http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/11/20/ageing.afs166.short?rss=1 If you want it in English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20463363
I've seen plenty of anecdotal evidence that smoking destroys brain cells. It starts with "Yeah, I can quit anytime I want to...I just don't want to" and ends with the guy inhaling through the hole in his throat.
Quitting is, in fact, fucking hard to do. That said, lines like "He added: "We need to make people aware of the need to do some lifestyle changes because of the risk of cognitive decline." always get me feeling cynical.
Reminds me of a movie with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson from 1991 called Dead Again. Branagh's character, a detective, is supposed to quit smoking but continues to do so throughout the film. It's obvious he's not all that serious when he professes to want to quit. Late in the film, Branagh interviews a man (Andy Garcia) who has a tracheodomy hole in his throat. Branagh gives him a pack of cigarettes and the man smokes one through the hole in his neck. When the man returns Branagh's cigarettes, Branagh declines: "Keep them. I just quit." And you're pretty sure he means it this time. [wyt=Dead Again]seZUeBmuyHI[/wyt]
It starts with marijuana and ends with heating some shit in a bent spoon and a needle hanging out of your arm. No one can really claim that breathing that shit into your lungs is not harmful. Plus, it causes incredible paranoia and people are liable to do some very crazy things. I tried it once and why anyone would enjoy that feeling is beyond me. Here have a toke of this instant panic attack, its a real hoot
Don't mind him. He thinks just because his addiction is legal, it's okay. Doctors will tell you nicotine is harder to kick than any other substance. Guy I knew started on heroin in his 20s, went into rehab, kicked it. Switched to booze for the next 20 years, went into rehab, kicked it...then died of emphysema because the one thing he could not put down was his cigarettes.
Riddle me this...KNOWING that smoking will be incredibly hard to quit people STILL start smoking? Your brain must be fucked from the git-go IMO.
Most of the people I know who smoked started as teenagers. That heady brew of "it won't happen to me" and "screw what mom and dad tell me!" is a pretty good catalyst for picking up the habit.
I'm so thankful that my kids never started. I can't get the cigarette smell out of my nose because the office I work in now (temporarily I hope) both guys smoke. Fuck that is one filthy, nasty pointless habit. I would honestly gut fish all day as an alternative to being in a cigarette environment. Weed I can handle a little better, but cigarettes all day? INSANITY!
The more of this thread I read, the happier I am that I stopped smoking and started vaping instead. The benefits of switching, much like the burdens of smoking in the first place, are for the vaper and those around him/her. Imagine that office smelling very lightly and only in fleeting little glimpses of something like coffee, vanilla, apple, maybe pipe tobacco -- if you smell anything at all. Your coworkers get their fix, you don't suffer, and everybody's happy.
Have you found yourself vaping less frequently than you used to smoke? I used to smoke about 2 analogs per hour, but with the e-cig, it's a few good hits per hour, hour-and-a-half. I'm wondering if it's that nicotine by itself isn't nearly as addictive as some of the other chemicals tobacco companies lace the coffin nails with. ADDENDUM: And then, lo and behold, I found this. Not exactly what I suspected, but it does explain why vaping seems to be equally satisfying while not aggravating cravings.
Not surprising in the least. I quit smoking for 2 years, and I eventually said fuck it. Being a non-smoker was hell.
That matches most of the anecdotal evidence I've ever encountered. That's why when people ask me if I plan to give up vaping, the answer is 'no.' Nicotine addiction, as far as I'm aware, is something you're pretty much stuck with unhappily ever after. Seems the safest avenue for nicotine addiction management, then, would be to have a safer delivery method on hand in perpetuity so that a sudden craving is answered safely instead of prompting a return to the more damaging method.
That's what I'm finding as well. And if I miss the feeling of smoking tobacco, there are far less harmful alternatives such as Damiana available. Very spicy on the back of the throat, does wonders for blood pressure and libido.
I am working on getting my nicotine intake down, while keeping the vaping habit. Ultimately I aim to have the net level of vasodialators exceeding the effect of vasoconstrictors so my angina problems are minimized.
The subject of "throat hit" came up over at http://e-cigarette-forum.com earlier tonight, as well. You've no doubt been vaping longer than I have, but how good your throat hit is depends on the nicotine strength of your juice, how close your cart or tank is to empty and whether or not you're sensitive to PG. Without knowing how "into" vaping you are and what kind of equipment and juice you're using, I can't really offer any insights on how you might get a better vape. Anything you're using that isn't putting carbon and carcinogens in your lungs is better than tobacco, though.
Trick to that might be to do most of your vaping with a mug or thermos of good, strong coffee ready to hand.
Alcohol is more of a gateway drug than marijuana. Using a vaporizer takes care of that problem. Paranoia or panic attacks are legitimate issues, yet reefer madness isn't. The craziness tends to be limited to inhaling vast quantities of Funyuns, a bit of time dilation, and finding a deeper meaning in SpongeBob SquarePants. BTW - The article is about tobacco.
I bought a vaporizer because the stress at work was just too much sometimes. I think I've only used it five times since I got it two months ago. Maybe my body's more resistant to nicotine or something. ( I have it at a low level, like 12 mg). Or maybe 'cause I'm 26 and my brain's about as fully formed as it's gonna get, so I can use it went I need it and not have cravings.