Sounds more like a drinking problem than a smoking problem.
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Smoking is suicide by a million paper cuts.
Its the perfect business model - you create a product that is addictive, however the addictive substance is not the killer, thus no FDA regulation (nicotine in non-toxic doses does not kill, the incineration of tobacco is what causes cancer/asthma/COPD et al). The average person starts their habit at age 15 (developed world, developing/LDC countries start much younger), so before they are old enough to believe the addiction will happen to them (70% of US adult smokers are dissonant about their smoking, but most are afraid they can’t quit). Only 5-20% of people who try to quit can do so (depending on cold-turkey, drug/behavioral therapy), and the average ex-smoker had to make 5-7 serious quit attempts before they stayed quit for 12months. Thus many believe they can’t quit after they try a few times unsuccessfully (recall despair.com, “the only constant in all your failures is you”). You now have the benefit of relative price inelasticity for all your customers whom you sell death to and their health insurance is cross-subsidized by non-smokers so that they never really take full responsibilities for their direct health costs, much less the indirect ones. The cherry on the cake is you have a public lobby that is willing to spend big, big money to keep you legal as you provide jobs and tax revenues. Since not all of the tax revenues go towards smoking health programs, the government is sympathetic to your cause as they cannot risk the loss of tax revenue, especially when tax increases elsewhere are hard to come by.
What’s truly ironic is that tobacco did not have to clear FDA tests, yet Nicotine Replacement Therapy did. Cigarettes if regulated by the FDA would never make it to market as it would fail long-term safety tests by HUGE margins.
Further proof why the rationale man theory is only a theory.
(I work with smoking cessation in a pharma company)
(I work with smoking cessation in a pharma company)
Then you probably work hand-in-hand with Altria Group (AKA Phillip Reyolds) to prevent young people (AKA future customers) from smoking. I wonder how they measure success?
Nope, no contact with tobacco companies. I’m guessing they measure success the old fashioned way, money. Given they just did a US$5B acquisition in Indonesia, the future looks good - by call options. Go long sanitation companies too, as about 20% of street garbage or more is tobacco related (butts, cellophane wrappers, packages - Ireland study). You have to remember as well that world tobacco sales are effectively divided by 4 companies Altria, BAT, Japan Tobacco and the Chinese. 3 out of 4 have some level of state ownership (increasing from left to right).
Altria started something last spring called “Personal Quarters” or similar (It was quarters, I just can’t remember the adjective). Anyway it was this yin/yang symbol and was placed in hotel, restaurants/bars, etc and said let’s all peacefully coexist and respect one anothers rights to smoke/not smoke as we have done for centuries even though no one knew the public health implications. The irony was we were at a Society for the Research of Nicotine and Tobacco conference talking about how to reduce smoking.
The tobacco companies have started “research” groups within to try and find safer type tobaccos. Since nicotine works on the dopamine receptors, reducing it doesn’t really give the same satisfaction to the smoker (you’ll never see a manic depressive or schizophrenic smoking reduced nicotine cigarettes - nicotine is self-medicated by these guys to control their symtoms). They also fund studies, the child prevention programs and the like. What is interesting is that according to the WHO, tobacco sales have spiked since the education programs have started (the “we card b/c we care” stuff). Some of it is forbidden fruit, some of it is de facto point of sale promotion.
Even the advertising ban is faulty. Depending on the country and how successful the lobby is, the ban is only daytime TV, schools, certain magazines, etc. But they can still do sports stadiums/sponsorships. Which I guess is ok, b/c who takes their kids to see games anyway? The biggest ad in Yankee Stadium outfield was always Marlboro (haven’t been this year, so not sure anymore). Good thing there are no kiddies.
British-American Tobacco got a corporate social responsibility award from the UN for their efforts. Next to it is a flash banner that includes amongst other things “1.3 billion people choose to smoke everyday”. I’d say that’s true for the 15-25yo cohort, but for the rest not as much (1B smokers are in Asia/SE Asia/Middle East, 0.3B in western countries; 1B male, 0.3 female).
As anti-smoking as the US is, there is no national ban on public smoking (hell, even Ireland and Italy have them), and we have the smallest package warnings of Canada, Ireland, UK, Australia, US, which are considered the leaders in tobacco restriction/education.
Haha, That must have been my old Drill Sergent. I’d go and post a 44min 10k, and he’d smoke before, get a 38min 10k and light up aftwards… made no sense to me.
Smoking is the Devil.
I had two parents growing up the smoked. I’ll continually fight for the rights of those not to have to put up with smokers exhaust.
I wonder if those same smokers blowing smoke, would mind if I took my new hobby, Sh*t slinging and started doing it around them. They’d get some on them and get all pissed off.
Welcome to my world smokie smoker smokes.
Trae
Two packs of Camels a day for 15 years.
I quit in 1994
relapse in 1999 (on again off again when I traveled for business)
quit again in 2002
I do love me some cigarettes. I know they have cigarette trees in heaven and they’re always in season; that and waterfalls of single malt, and beer that makes you lose weight, loud music that makes you smarter…
Keep up the good fight!
My Mom finally quit, which is amazing, but my Dad still does it. 
Trae
I have quit a lot of different things, luckily, I have not really had to try to break nictine’s hold. i have smoked for periods of my life, but it never really “took.” I know many people who have recovered from alcohol and /or drug addiction who cannot quit smoking.
Good luck!
My dad quit about 14 years ago, which is good as that is how long it takes your lungs to regenerate healthy tissue.
Glad to hear your Mom did it; a two-smoker household usually presents insurmountable odds to someone trying to quit when the other doesn’t want to quit. Make sure she knows you’re proud of her as the temptation will remain for a long, long time (dopamine recpetors “recall” the feelings of euphoria).
The discoverer of a drug currently in development used to be a 2-3 pack a day smoker. After creating this molecule, he had a cigarette to see what it would be like. It was about 10 years since he quit and he said it was the best cigarette he ever had, and much better than he remembered it. Behavioral support is key to staying smokefree past 12months (generally the guide to being truly quit).
Being an ex-army guy I will say this…I have a smoke…do my workout and smoke again. No doubt I would be better not smoking but am still good and can kick most of the eoples ass during PT even now.
When I was 37 I would lay in bed at night and wheeze myself to sleep, wondering if I’d live until morning. I had a 2 1/2 pack a day habit. Completely addicted.
I was moved by a sermon at church and wadded up my pack of cigarettes. I’ve never had another.
Today, at 49, I’m an endurance athlete with a heart that my cardiologist says is “like a healthy 20-something year old.”
In the human body, God has engineered some marvelous machinery (some more marvelous than others), capable of regenerating itself for anyone who will repent of their former ways. Praise the Lord!
Bob C.
Nothing like a good smoke.
have no doubt thats pretty nasty and I know what it does to my lungs but its an addicition kinda like riding everyday…can’t go without it…if you know of a sure fir way to quit, let me know, I would love to drop a few mins off my PRs (patches, pills and cold turkey just don’t work and this is a tough one because in every other aspect of my life, once I decide to do something, it gets done)
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Honestly, KJGrog and my neighbor just died this morning from lung cancer.
My grandfather smoked up until the day before he died of lung cancer. One of my last memories of him is holding his oxygen while he stood on the back porch and smoked his last cigarette. If you can’t quit for yourself, do it for your loved ones.
Yeah, thankfully he doesn’t have any kids, and his wife still smokes, so she understood him not quitting.
Gross!!! At least you had the sense to quit!!!
I quit 5 years ago. I had failed several times before. Used to smoke about a 1/2 pack a day. I trained for my first Ironman with my buddies and they ended up finding out I smoked after catching me when I was shithoused drunk during St. Paddy’s day party hanging out on a balcony with these girls drinking and smoking 
They were shocked as it was my little secret so to speak. Went on to finishing at 12:50 besting them all. I lost a lot of weight though through smoking I then woke up the next day after the race, had a coffee and a cigarette …but was starting to date a gal that finally said it was them or her. I was also more in fear that there was an addiction that I could not control. That fear scared me more than anything else. I do occassionally have about 2 drags off of one cigarette when I have been drinking a good amount then I have got my fix and realize it taste like shit, but do enjoy a good cigar from time to time. I do NOT miss it and actually look at people differently a bit that do smoke for some reason. A person TRULY wants to quit. Merely saying “I am going to quit” will not work. There has to be something that TRULY inspires you to quit. I hope you find it and remember it when the going gets tough.
1st thing I see here is belief in failure to quit, and backs up why so many (especially successful) people don’t quit. Since they tried a few times and can’t, they figure its impossible, especially since “Uncle Charlie” quit cold-turkey and he’s a total slouch (everyone trying to quit has an Uncle Charlie who quit cold turkey, which then further enforces the fact that you can’t quit). Remember the average ex-smoker takes multiple attempts (4 or 5-7 quit attempts) before being successful. You need to answer the question to your statement “can’t go without it”. Why can’t you? Stress? Others who smoke? Always did it?
What kind of environmental cues are around (e.g. spouse/housemates/colleagues that smoke, spend time around smokers, places where smoking is encouraged, etc)? You need to change/avoid those to change your behavior. There is strong research findings that behavioral support (call lines, quit clinics) signficantly improve chances of quitting than just cold-turkey/medicinal aids. Find one that works.
Also, there are studies being planned about whether smokeless tobacco is better b/c you aren’t inhaling smoke, thus improving your cardiovascular and respiratory function (that is the hypothesis). That may be something to investigate as a start to quitting smoking.
As for your comment “sure fir way to quit”, there is none. You can’t take a tablet and be done with it. All research done with smokers and ex-smokers shows that you need to:
1 - believe you can quit. Numerous references are made by ex-smokers to quitting being a “long journey” and how they find their cigarettes comforting and reassuring “like an old friend or a warm blanket” (direct quotes from research I’ve seen")
2 - adjust your life to avoid smoking cues/situations where you most want to smoke. This often involves making a list of times/situations you are really tempted to smoke during your quit attempt, then taking very strong steps to avoid/minimize them.
3 - take medicinal therapy where appropriate with clinical support/guidance
4 - get support to make sure you stay on the path (quit lines, clinic visits)
Note that all 4 involve you taking action. This isn’t a bacterial infection where you take 7 days of antibiotics and its gone. It is a serious physical and psychological issue that requires significant change and commitment by you the smoker. Ironically to your statement above, once you decide to get it done, you will. My unqualified guess is that you need to adjust your timeframe because odds are it won’t be on the first shot. You most likely also need to adjust your perspective on how difficult the temptations will be through the journey.
Good luck, I hope you do it.
“A person TRULY wants to quit. Merely saying “I am going to quit” will not work. There has to be something that TRULY inspires you to quit.”
I watched a reseach video of this woman, multi-pack smoker, few kids, most with asthma as does she, who tried to quit a few times, but failed. Understood how much she was spending a year in pre-tax dollars and how she would prefer to use the money elsewhere, not cough or need a hand rail to go up the stairs. She was already having significant health impact as was her one son with asthma. She was 36 years old. She knew it was hard and would have to try a few more times, but cigarettes were “like an old friend” so it was difficult. She stated she was serious about quitting and would be ready to try again in “a few years”.
That is one serious addiction.