Hey guys,

For the record, I'm 29. I started smoking experimentally when I was around 14 or 15. (Spending summers in Greece didnt help this, EVERYONE smoked, and still does). By the time I was 16, it was a full blown habit, condoned, and even somewhat supported dissaprovingly by my parents.

In those 13 or 14 years since I started smoking, alot has changed, both in society, as well as in my personal life. First of all I find smoking a burden socially, I live in NJ, and you can still smoke most places (bars, clubs, restaurants etc), but most people and most of my friends and associates are non smokers. When I started smoking you could walk around the mall smoking, smoke at any fast food place etc.... There were were no real prohibitions on the matter. Hell you could even go outside at my high school and smoke between classes or after lunch. I'm not complaining that they there are now, just that I feel like an outcast or social deviant sometimes due to my habit.

Secondly in those last 13 years, I've pursued higher education, aged, matured etc. I no longer have the attitude of the invincible 18 year old kid who can live forever and nothing will ever bother him. I know it has affected my health already, and continues to do so every day. I see the stains on my teeth, as well as the enhanced duration of colds etc. My neighbor died last friday at 53. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago, and then recently developed a brain tumor. She was a smoker... No one knows if it was directly correlated to smoking but I know her smoking couldn't have helped.

So I'm at this crossroads where I want to stop smoking, but I really am afraid. Honestly, I can't really remember life pre-smoking. I read a few books on the matter, and one went on and on about the virtues of nicorette chewing gum. It gave a lot of analysis on the processeses by which nicotene reacts inside the body, as well as how nicorette was better than the steady release "patches" because it gives nicotene in bursts (when you chew a piece), as opposed to delivering a steady flow, which apparently tends to raises the bodys tolerance and dependance on nicotene.

A second factor of why this particular author recommended nicotene, is because it becomes a habit (chewing the gum), that involves the hands, mouth etc, similar to smoking.

Some other research I have done into the matter indicates that the body never really loses its tolerance for nicotene. Apparently experiments have been performed where people who have not smoked were asked to smoke one cigarette after 5 years of being smoke free, and their body reacted almost exactly as if they were a regular smoker.

The cravings do die down, but, the ability to return (and fall right back into your old ways) is indefinitely present.

Even heroin addicts who had not used the drug in over a year had lost their tolerance for it, and their bodies reacted almost as if they had never used it before. This is some insanely powerful stuff, apparently only rivaled by LSD in its ability to cause chemical changes in the body. It probably should have never been allowed in the first place, but since it has no intoxicating, or adverse psychological effects, it was never banned, and this millions were allowed to become quietly addicted to it. I'm not trying to make any excuses for my habit, but like most I never realized the true extent of the addiction potential.

Now, nicotene is the only drug in cigarettes that you are addicted too, but apparently, it is one of the least harmful components of cigarette smoke.

So, maybe as a crutch, I think im going to try it (nicorette), and give this new smoke free lifestyle a chance.

So I have some questions for people who have used it before. First, the largest complaint with nicorette is the taste. I know you are not supposed to chew it like conventional gum, but rather chew till you taste it, then leave it in the side of your mouth, then chew, leave it etc, slowly extracting the nicotene over approximately a 30 minute period. But for some the taste alone can be enough to not stick with it. I have heard stories of people mixing it with regular chewing gum to make it more palatable. Has anyone tried this? Does it have any effect on its ability to supress cravings?

Secondly how long were you on it. I know you are basically supposed to use it as you need it, not exceeding 30 pieces per day, but you are supposed to stay on it for 3-6 months (in apparently smaller and smaller doses), before giving it up entirely. You should be comfortable with 1-2 pieces per day satisfying any desire to smoke before attempting to abandon it.

Lastly, do you still keep a stash of it around. Most of the stuff I read about it says to, as a security blanket, incase you feel a sudden urge to smoke.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post.

Take care,

George

__________________
George Androulakis

Former Mb's:

1990 500sl R129 - 76k Original Miles - New project - Follow the saga http://90r129.blogspot.com/
1990 190E 2.6 148k mi (sold)
1989 420 SEL 246k mi (sold)
1995 C220 175k mi (sold)
1992 190e 2.6 74k original miles (sold)
2000 c230 Kompressor 122k miles (RIP)
1996 C220 149k mi (sold)
2000 C230 Kompressor Sport 127k (sold)

Current Cars:

2009 Mercedes c300 4matic
2006 Mercedes s430
2005 Jaguar XJR
2003 Cadillac Escalade

the taste isn't that bad at all.. kind of peppery when you bite it.. you'l feel a bit of a sting/burn on your tongue but nothing major.. stay on it as long as you feel the cravings.. to increase your chances of success in quiting try to be on the patch at the same time and definately look into zyban/wilbutrin...

good luck

__________________
72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon

I used the walgreens brand of nicotine gum. Tastes much better (and is cheaper) then nicorette. IMO

__________________
Pxland

2001 Honda Accord

1995 Jeep Cherokee

1973 MB 280SEL 4.5

I smoked from the time I was 15 until age 25 and I am now 68. Quit cold turkey (because I really, really wanted to quit). When I would get a craving for a cigarette, I would just wait a few more minutes, then wait a few minutes more, etc. Eventually the craving went away. The really hard part was when I would be out having a few beers and someone would pass a pack around. They were cheap then (1961)......

I didn't try any gum or other things. I did notice that I didn't know what to do with my hands. After a few months food started to taste as I had remembered it though.

If you need to use a "crutch" to quit, do so. It's worth it. Just be committed to quitting and you can do it.

I have a brother who is 9 years younger than I and was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. He knew the risks he was taking and said so. He liked smoking and just didn't want to quit. Now we will be paying the price.

I smoked from 18 - 32. It took me 14 years to quit.

Nicorette helped an awful lot, even though I chewed ulcers in my cheeks and tongue. It's a psychological as well as physical addiction. You have to recognize and address both issues.

Psychologically, I still want an occasional cigarette and I haven't smoked in over 20 years.

Thanks for all the replies guys....

I looked further into the issue, and it seems that there is also an alternate form of nicotene replacement therapy, called the commit lozenge. Basically a nicotene spiked mint / cough drop type hard candy. You are not supposed to chew it or break it in your mouth, rather just let it dissolve over the course of a half hour period.

It doesnt have the "chew then park" system of delivery that nicorette does.

I think this is the method im going to try, with possibly getting some of the gum as a backup, or to switch it up, after all, nicotene is nicotene right?


I know I have to quit for my own health, but like I said, the psychological addiction (and mannerisms associated with it), are going to be initially hard to overcome.

Take care,

George

__________________
George Androulakis

Former Mb's:

1990 500sl R129 - 76k Original Miles - New project - Follow the saga http://90r129.blogspot.com/
1990 190E 2.6 148k mi (sold)
1989 420 SEL 246k mi (sold)
1995 C220 175k mi (sold)
1992 190e 2.6 74k original miles (sold)
2000 c230 Kompressor 122k miles (RIP)
1996 C220 149k mi (sold)
2000 C230 Kompressor Sport 127k (sold)

Current Cars:

2009 Mercedes c300 4matic
2006 Mercedes s430
2005 Jaguar XJR
2003 Cadillac Escalade

If you visit clubs, that's likely to be one of the worst times for a craving. I found that I had to change my preferred beverages so that I could drink something that I didn't associate with a cigarette. I still miss good bourbon, sniff.

Bot

I never really understood cigs, the smell is nasty, not only from the cigarrete but from regular smokers. Can someone explain why they put all that cancerous crap in there like lead, cadmium, benzowhatever, arsenic, and god knows what else in cigarettes? Do those things actually give off a good flavor?

__________________
1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

I started when I was a teenager and wanted to have something in common with older guys. It seems damned stupid now, but at the time, acceptance was way more important to me than some possible future complications of my health.

Incidentally, that same line of reasoning is exactly why teenaged boys are the raw material for gangs or sports teams, or the military. Acceptance by the group (also known as not letting your buddies down) is more important than your life, for a certain kind of man.

I don't think women (in general) have that same drive, a drive that cuts across cultures and through time. Why is that? What is this fundamental difference between men and women in which men risk their lives for acceptance by their cohort while women think it's silly. Here I am, older than dirt, and a part of me misses that unit cohesion mentality. I can't explain it.

Want a smoke?

Bot

Nothing will help you quit, unless you have the WILLPOWER to quit. You have to WANT to quit, 100%.

My dad was a smoker for 20+ years. He was the only smoker in our immediate family, and we all hated it, and gave him endless grief for it. But he kept smoking.

One day, we were all in the living room watching TV. He picked up his smokes, and noticed that he had one cig left in his pack of Camels.... He took it out, lit it, and said, "This is going to be my last cigarette." He smoked it, finished it, put the butt in the ashtray, and then thew away the ashtray, the lighter, everything. He has not smoked a single cigarette since then. That was 1978.

There's no "miracle" trick or gum or patch or anything that will do it for you.

If you REALLY want to quit, you will.

Mike

__________________
_____
1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

Any yet I know a lot more women that smoke than men......

Maybe it's an "oral" thing?....

Mike

__________________
_____
1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

Sometimes a cigar is NOT just a cigar.

Bot

Smoked from 14 to 32,nicorette helped,but so did an occasional joint.

Took me a month to get over the physical craving,about a year the desire left completely.

It makes me wince when I recall the crap I smoked,camels,galoises,{really smelly french coffin nails}dunhills,st.moritz menthol and those insipid indonesian clove cigs, Jeeziz H. Christ was I stupid!!!!


I believe certain other recreational substances may be indulged in safely,in moderation.................

__________________

This is exactly right. No amount of gum or "cough-cough" drops will help you quit if you don't wanna.


One more advantage of the gum over the lozenge....

Another thing I like about the gum, from walgreens anyway, is that it's initial flavor and texture never changes. I've chewed one piece for an entire day and not even realized it. I'm sure that the nicotine only lasts for awhile, but it becomes comforting to chew the gum and if you are only chewing two pieces a day it is not that expensive.

__________________
Pxland

2001 Honda Accord

1995 Jeep Cherokee

1973 MB 280SEL 4.5