Confessions of a Drug Addict
Until very recently, I was a user of the most dangerous drug in the world. I'm not talking about cocaine, heroin or any of the hard drugs you hear about. I'm talking about a drug that's thousands of times more powerful. It's just as deadly as the hard drugs, but it kills you slowly instead of quickly.
What drug?
Some of you may laugh when I tell you it's nicotine. Yes, nicotine is the most dangerous drug in the world and the reason it's the most dangerous is because it's deadly and legal. No other drug as deadly as nicotine can be obtained legally without a prescription.
Drug addicts don't use drugs to get high. Drug addicts use drugs to feel normal. This is exactly what tobacco smokers do; they just don't know it.
My Failures
I failed to stop smoking permanently so many times that I lost count. Each failure was because I thought I knew how to quit smoking and didn't. Every time I tried, I failed because I didn't have one basic piece of knowledge that's crucial for success: That smoking is caused by a drug addiction that requires continued smoking in order to feel normal.
My Success
I am extremely confident that my latest attempt to quit smoking cigarettes was a success and I consider it my only success with tobacco. Every other attempt was a failure because I returned to smoking.
I smoked for most of my natural life; more than 30 years. I can look back and attribute more than half of my health problems for the last 10 years to the use of tobacco products.
The Secret of My Success
I understand that some people think they need some form of crutch to quit using tobacco products, but I assure you that once they learn the truth about their addiction, quitting is the easiest thing in the world to do.
The physical addiction to nicotine disappears in less than two hours after a smoker stops smoking. Two hours! When a smoker goes to sleep, the physical addiction is already gone by the time he or she wakes up. Again, he or she just doesn't know it.
When a smoker realizes that he or she is lighting another cigarette in order to feel normal, the addiction becomes painfully clear. It is at that point that quitting will have the most chance of success. It was for me.
The Aftermath
When I made my last decision to stop smoking, the need to rid myself of all tobacco products wasn't as strong as the desire to get the smell of cigarette smoke off of my body, out of my clothing and off of my breath.
I hopped in the shower and scrubbed like a madman. I jumped out of the shower and brushed my teeth like a man on a mission. After I dressed, I handed all of my remaining cartons and packs (open and otherwise) to my son and had him deliver them to one of my relatives who smokes that brand.
The Future
I'm confident I will never return to smoking. Being an ex-smoker feels too good to give up. I don't get urges anymore. In fact, the last time I quit I didn't get any urges at all. The key was recognizing the addiction for what it really was.
I still find myself reaching for a pack of cigarettes that aren't there on occasion, caused by the memories of having done it thousands of times in the past, but it doesn't fuel any urges.
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I wish you all the best. It's good to see someone quit. I have, several times, without success. Maybe I will try again, maybe not.
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Congrats bro.. Smoking makes your body not so good..
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I quit smoking by just doing it cold turkey. And also giving myself the reason for doing so: the well-being of myself and those around me. Life is just too wonderful to waste.
No matter what techniques one may use for quitting, if you do not give yourself a solid reason for quitting then it's all useless.
On the other hand, if the reason is good enough, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished with time and perseverance.
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Here is a little tip from me to you. The most dangerous time for some that is trying to stop smoking is at social gathering. Especially if there is drinking and smoking. So before you go out, decide not to smoke and not to get drunk.
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RT, I wish you all the best. I too am a smoker and a failed quitter. I have been smoking for over 50 years and not only am I sick of it, but it is dammed expensive.
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Congratulations! I've smoke three cigarettes in the past 12 years.
This works for drinking too but you need to be a little more careful if you are a heavy drinker.
My "solid reason" reason to quite smoking and drinking had nothing to do with health or saving money. I quit because:
Government taxation on the two most detrimental legal drugs available.
Agreed when people realize why they use it is a cinch for them to stop.
What are you doing this time that you didn't do last time? I've tried quitting a few times (I'm still young) but I haven't been able to kick it totally yet.
The only difference is the realization that it's a drug addiction and how it affects me in the same way addictions to hard drugs affect anyone.
There are no good reasons to continue smoking and you only need one good reason to quit.
Congratulations on quitting. If I'm reading this correctly, it was cold turkey? If so, then that's impressive. It does highlight on thing clearly – if you want to quit you will. But…if you are looking for a crutch on the way down, then I think the chances of failure increase.
If it was a hard withdrawal, I would call it cold turkey. It wasn't. It was the easiest habit I've ever broken, even if it was the umpteenth time.
You're right about the crutch. It's failure waiting to happen.
Congratulations RT. I quit 3.5 years ago and the process took me about 18 months from start to finish. I too love how I feel, the fact that I can take a deep breath and just my overall well being. The one thing I noticed after I got through all that is how cigarettes stink. I can't stand the smell now. Have a great day.
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Dead on about smoking to feel normal. I felt like there was something missing if I wasn't smoking, and I wondered what nonsmokers did with their time (and hands.)
I also quit 'cold turkey' when I came to realize that smoking really did nothing for me but make me smell bad and feel crappy.
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Congrats on quitting, and with your mind set you should be fine
my mother is having problems, but my father is helping her a lot so it should be fine.
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Congratulations RT! I had pneumonia a couple of years ago and had a man in the hospital room next to mine dying from emphysema. I listened to him struggle for breath for two days. It's a sound I will never forget. Very glad to hear you have quit.
Congratulations RT, eventually you succeed! I can relate with that also. My father is a chain smoker until he got sick and the doctor told him to stop smoking and right there's a big changes in his health development. Nicotine will really kill you slowly, hope smokers will realize that too.
RT! I am sincerely happy for you and your family. I've never smoked myself because I was sternly convinced from an early age not to ever start. Though I have had many close friends as well as both of my parents were affected for most of their lives by nicotine.
As an added note for people to quit, if it's not too personal, please comment about how much money a month you were spending on cigarettes.
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I left it out because the Philippines doesn't heavily tax them. I was spending less than $10 USD.
interesting. usually i read about how hard it is to quit. it's refreshing to hear someone say that it can sometimes be a fairly straightforward process.
someone i know had difficulty quitting for a while because she was afraid she would get fatter. thankfully, she managed to stop smoking.
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I have never smoked, so couldn't possibly understand how difficult it is to give up. At the same time I cant understand how some of my friends can spend so much money on an addiction that damages their health.
Good luck hope you stay an ex smoker.
Congrats! You've made an important decision in your life. You may have smoked for 30 years, but it's never too late to quit. Do whatever you need to do to keep from relapsing. Good luck.
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I didn't laugh when you said nicotine is one of the deadliest drugs. I've seen people undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer buying two packs of cigarettes a day, it's sick. Good luck with your decision, it's going to be hard but I hope you can quit.
Congratulations on quitting! I've never been a smoker but I have seen how hard it can be to quit. I like how you went about it… make the decision and do it!
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My hats off to you. It is hard to overcome, but you will feel so much better when its all over. Seriously, your health will improve over the next 6-12 months so much. Congrats!
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It's really a good feeling to know that there is still someone who could quit smoking..congrats to you..hope in time, it's my turn to quit! three cheers to you!
i havnt taken up smoking simply because of the warning that it causes cancer. it may attack me or anybody…but why should i increase the chance!
its great that u hav given up. its hard & hope u wont return to it again
Nicotine is a horrible drug. Its addictive and dangerous. And as you pointed out, its legal which is why its dangerous.
Does everything that is legal, dangerous?
As for me, smoking can only be an addictive habit if you let yourself sink into it..Discipline is a must..
Good for you! I thought maybe at first the answer was caffeine, but nicotene makes sense.
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I know the feeling, I've had a number of attempts at stopping (one even lasted 3 years!). As a keen outdoors person I've decided that it really is time to knock the habit on the head (apparently those bigs hills are easy to get up once you stop smoking!
)
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Good for you. So many people never win that battle, and it's sad that cigarettes are still legal. It's pure greed. The big tobacco industry provides so much revenue that they can't be shut down.
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Congratulations.
I have never smoked but I am addicted to another legal, highly addictive and unhealthy substance – chocolate – and I can't quit!
Seriously, my love of chocolate goes beyond love to addiction. This last month I have gone cold turkey and found that I have no comfort mechanisms in place outside of chocolate. It has been one of the hardest months of my life!
I know nicotine is drastically more addictive than chocolate so if I was wearing a hat I'd take my hat off to you for your achievement!
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Something to be very proud of. Congrats. I'd heard that Chantix has worked very well for some folks that haven't succeeded in the past.
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It's great to see someone manages to stop doing a bad thing that he addicts to. It is a difficult process.
Don't let it beats you again. You win now. Keep it forever. I totally support you here:)
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I'm thrilled to hear that you quit successfully. I am a big believer that smokers will not quit until there is a massive reason that motivates them. For you it almost sounds as if your true reason was not wanting to smell of it anymore. Something in your olfactory sensation turned you off.
I'm a trained NLP practitioner and hypnotist, so these are two skill sets that people should look into if they want to quit. I'm no expert in the stop smoking area, but there are loads of people who specialize in this area. Readers are encouraged to find help and make a positive change in their life. But, don't bother until you have found your TRUE reason for wanting to quit. Not some BS reason such as "my wife wants me to quit". That will not work.
GOOD ON YOU
You have every right to feel like superman for having quit. Smoking is addictive and it is a legal drug. It really sickens me that so many people do it. I worked with kids and it tore my heart every time I noticed that a parent brought in a child that morning and both kid and parent smelled like fresh cigarette smoke. And driving down the road seeing parents smoke in the cars with children in em…it showed a pure selfish attitude.
Man, next subject please! This one always upsets me.
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Nicotine is the most deadly drug? Come on. Alcohol is far more advertised and more deadly. If you take into account all the accidents caused by drunk drivers, murders and crimes caused by drunks, money spent fighting drunk driving, and deaths caused by kidney failure and other alcohol related problems you'll find that it's far worse than nicotine. Furthermore, it's not the nicotine that kills you, it's the side-effects that some believe cause cancer. It's not proven to cause cancer, but it's widely believed that it does.
Well, I can see you're more on the "smoking doesn't cause any harm" judging by your name (Cigars, be glad that cigars are less of a health risk than cigarettes!) …
Maybe alcohol kills more, maybe it doesn't.
(and it's not some joke pulled out of anyone's butt anymore. It's science now, buddy.)
And even if smoking isn't a direct cause, it does in fact actually make you susceptible.
Risks, dangers, diseases, illnesses caused by cancer
(or what else would set off this increase?…magic? …NO, the people with these problems smoke, that's what)
lung cancer, cancer of the kidney, cancer of the larynx and head and neck, breast cancer, bladder, esophagus, pancreas, and stomach. There is some evidence suggesting an increased risk of myeloid leukemia, squamous cell sinonasal cancer, liver cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer after an extended latency, childhood cancers and cancers of the gall bladder, adrenal gland and small intestine.
* Cardiovascular disease
o Atherosclerosis
o stroke
o peripheral vascular disease
* Respiratory ailments
o common cold and bronchitis
o Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema and chronic bronchitis in particular
* Birth defects of pregnant smokers' offspring
* Buerger's disease (thromboangiitis obliterans)
* Cataracts that may cause blindness[26]
* Cognitive dysfunction
o Increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and decline in cognitive abilities[27]
o Reduced memory and cognitive abilities in adolescent smokers[28]
o Brain shrinkage (cerebral atrophy)[29][30]
* Impotence
The incidence of lung cancer is highly correlated with smoking.
I hope everyone caught the ugly IMPOTENCE effect of smoking. ED, yeah you read that right. It's about 85% higher in male smokers as compared to male non smokers.
If you want to risk all that just because you don't want to believe the truth in the effects of smoking, then …well, you're senseless.
So don't be typing that
"…it's the side-effects that some believe cause cancer. It's not proven to cause cancer, but it's widely believed that it does." baloney.
It's all tested in labs with real people and real tests. SCIENCE. Gain more knowledge.
ugh
TO CIGARS: Perhaps you should check your numbers. About 440,000 people die every year in the US from Tobacco use and 85,000 from Alcohol abuse. I don't care how many care accidents you think are happening, it isn't near the deaths from tobacco. And by the way, it has been proven to cause cancer – the surgeon general said so! I don't know who you are trying to kid but tobacco is NOT A GOOD THING to use. It is a dirty, stinky addiction that kills people. Those that smoke and those that are exposed against their wishes.
Hello RT, Ion here..
Remember I joined your Private Network some days ago. Please bare with me as I was searching for do follow blogs for getting some juice for my new niche and guess what – stumbled upon your post! Now I'm sorry but i needed to comment here and leave a footprint – you know why.
I read the whole (by the way) post before submitting this comment!
Ion/cube
PS. By the way I also gave up smoking a few years ago and this is one of the reasons I have started a quit smoking niche now
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It is really appreciable that you recognized nicotine addiction bigger than drug addiction. I also feel that nicotine is a slow poison and its impacts are bigger than cocaine, heroin or any of the hard drugs.
It will be very appreciable to know if your urge of nicotine was zero in the first try of quitting or your self determination was very high. I put various items on ways to quit smoking
The recent national cancer study revealed that cancer rates and death rates from cancer have decreased in the USA for the first time ever. This is credited to reducing smoking levels over the last few decades. Smoking kills millions of people a year globally. The deaths are usually not as dramatic as a heroin overdose, but they are much more numerous.
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Congratulations on quitting smoking. Quitting any form of addiction takes dedication, commitment, and willingness to change. Thanks so much for sharing your story.
Larry
Sober Living Homes
Great layout and theme your blog! looks really clear and is very easy to follow – keep up the good work – oh and stay smoke free – you won't regret it
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I know its not easy to quit smoking, but you made it — Congratulations! Stay nicotine free… Surely this will be very beneficial to your health.
Congratulations on quitting smoking. Like any addiction it can be tough to break but mental discipline can overcome anything.
i don't know how i can stop smoking habit, i also try a many time but i still fail
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I haven't heard from you for a while on how your stop smoking has been going.
It is my intent to quit in the next couple of days. I could use some pointers.
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To quit smoking, you need a strong will and a strong reason. I also tried earlier many times to quit smoking but failed. My girl friend put a condition that she will marry me only if i quit smoking, So i decided to quit smoking but to be frank, Itt was very hard as sometimes I used to start feeling dark in front of my eyes. But the motivation to marry my girl friend kept me strong and at last i succeeded in quiting smoking
Though I don't smoke neither will I ever smoke(God help me fulfill this phrase) but this is a killer article, in fact it is that type of knowledge that I usually prefer to acquire. Hopefully I can stop some of my family relatives from stop smoking or advise their family with this information!
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Congratulations for quitting. I'm trying to help my sister quit, it's such an addicting drug. Any more information you have about how to do it would be great. Thanks!
I feel the same as you. I could not return to smoking. I just found it to hard to quit and don't want to have to quit again!!
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I am 42 and was a smoker. Now I am a successful ex-smoker and feels like that I am enjoying everything in my life what I lost during my smoking days. In your confession biggest niche is that you brought item nicotine as the biggest drug which does not require body to approve and is a licensed drug.
As you brought the fact about relapse, it happened to me also for several times. At last it come in mind that something is ruling over me, let me kick it out. Each and every morning I started meditating with only one thing in mind "kick out the ruling nicotine". By doing so for nearly 3 weeks I am an ex-smoker and enjoying my life.
I started writing all my experience and maintaining a website for smokers to quit smoking and get all the things in their life. People can visit benefits of quitting smoking and can give all benefits to themselves.
Quite touching and knowledgeworthy article. I am a smoker who actually wants to get rid of it but lack of motivation has always stopped me from doing it. Your post have given me enough info to rethink on stopping.
I totally agree with you. And nicotine is more dangerous as heroin aswell!
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Congratulations Buddy! You have really done a great work it’s really very difficulty to quit. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Take care and god bless.
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While I empathize with this writer's valiant effort to overcome smoking and I agree wholeheartedly that nicotine and other toxins from cigarettes KILL, the damage done by drugs and alcohol is far more devastating, in my experience. I work at a drug and alcohol rehab and like most everyone, I've been around smokers all my life. Smokers do sometimes lose their lives, but unless that happens, smoking does not tear a family apart and destroy everything an addict has built. And that is a common denominator of most drug/alcohol addictions. That's just my 2 cents worth.
There wasn't any comparison made to the effects on anyone but the individual. I also worked with drug addicts and alcoholics in the 70s, 80s, and 90s and I'm fully aware of the effects on family, work, etc. When it comes to percentages, there are far more individuals harmed by the effects of smoking than alcohol and drugs combined (leaving anything or anyone but the individual out of the picture).
This post has really encouraged me to take first steps towards quitting smoking. Hats off to you sir !!
hey good for you RT! I also have quit smoking and I feel really good. I've been smoke free for 7 years now. When I quit, I was up to 2 packs a day. But then I went to a Hypnotist and she hacked my brain to get me to quit. It must've worked, I still haven't smoked a single cigarette to this day. Nicotene is bad
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Congratulations, this is a great personal victory. Smoking is something many people can never truly quit, but when they actually do it, it's a great feeling for them and a very healthy choice. Maybe you could share exactly how you weer able to succeed?
all drugs are bad .. im a slave to the cigarettes to i cant imagine it is something I will ever stop. we all have our poisons. congrats and good look to the rest of us
I had some serious adrenal issues when I smoked. Does anyone know if cylapril works? There is a site that supports it but I still don't know. http://www.adrenalweightloss.com
I wish my husband would quit smoking, I kept telling him to quit since we became couple, he said he's trying but 5 years later and he's still into it…I wished he's stopped..I'm prayin….
Another harddrug which is almost as addictive, and even more harmful than nicotine is even more socially accepted: alcohol. Who can explain why cannabis is illegal while alcohol and nicotine are legal?
Great job RT.
So glad that you finally kicked the habit. Smoking is in fact more harmful to the people around you when they take in the smoke…
My life definitely much better with clean air!
Congratulations! Kicking such an addictive habit is not easy. I applaud your determination! Now is just trying to maintain smoke free for the rest of your life…
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Have you tried electronic cigarette to stop smoking? Some people say this works very well..
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Wow knowing that drugs and smoking causes impotence is enough to keep me away from both. Don't know what I would do without my little man funtioning the way I want him too.
Saw a good post about this here too: http://mens-performance.com/what-are-the-best-treatment-for-impotence/
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