Hi all. Just wanted to say that HillBilly's post on quitting smoking was a 2x4 right in my forehead! I used to only smoke while drinking, since joining AA as of last July I have become a "pack a dayer". Have thought many, many times, I need to quit, but find that I'm just as frightened of quitting smoking as I was of quitting drinking. So, I've been doing a bit of online 'research' and have found some interesting sites that I may be able to utilitze in quitting for good! I found that many alkies are cross addicted, and according to a few websites, nicotine can 'trigger' the craving for a drink - true? I dont' know, but at the moment it sounds plausible to me.......I have set a quit date for August 29.....Here's some info I found and wanted to share, and am asking anyone who wishes to quit smoking also, please PM me, and let's do it together........
~ Life Ring
Most alcoholics or drug addicts have several addictions, and smoking is the most common other addiction by far.
Many alcoholics in recovery do not realize that their cigarette smoking is probably an even greater threat to their health and survival than their drinking was. Did you know that more alcoholics die of diseases related to smoking than of diseases related to drinking? Smoking has also been linked to a long series of health problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis-related hip fractures, in addition to cancer and heart disease.
New studies have shed much light on cross-addiction between nicotine and alcohol. Nicotine increases the craving for alcohol. For many alcoholics, smoking is also a behavioral trigger for drinking, and getting clean from cigarettes is a major step toward reducing cravings for alcohol. Many alcoholics in recovery have successfully quit smoking after they quit drinking. Studies have shown also that alcoholics can quit drinking and smoking at the same time, and modern treatment centers are increasingly based on this principle.
Before the 1930s, treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction commonly also included treatment of nicotine addiction. Smoking was generally viewed as a contributing factor in alcohol and drug relapses. But with the rise of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), concern with smoking as a recovery issue faded into the background. Bill W., the co-founder of AA, was a chain smoker who died of emphysema. Today, the treatment industry and the recovery community are returning to the original positions. Smoking is recognized as a drug addiction on a par with other substance addictions, and is being treated accordingly.
For the recovering alcoholic even more than for the ordinary smoker, kicking cigarettes may be a question of life or death.
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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.
Just heard yesterday, that in my area, they have a NA meeting. Nicotine Anonymous. So this is going to be my own Route with this burning issue, no pun intended.
I thank Perry, for he was the one that seemed to bring this topic into awareness for a lot of us. Yep, like a two by four, smacking me in the head.
So will stay in touch with my success on this friggen addiction, in Private Messaging, Praying I will find a Sponsor, with a similar history, and do the Steps on this one lingering Demon hanging around.
Best wishes on this new attempt to do battle with this, for all of us.
I smoked for about 2 years when I was in college, and then stopped cold turkey. Wish I had had the same smarts about drinking.
I have a friend who has been sober for over 10 years now, but is still a fairly heavy smoker. I asked him once, why he didn't give up smoking, as he did so well with quitting drinking. He told me that quitting the booze was a "piece of cake" compared to the smoking issue. He also said that he was actually afraid of the stress created by trying to stop smoking causing him to reach for a drink.
I am glad that there are so many support resources out there for anyone trying to quit, particularly recovering alcoholics, as I suspect there are other folks out there who are like my friend.
Good luck to you, ladies. I'll burn a little incense for your success.
I was told no major decisions in my 1st year of sobriety. Quitting smoking is definitely a major decision, at least to me it is. I don't need my brain being altered going through withdrawals anymore than I need a hole in the head. I have set a date when I'm going to quit and I do plan on sticking to it. Been smoking for almost 20 years. I don't even want to read any literature on the effects of smoking because that will just depress the siht out of me. I don't need that right now.
