Jump to content

The other side of quit smoking forums.


JB 883
 Share

Recommended Posts

First and foremost, no, yesterday was NOT my birthday nor is today... I seldom put my actual birth date. Now then...

Yesterday I got an email. yeah, SAME day I signed up for this forum.

The email was a "happy birthday" message from some smoking forum I used to belong to. Just went there three years ago seeking advice about rolling my own cigs. I was skimming through it and came across some interesting topics on their "main smoking forum". Things like people asking about lung disease, about getting harassed, how to tell so and so...

So it is like I hop on this forum and soon after get a message from the smoking forum, like the habit is trying to recruit me back. Tell me this is not as ironic as a clean-shaven hipster who hates vintage BS and listening to mainstream music on an Android phone.

one particularly interesting thing that comes up though is people talking about wanting to quit. I mentioned there are quit smoking forums out there if people needed advice or online community. I did not mention any by name though as mods on most forums tend to get a stick up their butts if other forums are advertised.

I find it interesting though that so many smokers WANT to quit. Eventually the habit just gets tiresome. I never thought I would want to quit. I used to make jokes about my habit. "yeah when I am 60 and already dead from lung disease..." or for smoke time - "I am going to go make my lungs a little sexier now with more tar". One time I joked to my sister that if someone has a hole in their throat, they could smoke two cigarettes at once. Yeah it was all a big joke. Then out of nowhere it was like, "I need to quit for real". I guess I just want to live. I am too good to be a smoker.

Is it that ALL smokers are well aware that they are killing themselves? Maybe it is not until weird things like rattling breath happen that it becomes a little more real? Maybe the smokers and the quitters alike have or had an image of themselves rotting away in some hospital bed because they smoked too much? What about other images? Maybe some redneck, with a mullet, who you KNOW smokes even in his "classic" Camaro. Or what about that one really sexy man (shudder) who made a bunch of stop-smoking videos? Or like my nasty neighbor who sounds JUST LIKE the lady in the video below. Who wants to be those people? Or better yet, those who got throat cancer and have to use that fake voice thingy that sound like the song "Freak a zoid" by Midnight Star.

Would it help smokers if they realized they are BETTER than burning their money, making their clothes and house stink, screwing up their health, risking some weird cancer, etc? I mean my GYOD if someone has ever been in trouble with credit debt, then we know the reality of "buy now pay later". Come time to pay it back, it SUCKS. It is even worse when your credit is maxed out and you cannot afford to make payments. That is about what it is probably like for people with cancer who THEN decide, "maybe I should quit". Well what the hell is the point THEN? Might as well quit when you are thinking about, "What if the anti-smoking people are right?"

You have all these young people (the beginner smokers) who think they are hot stuff. Could THEY not be told they are too good, too pretty to smoke? Show them pics of Terri Hall or Debi Austin. You know those two probably didn't cram their FB accounts with selfies. They are both nasty thanks to smoking. Debi could have been beautiful if not for a hole in her throat.

OK I need to shut up now. Sometimes i get a weird crave but then start thinking of the pure hatred I have about the fact that I was F'in killing myself for 15 years. About the level of hatred I have for cigarettes. Like some disgusting ex lover one now repulses at the thought. Am I becoming some kind of anti-smoking nazi?

Here is Terri, who sounds like my neighbor.

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of what you're saying above, JB, boils down to one thing: ADDICTION

People's judgement and intelligence get trumped by the powerful force of being drawn to a substance even though the conscious mind knows that substance is bad for them in every conceivable way.  It's no different from any other drug addiction or alcoholism.  

I am so grateful to be free from this deadly addiction.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That happened to me when I was in Las Vegas back in August this year :)

All kinds of people smoking and I just felt sorry for them because they were still slaves to their addiction and I wasn't feeling like smoking at all in fact, it repulsed me to think about smoking again. That was the first time I had been exposed to a lot of smokers since my quit. That is when I truly realized I had actually quit for good :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Sirius said:

When you first start your quit you might envy those who still smoke.

Then one day you realize you pity them.  That's the day you quit.

 

Pity smokers. I kind of feel at that stage even right now, little over seven weeks in. Too early?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^^ I think we all find that moment in our own time. Just depends on how your life plays out. I was never exposed to smokers for over 6 months of my quit - just the way it went for me. I couldn't tell what my reaction would be but when the time came ......  as it turned out, it was quite uplifting for me when I was exposed to a lot of people smoking around me :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

About us

QuitTrain®, a quit smoking support community, was created by former smokers who have a deep desire to help people quit smoking and to help keep those quits intact.  This place should be a safe haven to escape the daily grind and focus on protecting our quits.  We don't believe that there is a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to quitting smoking.  Each of us has our own unique set of circumstances which contributes to how we go about quitting and more importantly, how we keep our quits.

 

Our Message Board Guidelines

Get in touch

Follow us

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Guidelines

Please Sign In or Sign Up