Thursday marks the “Great American Smokeout” on our busy calendars, a grand day that is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. The idea is to give up smoking for the day in an effort to bring attention to the dangers of smoking.
I will celebrate the day myself by lighting up a Romeo and Julietta torpedo that I can enjoy with a shallow glass of port, pitying the poor people who cannot give up smoking cigarettes and feel like second class citizens by now, something I have done annually since the Great American Smokeout began. This is an open talk thread where you can discuss this topic or any other of your choosing.
Smoking is clearly bad for you and is best given up if you value your health more than a little. But not everyone values their health a lot and they are free to do so. It’s a free country where people ought to be masters of their own destiny. Just don’t smoke cigarettes around me because they stink and you stink.
If it isn’t bothering anyone then leave the smokers alone. The rabid anti-smoking crowd that gets draconian city ordinances enacted and wastes our tax money on goofy re-education programs bother me far more than smokers.
The smoking evangelists remind me of proselytizing missionaries in 1860s business suits that thump on my door too often. Yes, you are giving me something that is good for me, but I know it already so leave me alone dammit.
Just like anything that is bad for you, it ought to be done in moderation if you are going to do it at all. We already know what’s bad for us. Don’t throw the t-ball team into the back of your convertible and tailgate in the fast lane. Don’t have sex with all the neighbors’ husbands. Don’t light fires in a meth lab. Stop eating Big Macs and fries. Don’t smoke.
History: The Great American Smokeout started in 1971 in the state of Massachusetts when a man named Arthur Mullaney first asked the public to give up smoking for one day.
Since then the American Cancer Society rallied a challenge day on the calendar called the Great American Smokeout. It occurs every 2nd Thursday in November, sort of like a happy Thanksgiving Day for lungs.
Feel free to quit for the day if it helps you feel better. Might put a few people out of work during the recession but it would be good for you. For a day. But do you need a gimmicky day to be reminded to quit permanently?
Percentage Americans smoke cigarettes: has fallen just below 20% of the U.S. population to the lowest level since statistics were first kept in the 1960s, and undoubtedly the lowest level in our history. Native Americans and African Americans (hello Barack Obama) are the two ethnic groups who enjoy smoking the most. Men enjoy smoking at twice the rate as women.
We should not confuse this subject with the Great American Pot Smoke-Out which occurs in April and is more than adequately documented here.
Reader comments are welcome on the Great American Smokeout, smoking, smokers, or anything else on your mind.
The Great American Smokeout Video (Comedy)
November 18th, 2009 at 2:28 am
I am in the process of quitting cigs AGAIN. So far my best result was 3 months last year. I chewed a lot of nicotine gum.
My daughter and son in law both quit together about 6 months ago.
My wife and I both smoke and it is LONG PAST time that we both quit.
For those of you that believe in the power of prayer, I would ask for prayer for my wife and I to be able to quit very soon.
My drop dead quit day is December 10th, which is my birthday !
Until then, I will be making some stop and start efforts to work on various triggers and links and other efforts.
November 18th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Hey good luck Tim!
I smoke the occasional cig, but I always get slightly nauseated from the buzz. In Northern Vietnam they smoke tobacco out of bongs — those things used to wipe me out. Anyone who doesn’t think nicotine is intoxicating should take a rip off one of those bad boys.
I do think that smokers should be left the hell alone though. The moralizing and nanny legislating with smoking is really starting to bug me.
November 18th, 2009 at 6:55 am
Tim, I quit an year ago using the electronic cigarette for a month – better way to get you through cravings then the patch or gum . One year smoke free is so wonderful – I love it. Unfortunately Obama lost revenue from me for kids health coverage, but I hope to stick around for my own kids longer.
November 18th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Good job Ellie, congratulations. Products like E-cigarettes and Snus have shown great promise not only for recovery assistance, but also for a healthier alternative for folks who still want to use nicotine without inhaling carcinogenic tobacco smoke.
Of course, with the new FDA regulatory oversight on nicotine products, we can expect these promising products to be driven from the market. In its never-ending quest to force us all to live better lives, the government is clearly harming the public from a health standpoint.
November 18th, 2009 at 7:12 am
I quit a 2-1/2 pack a day habit 22 years ago on the Great American Smokeout. When cigarettes went to $1.00 a pack, that was my breaking point. I saved the money I spent on cigarettes for a year and went to Puerta Vallarta for a week and paid cash for the whole deal, including spending money.
I cut drinking straws, the ones from McD’s work best, into cigarette length and used those to help with the hand/mouth habit. Got a little dizzy from sucking air though. However, it worked for me.
November 18th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Rhyader, I am grateful to the inventor of the e-cigarettes, although as Kelly said a simple straw may work too. E-cigarette did not help my husband though. The main driving force in quitting is how determine we are to quit, in my opinion. I smoked the e-cigarette for a month – I’ve heard there are some health concerns with those. I have no clue how much of it is valid and how much of it is “smoke” for the FDA to get their fair share of the pie. In Europe those are popular, in New Zealand the e-cigarettes were banned last time I read about it.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I’ve heard there are some health concerns with those. I have no clue how much of it is valid and how much of it is “smoke” for the FDA to get their fair share of the pie.
Almost all of it is unscientific blabbering by FDA figureheads. In reality, E-Cigarettes are remarkably safe — they deliver nicotine without forcing the user to inhale tobacco smoke, which as we all know is unhealthy. Most of the negative health effects from smoking have nothing to do with nicotine itself — the problem is the burning tobacco.
Now nicotine is obviously an addictive drug — the most addictive drug known to man, actually — and overdose can occur at a low dose of pure nicotine. But for the amounts consumed by a typical smoker, nicotine doesn’t do much harm at all.
Again, it is tobacco combustion that is the most dangerous aspect of smoking, and E-cigarettes eliminate that risk. It may not make smoking “safe” — which is why the FDA is trying to ban it — but it certainly makes smoking a whole lot safer, which should be considered a good thing.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:44 am
I felt like the e-cigarette was drying my throat – which is totally subjective – just in my head – that helped me leave the e-cigarettes /and with that cigarettes all together/. The best thing about e-cig was that when I was craving cigarette I held one in my hand and inhaled smoke. I lowered the nicotine dose during the month I smoke the e-cig. The nicotine cravings were gone in about 2-3 days, but hand-mouth took longer/ about a month/. I wonder when they will invent an electronic french fry
November 18th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Is anyone else getting these auto-play “Splash” video ads loading at the top of the post? Completely obnoxious. Please get rid of them if possible, Right Pundits.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Rhay, do you use ad block on Firefox?
November 18th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Rhay, do you use ad block on Firefox?
Not on my office machine….yet. Good call though, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do. Works great on the home machine.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I quit two years ago on Sept. 13th and started back up again in January of this year. Quit again about three weeks ago on Nov. 1st.
I use the patch and have a lot of luck with it. Over the past year I’ve used it whenever I felt I was smoking too much and needed to take a break. Only use it for about four days and then go solo.
November 18th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Obama is going to give a speech on this, get into his motorcade, and ask for a cigarette after they get going…
November 18th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Try smoking a cigar and inhaling, Tim. That will certainly help you want to quit cigars.
November 18th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Cigarettes, I mean.
November 18th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Try smoking a cigar and inhaling
Nah man, tobacco bong hit. Go for it.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3004/2835836244_4cc128c448.jpg
November 18th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Its amazing how the society you’re in will change everything..
In jail we used to steal the guards cigar butts out of the trash and role little cigarettes with em.
If we didnt have that we smoked used tea bags.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Try smoking a cigar and inhaling, Tim. That will certainly help you want to quit cigars.-Wes
been there done that.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Wes, I recently met a guy who is something of an expert on “addictions.” I have found some of his thoughts and suggestions to be quite helpful and insightful. if i knew the winking smiley face, it would go here
cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine,heroin,…
an addict is an addict
November 18th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
if i don’t quit cigs this year, i will die soon
November 18th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
in my opinion it is a 3 part battle:
1.spiritual
2.physical
3.psychological
in regards to #1: No weapon formed against me shall prosper. AND On Mt Zion there shall be deliverance.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
as for #2. i have found that nicotine gum works for me.
now on number #3 i have a lot of ideas but i am going to continue to seek out possible pointers from my “new friend” in this particular area.
Micky, your thoughts ?
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:36 am
this ius a great site lots of good information keep it up
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:22 am
“if i don’t quit cigs this year, i will die soon”
Tim, that’s exactly where I was a couple of years ago. You are indeed on the verge of quitting.
I patched. I found the secret to patching was to put the first one on before going to bed. This way you’re not Jonesing when you wake up.
The Equate patches from Wal-Mart are $26 for two weeks worth. Less than $2 a day. Here are a few more things you can do that may help.
Drink lots of water. It flushes your system and makes you feel better.
Establish a light exercise routine. You’ll feel better about yourself and it will encourage you to “act” healthy.
Keep a daily tab on how much money you’re saving. I was smoking 2-3 packs a day. That translates to over $12 a day in savings. Most of the cost of cigarettes is taxes. Need I say more?
Just say no. You’ll be doing this a lot. Especially every time you pass a convenience store. Remember that you are bigger than a roll of smoking weed. (Down Micky!!!)