So after about 8 years of smoking regularly, I quit last Saturday. For good. Now for anyone who knows me, (or for anyone who is a smoker for that matter) this sounds unbelievable at best if not impossible. But it isn't. I didn't use the patch, the gum, the lozenges, Chantix, or hypnotherapy and I'm not going through nicotine withdrawal either. By now, I'm sure you don't believe me, but it is true. I quit smoking by using an ECig ( which for those of you who aren't hip is an Electronic Cigarette. )
So how does it work?
An E-Cig is basically a vaporizer which is powered by a battery. The atomizer ( a heating element) heats up the e-liquid ( which comes in varying strengths of nicotine and a plethora of flavors ) and you get your nicotine fix quickly and cleanly by inhaling the resulting water vapor. So I still get my nicotine while avoiding the 4,000 chemicals in traditional smoke, (43 of them known to be carcinogenic). I also get to stop coughing all the time, which is no small wonder, given what I was breathing in.
The following are some lesser known ingredients in a cigarette.
Ammonia (used in household cleaners) , Arsenic (used in rat poisons) , Benzene, Butane ( I thought that was for my lighter, not my cigs) Carbon monoxide (they make detectors for this one since it can friggin kill you) Cadmium ( used in batteries), Cyanide ( again, a deadly poison), DDT (a banned insecticide) Lead ( yum more poison) Formaldehyde (used to preserve corpses) Methoprene (another insecticide) Methyl isocyanate ( An accidental release of this stuff killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984) and Polonium ( a radioactive element known to cause cancer. )
Now I knew that smoking was bad for me for lots of reasons and that there were lots of chemicals in ciggarette smoke. But I had no idea that most of these were in there. What I find really odd is that most of these chemicals are strictly controlled by Federal Regulations, but these regulations actually EXEMPT these products for use in tobacco products.
Smoking related illnesses actually kill more people in a matter of days than cocaine does in a year's time. ( not that I'm by any stretch of the imagination condoning cocaine use- I'm just trying to wrap my brain around the lies and hypocrisy that protect Big Tobacco from abiding by federal laws that were supposedly put in place to protect the general public from harm.)
Who is really to blame? The tobacco companies who want to protect their investment (tobacco) or the government who doesn't want to protect it's people...
This is a toughie. Either way, I don't smell like smoke anymore and the mere smell of a lit cigarette makes me kind of nauseous. I'd say that qualifies me as a non-smoker.
The moral of the story?
The Ecig has helped me immensely and I will eventually stop using it as well, but for the time being it is cost effective and has helped me quit smoking rather painlessly and without the traditional unpleasant side-effects associated with quitting. Choose whatever method you like, but if you enjoy living - you should quit smoking. NOW! Stop paying good money to kill yourself slowly.
Also, you SMELL like an ASHTRAY.
This has been a public service announcement from a former ciggarette smoker. If you disagree with anything I have said in this psa- you should check my facts- and then promptly QUIT SMOKING.
I'm getting down off my soapbox now. I am going to go sniff myself some more. I just love smelling like Tide instead of ashes. *happy dance*
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Beginning, Middle, End.
Some people begin their story at the beginning, or even at the end. I find it more appropriate to begin my story in the middle. It leaves more room for analysis of the past and hope for the future. Also, I find this particular order less confusing since I'm not dead yet and technically there is no ending available at this time.
I am 28 years old- Which I have determined is the new 18. I am on the vertices of major life change and transformation.
Oh yeah and I quit smoking Ciggarettes 6 days ago. Haven't smoked a one. I used an ECIG- more on that another time.
It has been said that one's 30's are the new twenties. Given how fast the last ten years have flown by- I can see why. So as I've said, we will begin in the middle.
I am an artist at heart. It is at the core of all that I am. Unfortunately, reality has settled in, and I have realized that at this point in time it can't be my career... yet. Which means I have to ask myself that question that every child struggles with ( and some never really find a fitting solution to this problem).
WHAT DO I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP?!
Some would argue that I am grown up, or at least that I should be. Maybe they are right, maybe they aren't. Either way, it's pretty much irrelevant what anyone else thinks at this point because the truth remains that I am, in fact, not. This used to cause me to lose lots and lots of sleep.
Lately though, I have come to the point of peaceful acceptance.
I'm sure I have a greater purpose. I just have to figure out what it is. I believe we all struggle with this. Some people are just intrisically aware of what they are best at. Although I think that these are the people who are really good at just a few things. I am truly a "jack of all trades, master of none" sort of girl. I am kind of good at many, many, things. I know a little about a lot.
People who know a lot about a little have it much easier. The ability to specialize in just one thing and hone your skills is what societies have valued most. It is how the 1% usually make their fortunes and what keeps the rest of us from getting bigger pieces of the monetary pie that is life.
There are so many experiences that are completely priceless- yet they come with rather pricey tags on them.
Take Travel for instance, I believe that travel is one of the most valuable life altering experiences a person can have. Seeing how other people live gives one a whole new perspective on life. Sure we live in a global age, but how many people really get the opportunity to see firsthand the conditions in less fortunate countries? I had the opportunity to spend three weeks in Peru a little over a year ago and it changed my life.
Don't believe me? Ask anyone who knows me. Everytime I take a hot shower or drink a glass of water I remember that I am damn lucky I can do those things without giving it so much as a second thought.
Education is another great example of this. A good education doesn't come cheap. Even if a person is given a full scholarship, there are all of those expenses that people don't really think about. Food, Clothing, supplies for classes, etc. Not to mention the time one must spend on educating themselves. Knowledge cannot just be poured into one's brain and absorbed. It takes time, it costs money. The end result is infinitely more valuable than the costs, but the issue remains that not everyone can afford this opportunity.
So in closing, I have to go get ready for my minimum wage job. It's better than nothing and it will have to do until I figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
I am 28 years old- Which I have determined is the new 18. I am on the vertices of major life change and transformation.
Oh yeah and I quit smoking Ciggarettes 6 days ago. Haven't smoked a one. I used an ECIG- more on that another time.
It has been said that one's 30's are the new twenties. Given how fast the last ten years have flown by- I can see why. So as I've said, we will begin in the middle.
I am an artist at heart. It is at the core of all that I am. Unfortunately, reality has settled in, and I have realized that at this point in time it can't be my career... yet. Which means I have to ask myself that question that every child struggles with ( and some never really find a fitting solution to this problem).
WHAT DO I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP?!
Some would argue that I am grown up, or at least that I should be. Maybe they are right, maybe they aren't. Either way, it's pretty much irrelevant what anyone else thinks at this point because the truth remains that I am, in fact, not. This used to cause me to lose lots and lots of sleep.
Lately though, I have come to the point of peaceful acceptance.
I'm sure I have a greater purpose. I just have to figure out what it is. I believe we all struggle with this. Some people are just intrisically aware of what they are best at. Although I think that these are the people who are really good at just a few things. I am truly a "jack of all trades, master of none" sort of girl. I am kind of good at many, many, things. I know a little about a lot.
People who know a lot about a little have it much easier. The ability to specialize in just one thing and hone your skills is what societies have valued most. It is how the 1% usually make their fortunes and what keeps the rest of us from getting bigger pieces of the monetary pie that is life.
There are so many experiences that are completely priceless- yet they come with rather pricey tags on them.
Take Travel for instance, I believe that travel is one of the most valuable life altering experiences a person can have. Seeing how other people live gives one a whole new perspective on life. Sure we live in a global age, but how many people really get the opportunity to see firsthand the conditions in less fortunate countries? I had the opportunity to spend three weeks in Peru a little over a year ago and it changed my life.
Don't believe me? Ask anyone who knows me. Everytime I take a hot shower or drink a glass of water I remember that I am damn lucky I can do those things without giving it so much as a second thought.
Education is another great example of this. A good education doesn't come cheap. Even if a person is given a full scholarship, there are all of those expenses that people don't really think about. Food, Clothing, supplies for classes, etc. Not to mention the time one must spend on educating themselves. Knowledge cannot just be poured into one's brain and absorbed. It takes time, it costs money. The end result is infinitely more valuable than the costs, but the issue remains that not everyone can afford this opportunity.
So in closing, I have to go get ready for my minimum wage job. It's better than nothing and it will have to do until I figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
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