I have been in and out of AA since 1988. I have met many people who were sober for decades and had very compassionate hearts for the relapser. We now know that addiction is a disease. It has nothing to do with will power. However, there are also many people in AA who treats the relapser as if they have been "doing it wrong" I call those people the AA nazi's. I am finding some of this on this site. Science tells us it may take up to 10 tries to be successful at quitting smoking. And, as unique as everyone is, it might take many different ways for different people to quit. Some can quit cold turkey, others need NRT's, and what we're finding out, even in reports from the American Cancer Society, some hardcore smokers may need to use more than one NRT. I have met reformed drinkers and smokers that think they can bully people into quitting, rather it be drugs, drinking, or smoking. I hope the newbies on this site don't pay attention to that BS. I really don't think those people know that they are the primary cause of relapse and of people not bothering to come back.
Connie
