Somebody PLEASE Explain This To Me

[seg4527]

Why do I love cigarettes so much?

I mean, they really don't make you feel THAT good, if you think about it. From what I hear, Marijuana makes you feel dozens of times better, yet lots of people seem to be able to stop that whenever they want.

So why is that that this smoker of just 7 months is finding it so hard to not smoke a cigarette? Granted, when I only smoke one a day, I get this pretty cool lightheaded feeling. But with the usual 5-10 a day, I don't feel that much of anything, yet I still just....WANT ONE. I don't get it. I really don't.

Any explanations?

[redqueen]

1. From what I hear,

they treat the tobacco with lots of chemicals to enhance its addictive properties. I don't know if it's true, but it sounds plausible.

[seg4527]

5. I've heard that

But I've even started smoking additive free cigarettes. No help.

[Left Is Write]

7. Smoking additive-free cigarettes won't help, because

nicotine itself is highly addictive. I was in its grip for years.

[southpaw]

2. It's called ADDICTION.

You are addicted to nicotine and the craving is part of the addiction.

By the way, big tobacco is pure fucking EVIL. Every pack of smokes you buy supports evil.

Grasping the reality of that fact is what helped me kick a 17 year long, 2 pack a day habit!

[madison2000]

3. I dont know- there must be some biological basis for addiction that

makes it harder for some people than others.

I would be scared what a single cigarette would do to my lungs, so I've never smoked one. (Mild asthsma, wouldn't want to make it worse.)

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. Here's why:

Nicotine binds to dopamine receptors and stimulates endorphins; it basically short-circuits your brain's pleasure centres by causing the reaction you have on a NATURAL release from anxiety and stress (this is why a cigarette will make you feel calm when you're agitated).

[HughBeaumont]

15. And the sooner (in age) you start . . .

the more susceptible your body will be to adapt to and make this change permanent. This is why they market their product to kids and put smarmy anti-smoking ads out that actually draw more teens to smoke. They know exactly what they're doing, the bastards.

My grandmother died at the age of 49 from lung cancer, so anything smokeable was never a "yes" for me.

[LynneSin]

20. and also the reason why you're agitated when you haven't smoked in a bit

because those receptors need their endorphins and the chemical that was creating that 'calming affect' isn't in the system or in low supply.

I find it ironic that smokers will say something profound like "I smoke because it calms my nerves". Well, to be honest, the only reason a smokers nerves are so freaking agitated is because they're a nicotine junkee jones their next fix

And mind you, it's the same thing for junk food too!

[Lex]

6. My best friend quit when he realized for every cigarette he smoked

he was putting money in the pocket of Bush and Cheney (big cigarette coroporations make massive donations to the GOP).

[fit4life]

8. You don't love them.

You're addicted.

I hate cigarettes with a passion, but smoke a pack a day.

Kind of like wondering why abused women stay with abusive spouses. There's no good explanation, rhyme or reason for it.

[On the Road]

9. In Addition to the Lightheaded Feeling

there's a calming effect of the nicotine that kicks in about halfway through. It's very easy to miss, but your body notices and I think that effect is the main reason they're so addicting.

I've smoked one or two a day for about ten years, and have never had too difficult a time quitting if there was a reason. The statistics I had seen suggested that smoking at that level did not increase cancer risks very much. However, last week, my doctor's office told me I had a spot on my lung X-Ray and to go back in two months to get another X-Ray. Although it's probably nothing, all of a sudden I'm concerned and have stopped completely. Regardless of the cause, I would feel so stupid if I got cancer.

[sam sarrha]

10. tobacco is ~500% more addictive than Heroin... i used Meditation to quit.

it worked very good, i have been tobacco free for 10 years.

meditation is a specific practice.. it is simply a method of training the mind not to associate thoughts with emotions, entertain KneeJerk thought you get control back over your life in many ways, worry, anxiety, fear.. all fall away.

good meditation book is 'Diamond Mind' by Rob Nairn... might get it cheap used at www.amazon.com , or at B&N or www.snowlionpub.com

a Really Good Tape set to get is Pema Chodron's "When Things Fall Apart". I used that one to quit drinking.. and if you stop smoking you are going to need that tape.. it saved my life, i listened to it every day for weeks, would put it on while i worked or did the dishes, drove in the car... as you start understanding what it is she is saying, you will hear new things explained you didn't get before.. i have given dozens of them away to people in crisis and in bad mental/emotional doldrums..
..

[BiggJawn]

11. It's the addictive qualities...

You only think you "love" them.

I thought I loved them for 30 years. Now I don't miss 'em, and they were actually easier to get over than my ex-wife...

[Tafiti]

12. It's also a psychological addiction.

Everyone scoffs at me when I say this, but I cannot become physically addicted to cigarettes. I won numerous bets from people who challenged me.

I would state this, quite matter of factly, and they'd tell me it's bullshit. In college I smoked a pack to a pack-and-a-half a day, and this still held true. I'd tell them I could quit anytime if I wanted (which, admittedly sounds like bullshit, but I was baiting them), and a bet would be placed. So, I would quit for 2 weeks, 3 weeks, whatever, cold turkey with no problems whatsoever. I've always been that way. The psychological aspect was what hooked me. I've just always liked smoking (don't know why).

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13. i think thats' how it is with me too

Whenever I needed to, family get togethers etc., I could go a day or two to a week without it, no problem. But whenever I got the chance to again, I would.

And now I'm on my own, in my own apartment, and there is nothing keepint me from it anymore, so that makes it worse.

[Tafiti]

21. Exactly.

I would do the same thing during holiday breaks. Without that external restraint, it makes it all up to you.

I guess you'll have to get to the point when you really want to, and then you should be able to without the agony that some people go through physically. Don't know which is worse, trying to overcome the psychological or the physical. 'Cause even if you don't need it physically, every time you're around someone who's smoking, or see someone smoking, you'll want it too. At least that's the way it is with me.

[billyskank]

14. All those who say "it's just an addiction you junkie; kick the habit"

are wrong; there's far more going on psychologically than mere physical dependency. I am convinced the physical addiction is only a small effect and a very small part of the whole.

I'm not saying you should buy it because it's quite pricey, but while at University I read a very good book called "Cigarettes Are Sublime" by Richard Klein, which describes in great depth why the author thinks he loves cigarettes. You may find some answers to your question therein.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0822316412/qid=1107199032/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-9123249-0955911

BTW, I will be two years without a smoke in March.

[LynneSin]

19. It is both physical and psychological - you're right

With any addiction, there is always the pleasurable moment that your body first remembers when you introduced the addictive substance into your body. THis pleasurable moment is something the body craves even though the act of eating, snorting, smoking, drinking, gambling, shooting, popping, etc has left a long time ago. Those memory sensors are extremely strong and even though you known smoking is bad and I know eating junk food is bad, we do it anywas because your brain as a memorable association from when you first started on that substance.

In a nut shell - it's like comfort food but you're smoking it instead

[rucky]

16. Nicotine is an adaptogen

it picks you up, or relaxes you - keeping your body in homeostasis. There's links between smokers and depression, and smokers and schizophrenia. I smoked for 15 years and only successfully quit after I went on antidepressants (not just Wellbutrin does it.)

I'm just saying, despite the obviously addictive qualities, there are other reasons you may find comfort in a cigarette.

[truebrit71]

Been smoking since I was 13....28 years ago...

I would really like to quit....


Really.

Just can't quite do it...

[LynneSin]

17. It's called you're an Addict - they make cigerettes to do just that

Cigerettes are addictive just the way that Crank, Smack & Blow are addictive. It gets into your bloodstream and becomes a part of you. It gets to the point that your body is so accustomed to the addictive part of the cigerette that it overwhelms the rest of your body which is begging you to stop putting these pollutants in your system.

Go rent the Insider, it'll explain the rest to you.

Fortunately you've only be smoking seven months. Go buy the patch and some of the gum and get off that shit now before you totally screw up your body for life.

I've never smoked cigerettes or marijuana but at least when you smoke marijuana it's the way God made it and not the way man created it to hook the masses

[snooper2]

18. Damn it, after reading this thread my mouth is watering, I need a smoke

:(

[AccessGranted]

22. Aaaaaah . . .The Joy and Pain of Smoking

I've quit smoking numerous times, often for as long as two years and went back. It's been about 8 months now since I've had one as I've quit once again. I still keep a pack in my car and when I get the craving really bad I take one out of the pack and sniff it. After that I chew a piece of Big Red chewing gum. Cinnamon apparently cuts nicotine cravings. Strangely enough this works. Well, at least it does for me. I do still miss it though. I actually miss holding a cigarette, flicking the ashes and blowing the smoke in and out. I always found smoking a stress reliever and very relaxing even though it's a stimulant. Sometimes I think about going back to it and probably would if I lived alone, but I have a child and a significant other that I love very much and they don't like it, so I don't do it. They didn't make a big deal about it, but I know that they would prefer that I didn't do it. Honestly, I love cigarettes, too, but I love the people in my circle of life more.

[Ramsey]

23. Nicotine

Is more addictive than heroin.

[mark414]

24. cause they're disgusting

brb i need to go have a cigarette

[chimpy the poopthrower]

25. curious -- what made you start?

not criticizing, just sincerely curious...

and also, how old are you?