So many people still smoke cigarettes

[Blessed]

Honey, I don't have to try. I can rattle off a few right now. I thought you'd zero in on the shoe addiction!

You and I have a dog addiction. That one is life long and expensive. I have no money left for shoes, I am just pleased I have a couple of pairs of pants. Me, the crazy dog lady, looking for another puppy. I am so scared about losing my 14 year old love I think getting another would help......Makes no sense but she could train the new pup to be like her. That is what I want, one just like her

 

[911]

I don't know which addictions are strongest, but I was addicted to both nicotine and alcohol at different times. Quitting nicotine was hard. Cravings persisted intensely for a year. Years later I broke the addiction cycle with alcohol. That seemed like a walk in the park compared to nicotine.

30 years ago, when I quit alcohol, I attended AA meetings where many members were sworn off alcohol, but unable to stop smoking. We had smoking meetings twice a week and we had big turnouts for those. The air was thick with smoke in those meetings, thicker I have ever experienced. OK I fought forest fires as a summer job. That may have been worse, but only sometimes.

Dave: During my time as Investigator for the State Police, I attended a workshop on Drugs and Alcohol. We learned these are the 2 most addictive vices in the U.S. with smoking being the worse addiction to recover from due to the nicotine in the tobacco. It was also stated to us that the cigarette companies were well aware of this and would also add a little extra nicotine to some of the brands. The government was also aware of the efficacy of nicotine and the hold it had on smokers. Quitting smoking is no easy task as millions would agree on.

If any of us would attend an AA or an NA meeting, the stories that the addicts share at those meetings can be heartbreaking. I sat in on a few as part of the training and heard how the addiction to alcohol or a street drug cost some their family and/or their livelihood. Smoking is an addiction because it contains a narcotic. Alcohol is also listed as a drug because of its addictive tendencies and that it is a psychotropic drug. Alcohol has strong effects on cognition, emotions and perception.

You’re fortunate to have gotten off both of these drugs. Some people never do and many of them end up on the street. Congratulations.

 

[JustDave]

Keep in mind that the word addiction is used very loosely these days.

Video game ads describe one of the virtues of their product as addictive, and they are in that loose sense you referred to. But it's not considered a negative. Certainly not by the person playing the game.

 

[JustDave]

If any of us would attend an AA or an NA meeting, the stories that the addicts share at those meetings can be heartbreaking. I sat in on a few as part of the training and heard how the addiction to alcohol or a street drug cost some their family and/or their livelihood.

Alcohol is less addictive, but the consequences of drinking reach farther than long range health issues of smoking. Impaired judgement, coordination, and doing stupid and often dangerous things are much more noticeable in public than smoking. Fifty years ago, smokers were just normal people passing the time with a "relaxing" smoke. Drunks were judged harsher because the immediate results of drinking were more socially unacceptable. Today smokers endure harsher judgement from society, but not as much as drunks.

 

[Grampa Don]

How do you feel about pipe smokers?

 

[WheatenLover]

You and I have a dog addiction. That one is life long and expensive. I have no money left for shoes, I am just pleased I have a couple of pairs of pants. Me, the crazy dog lady, looking for another puppy. I am so scared about losing my 14 year old love I think getting another would help......Makes no sense but she could train the new pup to be like her. That is what I want, one just like her

Yeah, I'd agree with that. It is hard for me to be without a dog.

I know people who have a senior dog and who get a puppy. The puppy gives the senior dog inspiration to be more active, and the puppy learns from the older dog.

My son had DNA taken from our dog so he can have Aidan cloned some day. That cost $600. If that isn't astonishing enough, it costs $50K to have a dog cloned *and* you get the entire litter that may result, not just the pick of the litter. Wheaten Terriers can have 5-8 puppies. Imagine having that many puppies to contend with at one time!

I want to get another dog, maybe next summer. I have to figure out who will take care of it (in the way the dog is accustomed to being cared for) if I die first. I much prefer to get another wheaten, because who doesn't love a high maintenance, active, mischievous, and super-affectionate dog?

I will consider getting a dog from a shelter if I find one I connect with. The dog and I will both know if that happens. I don't want a puppy, so I would get either a Wheaten from a rescue or a suitable dog from a shelter. Still, shelter dogs don't always get new families, and reputable rescues keep their dogs until they find homes for them. I don't expect to find a Wheaten in a shelter -- either they get adopted or a breed-specific rescue take them.

 

[JustDave]

How do you feel about pipe smokers?

It doesn't seem as bad, and I like the aroma, at least when someone else is doing the smoking. BUT: A long time ago, I read an article about pipe smoking. I can't remember the bullet points but the thrust of the article was along the lines of "Don't kid yourself. Pipe smoking is not good for you."

 

[JustDave]

Wheaten Terriers can have 5-8 puppies. Imagine having that many puppies to contend with at one time!

My second Golden came from a litter of 8. No we didn't get the litter. We only got the third pick of the litter, which actually turned out to be the one I would have chosen had we had the first pick. We had to wait for the litter to be weaned, but we visited them often. They were in a large pen outdoors, and opening the pen so we could cuddle our pick would break the dam and a storm of puppies would flood all over each other out the gate. Putting them back in was not easy. Get a few in the gate. Add one more and two would get out. It was puppy mayhem. I would have been happy with any one of the puppies.

That dog lived for 18 years. We covered over a thousand miles of trails in Montana together. I'm not estimating that either. I recorded our miles on my computer after every hike. That dog bonded with my wife and I, but then, that's what they do.

 

[Grampa Don]

It doesn't seem as bad, and I like the aroma, at least when someone else is doing the smoking. BUT: A long time ago, I read an article about pipe smoking. I can't remember the bullet points but the thrust of the article was along the lines of "Don't kid yourself. Pipe smoking is not good for you."

No argument there. Whether you chew it, smoke it, or sniff it, tobacco is not good for you.

 

[C50]

..but I often wonder how they can afford to smoke with only one wage going in there.. 5 people to keep.. a high rent and utilities to pay... and Cigarettes at £18 per pack of 20.. ( I had to look that up)...my eyes nearly fell out of my head when I saw the price, how on earth does anyone aside from the very rich afford to smoke..?

A few years ago my sister confessed that combined her and her husband spend over $400 a month on cigarettes, and I would bet she down played it. Of course they always cry poverty as to why their lives are miserable. The math is staggering considering they both have smoked since highschool, also they are the only two in my family that still smoke.

Smokers that shock me are when I see someone from the gym taking a few last puffs or using a vape pipe before they come in to the gym to work out.

 

[hollydolly]

A few years ago my sister confessed that combined her and her husband spend over $400 a month on cigarettes, and I would bet she down played it. Of course they always cry poverty as to why their lives are miserable. The math is staggering considering they both have smoked since highschool, also they are the only two in my family that still smoke.

Smokers that shock me are when I see someone from the gym taking a few last puffs or using a vape pipe before they come in to the gym to work out.

I think it's incredible how anyone at all can afford to smoke and still be able to eat & pay bills... here at £18 a pack... someone smoking a pack a day spends £558..pounds on cigarettes.. that is $749 US... just mind boggling !

 

[Ladybj]

I tried smoking cigarettes in my younger days but didn't get anything out of it, so I quit. People think that marijuana doesnt effect the lungs, I believe it does.