A few years ago, I was your typical office-worker: stressed out, uneven energy, overweight, and inconsistent complexion. Now I'm just your typical 28-year old urban hunter-gatherer on a quest to be healthy, and having a few adventures along the way. See my full bio.
Here are my remaining cigarettes, just shy of a full pack, floating in a bowl of water. (That's nearly $15 in NYC.) My buddy Zander called me up and wouldn't get off the phone until I destroyed them.
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Here's one commenter:
"People start smoking. Some people carry on, some get hooked. But NONE of them thought they would get addicted when they started."
In college, I would smoke socially, when I drank. But I rarely bought my own pack of cigarettes. The few times I did, it was usually during exams or some other stressful period. And I would end up smoking too many, and get a sinus infection. So that was always a limiting factor to getting hooked. Kinda of like how celiacs, who are sensitive to gluten, have to avoid gluten grains -- to their ultimate benefit. Sometimes a weakness is a strength.
So what's the paleo alternative? Chewing coca leaves?
Comments
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After 20 years of smoking,i
After 20 years of smoking,i finally quit now for 6 month using a new quit smoking aid product called Smoke Deter
A lot of people these days
A lot of people these days use e-cigarettes or vaporiser type 'pens' - but you will still be addicted to nicotine. Not so bad, similar to caffeine, I think!
One alternative is to do
One alternative is to do something that helps destress like exercise or drink tea. This story is just like mine, and I ended up coming up with Quit Tea http://www.quittea.com that I now sell. Check it out, it works. Some people say it knocks them out.
One alternative is smoking a
One alternative is smoking a pipe or cigars. The tobacco is all natural - whith a the exception of additive flavoring that some, but not most, cigars and blends may have. Plus you don't inhale them. Smoking cigarettes and doing dip tobacco are an addiction; smoking all natural luxury tobacco in the form of a pipe or cigar is a hobby much like being a wine conoissuer or drinking/brewing micro-brewed beers are.
You might want to consider a
You might want to consider a pipe. I enjoyed that for years, until I found a wife that didn't like it. I had no problem giving that up. It's little known fact that the original Surgeon General's Report on Smoking found that pipe smokers actually live LONGER than the general population. That report is a very interesting read for a science geek, BTW. It was BIG science, done right (back when we still knew how to do stuff like that). I have an original copy from 1964, that I bought at an antique store in Winston-Salem, NC, of all places! I'm pretty sure you can find it on the web today.
You could try nicotine gum if
You could try nicotine gum if you want the nicotine. It's not like smoking, but there's no deletrious lung effects. Doesn't coca leaf rot your teeth? I don't think there's a Paleo alternative. I smoke a cigar or pipe about 3-4 times per year for the last decade or so. I could stop completely, but I think about them all the time ever since the first cigar.
Good luck, John. Quitting
Good luck, John. Quitting smoking is tough stuff. Be strong!
I was only on my third pack.
I was only on my third pack. I wasn't addicted...yet. But thanks!
Yo,I haven't had a chance to
Yo,I haven't had a chance to check out your blog lately, but noticed that you've decided to quit smoking. Kudos.I've been nearly 100% paleo for the past 35-40 days. Nicotine free for just over 120 days. When I deicded to quit, I was dipping about two cans per day and smoking around one pack per month. If you're not familiar with the nicotine load of dip, this is a massive addiction to overcome. Overall, I had an 18 year habit.I'll be honest, the first couple of days were absolutely brutal. Cold sweats, near panic attacks, and some crying. Once the physical addiction was broken, though, it's not been too bad. That said, here are a couple of pointers I found helped me:1) You are an intelligent and fit man. Use that to your advantage. You know how terrible smoking is on your system. You also know that you're stronger than an inanimate object. It's nothing compared to you.2) Know your triggers. What times or situations cause you to crave cigs? For me, it was when I was hungry and early in the morning. Understand your triggers and plan for them. If you have to skip out on being social, do that too. I didn't hang out with my buddys for nearly a month when I quit. The first thing I do EVERY morning, is get some coffee in my system to have the stimulant and appetite suppressant. From there, the rest of the day is a breeze.3) Keep perspective. Understand why you're doing this. What is motivating you? Honestly, for me it was a girl. When she found out I had this habit, she dumped me. I never wanted that to be a reason to lose someone out of my life again. Plus, it helps if someone tells you that you can't do it. ;-)4) Detox and diet. You've obviously got the diet part down. I also take chlorella and goji berries. I think these helped me with the physical addiction part, but I obviously can't prove that.5) Cold Turkey. There was no other option for me. If you truly have an addictive personality, tapering off of a drug simply won't work. All or nothing. Count the hours and days and reflect on what you've been through. That will help you to not slip because you'll just have to repeat that pain all over again.Hope this helps and best of luck!!!
That is all great stuff, and
That is all great stuff, and thanks for sharing so much. Luckily, I'm not too far in -- and my buddies have taken early action to make sure I didn't go any further.
I found what I missed about
I found what I missed about smoking was that it focused my attenion , just try concious beathing or meditaion I know it's not as sexy as smoking but give it a try.
Why not try nicotine gum,
Why not try nicotine gum, lozenges, or the patch? works well for me; especially when used along with coffee, or some other stimulant.
How about a Taleb-esque long
How about a Taleb-esque long and slow walk?
How about smoking premium,
How about smoking premium, hand-made cigars? They are all natural - no chemicals added. You don't inhale, so the health risks are much lower (perhaps negligible). A good cigar tastes great and is very relaxing.
Let me recommend a book to
Let me recommend a book to you. Alan Carr's EasyWay to Quit Smoking. What he teaches is that the physical addiction is maybe 10% but that you are brainwashed to believe that you are in fact getting something out of smoking when in reality you aren't. He methodically breaks it down and by the end, you just quit smoking. No cravings, no anxiety... you just quit. I thought I would never quit. Turned the last page on that book and that was it. I couldn't have smoked a cigarette at that point if someone put it in my mouth and lit it. I thought I would never stop. EVER! And yet it was easy. No scare tactics, no pictures of blackened lungs, he just undid the brainwashing that surrounded my smoking.
I'll fully reccomend chewing
I'll fully reccomend chewing coca leaves (or better, really, coca leaf tea). It's pretty far removed from doing cocaine, and better than caffeine. Not necessarily more intense, just better. The stimulation is more expansive and energizing, rather than focusing and urgent. Too bad coca leaf is illegal in the states. Just because you can extract and concentrate a single alkaloid to use as a highly addictive mind-altering stimulant, all legitimate, traditional uses of this highly beneficial plant get stigmatized... the situation is more politics-based than health-based (like so many others).
Well done. The Paleo
Well done. The Paleo alternative is running. Don't tell Art De Vany...
Sugar high on dried berries?
Sugar high on dried berries? Occasional toadstool drinks under supervision of a shaman?
No alternative. Read Allen
No alternative. Read Allen Carr. Now. If you already read his book, read it again. You could start with 'Scandal', which is free online.
Here's the thing - from a 4
Here's the thing - from a 4 year ex-smoker.I read the "Easy Way to Quit Smoking..." Didn't help. I read other books, didn't help. I went to a site that scared the shit out of me called whyquit.com Go there, and there will be a LOT of motivation for you.The thing that helped me, and the only alternative is that there IS NO ALTERNATIVE. Think of cigarettes like you would think of cocaine, heroine, meth, whatever. Don't let ANYONE tell you it's not a drug. It is.When you think of gums, the patch, substitute the word "cocaine" for "nicotine" and you will see how stupid it is to continue giving yourself a drug to get over your drug habit. Make no mistake, that is what it is.For me, what worked is the acronym N.T.A.P. That is: Never Take Another Puff.Why does this work? It's the same as getting over any other drug addiction. Once you give in, it's over. IF you take another puff of a cigarette, you will be right back to smoking again. In my case, that would be over a pack a day!I will behonest with you - it was HELL my first 2 weeks. I will be even more honest with you - it was OVER A YEAR before I DIDN'T think about having a cigarette. That's right - over a YEAR.I am broken from that drug addiciton now - but I know, IF I take just a PUFF, then I will be back smoking again. Back to square 1, and having to go through all that shit I went through to quit. I went through HELL, and there is NO WAY I will go back to that again.I wish you good luck - it's hard work, I won't lie, you will want to give in. Just live by the matra, N.T.A.P.!
Just noticed you beat me to
Just noticed you beat me to suggesting Easyway. It was amazing how that helped me. I just quit. Just quit. And never thought I would.
+1 to Carr's book "The Easy
+1 to Carr's book "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking". It's not terribly well written but it's amazingly effective - just read it and follow the instructions. I've quit for a year and often forget that I'd ever smoked. I'd say it's like a jedi mind trick but actually it's closer to Plato's Cave. Give it a shot!
Thanks folks, great
Thanks folks, great suggestions. Smoking or not, I'm intrigued by how this book helps people quit.