Do you feel like a victim?

[JH63]

 I've spent the last couple of days watching the Big Tobacco video's and the Marlboro video again and I've read the Alan Carr book tree times.  Got me to thinking back to when I was young and first started smoking.  My first memories of smoking were some friends and me riding our bicycles about a mile to a little country store for cigarettes. This was about 1970 or 71 cigarettes were 28 cents a pack.

We often pooled our money and shared the pack or two as we rode our bikes the rest of the day.  I also remember stealing cigarettes from my mother.  She never missed one or two out of her packs from time to time.  I say packs because for some reason she smoked both Belair's and Salem's.  She died young of lung cancer!

 

Even when I was in the Army, they put a little box of four cigarettes in each C-ration.  That was twelve stale cigarettes a day. But plenty enough to keep me hooked.

 

Well I'll get on with it!

Did the tobacco companies put profits ahead of my health? Yes

Did tobacco companies add chemicals to the cigarettes to make sure I would stay hooked? Yes

Did the tobacco companies know that cigarettes were killing people long before I started smoking? Yes

Does our government, still to this day, allow the sell of tobacco products because of the lobbyist money and the money they get from the ever increasing sales tax, claiming that the increases are to get people to quit smoking? Yes

 

I never thought of myself as a victim. I can remember telling people that "nobody twisted my arm to smoke" and that "I'm responsible for the damage I've done to my health".  Well I'm starting to think differently about that. Even If I do have to take some responsibility for my situation,  I was surely deceived to say the least.

This change in thinking may or may not help me as I continue to try and Quit. But it can't hurt!

Sorry about the long winded Post!

Edited March 11, 2021 by JH63

[jillar]

9 minutes ago, JH63 said:

I continue to try and Quit.

 

You aren't trying to quit Jeff, you are quit! Now it's just a matter of keeping it which you're doing a great job of  I'm glad you're seeing smoking for what it is...

Now you just need to get try out of your vocabulary and realize you're straight up quit  

[jillar]

Hey @JH63, if you want more inspiration how about making yourself a ticker for your signature. You'll be able to see just how much money you saved as well as how many cigs you've avoided AND how long you've been quit. I loved watching mine grow plus it showed me how much I was giving up if I caved to a crave. I couldn't believe all the money I saved!!!!

[Mee]

@JH63 I was appalled when I read how the tobacco companies put chemicals in the cigarettes to keep you hooked.  I did not feel like a victim but it sure made me angry.  I finally understood why I had so many failed quits.  It really brought home the fact that I was an addict!  Keep up the great work on your quit.  The longer you go, the stronger you become!

[Doreensfree]

Watching those Documentaries was my light bulb moment ....

I finally got it ...which made me angry ....that made my quit stronger ....

I was only 11 when I started smoking ...with the bigger kids ...I wanted to be like them ..

All we can do is march forward ....we carnt change the past ....but we sure can changed the future ..

JH...Just make sure you don't give them another penny of your hard earned cash ...

 

 

 

 

[Boo]

32 minutes ago, Mee said:

 I was appalled when I read how the tobacco companies put chemicals in the cigarettes to keep you hooked.  I did not feel like a victim but it sure made me angry. 

 

18 minutes ago, Doreensfree said:

Watching those Documentaries was my light bulb moment ....

I finally got it ...which made me angry ....that made my quit stronger ....

 

Learning to hate the tobacco companies gave me even more incentive to stay quit.  I vowed to never give those vultures one more penny of my money.

 

A bit of righteous indignation can be a powerful motivator.

 

I take responsibility for the choices I made.  I also think it is important to identify those who profit from the demise of others and do everything within our power to relegate them to the ash heap of history.

[Reciprocity]

I never felt I was being lead down the garden path by big tobacco. I smoked because I wanted to. I don't even think I knew I was an addict. 

Perhaps I was becoming more and more addicted over time by what those guys were putting in their products but I didn't care enough to bother looking into it at all. I made my own choices and although I clearly regret those choices now, at the time I had no regrets.

[JH63]

@reciprocity I was exactly the same way as you describe it.  I always thought I could quit smoking anytime I wanted to.  I just didn't want to! Ha!

About ten years ago I tried to quit for the first time.  I had a very good start on a serious quit.  When I lost it, that's when I knew that I was an addict. But I didn't blame big tobacco. 

I'd been warned many times, by many different people in my life about the harm I was doing to myself. But I don't remember anyone saying anything about the addiction side of it. Most of those people were probably never smokers.

[PeachFuzz]

This makes me so mad.

 

Somebody I love dearly is smoking and as much as they want to, just can't quit. 

 

They stopped for 6 months last year when there was a ban on cigarettes in our country, and when they started a new job they were so stressed they started again. Most sad!

 

It is way more than a physical addiction it is VERY MUCH psychological too. 

 

I am devastated and done.

[JH63]

@PeachFuzz Welcome to the forum!

I so very happy to hear that you are done with smoking! That decision will turn out to be one of the most important decisions you will ever make. 

Knowing your enemy will help you keep your resolve to stick with it!

All the Luck!

 

[Reciprocity]

5 hours ago, PeachFuzz said:

This makes me so mad.

 

Somebody I love dearly is smoking and as much as they want to, just can't quit. 

 

They stopped for 6 months last year when there was a ban on cigarettes in our country, and when they started a new job they were so stressed they started again. Most sad!

 

It is way more than a physical addiction it is VERY MUCH psychological too. 

 

I am devastated and done.

This is the other thing I never paid much attention to as a smoker that there would be two fronts on which I would have to fight when I quit. The physical addiction plus the psychological aspects too. Turns out the physical part is relatively short whereas the habitual, psychological aspect takes pretty much a full year as there are seasonal triggers that can come out of nowhere as a new season starts. I remember wanting to run for a smoke after I thought I was done craving. The first time I smelled fresh cut grass in the spring because I had always associated cutting the lawn with having a smoke after I was finished. I did find that once I had experienced one of those seasonal triggers one time, I was good to go from then on. Trigger gone! There were just so many different ones lol.

Edited March 16, 2021 by reciprocity

[jillar]

22 minutes ago, reciprocity said:

This is the other thing I never paid much attention to as a smoker that there would be two fronts on which I would have to fight when I quit. The physical addiction plus the psychological aspects too. Turns out the physical part is relatively short whereas the habitual, psychological aspect takes pretty much a full year as there are seasonal triggers that can come out of nowhere as a new season starts. I remember wanting to run for a smoke after I thought I was done craving. The first time I smelled fresh cut grass in the spring because I had always associated cutting the lawn with having a smoke after I was finished. I did find that once I had experienced one of those seasonal triggers one time, I was good to go from then on. Trigger gone! There were just so many different ones lol.

 

This^^

[PeachFuzz]

24 minutes ago, reciprocity said:

This is the other thing I never paid much attention to as a smoker that there would be two fronts on which I would have to fight when I quit. The physical addiction plus the psychological aspects too. Turns out the physical part is relatively short whereas the habitual, psychological aspect takes pretty much a full year as there are seasonal triggers that can come out of nowhere as a new season starts. I remember wanting to run for a smoke after I thought I was done craving. The first time I smelled fresh cut grass in the spring because I had always associated cutting the lawn with having a smoke after I was finished. I did find that once I had experienced one of those seasonal triggers one time, I was good to go from then on. Trigger gone! There were just so many different ones lol.

I hear you! Another alluring one is alcohol. I know of people who quit many years ago that occasionally out of nowhere get a crave with a "certain" type of drink.  Nicotine is a very sneaky drug.  Nicotine and alcohol together gives a HUGE boost of dopamine. This is why when spending time at a bar or night club, most smokers smoke more than they normally would. The one drug "feeds" the other for a huge rush on the brain receptors. It is as if you just can't "get enough". Not good.

[JH63]

@PeachFuzz  There is a definite connection between drinking and smoking, at least for me.  I quit drinking about three years ago.  I knew that I could never quit smoking while I was drinking. I had to do them in order, drinking first.  I never drank at bars or clubs, only at home.  I drank when the day was over and I was sure I wouldn't have to go out until the next day.  The effect was the same.  I smoked more while drinking.