Sick of being demonized
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I think the hand-to-mouth obsession is actually pretty awesome, especially when I eat and drink because of it.
Yeah it reinforces the smoking habit, sure, but who cares? Every human on earth has it to some degree....it's not a problem in itself.
Is an unsupportive "friend" really someone you want to call friend?
Nope, not gonna happen. In October I will have TWO(!) years of being a non-smoker!! Zero cigs and I don't want to ruin what is my longest quit to date.
Cold Turkey usually comes with a Superiority complex which must be maintained by the Quitter for FEAR of FAILING and Going Back. The find a small relief in Belittling those around them in order to make themselves seem Better than others.
I think if you spend enough time around your friend, you will see he/she finds some fault in everyone they know and enjoys pointing it out.
Those really are not friends............just acquaintances. Friends support.
Fortunately, I don't have any "friends" like the OP's "friend." All of my friends have expressed unmitigated delight and approval that I have finally overcome a lifelong smoking habit and replaced it with one much less harmful and one which is much more pleasant for those around me. I don't need or want "friends" like the OP's.
Excellent point!
I wonder how frequently OP's cold turkey friend used eating to replace his hand to mouth addiction? It would be interesting to know how much, if any weight Mr Cold Turkey gained.
For my part, I do not read it like that. At all.
From my understanding, it was not about being "proud of smoking more than anyone else".
It was about some self-righteous, cold-turkey quitters feeling way too much proud of themselves, and bragging(*), for having quit "the hard way", in circunstances when maybe it was no so hard after all, because they were in fact smoking very little at the time they finally quit.
Had they tried quitting when they were having 2 PAD's, and maybe the story would have been quite different. THAT was the real issue, in my opinion.
(*) Not only bragging, but putting other people down, for not having the same "self-control" that they believe they have. As if they actually managed to do something out of the ordinary: to quit smoking, when they were already almost NOT smoking
Right. I didn't read it that way either. I detected no hint of "pride" associated with smoking 30 cigs/day and I fail to see how a reasonable person could get that out of the post.
I read the article from Gizmodo that you're talking about and was appalled by it! It's nothing but part of a smear campaign. It made me want to never read Gizmodo again. I don't know where they found this hack who wrote it. I am a journalist by trade and am familiar with the studies cited, and this author was cherry picking and twisting the facts.
As for being demonized, I am sick of it too. I had a friend who posted a similar article along with her comment that "e-cigarettes are disgusting and all of them should be banned." My comment back was that if we are going to ban anything it should be cigarettes and other things that we know for sure actually kill people." I know that doesn't really educate her, but maybe it will get her to stop and think?
I just can't believe the gall of people who have never actually used an e-cigarette thinking they know all about them!
As for being demonized, I am sick of it too. I had a friend who posted a similar article along with her comment that "e-cigarettes are disgusting and all of them should be banned." My comment back was that if we are going to ban anything it should be cigarettes and other things that we know for sure actually kill people." I know that doesn't really educate her, but maybe it will get her to stop and think?
I just can't believe the gall of people who have never actually used an e-cigarette thinking they know all about them!
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I'm so tired of people calling for things to be banned. You would think not partaking in said activity would be enough but no they want something banned. To me it seems like a twisted sense of entitlement. I find that mindset utterly disgusting.
I'm 54 years old. Back in the 80s I did a lot of drinking, like many people my age. Some of them were alcoholics. I never HAD to drink, and would volunteer to be the DD sometimes. Didn't bother me in the least.
Some of the alcoholics I knew went to a 12 step program. I'm not slamming these programs, as they work for many people. It is my experience that a subset of 12 step people think everyone that ever has a drink is an alcoholic. Those people are also in general very judgmental of others. I tend to distance myself from these people and let the friendships lapse.
As I've gone through life, I've encountered others like them. Not all are 12 steppers. Their opinions on smoking, drinking, religion, parenting and many other things are so rigid, they refuse to accept that another way might be valid. My father was one of those people until the day he died. You have 2 options: listen to the crap or walk away. You can't change their mind. I walked away years ago and was only there at the end to help my mother.
You have a choice to make.
Some of the alcoholics I knew went to a 12 step program. I'm not slamming these programs, as they work for many people. It is my experience that a subset of 12 step people think everyone that ever has a drink is an alcoholic. Those people are also in general very judgmental of others. I tend to distance myself from these people and let the friendships lapse.
As I've gone through life, I've encountered others like them. Not all are 12 steppers. Their opinions on smoking, drinking, religion, parenting and many other things are so rigid, they refuse to accept that another way might be valid. My father was one of those people until the day he died. You have 2 options: listen to the crap or walk away. You can't change their mind. I walked away years ago and was only there at the end to help my mother.
You have a choice to make.
That is Unusual that you would Feel this Way.
Because My Experience has been that the Sub-Set that you Mentioned was Extremely Small.
What many fail to understand is that a 12 step program only looks like a way to stop doing something, when in reality the 12 steps are a way to learn how to live without that destructive behavior.
They just haven't learned it yet.
25 years sober
They just haven't learned it yet.
25 years sober
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I'd say he's not really a friend, if he's telling you how you SHOULD live... friends don't do that. I'd say he's actually a busybody control freak, not a friend at all.
Andria
Exactly right. 22 years sober... TODAY!!!
Andria
Right On Andria. Happy Birthday!
Absolutely.
I think the Paragraph at the Bottom of Page #63 sums it Quite Well for Me.
Of course I'm the only one with the right ones.
Thanks guys! Just goes to show you how little my old way of life signifies nowadays... I'd completely forgotten today was my "birthday" until I made that post! heh! 
But I'm still
just to still be here! Because if I hadn't quit drinking 22 yrs ago... I WOULDN'T BE!!!
Andria
But I'm still
just to still be here! Because if I hadn't quit drinking 22 yrs ago... I WOULDN'T BE!!! Andria
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