The dog returns to its vomit, and fool to his folly

I smoked Camels with no filter for 36 years. Two packs a day at the end. I gave them up 10 years and 8 months ago. I had begun smoking tobacco pipes twenty five years ago to quit cigarettes and ended up smoking both. Finally though, I hung the Camels up in December of 2000.

For the last month or more I have been obsessing about them. I don't know why but I finally broke down and spent $8.72 on a pack..... one pack of Camels. The label says don't look for discounts and on the non filter variety you won't find any. None of the buy two get one free like with the filter tips. They know if you're buying these you're hooked and they don't need to try and entice you.

So at work, I ate my Chinese take out and went out back to smoke my first Camel in over 10 years. I got a little dizzy, not staggering dizzy but a little bit. Didn't taste good the way I remembered it and I had a headache by the time I finished it.

I didn't smoke another for three days. On Saturday I had a big tattoo to do and wanted a quick nicotine hit so I grabbed the pack and went out back. Lit up and took two drags. It was terrible. I threw the thing away and ended up giving the pack to a guy that used to smoke them but quit buying them for a cheaper brand.

So it is the nature of addiction that even after 10 years you can fall into the snare again. Fortunately for me the "slip" reinforced my giving up the damn things. Of course I still smoke the pipes but don't inhale so that is a plus. How I ever could have smoked and enjoyed those things is mystifying to me.

Lol I too went back to the old camel shorties (because they dont have lucky strikes out here anymore), had a week or two with them and was left flat by them. Back to my Humidor it is....

Hey Jim, although you quit 10 yrs ago im guessing cold turkey? if not then disregard my next statement...the day u stopped u were constantly craving the nicotine, the fact that it took 10yrs means nothing, hence the pipe smiking...there is still nicotine in the pipe tobacco no matter how "natural" they tell u it is.

Nicotine is absorbed through the skin and mucosal lining of the mouth and nose or by inhalation into the lungs. Depending on how tobacco is taken, nicotine can reach peak levels in the bloodstream and brain rapidly. Cigarette smoking, for example, results in rapid distribution of nicotine throughout the body, reaching the brain within 10 seconds of inhalation. Cigar and pipe smokers, on the other hand, typically do not inhale the smoke, so nicotine is absorbed more slowly through the mucosal membranes of their mouths, the same as for smokeless tobacco. So you really never quit due to the nicotine intake.

Please read this book, The Easy Way to Stop Smoking written by Allen Carr. I smoked for 25yrs 3 packs a day and was able to stop. No cold turkey, no gums, no electro ciggaretts, non of that stuff....i have never been happier. I hope you read it and you will surely understand my above statements. Good luck

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dirtman775

So you really never quit due to the nicotine intake.

---

Absolutely ! All I did was go for a different, albeit less harmful, delivery system. Part of me would like to be free of the nicotine addiction but another part enjoys the pipe smoking too much to give it up. Pipes , once you are a dedicated pipe smoker, are harder to give up IMO. You not only have the nicotine dependency , but you also have the appreciation for the objects. The pipes I mean. Looking at them, handling them, the ritual of packing, tamping and all of that. Quitting means I would eventually sell my pipes and I love the darn things. Some of them anyway.

I smoke e-cigs, haven't touched a cigarette in about 6 months. One of the best things I've done for myself lately. If interested I can give people recommendations.

It just seems as of lately everytime i turn around someone close to me or aquaintances, more of the latter are being diagnosed with cancer....cigaretts are a definate death certificate....i have smoked a few cigars and a pipe once, i dont have the time to enjoy a cigar or the $$$...LOL For me i would smoke the cigar and right after want to smoke a cigarette, it got to be really stupid....The book, along with the combination of scaring the crap outa myself really got me to stop smoking. Enjoy the pipe, because no one can tell u what to do with your life, muchless someone else on the other end of a keyboard...LOL

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChesterCopperpot

I smoke e-cigs, haven't touched a cigarette in about 6 months. One of the best things I've done for myself lately. If interested I can give people recommendations.

---

Me too... I started ecigs 2 years ago come this October. I was able to quit cigarettes from that moment. Man I could not believe and still find it hard to believe how easy I was able to quit with an ecig. Whats great is they dont smell and you dont smell after.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Earthdawn

Me too... I started ecigs 2 years ago come this October. I was able to quit cigarettes from that moment. Man I could not believe and still find it hard to believe how easy I was able to quit with an ecig. Whats great is they dont smell and you dont smell after.

---

I've heard very good things about the e-cigs and have considered that avenue. OTOH, when you say you started them 2 years ago, do you mean you are still 'smoking' them ? I had a friend years ago who successfully quit cigarettes with the nicotine gum but was never able to give that up. Certainly healthier than the smoke though. The ideal would be to get shed of the nicotine entirely.

I am an ecig fanatic, no more smoke, the effects or the stench thereof. Jimmy, I thank God that you were able to lay them back down rather than letting them get their hooks back into you, even if you have to stick to the pipes. Perfect verse BTW.

How I never took the cigarette habit is truly a mystery. Both of my parents' consumption of cigarettes was legendary. To this day I've never met anyone who smokes as much as my old man. My brother was once a fairly heavy cigarette smoker too (he's been reformed for probably 25 years or so.) Me, I dig tobacco in every other form but not cigarettes. Pipe smoking is probably my primary vehicle but I'll dip snuff without much provocation and recently have begun to dabble in cigars. I do enjoy large doses of vitamin N.

My bride, however smokes cigarettes. Your story reminded me of the two times she was pregnant. To her credit she quit both times as soon as she found out she was pregnant and never complained about it. She wanted to smoke something terrible though and in both cases, as soon as the child was delivered and safe, her first priority was to go smoke a cigarette. In both cases, she emerged light headed and sick and very disappointed that the first cigarette was nowhere near as good as she expected. After a little practice though she was right back in the groove. I never understood that...no wait yes I do, I habitually dip snuff and my first couple times I was sick as a damn dog.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've heard very good things about the e-cigs and have considered that avenue. OTOH, when you say you started them 2 years ago, do you mean you are still 'smoking' them ? I had a friend years ago who successfully quit cigarettes with the nicotine gum but was never able to give that up. Certainly healthier than the smoke though. The ideal would be to get shed of the nicotine entirely.

---

Yea I still am "vaping" as they call it. I have lowered the nicotine level dramatically though. It's the hand-to-mouth thing that make quiting so hard. I was using 24mg liquid when i first quit and have since lowered it down to 10mg liquid. So the nicotine intake is much much less and I only vape on my way to & from work and sometimes at home. Its amazing how it emulates smoking.

I whole heartedly agree with Earthdawn, I can beat the addiction, its the damn habit(s) that have me hooked. I would rather go through life with an ecig than with a regular cig. For what a couple of cartons would cost(2 weeks worth of puffing) you can be set up with ecig kit with enough "juice" for the same time period, then its just a matter of buying the juice. 10$ for a 2week re supply of juice, beats the devil out of paying 40$ a carton.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

I whole heartedly agree with Earthdawn, I can beat the addiction, its the damn habit(s) that have me hooked. I would rather go through life with an ecig than with a regular cig. For what a couple of cartons would cost(2 weeks worth of puffing) you can be set up with ecig kit with enough "juice" for the same time period, then its just a matter of buying the juice. 10$ for a 2week re supply of juice, beats the devil out of paying 40$ a carton.

---

A 30 ml bottle lasts me about month, that's $15. I'm still at 18mg, but I'm going to get 11 mg as soon as I order more. Then I'll go down to 5 in a few months. You can get 0 nicotine juice, as well. freedomsmokeusa.com has a huge selection of flavors, and great customer service. Personally I use the Ego-T system, works great. Hopefully it won't get banned anytime soon by the pleasure police.

Congrats Jimmy, good on you!
Not an easy snare to get out of in the first place, and you avoided it now. My uncle quit smoking once, lasted for 4 years until me and him was out hunting in the high mountains one fall some 20 years go. I pulled out a pack of small cigars and he asked for one. Initially I refused him, but after he argued cigars are nothing like cigarettes and you don't inhale, I gave him one. That's all it took for him to get hooked again, first thing he did when we got down was buy cigs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Absolutely ! All I did was go for a different, albeit less harmful, delivery system. Part of me would like to be free of the nicotine addiction but another part enjoys the pipe smoking too much to give it up. Pipes , once you are a dedicated pipe smoker, are harder to give up IMO. You not only have the nicotine dependency , but you also have the appreciation for the objects. The pipes I mean. Looking at them, handling them, the ritual of packing, tamping and all of that. Quitting means I would eventually sell my pipes and I love the darn things. Some of them anyway.

---

I've heard that some people just keep the pipe in their mouth without smoking it, just because they like the pipe and the feeling. I don't know how much there is to that though.

Then again, do you appreciate the pipe shaped object so much that you want to drag along the nicotine addiction that you say you want to be free of?

At the risk of turning this into an e-cig thread, I'm a big fan, too. My wife and I quit regular cigarettes 14 months ago and never looked back. Before these e-cigs, I'd tried everything short of hypnosis to no avail. I'm not as old as a few here, but I smoked for 16 years and was at 2+ packs a day when I quit. Morning hacking stopped, sense of smell came back (whoa, Arko!), and my tongue is a healthy pink for the first time in my adult life. I even enjoy jogging now, which is something I never thought I'd say. We've gotten my buddy and my mother-in-law to quit, too -- and that was 50+ years of smoking on that last one. Even if the cancer and etc. risks were the same (and there's no way they are), it's worth doing just for the other benefits.

I'd add that if cost might be an incentive for anyone considering it, you can vape until the cows come home for way less than $1 a day if you mix your own juice.

(I'm also up for giving recommendations on products. In a thread, PM, or whatever.)