Do you smoke

[Kim]

There You guys better read it now my fingers are sore

LOL. Maybe next time just paste it into a word processor - then increase the font size

edit: you'd have to scan it first!

 

[DandyDon]

I working on a device to make it possible to smoke on the Safety Stop.

After all that bottom time and slow ascent, I really hate to have to wait until I'm back aboard. No more temptation to skip a safety stop to get to that after dive smoke.

Of course, militant non-smokers will find some reason to complain, even if I'm careful to stay down current. "You're smoking in my water. :11: Jeez!

 

[RIOceanographer]

My dad was diagnosed with cancer from smoking at the age of 45. It took cancer to get him to quit. Unfortunately, although he was apparently cured that time, 4 years later he was diagnosed with cancer again and died.

That is all I need to know about smoking. :frown:

 

[Rick Inman]

Originally Posted by Skin Diver Magazine April 1975
The Dope on Drugs and Diving
Zonked divers are better off to stay high and dry. That’s what a group of Canadian divers recently found after conducting a casual survey of people who had tried to mix diving and grass. According to Ontario’s Diving News, one group of users smoked one joint (each) and made a dive to 25ft in Northern Ontario. The water was 56’ and the divers wore ¼” wet suits. They were forced to come out in just 16 min whereas a normal dive for them would have been 50 minutes. They also noticed a decrease in breath holding ability. One instructor, an experienced free diver who was normally capable of holding his breath two to two and one-half minutes could only hold his breath a maximum of 24 seconds at nine feet after 2 joints.
The Canadian newspaper also recounted the findings of a group of divers experimenting with the weed in the Bahamas. These divers said the report, found that in warm water the loaded ones became ultra-relaxed, unaware, lazy and lost the ability to perform work. At a depth of 40-45 ft one instructor “greyed out” or simply went to sleep.
These findings are rather unofficial but it shows that divers about it before they light up. :

wOah, dUDe... FAr oUt....

 

[Quarrior]

Before any of you non-smokers pops off with a "why don't you just quit" statement, I have tried to quit many times. Everyone around me when I've tried to quit has the wounds to prove it.

Now for the reality of things.

1. All the cancer causing additives are/were government mandated.

2. Congress continues to take huge amounts of money from the tobacco companies and anyone else with deep pockets.

3. Nicotine is known and been proven to be as addictive as Heroine. But there are not any rehab centers to help a person quit smoking like there are for drugs.

4. Smoking is not recognized as an illness therefore no support by employers to let people take the time off for rehab.

5. Non-smokers do not help smokers quit smoking. They hinder the attempt with their constant comments. Leave us alone. When we are able and ready to quit, we will.

6. If you smoke menthols, you need to switch to regulars before you can quit. The menthol is addictive too.

7. Don't fool yourself, there is no such thing as an "ex-smoker." Just a smoker who doesn't actively smoke currently. All it take is one cigarette and you're back on them just like an alocholic or drug addict.

 

[Rick Inman]

1. All the cancer causing additives are/were government mandated.

So?? What does that have to do with quitting?

2. Congress continues to take huge amounts of money from the tobacco companies and anyone else with deep pockets..

So?? What does that have to do with quitting?

3. Nicotine is known and been proven to be as addictive as Heroine. But there are not any rehab centers to help a person quit smoking like there are for drugs..

There are thousands of help and support groups for smokers who WANT to quit. Do a google. Call the ACS. A smoker can whine, "No one will help meeee...", or they can buck up and quit. Sure it is difficult. So what? And there IS lots of help.

4. Smoking is not recognized as an illness therefore no support by employers to let people take the time off for rehab..

Smoking is not recognized as an illness because... IT ISN'T! It's a bad habit. Break it.

5. Non-smokers do not help smokers quit smoking. They hinder the attempt with their constant comments. Leave us alone. .

Non-smokers do not help, but X-smokers can help someone who really wants to quit. No one can help someone who does not want to quit.

When we are able and ready to quit, we will.

You are able. You're just not ready. That's fine.

6. If you smoke menthols, you need to switch to regulars before you can quit. The menthol is addictive too..

Guess what? MILLIONS of people have quit both at the same time.

7. Don't fool yourself, there is no such thing as an "ex-smoker." Just a smoker who doesn't actively smoke currently. All it take is one cigarette and you're back on them just like an alocholic or drug addict.

I've quit all three and I agree. We use the term "ex" to mean those who used to, but no longer do, and hope to never again. It's a positive way to say, yup, we're done. It's different than a "non" who has never had to quit.
Funny, MILLIONS and MILLIONS of people have quit smoking, and yet people keep making lists of why it can't be done. Sure, it's hard, takes effort and SELF CONTROL, but it's much more effective to be positive toward those who have quit, and to be thankful that they have shown that if you want to, you can too.
However, if you want to keep smoking, that's your business. Have one for me.

 

[Kim]

Great post Rick - another shining example of a helpful non-smoker. Just because YOU can do something do you seriously believe that it should now apply to everyone else? Where are your facts to back up ridiculous claims that MILLIONS and MILLIONS of people have quit? If that were true the tobacco companies would be long out of business. I'm glad you could quit - good for you. Others will according to their desire to - strong enough desire - strong enough will. The only reason that tobacco/nicotine addiction is not formally recognised as an illness (although MANY doctors do recognise it as such) is that then goverments would then have to ban it completely - and they won't do that will they? They're addicted to the money.

 

[Rick Inman]

Great post Rick - another shining example of a helpful non-smoker. Just because YOU can do something do you seriously believe that it should now apply to everyone else?

That's right! I forgot, I'm not just a normal guy, I'm Superman. You're right, I can do it but you can't. Sorry, for a moment, I believed in you.

Where are your facts to back up ridiculous claims that MILLIONS and MILLIONS of people have quit? If that were true the tobacco companies would be long out of business.

Sorry, I thought it was common knowledge. But, according to an article in Psychology Today (Mar.03) 2.5 million people have quit. That was more than a year ago.

I'm glad you could quit - good for you. Others will according to their desire to - strong enough desire - strong enough will. The only reason that tobacco/nicotine addiction is not formally recognized as an illness (although MANY doctors do recognize it as such) is that then governments would then have to ban it completely - and they won't do that will they? They're addicted to the money.

What brand do you smoke, Black Helicopter? It always ends up being a government plot, doesn't it?
Look, it's OK to smoke. I believe in a smoker's right to smoke - even on a dive boat (in fact, I enjoy a little 2nd hand smoke ). It's legal to smoke, and I think it should be. I say, let non/ex smokers stay out of your business. All I'm saying is, if you want to smoke, stop blaming the non/ex smokers and the government. Just smoke. If you want to quit, pay the price, suffer for a while and quit. But don't keep telling other smokers, who may actually want to quit, that it can't be done. Millions HAVE. Let's help support those who want to quit, and let those who want to smoke, smoke.
BTW, abalone shells make great ash trays!

 

[Rick Inman]

BTW, here's an interesting article from Business Week on smoking in Japan:
http://www.keepmedia.com/ShowItemDetails.do?itemID=21717&extID=10032&oliID=213

 

[Kim]

OK - 2.5 million people is a lot - but not what I understand by millions and millions - maybe just a difference in language understanding.

As far as being a goverment plot - I don't say that. They are nothing more than the pimp of the tobacco industry - isn't that what you call someone who makes third party money from another person who supplies a vice? It's not just tobacco either - check the tax on alcohol as well. What really irritates me about that is that they impose the taxes as if they are only doing it to deter people from something bad - BS - if they really felt like that they'd outlaw it completely. Wait a minute - in the case of alcohol they already tried once didn't they?
In some European countries they are on the verge of legalising marihuana, I wonder why? Could it be that they intend to tax that through the nose as well (like they already do in Holland)
I don't try to tell people not to quit - for some people it seems to be easier than for others, that's all. Maybe that's a motivation thing, maybe physiological - it's different for everyone. Years ago I worked at a drug rehab clinic in London - some had it easier than others, and it was very hard to quantify why. The point is though, it is different for everyone - so to try to put everyone in the same boat is to my mind wrong.
I don't know how hard it was for you to quit, and I am glad that you (and many others like you) could. THAT in itself serves as an example that it CAN be done - which is a good thing. However it doesn't provide proof that everyone can do it - some people can't - in the same way that some people can give up heroin - and some can't.
I don't blame anyone for the fact that I smoke - I'm 52 years old and I've been smoking since I was 14. Mostly I regret the money it's cost me that I could have spent on other things (and guess who got most of that!) I also am very happy when I hear that a friend has managed to stop. I know it's a bad habit. The only thing that I think is wrong is when people say - you can stop if you want to - it's not as simple as that. What is more true is that you WILL stop if you want to ENOUGH - and never before.