Quit Smoking

[Rialaigh]

At my tech school nearly every health occupation program has a large number of people who smoke. I was sort of blown away by that too, but I am in the South where apparently everyone smokes, has a baby at 16, and thinks Mountain Dew is greater than water... No offense to anyone.

There is deffinently some irony to this. I also find EMS and FIRE providers often wear their seatbelts at a much lower rate than the general public. And even in some cases tend to drive drunk more than the general public. I smoke once in a blue moon but I have very specific rules set for myself. I just smoked 2 packs over fri-sunday this past weekend. The next time the rules allow me to smoke (out of state at class, without my wife or kid, for at least overnight) will be in late march. And I am careful to follow my rules.

Obviously it would be better if I just didn't do it at all. And I do not advocate people trying to "just smoke a little" like me. I also am careful to stay in shape, run, workout, and lead an otherwise fairly healthy life.

And the south...the dirrttty south....its bad down here

 

[NomadicMedic]

I also find EMS and FIRE providers often wear their seatbelts at a much lower rate than the general public. And even in some cases tend to drive drunk more than the general public.

Got a citation for this?

Otherwise, it's just an opinion... and you know what that's like.

 

[Rialaigh]

Got a citation for this?

Otherwise, it's just an opinion... and you know what that's like.

did a bit of looking around and I am sure there are better studies but as far as the seat belt usage goes.

http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2010/06/ok-seat-belt-study.html

halfway down the statistics
During routine driving, 53.0 percent (303) wear their seat belt 100 percent of the time.

I understand this study may not be completely representative of the fire population, etc etc....but its a start to understanding stuff.

Looks like the general public's seat belt usage is around 80-85%
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811544.pdf



I would have to do a lot more looking on the drunk driving one. But it's just an observation from my area. The seatbelt one however I am fairly sure of. Same could be said of tobacco usage or drinking, I would venture a guess that it is used much higher in the fire service (or EMS or police) then it is in the general public or almost any other industry.

 

[Rialaigh]

Also sorry to double post but best of luck to everyone quiting, please keep us updated on your progress and how it is going , I hope everyone makes it one day at a time

 

[rujero]

I smoked for 5 or 6 years and quit over a 6 month period ending last August. I was smoking camel lights for the most part, so basically what I did was start supplementing American Spirits, the heaviest I could find. They made me wicked lightheaded and nauseous. I would make every 3rd cigarette the heavier one.

As the months went on, the ratio of light to heavy increased until I was smoking 90% heavy cigarettes. Once my body started associating smoking with being lightheaded and nauseous, It was easy to scale back the quantity. When I got to the point where I could stretch a pack almost a full week, I quit cold turkey.

To this day my little association therapy experiment results in nausea whenever I smell heavy second hand smoke. I can't really imagine smoking again. The occasional craving can usually be taken care of with Cinnamon Altoids. Don't ask me why haha

-r

 

[MrJones]

Just remember - it's easy to quit. The hard part is staying quit.

Oh, and when it comes to busting on smokers and their nasty habit, the only thing worse than a non-smoker is an ex-smoker.

(disclaimer: I'm a long-time (as in decades) smoker who is on day 264 of my latest quit. I think this one's gonna stick)

 

[rujero]

That's awesome Jones. Keep it up! Hopefully we can both stay quit. Considering you have been smoking significantly longer than I have, I'm sure these guys would be very interested in hearing how you did it. Or more importantly how you stayed quit.
-r

 

[MrJones]

...I'm sure these guys would be very interested in hearing how you did it. Or more importantly how you stayed quit.
-r

Bad news for anyone who is hoping for the secret to quitting. My previous 3 attempts included, in order, Nicorette, Zyban and Chantix, This time around I just decided it was time to quit, so I did. Smoked my last cigarette, put the pack down, and never looked back. And, compared to my previous attempts, this one just feels right; no cravings, no anxiety, no over-eating, no nothing.