Addiction - quitting smoking alternatives

[pillz]

swim wasnt sure if he should post this in tobacco or recovery but put it here. swim is looking to quit smoking and wants an alternative to smoking, perhaps another way to nicotine. he knows that there is nicotine patches,gum, etc but cant really afford it as it is a bit pricey. swim also found out that he keeps smoking because he loves the smoke in his lungs and mabe it isnt the love for nicotine as it is a love for smoking in general. swim also likes a smoke when there is nothing to do or when at work taking a break. swim also works out a lot, is there anything out there, perhaps not tobacco or even nicotine that can be smoked that wouldnt effect workout performance (like sedative smokes) as it is, the smoking is badly affecting swims performance as it is. a lil advice please on something alternative to smoke. thanks.

[Jatelka]

SWIJ gave up smoking recently with the aid of Buproion

see here...

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/sho...&postcount=119

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/sho...&postcount=123

She is still cigarette free, but the Bupropion made her feel very strange for a long time (possibly because she didn't take it exactly as it was prescribed).

The other disadvantage is that she has been "fun-chemical-free" ever since, not wishing to mess around with serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine, given that she's not sure how long the effects of the buropion will last.

She had tried absolutely everything else previously, and this was the only thing that worked.

[grandbaby]

^ditto.

Having said that, if you want the nicotine and/or love the feeling of smoke in your lungs, your chances of successfully quitting are nil, no matter what quit-smoking aids you use. You have to want to quit more than you want to smoke, or you will relapse, period.

Once you get it through your head that the feeling of smoke in your lungs is the same feeling that's causing your performance to suffer, you might have a chance. What bupropion allows you to do is look at cigarettes objectively; it removes the "reward" from smoking so all that's left is the raw sensation. If you take the opportunity to examine smoking while on bupropion (and follow the recommended dosage regimen, ahem, Jatelka!), freed from the cycle of craving-reward-craving, you can see it for the absurd activity that it is, and can reprogram yourself to not need it anymore. As with anything, the drug will only help you along the way -- you've got to do most of the work.

You might want to re-examine whether you actually love the feeling of smoke in your lungs, or whether you have conditioned yourself to think you love the feeling by associating it with the imminent gratification of your nicotine receptors. Most likely the latter; the following experiment should tell: try smoking nicotine-free herbal cigarettes (available wherever hippies are found). You'll find it's not the same at all.

Best of luck in your efforts to quit. Well, not luck, exactly, but you know what I mean. Quitting smoking's about the smartest thing one can do -- think of all the money SWIY could put toward good drugs. Or... donate it to D-F...