4 ms·
The best description I have read—I don’t recall where—described the desire for a cigarette coupled with the fulfillment of that desire, repeated twenty or forty
by oxfeed65261 5y ago
The best description I have read—I don’t recall where—described the desire for a cigarette coupled with the fulfillment of that desire, repeated twenty or forty or whatever times each day. It is hard to explain, but that reflects my experience. That tightly-coupled loop of desire and satisfaction is, in a perverse way, somehow preferable to not having the desire in the first place.
- qq4 5y agoI've always had a hard time with this because I would think we would see people horribly addicted to nicotine patches and lozenges if this were true. What makes a cigarette so different?
- refulgentis 5y agoThere's a ritual, an experience. There's something _to do_: I don't understand how you live your day, you just sit at the same desk in the same small apartment all day? No pause? It's like hearing someone prefers an 8 hour movie Edit: this isn't...an attack...it's a humorous attempt to gat at genuinely how I feel, as a smoker, about people who don't smoke
- qq4 5y agoI would argue that sucking on a lozenge is about as much of a ritual as sucking on a cigarette.
- refulgentis 5y agoIn my head, the lozenge is background noise whereas the cigarette means I'm outside, gotta get a jacket, mask on, bring a coffee, etc
- kuschku 5y agoSo why not do the coffee break outside, without the cigarette?
- joeberon 5y agoWell, coffee doesn't contain nicotine
- kuschku 5y agoAnd that's where it immediately becomes obvious it's not just about going outside, or having small breaks, it's about the addiction that's so destructive that it's easier to deny it than to accept it.
- refulgentis 5y agoexactly, they're so deeply intertwined. when I read "oh but you could just go outside with the coffee?"...I would say out loud "why, yes...", and its genuinely a novel thought to me. Then, I silently think "but what about the cigarette?", and in that moment, I am enlightened.
- maccard 5y agoI totally get the ritual. The process of grinding coffee and preparing the cups, milk, filter and machine takes ~ 5 minutes or so every morning, and it's one of my favorite parts of the day. I've got a dog and live next to a park. Taking 45 minutes out of my morning and afternoon to walk her gives me more "headspace" than anything else ive tried. I guess I get my kicks elsewhere?