terratogen wrote:

Bechara and colleagues culled their brain-damage registry for 69 patients who had smoked regularly before their injuries. Nineteen, including Nathan, had damage to the insula. Thirteen of the insula-damaged patients had quit smoking, 12 of them super-easily: They quit within a day of the brain injury, and reported neither smoking nor even feeling the urge since then.

Soon we will see advocacy groups whacking smokers in the head insisting it's for their own good.

hmmm... let me be a spoiler here. I smoked, heavily, for 10+ years and quit without any real withdraw symptoms. Sure, I had physical habits to break (something to do with my hands and mouth), but I didn't have chemical dependency breakdowns. Over about a three month period, I went from smoking two packs of Lucky unfiltereds or Sampearna Cloves to nothing. I almost quit cold turkey, but I think I cheated about half a dozen times in the three months. Since, about once or twice a year, I've just got to have a cigarette, but I think this is triggered more by being around other smokers and that certain aroma of cheap perfume, a nice breeze, and a fine drag with a swig of beer.

Having worked for a company that sold a smoking cessation product, I can tell you that it's 99% mental. Yes, nicotine is addictive, but that's not why most people smoke. Ask em.

flynn23 wrote:

hmmm... let me be a spoiler here. I smoked, heavily, for 10+ years and quit without any real withdraw symptoms. Sure, I had physical habits to break (something to do with my hands and mouth), but I didn't have chemical dependency breakdowns. Over about a three month period, I went from smoking two packs of Lucky unfiltereds or Sampearna Cloves to nothing. I almost quit cold turkey, but I think I cheated about half a dozen times in the three months. Since, about once or twice a year, I've just got to have a cigarette, but I think this is triggered more by being around other smokers and that certain aroma of cheap perfume, a nice breeze, and a fine drag with a swig of beer.

Having worked for a company that sold a smoking cessation product, I can tell you that it's 99% mental. Yes, nicotine is addictive, but that's not why most people smoke. Ask em.

Maybe the "mental" part is where the brain-damage comes in...

For me, it didn't have anything to do with being around smokers. I can spend a few hours in a room with rattle (who can sometimes fill up an ash tray in under an hour) without getting the urge. This might have something to do with the fact that I lived with smokers while I was quitting, but I haven't had a cigarette in 4 years.

My method of quitting was using the patch, and not following the directions for it. I would increase the amount on hours I wore the same patch gradually over two weeks until I was up to 3 days (which is when Nicotine is supposedly mostly out of your system). Without the chemical edge, the habitual part was fairly easy.

terratogen wrote:

flynn23 wrote:

hmmm... let me be a spoiler here. I smoked, heavily, for 10+ years and quit without any real withdraw symptoms. Sure, I had physical habits to break (something to do with my hands and mouth), but I didn't have chemical dependency breakdowns. Over about a three month period, I went from smoking two packs of Lucky unfiltereds or Sampearna Cloves to nothing. I almost quit cold turkey, but I think I cheated about half a dozen times in the three months. Since, about once or twice a year, I've just got to have a cigarette, but I think this is triggered more by being around other smokers and that certain aroma of cheap perfume, a nice breeze, and a fine drag with a swig of beer.

Having worked for a company that sold a smoking cessation product, I can tell you that it's 99% mental. Yes, nicotine is addictive, but that's not why most people smoke. Ask em.

Maybe the "mental" part is where the brain-damage comes in...

For me, it didn't have anything to do with being around smokers. I can spend a few hours in a room with rattle (who can sometimes fill up an ash tray in under an hour) without getting the urge. This might have something to do with the fact that I lived with smokers while I was quitting, but I haven't had a cigarette in 4 years.

My method of quitting was using the patch, and not following the directions for it. I would increase the amount on hours I wore the same patch gradually over two weeks until I was up to 3 days (which is when Nicotine is supposedly mostly out of your system). Without the chemical edge, the habitual part was fairly easy.

Actually being around other smokers HELPS me to not smoke. When I was smoke, I made Dennis Leary look like a spokesman for the American Lung Association. When I quit, I was the exact opposite. I was the non-smoker from HELL. Now I don't really care, but being around people who smoke definitely does NOT make me want to smoke. I find that I get my cravings more based upon the weather than anything. Something wired in my head I suppose.