Smoking?

[rainbowshope]

Ok, I might as well ask. How many of you smoke? I'm not afraid to admit it. I know as a Christian I shouldn't, but I am not perfect. I have tried and tried to quit but I can't!

 

[humblegyrl]

I don't currently smoke, but I have smoked while calling myself a Christian. I did a lot of things while calling myself a Christian: drugs, smoking, drinking... The main thing I did was put a wall between me and the product. If a friend smoked, I found reasons to be around them less. I don't know about those nicotine patches, but I would never resort to those for smoking. They seem like a waste of money.

Yes, none of us are perfect, but, unfortunately, as Christians, we need to set the example and ask ourselves WWJD. I will pray for you! You can and will overcome! Smoking is such a nasty habit. After I quit, I noticed what my friends were talking about. Everything from cotton mouth, bad breath, to that stench in your clothes and your hair. Yuck!

You're still young. Quit now! Just do it, because I know you can. =D

 

[Spicy McHaggis]

Cigars, occasionally, that's about it for me.

 

[retooferab]

Hi, rainbow!

Actually, when someone says I'm SMMMMMOKIN' I consider it a compliment. If simply smoking, then I'm on fire and need to be extinguished. If...

Oh, OK, I better get empathetic before someone really does extinguish me. I believe you that it's nearly impossible to quit. However, I too believe that all things are possible through Jesus Christ. You CAN do it! Let us know how we can help, OK?

 

[Multi-Elis]

Read one of Allen Carr's books on quiting smoking. You won't believe the results. 90% success.

Book for example: (He's got a couple)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140289003/ref=ord_cart_shr/026-5444095-7566053?%5Fencoding=UTF8

I haven't read the book myself, but I'm ordering it to read it, even though I have never smoked myself. The guy basically talks to you, (through a book t.v. or in a conference) and by the end you just don't want another cigarette, so they say. He apperantly found the psychological "key". He used to be a chain smoker himself.

 

[nate230]

just a communal cigar here and there

 

[brokenbananas]

I use an energy psychology method called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to get rid of or reduce addictions. There is a site called emofree.com that talks in debt about EFT. Gary Craig was the person that developed it. I will have to say straight out that I disagree with his New Age beliefs, but the EFT he developed based off of Dr. Roger Callahan's area of Thought Field Therapy, has been very effective for me in getting rid of many emotional issues & baggage I've had. There is still much to go through, but in 3 yrs, I've come a long way.

I've been able to assist some of my friends in overcoming some of their issues. If you go to the site's Home Page, there is a section for Addictions and it addresses Smoking and quitting....all naturally without drugs, patches, long psychological sessions, or whatever other gimmicks are out there.

In a nutshell, EFT is using your fingertips to tap on various meridian (energy) points on the face, torso, and hands to release energy in the body that has been blocked by things like fear, phobias, addictions, traumas, grief, other negative emotions. It's like getting the kinks out of your energy system. When there are these "kinks", they can cause things like insomnia, stomach problems, hair loss, acne, irrational behaviors, chemical imbalances, back pain, etc. Emotional baggage can cause alot of bad things to happen to the body. EFT breaks the vicious psychological/physiological cycle in the body caused by the negative emotions and allows the body to once again function as the way God designed it to.

The process of getting rid of my emotional baggage has been a process. Probably if I stuck to going to an EFT therapist, I probably could've gotten a lot further, but I couldn't afford the cost of this. The emofree site has tons of case studies and invaluable information to help guide one.

I hope this post does not offend anyone. I am not into the New Age movement. I am a Bible-Believing, trusting, practicing Christian. Truth is truth to me no matter who discovered it. The truth is, a lot of Christians could benefit from using EFT in their lives to get rid of all the emotional baggage that hinders them from living a Christ-filled life. Paul talks about running the race, looking ahead...not behind...but, how often does our past hinder us from stepping forward in faith in serving Christ? Most of the time it has to deal with how we deal with things on an emotional level that holds us back.

Well, enough of my soapbox. If you're interested...go to the site. If you're offended, I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention. If you are a weak Christian and not strongly grounded in God's Word, then I would also say avoid the site. BTW, there are Christians who do use energy psychology. Dr. Joseph Mercola's site has an article about a different energy psych method "Be Set Free Fast" (BSFF) that talks about these types of healing methods. Go to mercola.com and type BSFF in the Search area and you should see a choice regarding God Created BSFF and Me. The Quantum Techniques site, under Practitioners, Dr. Moses also talks from a Christian's perspective about these methods.

 

[Multi-Elis]

Here are more spacific links.
Read the coments people wrote.
What do you people think?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0572028512/qid=1082704010/sr=8-5/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i5_xgl14/104-8982529-5674329?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/076071200X/qid=1082704010/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-8982529-5674329?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

 

[6XE]

well... god will love you no matter what.. as long as you dont give up on him.... what does it matter if you smoke or not... he loves you anyway... so light up... and... do what u think is good for you. whatever makes you happy

 

[rainbowshope]

Thanks guys, I will check all the info out. I have a aunt and uncle who smoked, then when they became Christians, they kept praying about it and one day they woke up and the even thought of cigarettes made them seriously sick. I wish it were that easy for me.
My husband's mom died of cancer from smoking when he was 13, she was 43. So he hates it when I smoke.

 

[rickoras]

Have you tried talking to your doctor about quitting? I know there are a couple of good medications out there--if you are a good candidate (your doctor can help you decide).... Wellbutrin (also goes by the name Zyban) is one.

 

[LookingtotheEast]

Hello,


This is my first post and I figured the best way to use it is on a subject I know about.


I quit smoking 16 days ago, I have not smoke 660 cigarettes and have saved 2 days of my life. Too many, cold turkey conjures up visions of torturous pain, suffering and general drudgery. In fact, it is easier to stop smoking using the cold turkey method than by using any other technique. Cold turkey induces less suffering and creates a shorter period of withdrawal. Most important, cold turkey is the approach by which the smoker has the best chance of success.

Smokers must recognize that they are drug addicts. Nicotine is a powerfully addictive drug. Once the smoker has smoked for a fairly long time, the body requires maintenance of a certain level of nicotine in the bloodstream. If this level is not maintained, the smoker will experience varying degrees of drug withdrawal. The lower the level, the greater the intensity. As long as any nicotine remains in the bloodstream the body will keep craving its full complement. Once the smoker quits, the nicotine level will eventually drop to zero after 3 days and all physical withdrawal will cease. Cravings for an occasional cigarette may continue, but this is due to past psychological conditioning and not to a physical dependence. Cutting down on cigarettes or use of nicotine replacement strategies throws the smoker into a chronic state of drug withdrawal. As soon as the smoker fails to reach the minimum requirement of nicotine, the body starts demanding it. As long as there is any nicotine in the bloodstream, the body will demand its old requirement.

Smoking just one or two a day or wearing a patch which is gradually reducing the amount of nicotine being delivered will result in the smoker not achieving the minimum required level, creating a chronic state of peak drug withdrawal. This state will continue throughout the rest of the smoker's life unless one of two steps is taken to rectify it. First, the smoker can stop delivering nicotine altogether. Nicotine will be metabolized or totally excreted from the body and the withdrawal will stop forever. Or, the smoker can return to the old level of consumptions accomplishing nothing. Therefore, cold turkey is the method of choice. Once the smoker stops, withdrawal will end within two weeks. If you smoke, we can help you over this crucial period of time. Once it is past, you can rest assured that you will never need to smoke again.


Also check out W(x3)whyquit dot com, its the best site on the net as far as I am concerned...remember Educate yourself!

(can't post links because I don't have enough posts)

 

[Multi-Elis]

Have you read the reviews for the books on Amazon for which I posted links?

 

[Heidilein]

Multi-Elis, I read the reviews and I think I'm going to ship it to my dad who is a major smoker. Maybe something will sink in! Thanks!

 

[lala]

I don't smoke but I think it all boils down to willpower? My uncle used to tell me that as long as you're determined to quit, you can do it. Maybe you say you wanna quit but might not have convinced yourself that you can do it. Try being positive about it.

 

[ridesawhitehorse]

lala - you are right. You can use all the modern 'quit' methods known to man, but if your will isn't into it.... you might as well not try.

I smoked for about 14 years and got increasingly sick of it.. smashing out the cigarette halfway through saying "I'm sick of this".... Just got tired of it ruling my life. I quit cold turkey. That said... it has been about 15 years since I last smoked - but sometimes when someone lights up, I STILL get cravings. But I know I will never smoke again.
I like the way they smell when they are first lit up - but people who smoke STINK. Especially in the rain.. Along with all the stuff they own, and most of the time they don't even know it.
I don't want to smell like that... YUCK.

 

[TheTempleTeam]

I don't smoke, never have and never will. It's awful in this country! Everyone does it!

I went off at this woman who was smoking at the table next to us in a restaurant... my mum was pregnant at the time, and I was kinda wound up anyways... just told her to put it out before she killed us all and an unborn baby. She put it out. But it was rude of me. I'm sorry.

What gets me is... smokers drain our national health service, and I don't get an operation I need. unfair? I think so.

 

[laura_lynn]

I smoke. You know what's sad? that's probably the first time I have admitted it in over half a year - usually say I'm just "taking a break from quitting", which sounds ridiculous.
It's so gross, but at the same time so good, and the stints of wanting to quite way too fleeting!!! I hate being seen smoking, I feel embarrassed to be giving in to something which even practically says on the package that only idiots smoke. (no offense to any smokies, just stressing the point)

 

[merryheart]

I quit cold turkey Feb 18th 1980. I had been smoking 1 to 2 packs a day for ~7 yrs, and sometimes more... The day I quit, I bought a pack - smoked one, and flushed 19 down the toilet.

The worst of the physical cravings were over in 3 days, tapering off for several weeks. The psychological cravings lasted much longer. I quit drinking coffee, beer, wine, alcohol because they all made me *feel* like I needed a smoke. I quit hanging out most of my old places. When around friends that smoked, I had to grin and bear it - but it was no worse than being on a diet... It took about a year before I quit dreaming that I was smoking and enjoying it, and another couple of years before I quit having the occasional dream that someone was tricking me into smoking, or making me do it, but this was by no means an every night thing - it was very doable - and very very worth it! Now I *hate* the smell of cigs!

 

[567234ta]

i used to smoke and now i dont been smoke free for going on 2 years!!! havent looked back
thanks God