I get into arguments with other people sometimes about whether or not smoking tobacco is an addiction or just a bad habit. Strangely enough, those that object to labeling smoking as an addiction seem to be those who have recovered from addictions themselves...such as alcohol, meth, crack, etc. It's almost as if they don't want to let any others in the so called recovery club if their drug of choice is nicotine. Almost snobbish.
Well...let's look at the definition of addiction; engaging in a behavior (such as ingesting a chemical) that consumes a large portion of your consciousness, and that behavior is continued in spite of the knowledge that it is extremely harmful or personal wishes to stop.
Gee, that certainly describes my smoking habit. My days pretty much revolve around cigarettes to some degree or another At least twenty times every day I suspend whatever I'm doing to dose myself with a few shots of nicotine. I know tobacco is bad for me. Beyond making me stink the tobacco will eventually kill me in what will likely be a painful and nasty death. I want to stop. In fact, I don't know of anybody over the age of 30 who likes smoking. I want to stop, I want to stop, gawd I want to stop....but I keep buying them, paying any price asked. I calculate that, since I started seriously smoking, I have given myself over one million doses of nicotine. Come across any addict that tells you they have given themselves a million injections or had drunk a million shots, and you would probably describe them as pretty hard core.
And like most addicts of any type...I relapse. There are no support groups for smokers. No anonymous 12-step meetings. No coins. No detox centers. No treatment centers. A smoker is on their own.
Which makes me more determined than ever to kick this addiction, habit, or whatever the hell you want to call it. I AM A NON-SMOKER!
damn...that sounds good
I AM A NON-SMOKER!
5 comments:
I've seen that your quit smoking counter has started over numerous times. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time quitting.
I follow you on ExposeYourBlog.
Quitting is easy....staying quit is the hard part :) Thanks for your support.
I smoked for 14 years, haven't smoked for 6. My secret: tackle the problem areas straight away. Drinking, socialising, coffee etc. so many times I gave up for for weeks, even months before succumbing as soon as I went out drinking with my mates. But when I gave up for good I went out drinking that week. I beat the psychological addiction first, then I beat the physical addiction. And yes, of course smoking is an addiction - or as Alan Carr says "It's a trap!"
"It's a trap"...I like that concept.
And you have your support group here Jay. (At least in me!)
Follow the same steps that any other addiction takes to kick that addiction, and you will get over it.
Smoking IS a drug addiction, so treat it as one. Stay away from people that take that drug, stay away from partying or socializing while smoking will help keep you away from it at a bit better. (As Thunderbeard said.)
You have my email so you can reach me if you need your support fix. ;)
D.
http://exposeyourblog.com
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