Hey Y’all,

You’re not going to believe this, but I’m actually trying to quit smoking.  I’ve been smoking pretty hardcore since I was about 15 years old (sorry Mom) and it’s been an integral part of my life for over a decade.  For all you smokers (or ex-smokers) reading this I’m sure you already know the tribulations of quitting, or trying to quit.   Dude, they say it’s more addictive than heroin.  Now I’ve never tried heroin, but I can see how it’s easier to slip back into something like smoking even after you‘ve quit for a while.

With some drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and even alcohol (it IS a addictive and serious drug) the consequences of using, both positive & negative are pretty immediate.  If you quit something like that you know why, and can probably recall at least one, if not a dozen, horror stories that clearly reinforce your decision.

With cigarettes it seems a little different.  The benefits, such as a nicotine high as well as an increase in your metabolic rate which helps keep off the pounds, and looking like a total badass are immediate.  The only real immediate drawbacks are that you smell like an ashtray, and nowadays you have to smoke outdoors.  Nicotine doesn’t turn you into a theiving drug-addled lunatic like so many of her sister  stimulants.

Anyway, I woke up Sunday with a little tickle in my throat.  It’s one of my least favorite things.  The combination of weather, and smoking is what does it every winter.  I hate it, and it’s bad for business.  I thought to myself, ‘What would John Wayne do besides drink a bottle of Jack Daniels and then kick somebody’s ass?‘  So I just said, ‘ya know what; F this!!’  I had one cigarette Sunday night.  Three or so Monday (because I’d been drinking & was having fun), but none yesterday or today.  I’d never seriously tried quitting before because I thought I just couldn’t do it.  It’s impossible.  It’s too addictive, and I love it too much.  Well, this is longest I’ve been without a cigarette since I was in high school, and though I’ll have cravings a few times a day, I’m loving being clean!!!  Plus I’ll save money.  A little anyway.  Nicotine gum is EXPENSIVE!!!  It’s pretty awesome though.  

Anyway, that’s just a little update.  All you smokers out there quitting is possible!!   Hallelujah!!!

Stay tuned for updates from our Christmas Euro Tour ‘08 on The Mighty Blog!!!

Cheers,
Orq

P.S. I'm not a 'smoker-hater' and I don’t mind people smoking around me.  Actually I love second hand smoke.

Good on yer, Orq . . . I quit smoking when I was 16, and trust me, it only takes about 30 years before you stop dreaming about it :P Nah, smoking feels good because it lets us control a little bit of our life, for the price of a smoke. Feel a little better. You have to replace it with something of value, something that makes you think, "If I smoke, I can't do X." An immediate reason not to smoke. I started running when I quit. Put some endorphins in the body to make up for lost good feelings. Sex would be lots better, of course, but smoking and sex are not mutually exclusive, so it has to be other forms of exercise. Go out and walk for an hour if you're on tour, don't beat yourself up running, but something like that every day to be a positive substitute for smoking. Don't do it to be virtuous, do it to take it away from the prissy health nuts and make it your own to attack your life with. You have to like getting some work in, and figuring out what to do, and really not doing it because it's supposed to be good for you. Just a philosophical observation on what helped me quit. There's no way to quit anything without substituting something of value. The 12-step programs seem to do it with the buddy system and social programs as the subs. I can't get wholly off caffeine right now because I can't figure out what to sub there and I can't go wholly virtuous right now.