[richie]

From what I have read, they say that former smokers might have tried to quit from 4 to 7 times before they are finally successful. I was wondering if anyone is aware of any similar statistics/estimates for those trying to quit gambling? Thanks.
Richie in Florida…each day is a GIFT!

[richie]

I just now ran across yet another statistic about smoking. I know, I know, GT is about gambling, but I just want to post this here so I can find it later…
Many people think that they can have just one cigarette after quitting. Maybe they are enjoying a night on the town, throwing down a few drinks and the smell of others smoking triggers that craving. It is easy to think that having a cigarette won’t hurt but 90 percent of smokers who smoke after quitting will later return to regular smoking.
Thanks. BTW Mike did another great job in today’s topic session about the male/female divide!…each day is a GIFT!

[finding_laura]

Hey Richie,
it was great to see you in topic group yesterday.  Was a lively discussion 🙂  I would agree with that just one leading back to full time smoking.  It would trigger the cravings big time in me.  I cannot take it or leave it. Thats the problem with food, you need to eat.  You can’t just say I will never eat again!  Do you crave certan kinds of foods?  I was given an article by a doctor of mine about being addicted to carbs.  Carbs release feel good chemicals in the brain even if short lived in the case of simple carbs.  If I forget Richie remind me, I will see if I can get that scanned for you (my scanner bit the dust but I can go to a friends) and have it forwarded to you.  Have a great day Richie!  All the best from your SIR.
Laura

[moe123]

I quit smoking 9 months ago now; I still can not believe it… I used to be a proper heavy smoker 20 or more a day if I was gambling or drinking the amount of **** would increase….
Since then I slipped in gambling  but still off the ****…
How I did it , on my birthday I said I will have 1 last *** at mind night and I have not had one since…
Went cold turkey…I am hoping to use things I learn from abstaining from smoking in my gambling recovery….
 Moe123

[richie]

Moe, that’s fantastic! 9 months…the worst is over! I remember after only 6 months my enjoyment of the smell of second-hand smoke stopped and I suddenly couldn’t stand it anymore. I have no idea what changed inside my physically, but it was like someone had flipped a switch.Moe you said
“I am hoping to use things I learn from abstaining from smoking in my gambling recovery…” I was wondering if you have ever heard of the serenity prayer for smokers? I really liked it back in 1991 when I quit. Anyway, here it is for your reading pleasure… The Serenity Prayer for Nicotine Users
“God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” * Selected from text written by Reinhold Neibuhr – 1926
God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change…
As nicotine users, we cannot change our craving for nicotine, but even if we can’t change the craving for nicotine, we can accept it. The truth is that until we can accept our craving for nicotine, we will not stop the repetitive behavior. Using some form of a nicotine delivery system is what we will do if we decide we cannot accept the craving.

It’s that simple. If, for example, you are a cigarette smoker and you will not accept the craving, then you will surely light a cigarette. Or maybe you will have “one ****” or “one pinch” if you chew to get you through, but even one **** or one pinch is not accepting the things that you cannot change.

Accepting the craving does not mean we want the craving or like it. Accepting it means, first, recognizing the craving for what it is: a strong desire, physical and psychological, not a real need, for nicotine. That’s all. We do not fight the craving; rather we look at it, letting it be, not getting panic stricken or feeling sorry for ourselves, but saying, “Yes, I really am craving nicotine right now.”

We do not practice self-deception and try to trick ourselves into thinking we don’t want nicotine. This is an honest program. Nor do we try to hate the “habit” (or ourselves) so much that we quit. While we are actively using we cannot make our bodies stop craving nicotine, but we can live with a craving until it passes, and so we pray for…

Courage to change the things I can…
The thing that we can change is our unwillingness to live, even for a short time, with the craving for nicotine. We can, with God’s help and the support of the group, change our old way of dealing with craving, and deal with it in a new way: We become willing to live with the craving; we no longer use nicotine to get rid of the pain of craving. If we light a cigarette to relieve the craving, this shows we have not accepted what we cannot change and have not acted with the courage to change the things we can.

Of course, living with the craving is hard, sometimes very hard, but you are not alone. With the help of a Higher Power you can do it. That is what the Serenity Prayer is all about.
So we ask God to help us accept the craving, and then we ask God to give us the courage not to take care of this craving – as we have always done – by using nicotine once more. Thus, we need the serenity to accept the craving, and the courage to just let it pass…
And wisdom to know the difference.
The wisdom we ask for here is to become aware of the difference between our old way of handling the discomfort of craving in the past (for example, by compulsively lighting up) and the new way of dealing with cravings: accepting the craving until it passes, uncomfortable though we may be for a few moments, understanding that a craving will pass whether we use nicotine or not.

The strength and courage to live as former nicotine users with this initial discomfort does come if we ask for it, even though it may take time. What we receive is not raw will power, but a Power that comes from our Higher Power, from the group, and from our innermost self. The power we actually want is love! It is only with this kind of power that we can become ex-nicotine users and receive a new life free from nicotine addiction.

The reason we did not become ex-nicotine users years ago is that we chose not to live with the craving. Every time we craved, we gave in and used nicotine. We kept hoping that in some magic way a day would arrive when the craving would disappear or we would find an absolutely painless way to stop being addicted. That day never came. Each of us kept repeating our favorite rationalizations or excuses for using tobacco, our own justifications for not living with the craving. And we kept craving and using, craving and using, year after year.

But now we can change all that. The moment we can accept what is -“I want nicotine” – and face it with the courage God gives us, we can say, “I choose not to handle this craving by using nicotine,” then we become ex-nicotine users!

If you continue to use nicotine even though you say this prayer, then say it again, and again, and keep saying it while you reflect what it means to you, a nicotine addict. Eventually it will work. It will not work if you are not sincere, but if all you can do at first is to say the prayer without believing it, then at least do that! Some time may be needed for you to receive the power to live with the discomfort that comes from craving, but eventually it will come. In time, the craving will diminish greatly, and someday, we trust, it will disappear altogether. However, if you have a slip, and for example, you are a smoker and light one up, accept yourself reverently and say the prayer again the next time!

Remember, it is not really the stress, frustration or even the craving that causes us to keep using nicotine again, but rather our lack of serenity and courage to deal with the craving. Help comes from your Higher Power, from the group, and from your own healthy inner self! May God be with you now!……each day is a GIFT!

[richie]

Moe, besides my being a compulsive gambler and a compulsive smoker, I am also a compulsive poster! So, here’s another of my favorites from Nicotine Anonymous…
Our Promises
On our path to freedom, joy, and serenity, we are guided by the Twelve Steps of Nicotine Anonymous, which allow us to successfully steer the treacherous curves of craving, emotionality, turmoil and unmanageability. Our spiritual life is not a theory; we have to live it.
Physical improvement for many of us has been almost immediate. Our sense of smell and taste returns; the world takes on a new dimension of color and clarity. Our self-esteem is fueled by the genuine realization that a Power greater than ourselves has pulled us from the muck of denial where we have been ever so slowly killing ourselves. We no longer have to answer the “craving call” every twenty minutes! We choose to ask for the help this program offers so that we can reduce our risk of becoming one of the millions of premature nicotine related deaths each year. What relief!
We are learning to assert ourselves where previously we have been aggressive or passive; we are also beginning to love ourselves. As the numbness lifts, we begin to feel again, sometimes, to the temporary peril of those around us!
Gradually, our interest is focusing on Nicotine Anonymous rather than nicotine. We begin to forget we had been nicotine users, except at meetings. We now realize we have been participating in a grand hoax. We haven’t given up anything at all!
Health is a new experience. We are humbly grateful for this gift. Our Higher Power, through this program, has done for us what we could not do for ourselves….each day is a GIFT!

[Anonymous]

Ultimatley I want to quit smoking too, however at present I am working on giving the weed up  5 days now. How long do you think I should be weed free befor I tryt to quit smoking?I dont gamble.

[jazz55]

Wow! I just stopped gambling 2 days ago; went to the casino TODAY to self-ban myself, and Now I see what I need to prepare myself for. 
The self-ban was incredibly hard – I wanted to BOLT, before the Mgr. of Operations ever arrived to give me the paperwork.  Once it was over & I had been "escorted back to my vehicle", I had a tremendous sense of ‘buyer’s remorse’.  WHAT HAD I JUST DONE TO MYSELF???!!!
I’m thinking that I had better Start fitness training right away, or I’ll be diving into the refrigerator or the ‘bottle’ very soon.

[moe123]

@ Hi Geordie,, I would not put to much pressure on yourself…. so I would stop the weed  manage 3 to 6 months…. Then maybe try smoking…. You are doing well!!
@ jazz well done mate on the self-ban you should be proud…. In a few week you are going to be thinking this was  a gr8 idea… and with  GF time you will  feel much better!
@ Richie the literature looks like Ga but twisted to smoking (having said that I seen the same for AA) curiosity got the better of me…. This topic is extremely interesting because as you mentioned earlier… with smoking I have tried to quit several *****… but failed some***** lasted for a very long time   (about 12 weeks) the life got in the way …. Started smoking…
Any how looking at it now it feels like me trying to beat gambling ok I been trying for a while… I had a few hurdles along the way… but the important thing is I never gave up… the thought of quitting has always been in the back of my mind… recently also I know about 3 people at work who all given up smoking around the same time …1 is back smoking the other one is past a year… and another had a few slips…
But it really feels like our own support group we are al sharing experience with one another encouraging each other…. And asking each other what we are doing with the spare money we saved from smoking….
Unfortunately I still said I did not save much…… even smoking I have not quit by myself (also the missus quite about a week before I did so we been supporting each other on that one)
Moral of the Story never give up…. If you need support you will find it….:)
TC AllMoe123

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