drug addiction

Why do smokers relapse?
Perhaps because cigarettes are always readily available? It's legal and no one can really stop you from buying (unless you're under age). But that's the same with all drugs, no one is really there to stop you.

 

Actually buying cigarettes isn't any that harder if you're underage. Not even alcohol. There is always persons who buy those things to kids and earn some pocket money at the same time. It's usual in Finland, and I believe that even usual in the U.S, where the law really cannot stop everything from happening.

Even getting drugs is easy in the today's world. If you just happen to have a friend who knows someone that smokes, or uses some drugs, you may just ask about it, get some, use some, and you're HIGH. That's when you'll get to the wheel of misfortune, and you'll get into far deeper to the wheel, know the guys who are selling, buy more and more even if the price goes up and so on.

I've met persons in the streets tryng to sell some drugs, but I don't really care about them. I have smoked couple of times weed, it's a very odd process. Do not try if you haven't. As I said, you'll eventually get far too deep to the wheel. Then you just ruin your life.

 

Well that's what I kind of meant with the No one really there to stop you.
I should have expanded on the under age part but I didn't.

It's true that there are kids around asking adults to purchase their cigarettes or alcohol. I've been asked by them (kids) myself a few times(which is odd, how did they know I was over 18? I still look like a school kid), I always politely say no but minutes later I would see those same kids again smoking or handling alcohol (they aren't that discreet about it).

And finding illicit drugs, very easy. They come to you. Like you, I have been asked many times by strangers but always find my way saying no them.
And knowing someone is a real easy way to get some. I have a friend who smokes weed, he's polite about it when I'm around and would never hand me some since he knows as a fact that I don't smoke but his friend is a the biggest tool. He would always try to slip me some just to show an example of how easy it is.

 

It's the kind of same around here, once when I went to a local shop to buy myself some cgarettes, I could hear a large group of teenagers mumbling about that they needed an adult to buy them some cigarettes. When I left the shop and opened the box, few of them came to me and asked if I would buy them some. I told them to go and try themselfs, if they would need it so much. I hadn't even smoked my current one to end when I saw those kids trying to share their new tobaccoes, apparently someone had buyed them.

If I think it throught, many of current youngster start using drugs at a very young age. It's quite funny, but it's still true. Everyday it's getting even easier to get some weed, heroin, or whatever there is. Erevyday those drugs corrupt children and when they get hooked, their school is going downwards to the steps of hell (oh god, how I love that reference!) and eventually, their future is ruined, if they don't get off of them.

Even if adults tell their children to stop using, their eventually going to get even more. It's quite ironic, if think'd throught.

 

That's odd, my parents really didn't never preach me not to use any tobaccoes, alcohol, drugs and stuff, and I don't believe that most of the parents really even say much of ti to their kids. In the current world, drugs are like a taboo, to speak of. Here we really don't speak about them much anywhere else but in school or with friends.

But oh, many kids corrupt their future by using drugs and they still not stop.

 

Gold stars guys, awesome.

You're exactly right: Drug addiction is a bio-psycho-social phenomenon. It involves biological factors (like nicotine addiction, or a decrease in such and such hormone), psychological factors (like "I always smoke a cigarette while eating lunch") and Social factors (like peer pressure).

Inevitably, the psycho-social part outweights the bio part! (They have some studies to back this up, if anyone doubts I can find them) Biologically, heroin addiction's about the worst you can get, while nicotine addiction is relatively tame. (The withdrawal symptoms of heroin can be fatal (as I mentioned above) while the withdrawal symptoms of cigarettes can't (though it's still very hard and unpleasant)).

It is infact, the psychology of smoking, the associations made in every day life, that make smokers fail more often than heroin addicts.

Think about it, while laying in a hospital bed, how many times have you smoked heroin like that? ... never. There is no such thing as an environmental cue to smoke heroin, while in rehab.

That is why most heroin addicts are actually successful when quitting...but they can't do it alone.

 

Didn't somebody say once that if you haved used to smoke a cigarette everytime after lunch, you'll not be relaxed if you don't smoke that cigarette. Or if you always go for a jog in the evening, or something. Kind of a addiction, but it just happens in your mind, not your body.

..or body also, but more in the mind.

 

^^Yep.

Actually, that phenomenon (called association) happens with just about everything (like even saying goodnight to your girlfriend before bed, if you do it every day...it'll feel weird if you don't), but for some reason oral things (such as smoking, and chewing gum) have more severe effects.

Have a stick of gum every time you go on the computer? Well then if you're ever out of gum, when you go on you'll feel strange, and possibly want to grind or clench your teeth slightly.

But that's a tip for quitting! If you have a cigarette after lunch every day, try substituting it for a stick of gum. (I'm personally a skeptic when it comes to nicotine gum...I'm talking just normal, cheap chewing gum. Get a 'kiddie' gum that you can blow bubbles with, like Bubbalicious) It will still have its biological effect on you, the nicotine withdrawal, but the behaviour change may not be as tough to handle!

That's actually the doctor recommended way to quit, for the reasons I've mentioned. I learned it back when I was doing Health Psychology. Cold Turkey is horrible, so you want to identify the times of day where you smoke, and eliminate one or two...replace them with chewing gum.

Then after a week or two, identify two more...and repeat until you're smoking one or two cigarettes a day. At this point, you try to quit cold turkey, and it's not nearly as bad!

 

(Oh god how I love this forum, I leave for like five minutes to smoke and go to the wc, and there is new posts right away!)

Well, let's get to the business.

It's true if you replace something, just like smoking with gum or something else, you'll get used to it in time and you wouldn't need to smoke. As I smoke, (I have been doing that for years, nicotine has done it's part as it seems) it's has became a wierd habbit that I just have to get one cigarette after the meal. I'll just feel so damn wierd about it, if I don't. And couple of days ago when we were having discussion about our habbits with friends, one of them said that everytime when he eats something, he needs to get a chewing gum right away to his mouth. Just like I have to smoke one after eating something.

Sometimes when I have used drugs, I've had a feeling, just before I had used, that I just need it. I think that it comes from the "mind affecting addictions", as we call it, that you're used to get that feeling right before you use something.

I'm not a daily user, if I get some drugs I use them rarely. It has been about a year now when I used last time, so don't think that I'm going down like an airplane without wings.

But the point is, every person has some wierd habbits.

 

Certainly...are you a 'pen-chewer' ?

(My situation is strange...I'm classed as 'oral aggressive' because I chew pens, gum and drinking straws. However, I did not smoke for some reason, even though both of my parents and my older sibling smoked. So it goes to show you psychology isn't exactly a science...but trends are trends!)

 

Could an environmental change have an effect on habits like smoking?
Say like a holiday on some tropical island where you can fully kick back and relax and try set your mind on something else other than smoking (if that's possible)

 

To Mike, I actually prefer to destroy (yeah, you heard me) the pen with my nails. Sometimes I just roll it between in my fingers.

And to the vacation thing. Nah, almost everytime I smoke, I get a certain feeling being relaxed. And secondly, I hate travelling in other countries. Too much sun for me would give me stress since I live in Scandinavian countries.

 

I'd have to agree with nosecap, but expand on the issue slightly.

I think the brain is a very strange and powerful thing, and it always depends on the specific person. If vacationing is different enough from your typical lifestyle (and enjoyable), then it may help quitting...I think this is actually a fairly common thing, but nosecap thinks otherwise so it goes to show you it's not really a black and white issue.

So let's say someone goes on vacation, there are no cues to smoke and they successfully stop smoking while in I dunno, Cuba. But then what? These people come back from vacation and start right back up, because the environmental cues are still there.

I asked my prof one day, if this happened, whether or not moving permanently would work. He said it would, but it's not reasonable to permanently change your lifestyle to a 'vacation' lifestyle. You'll always have to work, study, etc. and so some of the stress will follow you.

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nosecap: Do you roll your own cigarettes (with empty tubes + tobacco)?

 

Actually, the usual length of a vacation-trip to somewhere is around.. minimum in one week. Maybe you'll get relaxed enough to not think of smoking, but when you get back to home, wow. There are your friends who smoke, there are your favorite places in town where people smoke too. In school, about 80% of the overall students smoke, and blahblah.

So even if you get out of smoking, there is always the temptation to start again around you. To me, it's really hard because of the facts listed there, and secondly, I'm maybe an odd person, but I actually love the smell of a burning cigarette. When I smell it, I wanna smoke one of my own.

Makes any sense?

 

Yes I do, but not with the tubes, I have filters (or what are those in english) and smoking papers and the tobacco and I roll them. Why do ya ask?

 

if you don't smoke for 28 days you will break the habits but that's kinda hard so you'd have to try to not smoking for 1 day then 2 days then a week latter 4 days then a week later 8 days and so on
but no one quits unless they make up in their mind that they are ready to quit

 

No pills or powder, if it grows in the ground its good. There's a little quote I like that goes

"Herb is the healing of a nation, but alcohol is the destruction

OK, I drink, sure, and I was offered drugs a lot of times, and its very easy in this day and age to get it. Why don't I? Well mainly cause I'm cheap and broke, not that I'd spend all of my money on weed or whatever, not that I would spend any on it, but I'd like to give it a try, not because of peer pressure or from what I've heard

Why do people get hooked? Weed is NOT addictive, but heroine/cocaine etc is. Because people think they need it, they lose respect for themselves and are convinced they can't live without it