On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 14:33:09 GMT, "Dimitri" >
wrote:

>IMHO
>
>I think there is/are 2 motivations that are absolutely necessary.
>
>First I believe you have to be ready.

I read someplace that it takes most smokers who want to quit multiple
times before they really quit for good, but you're absolutely right
about having to be ready. No one can talk a smoker into quitting any
more than one can talk a fat person into losing weight.
>
>Second and for me most important I think there is an absolute need to
>understand how the smoking will negatively effect "YOUR PERSONAL" health

Oddly enough, the main motivator for me 13 years ago was social: it
was getting to the point that I couldn't smoke anywhere in a social
setting without exiling myself with the pariahs on the
porch/deck/driveway/backyard/parking lot. And there were long plane
rides, car rides, elevator rides...okay, maybe I was okay in elevators
:-) But I got fed UP being in withdrawal a significant portion of the
day. Tried to quit 3 times before I really did it. I've never been a
heroin addict, but can't imagine heroin withdrawal to be worse.
>
>With those 2 elements the physical withdrawal becomes at the very least
>bearable. Of course the habitual nature is also an important element bit at
>the very least that portion of the addiction is not physically painful.

Absolutely, Dimitri. I'd talk on the phone, light a cigarette; drink
coffee, light a cigarette; turn on the car ignition, light a
cigarette; finish a meal, light a cigarette. It was this sort of habit
that was hardest to break. And I know a lot of people say, after
quitting for a significant number of years, that they still crave
cigarettes, but I have absolutely no desire to smoke again. Ever.
OTOH, I *am* addicted to Big Red gum...

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA


"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"