Why Smoke when Lung Cancer is a leading cause of death?

[koji8123]

Well, if there would a preservative for the "cigarette-bad-components" I would not want to stop smoking. It is not the same there are protections against getting AIDS, as far *** I know the fact of smoking increases the risk whatsoever you do...

 

I guess there's ways of quitting smoking and AIDS... not so much

cure for cravings, not for lowered white blood cell count, good point but still

[InfiniteNow]

Reason and Freezy,

 

Your openness discussing this is very refreshing. You guys rock. Just try to remind yourself that there's no such thing as "just one" cigarette. Try not to think of it that way, since you know once you have one, all of those beautiful little addiction components in your brain are awakened from their dormant state and saying "holy sweet jeebus, i forgot how high i felt when doing that." ... and they will prompt your cravings to begin again, then (as Reason so aptly stated) it's back to square one again.

 

Some people make the mistake of thinking about having one cigarette to "reward" themselves. "Hey, I've been smoke free for a month now. I am going to have just one to reward myself for all of my efforts." But, when you think about it logically, it's not a reward at all, but a betrayal. Why would you reward yourself by negating all of your hard work and focus to move away from that behavior? This concept makes much more sense when viewed in a different context. "I've been off heroine for a whole month. I think I'll reward myself by shooting up." See what I mean? It should be no different with ciggies.

 

 

Sanctus - If working out is not your thing, then you could always try masturbation to help the craving pass. It's a lot more fun, and feels good too. Just hopefully you are not THAT addicted, or you could really hurt yourself by doing it too often and rubbing yourself raw. <hmm... and you might want a smoke when you're done, too. scratch that. i don't think that's a very good idea after all.> :)

 

 

Cheers all. Thanks again for all of your openness in this thread. It has reminded me of how many times I struggled trying to let those things go, and how glad I am now not having them dictate so many aspects of my life. Happy grilling. :)

[freeztar]

I think I may have stumbled upon a possible answer to this thread's question.

 

Anyone who has ever tried smoking probably remembers that first cigarette vividly. For some, it brought a wave of nausea or a nasty coughing fit. For others, those first puffs also came with a rush of pleasure or “buzz.”

 

Now, a new study links those first experiences with smoking, and the likelihood that a person is currently a smoker, to a particular genetic variation. The finding may help explain the path that leads from that first cigarette to lifelong smoking.

 

The new finding also adds to growing suspicion surrounding the role of a particular nicotine-receptor gene in smoking-related behaviors and in lung cancer. Other researchers have already linked variations in the same genetic region to smokers’ level of dependence on nicotine, to the number of cigarettes smoked per day and to a far higher risk of lung cancer — the ultimate outcome of a lifetime of smoking.

 

In a paper published online today in the journal Addiction, a multi-university collaborative team of researchers specializing in statistical genetics, gene analysis, and trait analysis reports an association between a variant in the CHRNA5 nicotine receptor gene, initial smoking experiences, and current smoking patterns.

If your first cigarette gave you a buzz & you now smoke, a gene may be to blame | University of Michigan Health System

[Donk]

I'm a smoker.

 

Once I gave up for exactly one year just to prove I could, but the side effects weren't pleasant. No real cravings, not much weight gain - but my brain turned into porridge

 

At the time I was in a job which suited me very much. 50% of the time was routine typing, filing, checking... Not thought-intensive activities, so while doing those things my hindbrain was busily inventing new and better ways of getting the work done. The other 50% of the time was working out the details, implementing them, training others on the new techniques. It took a while before I noticed it, but during that year I had virtually no new ideas. I just coasted. So I started smoking again and the brainwave faucet turned back on.

 

There were no nicotine replacements back then, either gum, lozenges or patches. It was smoke or cold turkey. I'd proved that I could do the cold turkey thing, but the cost was more than I was willing to pay. I did cut down though, to around five a day.

 

18 months ago I decided to taper off, replacing cigarettes with gum. Within weeks, I was down to two a day. By June, one every five days. Then eight. Then twelve...

 

I opened my current pack in July last year. I still have six left, and the gap is still increasing. 97 days to my last one, and (so far) over 120 days since. At this rate, I'll still be able to look at that pack and say "I'm a smoker" until some time in 2011. :shrug:

[Michaelangelica]

 

High status individuals doctors, actors- change values/opinions/attitudes/values.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Because salmon tastes like crap if you don't:hihi:

 

I no longer smoke....now trying hard to remember why I quit.....I liked smoking.

[pamela]

originally posted by DD

Because salmon tastes like crap if you don't

 

I no longer smoke....now trying hard to remember why I quit.....I liked smoking.

really? maybe that first few when you could actually taste them years ago, but that fades fast. Oh, you can taste them when you have bronchitis and even when you are having an asthma attack. Hey, but think about that lack of oxygen when you are shoveling that snow, pretty rough , huh.... And what about those really cool looking people travelling around with that machine in tow, and unplug for a smoke- they aren't worried about lung cancer, they are enjoying their emphysema:lol:

[sanctus]

grats DD, seen how you were a hardsmoker it is even more impressing, I am still at the stage of trying to smoke less... :-( and my girlfriend quitting me does not help...

[pamela]

all humour aside, DD. You should feel great about yourself! Quitting smoking is the hardest thing, especially the mind control part. Try to think of the positives instead of what you are missing.You are gonna look better(smoking is rough on the skin) and feel more energy. Take deep breaths of air, and enjoy your freedom. You rock!!!:)

[HydrogenBond]

Cigarettes are a drug. One dose of this drug will not do that much harm, except maybe subjectively. But if one smoked a pack of cigarettes a day (20) for 20 years @ 365 days a year, that is 146,000 doses of this drug. This number of doses appears to be required to be one of the reliable poor health statistics. Some can double the dose closer to 300,000 and still get by if they quit after that. Others have ill affects below 100,000 doses.

 

If we compare this number of doses of this drug, to other drugs, the body can handle very few drugs at that dose schedule. If you did 20 units per day, for 20 years, or 146,000 doses, of almost anything in the pharmacy, these would also lead to health problems. But in the correct dose, it is can be innocuous. But at the same dosage schedule as cigarettes, all medication would kill you.

 

Maybe we can run tests on all drugs, using the cigarette dosage schedule, to see which will cause harm at that rate to help normalize the risk at that level. Try to take 140,000 doses of viagra over twenty years and see what that will do. At that rate, within one year you would be toast. But there is a safe dosage for drugs that could not even approach the cigarette dose schedule. I was curious as what is the safe dosage of that drug that can be taking in more units, than any other drug?

[freeztar]

Cigarettes are a drug. One dose of this drug will not do that much harm, except maybe subjectively. But if one smoked a pack of cigarettes a day (20) for 20 years @ 365 days a year, that is 146,000 doses of this drug. This number of doses appears to be required to be one of the reliable poor health statistics. Some can double the dose closer to 300,000 and still get by if they quit after that. Others have ill affects below 100,000 doses.

 

If we compare this number of doses of this drug, to other drugs, the body can handle very few drugs at that dose schedule. If you did 20 units per day, for 20 years, or 146,000 doses, of almost anything in the pharmacy, these would also lead to health problems. But in the correct dose, it is can be innocuous. But at the same dosage schedule as cigarettes, all medication would kill you.

 

Maybe we can run tests on all drugs, using the cigarette dosage schedule, to see which will cause harm at that rate to help normalize the risk at that level. Try to take 140,000 doses of viagra over twenty years and see what that will do. At that rate, within one year you would be toast. But there is a safe dosage for drugs that would wipe you out even after 10,000 doses.

 

One problem with the above is that cigs are not "a drug". There are over 80 carcinogenic chemicals in cigarette smoke!

 

Source: Cigarette Additives, Carcinogens and Chemicals Lists

[sanctus]

freez? Does the fact that there are cancerinogenes imply that it is no drug?

[freeztar]

freez? Does the fact that there are cancerinogenes imply that it is no drug?

 

No, that's not what I'm implying. The main drug in cigarettes is nicotine. To say that a cigarette is a drug is like calling a solar system a "planet place". Sure there are planets, but there are also asteroids, solar wind, comets, etc.

 

In other words, when I take Aspirin, I'm ingesting one chemical. Likewise when I ingest almost any pharmaceutical drug, it's a single chemical. With cigarette smoke, there are over 400 chemicals released (iirc), of which 80+ have been identified as carcinogenic. If cigs only released nicotine, then I'd be comfortable calling it *a* drug. But as it stands, it's a chemical potpourri of both chemicals traditionally considered drugs (eg nicotine) and other chemicals not often considered drugs (eg carbon monoxide).

[pamela]

from Wiki

Tobacco smoke contains the psychoactive alkaloids nicotine and harmane, which combined give rise to addictive stimulant and euphoriant properties. The effect of nicotine in first time or irregular users is an increase in alertness and memory, and mild euphoria. Nicotine also disturbs metabolism and suppresses appetite. This is because nicotine, like many stimulants, temporarily increases blood sugar levels.

unfortunately this is how it lays hold of us

 

Tobacco smoking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[HydrogenBond]

I am not for cigarette smoking. I am just showing there are others ways to interpret the data. I tried to point out dosage schedules of various drugs to put things in perspective and see if there is a safe dosage. What is called good medicine will harm you with far fewer dosages. But these have safe dosages.

 

Freeztar made a good point about the 80+ carcinogens in cigarettes. But a counter way to interpret the data is, even after 140,000 direct exposures to this toxic carcinogenic mixture, there is no 100% guarantee one will get cancer. Does nicotine act as a sentinel drug against many carcinogens, able to allow 100,000+ exposures to blends of some of the nastiest chemical with marginal impact? Or is this affect due to the low levels, which would take 100,000 exposures, anyway. One way to answer this is to use other drugs as the "sentinel" to see what happens.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Because replacing ones wardrobe as their new food addiction caused by their quitting of their smoking addiction is very expensive:hihi:

 

Since quitting I've gained 50% of my pre-quitting body weight (80 LBS)....it's bizare...still cravin cigs very much bad on occasion (probably because I enjoyed smoking....with the exception of not being able to do it indoors anywhere but home)....but worse I find myself craving foodstuffs as bad as or worse than I craved cigs when I was quitting....I have moved from only eating supper to eating breakfast lunch supper and a late nite snack...while I feel a bit better the additional expense of extra meals and larger clothes have eaten the rest of the benefits of quitting up...and of course the extra weight is yet another health disaster waiting to happen....sometimes yer just screwed no matter what you do...perhaps a thread dealin with the new vices of former smokers is in order...

[mynah]

For me, it was lollipops and jelly babies. The next year I had to go on a strict diet for three months to get into my clothes again...