Help Ely Quit Smoking

[Entropist]

Well that's odd. Throughout the years that I've been smoking, and in fact well before that, I've known smokers who smoke maybe 2 or 3 a day, and others who only smoke in certain circumstances. I myself have been awake for 14 hours today and I can't say I've had more than 2. How do you explain that?

I work 12 hour shifts in the ER and am in a lot of contact with people with all kinds of flu and other illnesses. I've not gotten sick once (even before I got a swine flu vax).

People's bodies do not respond the exact same way in all circumstances. The fact of the matter is that cigarettes are addictive, and deliberately so, and withholding information, knowing full well they are harmful.

At any rate, Phillip Morris et al were found guilty by a federal court. The evidence is there.

[Scarface]

It takes a substance and an individual for addiction to occur. Not just a substance.

[Entropist]

...That explains how one smoker, Eilonnwy for instance, can become highly addicted to smoking, while others, such as myself and loads of people that I've known, whodon't.

Can you stop smoking? Sure, you are hardly a chain smoker, but can you still quit cold turkey? You might find it more difficult than you think.

[Scarface]

Why am I not a chain smoker? Surely I would be if I was addicted.

Yes I can stop smoking and have done so many times. I have gone without for a week (too many times to count), a month (many times), 4 months, and I have quit twice long term, once for a year and another time for 2 and half years. If I was addicted there's no way I'd be able to do that. I can also go without eating fruit, veg, snacks, meat, you name it. I can go without cigarettes for longer than I can go without chocolate, in fact there's no contest. How do you reconcile all of that with your idea that cigarettes per se are addictive?

[Rhizomorph13]

Why am I not a chain smoker? Surely I would be if I was addicted.

Yes I can stop smoking and have done so many times. I have gone without for a week (too many times to count), a month (many times), 4 months, and I have quit twice long term, once for a year and another time for 2 and half years. If I was addicted there's no way I'd be able to do that. I can also go without eating fruit, veg, snacks, meat, you name it. I can go without cigarettes for longer than I can go without chocolate, in fact there's no contest. How do you reconcile all of that with your idea that cigarettes per se are addictive?

I'm convinced! cigarettes aren't addictive, because some random person on the internet can avoid smoking them for long periods of time and then go right back to smoking them. I'm also going to live forever; so far so good. The mountains of data that suggest that cigarettes ARE addictive and that nobody lives forever are wrong. Thank you Scarface, I am enlightened. /sarcasm

Do you really want to argue that cigarettes aren't addictive?

Rhizo

[Entropist]

Why am I not a chain smoker? Surely I would be if I was addicted.

Well good for you. As I said (and as you ought to well know) different people respond differently to bacteria, viruses, and chemicals. There is a higher likelihood that people will become addicted to certain chemicals more than others. Phillip Morris and the other cig companies knew this, which is why they did it. And it was successful-- until they got caught, taken to court and found guilty.

Bear in mind I am not saying people who smoke become mindless zombies who have lost all sense of willpower (which is what you seem to be suggesting I am saying). But it makes it a hell of a lot more difficult for many people. And that's not even factoring in the health risks, which Phillip Morris et al were also well aware of.

Me, I wouldn't know what its like, since I've never touched the shit.

[Scarface]

Yes Rhizo I would like to argue that cigarettes are not addictive.

[Rhizomorph13]

Yes Rhizo I would like to argue that cigarettes are not addictive.

Well, then you'll need to support that statement with some data. It isn't enough to just say, "Nuh uh, cigerettes are not addictive." The fact that you admit to smoking more a day than I ever did when I was addicted certainly is humorous to me. There are many forms of addiction and only when you see it as a problem does it move from being simple use to being a true addiction. Do you think that smoking 1 cigarette a day is no different from smoking 0 a day? If so, how many do you need to smoke before they start impacting your health?

Rhizo

[Scarface]

I see you've switched the discussion from addiction to health all of a sudden. We're not talking about health, we are talking about addiction. The fact that so many smokers are occasional smokers or social smokers demonstrates that not all smokers are addicted, and points to the fact that addiction is a prsonal matter, not an absolute. Anyone who can go without something for a a few days, a week, a month, or a year or even longer is clearly not addicted. You've been brainwashed to actually believe that when someone goes back to something, it's due to an addiction, while totally ignoring the fact that they wouldn't be able to go without in the first place if they were.

[Shinylight]

Have you ever heard of nicotine?