Beware of the Quit Smoking Purists

[Trbobitch]

i would never wave and fake cough .. but i really dont enjoy the smell much anymore .. just me

I think what I hate more is the way someone smells AFTER smoking than the smell of the burning cigarette. I didn't even like that smell when I was doing it. I remember when I quit for 7 months, the greatest thing to me was not smelling like an ashtray.

 

[phonedude]

I don't think enjoying the scent of burning tobacco makes you a smoker, only smoking it does. When my mom was a little girl she used to love the smell of gas in the air around a gas station. ( perhaps that's where i get my weirdness from LOL) But of course she never drank gas or sniffed it to get high on.

People smoking doesn't bother me, but now, I can't say i enjoy it. I'd rather be without that scent.



i wasnt even able to smell it till about a month ago. now my senses are returning. sense of smell can be a blessing and a curse

 

[SlowDraw]

I think what I hate more is the way someone smells AFTER smoking than the smell of the burning cigarette. I didn't even like that smell when I was doing it. I remember when I quit for 7 months, the greatest thing to me was not smelling like an ashtray.

That was the best part for me when my wife started vaping and ditched the cigs.

 

[SlowDraw]

Is the quote function acting up?

 

[John Phoenix]

yeah.. mine are still coming back.. i may find i cant stand the smell of smoke once that happens.

i wasnt even able to smell it till about a month ago. now my senses are returning. sense of smell can be a blessing and a curse

 

[phonedude]

yes i think so on the quote function

 

[JuiceJunkie]

I don't think enjoying the scent of burning tobacco makes you a smoker, only smoking it does. When my mom was a little girl she used to love the smell of gas in the air around a gas station. ( perhaps that's where i get my weirdness from LOL) But of course she never drank gas or sniffed it to get high on.

People smoking doesn't bother me, but now, I can't say i enjoy it. I'd rather be without that scent.



I still like the smell of gas...lol

 

[kristin]

I'm hoping that someone can clear something up for me. This statement seems to be the reason for the sentiment about nicotine addiction.


This is something that I just don't understand. I've smoked for 30 years, and I've never been caught up in getting my next fix. If I wanted a cigarette, I smoked a cigarette. It was as simple as that, and I never gave it two thoughts. This idea puts nicotine in the same light as her-o-in and alcohol. I have known an addict in both. My 30 year experience in cigarettes was never like what those other two people go through.

It's the same problem anti-tobacco people cannot figure out why smokers won't/can't quit. Because people smoke for different reasons! Unlike with alcohol and opiates, no one picks up a cigarette because they want the drug - nicotine - yet that is what NRTs and other therapies focus on. Additionally, they all go on the assumption that every smoker WANTS to quit for the same reason - to no longer be addicted.

I wrote some blog posts on this regarding smoking cessation and also e-cig research:
Wisconsin Vapers Blog - Enjoying a Smoke-Free Life: E-cigarette Research: Looking for love in all the wrong places?

Wisconsin Vapers Blog - Enjoying a Smoke-Free Life: Tobacco Prohibition and a Law of Physics

It is better to be nicotine free. Let's face it. And many of the reasons people here vape are because they cannot escape a nicotine addiction. This is fine. It's accepted by our community, vendors, in some cases our physicians, and the sites that host our communities.

The above we can all agree on.

"Addiction and recovery" communities generally tend to reflect 12 step programs (Like AA, NA, CA, ACOA, OA) in the exercise of complete abstinence. The mantra in those communities is complete abstinence- or you "Start all over".

It's a good mantra to be honest.

I submit these comments to you- respectfully. Let the abstinence people do their thing (without our involvement). They have blinders on- but they are blinders needed to succeed. Let them.

I have a few thoughts on this.

1) I know at least 3 people who have cognative and emotional issues without nicotine and MAOIs. They cannot function nicotine free - they are more miserable without nicotine and it is NOT better for them. So, unfortunately, we can't "all agree" that it's better to be nicotine free. Smoke-free, yes.

2) Twelve step programs are set up to combat an addiction to a substance which is disruptive to the person's life and for which there is no "safer alternative." There is no "alcohol alternative" that makes the user still feel good without the negative side effects. There isn't something in beer or liquor that harms the user other than the alcohol itself - the thing that causes the impairment and distruction. They HAVE to be completely abstinent.

What makes an addiction "bad" are the severe negative consequences of use. Up until e-cigarettes, the negative consequences of nicotine use was the SMOKE EXPOSURE. It wasn't the drug itself that caused the greatest harm, it was the delivery method. So, unlike with AA-type addictions, abstinence from the drug itself isn't required to remove the greatest danger for the user.

Air is perfectly safe when inhaled, but it'll kill you if you inject it into your veins. The delivery method makes the difference, not the substance itself.

3) I would leave them to themselves, but their beliefs and methodology applied to ALL smokers kills people. Abstinence (cold turkey) doesn't work 90% of the time and NRTs don't work 93% of the time. Refusing to acknowledge tobacco harm reduction and keeping smokers on a deadly quit-relapse cycle just keeps people smoking when they don't have to and feeling like horrible people when the quit fails. Quitting in cycles of 3 months off and then smoking 6 months and then quitting again is not good. They would be better off (healthwise) switching to a smokeless alternative for the entire time. People who go to that site should know that if they cannot or will not quit yet, they should at least use a smokeless alternative in the meanwhile. If they wish to be free from addiction (rather than just free from the smoke) then they can take the necessary steps. But for the love of God, don't stay on the quit-relapse doomsday ride!

How do others feel about the posts from some of the QSMB people that they are concerned about their quits. That bothers me and I'm trying to wrap my head around it.

It's a straw man argument. As someone already pointed out, people are smoking around them all of the time in the real world. Hearing about people using a safer nicotine source shouldn't affect their desire to be "free from nicotine addiction," because e-cigs contain the one thing they hate the most. Now, if they actually quit just to be free from smoke, then I could see how they may be tempted.

I'm originally from Milwaukee/Oak Creek

Everyone either came from or knows someone in Wisconsin!

polident huh? Never would've though of that one.

Yep - that's what I use, too. Got the generic brand at WalMart - much cheaper!

 

[LibertariaNate]

Everyone either came from or knows someone in Wisconsin!

I don't know anyone from Wisconsin. Keep your over generalizations to yourself!

 

[kristin]

The other day I smelled cigarette smoke and it actually smelled good to me. That's new - it smelled foul for a long while after I started vaping. However, I didn't MISS it like I used to when I've quit cold turkey.

I don't think enjoying the scent of burning tobacco makes you a smoker, only smoking it does. When my mom was a little girl she used to love the smell of gas in the air around a gas station. ( perhaps that's where i get my weirdness from LOL) But of course she never drank gas or sniffed it to get high on.

People smoking doesn't bother me, but now, I can't say i enjoy it. I'd rather be without that scent.




I still like the smell of gas...lol

 

[kristin]

I don't know anyone from Wisconsin. Keep your over generalizations to yourself!

I bet you do and just don't know it!

 

[ClayK]

Is the quote function acting up?

Check and make sure the part you are quoting has a begin and end tag, like the following, but without spaces before and after brackets:

[ quote ]quoted text here[ /quote ]

Each quoted portion should have a open and close tag. Like if you use the multi-quote function on multiple posts, you'll see each one has an open and close tag for each quote. Open doesn't have anything but the [ quote ] and a close tag has the / in it, so [ /quote ]

 

[phonedude]

Kristin .. definitely food for thought as always

 

[kristin]

Nope, that's why you rinse it with water after soaking

Yes - rinse well and don't use mint-flavored unless you vape menthol! LOL! It actually leaves the atty pretty free of any aftertaste.

 

[LibertariaNate]

I bet you do and just don't know it!

Internet peepz don't count...

 

[phonedude]

I bet you do and just don't know it!

YOU (and anyone else I know aint fessin up)

 

[JuiceJunkie]

I bet you do and just don't know it!

You know Kristin, so you DO know someone...lol

Maybe not personally, however

 

[Trbobitch]

Yes - rinse well and don't use mint-flavored unless you vape menthol! LOL! It actually leaves the atty pretty free of any aftertaste.

Yep, I get the cheap pharmacy brand... but it is "mint flavored". I think as long as you rinse well and blow it out, it's fine. Or maybe because I dry burn after?

 

[phonedude]

im gonna put on my lab apron and do some juice mixin .. no lab coat required .. but i only got 24mg cause first thing i do is dilute the 48. just a little of that stuff makes my head spin .. so 12 it is .. this is only a test - in case of a true nic emergency i will try 18

 

[DC2]

It tried to search for Ninjas on thesaurus.com ..

It says Ninjas could not be found.

Well played Ninjas.... well played. -Magnus

That's freaking hilarious!