I spoke of this before in another thread, but I had to find other reasons to quit that didn't involve my health. I was told that because i am diabetic I need to quit, and my dad quit when he was 40 and still died young of diabetes. A gentleman that was father-like to me was a very light smoker, quit in his 30's, and died of LUNG CANCER when he was 72. Allen Carr was recently diagnosed. Here's the thing about statistics... If 10 people die this week of lung cancer, and 9 of them were smokers, then 90% of all people who die of lung cancer were smokers. But what they don't factor in is the fact that those smokers had poor diets because they fed on nicotine instead, which caused their liver to release sugar into their blood streem - so they didn't eat regularily or well. They had poor coping skills, assertive skills, stress management skills, and they likely smoked to keep other people at a distance - meening that they never really got to experience love like a normal healthy person experiences love. They were adicts so they weren't happy like normal healthy people are happy, and they probably didn't laugh like normal healthy people laugh (I've had laughter come out of me over the last week that i've never experienced before in my life), and quite possibly thy became smokers to fill a void within thmselves because for whatever reason - they don't love themselves. So, there are so many risk factors involved here, that there is absolutely no way of knowing if it was the cigarettes that gave them cancer, or if it was the unhealthy lifestyle, and the inability to love that focused the negativity in their chest, and the lack of good excercise that never worked their lungs, or if it was self discipline or loathing that made them feel empty and sad. Point is - most of the time there's a reason that we smoke that is emotional, and most of the time we don't eat proper food in proper portions, nand work out daily and then go light up... we don't care for our bodies. All of those things cause cancer. My dad quit smoking and still hid candy bars under the seat of his van. My freind quit smoking but was a control freek that carried all of his tension in his chest. We've taken the first step in healing all of that, but there is more work to do. Mi

Die clean. Wow - I LIKE that. That's a powerful mantra. I used to watch prgrammes about junkies - you know "real" drug adicts, and be quite dismissive of their failure to quit. Then realised I was just as much a junkie, if not more so, and I wasn't quitting. I hated myself. There are lots of interesting points in this thread. The emotional side intrigues me and I think a chord has been struck - that I have "used" cigs. to mask a whole heap of other stuff (yep, done the anti depressants as well) that I must think of addressing. It is a time of change in my life anyway and I am really hoping the impetus of that, means I go forward to tackle a whole heap of issues. As to the fear of cancer thing, so many people have die of cancer in my family. My father was the only one who died of lung cancer (and I suspect that might be part of my "issues"; that I was only 14 at the time and I resent him for leaving me then) but lots of others did too, from a variety of cancers and who never smoked. I think I have used the cigs to mask those fears. Often when I told myself to stop smoking (and how sad is this? ) I would tell myself there was no point as with my history, some other form of it would get me anyway. I am in a high risk category for breast cancer and haven't been for my yearly checks in about five years - because I would have been a hypocrite to do that as a smoker. Time to change that too I think. But I like that mantar "Die clean". I think I can use that to overcome the thoughts that if it isn't lung, it will be some other. Well, yeah. It might be - but at least I can be "clean"! Excuse ramblings! S [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/20/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 3 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 112 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �18 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 45 [B]Seconds:[/B] 48

lol ok i wont :) Its bad for you!

Lol no i am fine. I sent you an email. PrincessC :) x

Hey BGH, I am by no means an expert hun, by NO means at all. My information is from industrial hygeinists and it was of their opinion and it was their statistics that were presented. We touched mainly on the effects of industrial exposures on the lungs. This topic included smoking. OVER half of the people in attendance (30) were at one time a smoker. I dont know where statistics from tobacco related illness's come from, who posts them, are they accurate so forth. In my opinion i know smoking causes a lot of problems as does any substance we put in our body in excess has ill effects. Im sorry if i have misled you in anyway or made you beleive i am an expert on these matters as i am not, im am not a doctor or a researcher and i do not have the answers. it was not intention to mislead you in anyway. I just i wanted to share with you the information that was presented to me last month. I shouldnt have posted it - sorry. PrincessC :( x

So very true Mistymoon :) Thank you for that reply. I know i replaced eating with smoking a lot of the time. I know my ex being an alcoholic and a heavy smoker does not eat much at all either. Now i have quit i still dont eat much but what i do eat it is healthy at least :) o except for the banana splits with lots of cream and cherries :) yum! I know why i lit up yes it was an emotional issue this is why i say i was depressed for 14 years - i dont ever remember being a happy smoker not even when i was laughing. (make sense?) Oh well... PrincessC :) x

Stickin... I was at a mid year conference last month and this (effects of smoking and other industrial exposures ie:asbestos) was the topic of discussion. There was no real conclusion met in regards to this as the human body is a mystery - why does it effect some and not others, why can someone smoke for 80 years and die of natural causes - i can guarantee it WILL be the hot topic for many years to come, cilia does re generate though which is why the younger you are the better it is AND before all you newbies run off and let that junkie thinking take over saying i smoked 40 years there is no hope so whats the point.. you listen up here [b]Quitting at ANY age has immediate and long term benefits - just remember Cancer is not the only thing smoking causes![/b] I cant move forward if i focus on what i have done, i want to focus on what can and will do to improve it. Anyone for a jog around the block? Gosh im babbling, i just get sad and angry coz i conciously did this to myself. If you want to talk about without having to scare everyone email me. PrincessC :) x

Hi Stickin I can give a bit of an answer, when I started my quit I was part of a government program here. At the beginning of the quit the lung specialist gave us a test to check our lung capacity, the same test was redone 6 weeks later and in my case the lung capacity was 8% better already and there were also other numbers for the celia and I had doubled those, so all in all this was very encouraging and helped me with the quit. :)Marie [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 70 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,061 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $280 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 9 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 58 [B]Seconds:[/B] 15

Bgaineshunter no propaganda, smoking kills that's the truth. It makes you cough,wheezy, spit, it stinks, it hurts your skin, it hurts others around you. Don't smoke it's bad for you Marie [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 70 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,064 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $280 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 9 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 40 [B]Seconds:[/B] 59

Members, In general, 1 year quit = risk of heart disease is cut in half 3 years quit = risk of heart attack is almost the same as a non smoker 10 years quit = chance of getting lung cancer is cut by 50-70% 15 years quit = life expectancy is the same as that of a non smoker There also many short term benefits such as a drop in blood pressure, heart rate, greater endurance... Keep in mind that your lifestyle is the most powerful tool you control. What you eat, how much you sleep, how you deal with stress, how much you exercise all impact your current and future health. Danielle __________________________ The SSC Support Team