Need help; may be addicted to cigarettes.

[An Artificial Girl]

I've recently gotten into smoking (cigarettes) to deal with stress. At first it was just for fun though, to be with friends, just every once in a while. And now that I've gone through some more stress I find that I need that smoke to help calm me down and clear my head. The problem is, I get addicted to substances very easily (I know this because of my past history in various substances). I'm afraid that I'm already addicted to smoking. Is there a healthy alternative to smoking that will help with stress? Is there an easy way to quit?

[Prof.Engrish]

Hi Meg,

Often times we do rely on substances to relieve our stressors; and continually doing so can result in an addiction.

If you are looking for an alternative, there is something called electronic cigarettes in which they provide the same effects/taste as regular cigarettes but with the fact that health risks are omitted.

To quit there are also a plethora of ways out there (each way may or may not work for everyone, try to google up and get creative and things that may help you), the easiest way may possibly to use nicotine gum, (which is a substitute for nicotine), by chewing it and slowly decreasing the amounts we can stop smoking.

GL

[Maloo]

Quitting smoking is just mind over matter.

[NevermindMe]

Nicotine can help you quit.

- Justin

[Ryan1]

Hey Meg,

You probably already know all the dangers of smoking so there's no sense in me getting into that. I think you've got a head start in quitting because you can at least admit there might be a problem here. I think you should seriously consider what's important to you. Smoking is hard to quit but not impossible. I think if you actually try and put your mind to it & quit cold turkey you'll be better off for the rest of your life.

I've decided to move your thread to the general health forum because smoking related topics belong here as we try to focus on the health aspect.

[NoProblemHere]

Like the other guy said, quitting smoking is just mind over matter. The calming effect in my opinion just comes from the peacefullness of being by yourself, relaxing, and holding the cigarette between your fingers and watching the smoke come out of your mouth.

I smoke also but only in moderation and every few weeks at parties. The only reason I smoke is because I like the flavor of certain cigars and doing smoke tricks. I am not addicted.

Addiction is all in your head.