as a more compelling health warning. “Many men may choose not to change to a healthier lifestyle, which includes exercise and a prudent diet, because they perceive heart disease as something that may only develop decades in the future," Rimm said. "Hopefully, these results will help to motivate men to adopt a more active lifestyle to avoid a problem which may be more immediate." The study, detailed in the July issue of the Journal of Urology, was supported by Pfizer, Inc., and by grants from the National Institutes of Health. It confirms research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2004, which suggested that obese men with ED could improve their sexual function with exercise and weight loss. * Equality Makes for Better Sex * Study: Sexual Desire is in Your Genes * SPECIAL REPORT: Toward Immortality * How to Stop Smoking: Simply Don't Plan On It * Obesity May Be Contagious, Scientists Say * Dieting Man Slims Down to 1,000 Pounds * The Odds of Dying http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060627_bad_habits.html Risk of Lung Disease Etched in Some Smokers' Faces By LiveScience Staff posted: 13 June 2006 11:53 pm ET Heavy wrinkles on smokers' faces can indicate a higher risk of contracting lung disease, a new study finds. Smoking is known to cause premature aging. The new research finds that middle-aged smokers whose faces are heavily lined with wrinkles are five times as likely to have emphysema, bronchitis, or another such progressive, chronic lung disease. The study, released today by the British Medical Journal, is detailed online by the journal Thorax. The lead author is Bipen Patel of Royal Devon & Exeter NHS. The World Health Organization predicts that these diseases, collectively called chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), will by 2020 be the third leading cause of death in the world. Not all smokers contract COPD, however. The study examined 149 current and former middle-aged smokers, of which 68 had COPD. While only 25 of the overall group had widespread wrinkles, those who had COPD were five times as likely to be among the wrinkled. The amount of air that study subjects could force from their lungs was "significantly lower in those with extensive wrinkling," the study concludes. It is not clear, however, what's behind the links. "Both smoking-related facial wrinkling and emphysema may be likened to premature ageing of the tissues," the researchers write. "Thus it is plausible that the genetic factors that predispose smokers to COPD also predispose smokers to wrinkling of the skin."
@aabbccdd...thanks for asking and yes, I'm still smoke free! I'm still chewing the nicotine gum but far less than I was ... primarily because I'm a clutz and keep biting myself LOL! I'm keeping my guard up though; it been too easy this time around. I also haven't let myself near alcohol of any kind though and have stayed away from this neighborhood pub where I play pool and pin ball from time to time; just don't trust myself. My gut tells me one drink and its over so I'll trust my instincts! Its great though; its really noticable in the checkbook balance!
it seems like everyone on AD takes some kind of drug....who knew. what ive seen so far on AD---weed users, smokers, alcoholics, and Crack users. Good job being above all that, gerry. if porn was a drug, i think i would be one of the the biggest addicts :O.
@antomic....I'm sure we all have our little vices LOL! Life would be dull without them! I think a lot of the drugs and booze talk is often a lot of joking around ... I mean, I'm sure its there like everywhere else but I think a lot of it is just talk for the sake of joking around too. Often, posts are far too coherent to be written by people as bombed as they claim. Excuse me now while I go water my crop
true. Im gonna go to my friends house now. He has a moped and were gonna ride around the viillage a bit. ps. porn relieves stress, so its actually good for you
You know what made me quit??? A girl (nice tall blonde with blue eyes....shaggy-shaggy all day type!!!)telling me that kissing me is like licking an ashtray!!!! So think of that...maybe that'll help... Good luck... They say: Never start so that u don't have to quit!!! TRUE
LOL! I started smoking because I was pissed at my mom when I was sixteen or so .... sure showed her, didn't I LOL!
