4 ms·

smoking is what you can do while you pace around, dreaming of world domination. It's what you can do together with a cute girl you just met. It's what you do af

smoking is what you can do while you pace around, dreaming of world domination. It's what you can do together with a cute girl you just met. It's what you do after sex. It's what you do while drinking. While driving. After you arrive. After closing a deal. It's just .. the universal activity. How do you replace it? I quit smoking a few years ago. I didn't replace it with anything and it worked out fine. I'm actually happy I'm no longer pacing, drinking 6 coffees per day, and drinking pitchers of beer at Zeitgeist every night (the smoker's choice of outdoor beer garden in SF). Personally I turned every dumb little event into an excuse to smoke. "Narrowly avoided a parking ticket! Got to the meter in the nick of time. Time to remember this experience with a smoke." I don't know what point i'm trying to make other than I think a lot of smokers are kidding themselves about whether or not they just have a bad habit or a legitimate drug addiction. I was kidding myself. If this might be you (not the OP, just anyone reading) try Alan Carr's "quit smoking the easy way." It's the only thing that worked for me. But I hate those holier than thou former smokers as much as the next guy so I'm going to limit my comments on the matter.

sho 17y ago
Alan Carr's "quit smoking the easy way." Read it, actually. Great book. But the problem is, I don't want to quit. I like smoking! It's part of me. I feel no need to justify it. Obviously I am concerned about the health effects but do try and mitigate where I can, plus have some faith that cures will emerge. Don't really know what else to say. Oh yes, do-gooders.. I hate those do-gooders too. However, I'm in Australia and I pay fucking 40c+ tax for every single cigarette. I am not kidding. This fact fills me with a righteous fury, which is frequently and hilariously unleashed upon anyone who dares question any aspect of my behaviour. Funnily enough, in Japan, where I'm not taxed for smoking, I'm much better behaved.
- menloparkbum 17y ago
  If I remember in the book he says his technique won't work unless you want to quit. How much are cigs in Australia these days? I just noticed the ones I used to smoke here in SF are up to 7 dollars a pack at my corner store. ($5.50 when I quit) I had the opposite experience in Japan. I smoked the most there. The smokes were cheap and you could smoke nearly anywhere. It was weird if you didn't smoke - and this wasn't even 10 years ago.
  - sho 17y ago
    A 20-pack is around AUD$10. The exchange rate varies but basically you can consider that equivalent to $10 USD to us. Very high. Still, not high enough to deter me : ) Yeah, Japan is fantastic, that's half the reason I moved there : ) Smoking section in McDonalds! Awesome! Prices there are 320Y for a 20-pack. I get my friends to send me cartons when they remember, but it's no big deal. JP is beginning to succumb to westerner tastes, though, so looks like the next stop might be China.
  - eugenejen 17y ago
    It is $10 for a pack of Marlboro in NYC.

sho 17y ago

Alan Carr's "quit smoking the easy way." Read it, actually. Great book. But the problem is, I don't want to quit. I like smoking! It's part of me. I feel no need to justify it. Obviously I am concerned about the health effects but do try and mitigate where I can, plus have some faith that cures will emerge. Don't really know what else to say. Oh yes, do-gooders.. I hate those do-gooders too. However, I'm in Australia and I pay fucking 40c+ tax for every single cigarette. I am not kidding. This fact fills me with a righteous fury, which is frequently and hilariously unleashed upon anyone who dares question any aspect of my behaviour. Funnily enough, in Japan, where I'm not taxed for smoking, I'm much better behaved.

menloparkbum 17y ago
If I remember in the book he says his technique won't work unless you want to quit. How much are cigs in Australia these days? I just noticed the ones I used to smoke here in SF are up to 7 dollars a pack at my corner store. ($5.50 when I quit) I had the opposite experience in Japan. I smoked the most there. The smokes were cheap and you could smoke nearly anywhere. It was weird if you didn't smoke - and this wasn't even 10 years ago.
- sho 17y ago
  A 20-pack is around AUD$10. The exchange rate varies but basically you can consider that equivalent to $10 USD to us. Very high. Still, not high enough to deter me : ) Yeah, Japan is fantastic, that's half the reason I moved there : ) Smoking section in McDonalds! Awesome! Prices there are 320Y for a 20-pack. I get my friends to send me cartons when they remember, but it's no big deal. JP is beginning to succumb to westerner tastes, though, so looks like the next stop might be China.
- eugenejen 17y ago
  It is $10 for a pack of Marlboro in NYC.