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Mar 26 02 6:42 PM
Hello Susan and John:
Susan, you are right in your observation about most social circles now in regards to smoking. The one group that does face pressures still are younger people--and John, your recollections of the old Navy days still have relevance.
I was doing a little consulting work with the Navy a few years ago. They had initiated the total smoking ban in boot camps. Recruits would come in to basic training, be totally off cigarettes for 6 weeks I think, and then surveyed a few months later to see if they actually had lower smoking rates. The theory was, kids who got addicted when in high school or elementary school, now had the chance to detox and were then free to choose.
It sounded good in theory that there should have been a noticeable drop in smoking rates. In fact, the opposite was found--within a few months of time in the service there were actually more smokers than who originally enlisted.
The 18 to 24 year old age group has the highest smoking rates at this time in the United States. It is apparent that there still is some kind of pressure on these young people to smoke. In the military they seem to have felt that some of the pressure was coming from the training schools after basic training. The feeling was that many of the older instructors were still smoking, and one of the ways for the newer recruits to spend time with the instructors and maybe even win some favor was by sharing the cigarette breaks with them. I suspect this factor along with the one John points out such as the extra breaks for the smokers may be factors influencing the increased smoking trends.
Whether any specific person here has pressure on him or her to smoke or not to smoke, it still comes down to each individual's decision. The decision must be based on the available options--to smoke full-fledged until cigarettes eventually cripple and then kills you or to stay free from the total control that nicotine exerted on you in the past. If your choice is to stay free you must always remember to never take another puff!
Joel
Apr 13 02 2:12 PM
Let me echo everyone else's welcome and assurance that you are in the right place. Your background in AA will serve you well here. You basically come to us with a thorough understanding of addiction. If you didn't, you would not be a recovering alcoholic but rather, an actively drinking one. You understand the principal of one drink, or one sip for that fact.
Now it is just transferring your experience and knowledge with alcohol and aiming it at nicotine. Same problem, drug addiction--same solution, stop delivering it into your system.
You probably feel quitting is scary, what will your life be like without smoking? Well, you probably had those exact same fears when quitting drinking. You were right when you thought your life would be different. It in all likelihood became immeasurably better. The same will hold true with this effort.
I always state it this way. Treat an addiction as an addiction and you will learn to control it. Treat an addiction like a bad habit and you won't have a prayer. Your use of nicotine is an addiction. Take your understanding of addiction, aim it at nicotine and you will do fine.
I should point out, whenever I have anyone who quits smoking after quitting another substance; they often have a harder time than many others in the group. Smoking may have been a crutch off the other substance. Now, when quitting, not only are they trying to break free from a primary addiction, but, they are trying to pull off the crutch from the other addiction.
While it may be harder up front, they are usually more successful than the average, again, because they understand addiction. Aim your other program at this and you will do fine.
If anything we can do to help, don't hesitate to ask.
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" Drinking is a special case because the association is so strong and by its very nature lowers your inhibitions and can cause people to do some very irrational behaviors. Smoking can be one of them. Because of the drug influence, it is best to take it on gradually, in the beginning in a safe environment. By that I mean the first time, limit it to one drink just to show yourself you can do that. Also, do it with people who are non-smokers and who really are supportive of your quit. This is a much safer situation in the beginning by going out with drinking smoking buddies who may be a tad envious of your quit, and who, while drinking also have their inhibitions lowered that may manifest in behaviours of encouragement of your smoking at a time when you are more vulnerable."
Mar 18 03 4:33 AM
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