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' Maybe it's that I listened to too much punk rock as a kid, but I have this odd personality trait where if someone criticizes me for something that I consider

' Maybe it's that I listened to too much punk rock as a kid, but I have this odd personality trait where if someone criticizes me for something that I consider illegitimate, I get this instant, visceral "fuck you" response, and their critique does me no good.' Oh, been there, done that. :) I used to despise the people who would give me grief for smoking. They were wasting their time, and it was none of their fucking business. Later, after I quit smoking, it occurred to me that those admonitions helped. Much as I hated to accept that, the regular jibes kept alive the idea of quitting. I hate being told what to do, especially if it's coupled with the idea that what I'm currently doing is both wrong and stupid, but that's just pride. I didn't quit smoking because people told me to, but having people constantly tell me to quit did help keep the idea percolating in the back of my head, a contribution to my finally coming to terms with what needed to be done and mustering the reserve to just do it. There's the risk that some people will spite themselves just to show the world how independent they are, and the more you tell them what that must do, the less likely they are to do it. But provoking people into reconsidering their actions, even if it annoys them, may help in the long run.

petewarden 16y ago
I've reluctantly come to a similar conclusion. I moved to California from the UK in 2001 thinking that the anti-smoking laws in bars, etc were oppressive 'nanny-state' measures. I was finally able to give up smoking though, and it really helped that it was socially unacceptable to light up a cigarette in most situations. It also helped that I left behind my smoking friends and hung out with people who didn't smoke, so it wasn't just the laws, but it made me reconsider my previous position on paternalistic regulations.
- jamesbritt 16y ago
  When I was quitting smoking I noticed that there were many places I could not smoke, and that when there I did no have quite the same impulse to smoke as when I was, say, home. Basically, so long as I knew I had the option to smoke I was way more inclined to want to do so, and found it harder to resist. This was sort of encouraging, because it suggested that a lot of the urge was psychological, which seemed better than a relentless chemistry-driven compulsion I might never beat. That's not to deny the physical addiction part, but to note that appreciating that it's not all physical addiction makes it seem less impossible to beat. (I also noticed that the urge to smoke in the morning was greater after I had that first one. I then started throwing any remaining cigs down the toilet before going to sleep. That took will power. :) Sure, I would buy smokes on the way to work, or at lunch time, but it helped me cut down. I must say, addiction sucks.)

petewarden 16y ago

I've reluctantly come to a similar conclusion. I moved to California from the UK in 2001 thinking that the anti-smoking laws in bars, etc were oppressive 'nanny-state' measures. I was finally able to give up smoking though, and it really helped that it was socially unacceptable to light up a cigarette in most situations. It also helped that I left behind my smoking friends and hung out with people who didn't smoke, so it wasn't just the laws, but it made me reconsider my previous position on paternalistic regulations.

jamesbritt 16y ago
When I was quitting smoking I noticed that there were many places I could not smoke, and that when there I did no have quite the same impulse to smoke as when I was, say, home. Basically, so long as I knew I had the option to smoke I was way more inclined to want to do so, and found it harder to resist. This was sort of encouraging, because it suggested that a lot of the urge was psychological, which seemed better than a relentless chemistry-driven compulsion I might never beat. That's not to deny the physical addiction part, but to note that appreciating that it's not all physical addiction makes it seem less impossible to beat. (I also noticed that the urge to smoke in the morning was greater after I had that first one. I then started throwing any remaining cigs down the toilet before going to sleep. That took will power. :) Sure, I would buy smokes on the way to work, or at lunch time, but it helped me cut down. I must say, addiction sucks.)