Is non-menthol good or bad
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Is non-menthol good or bad
All cigarettes are bad. You can't smoke and quit at the same time. I'm sorry it just doesn't work like that.
Please try to educate yourself about this addiction, and about the hazards of smoking anything. There is no "better for you" cigarettes, they all do their damage and ruin your health, not just your lungs but virtually every system in your body is damaged by smoking.
There are multiple resources at this site and elsewhere on the net to help you find your way to a very do-able quit.
Welcome- please take what HELPS and let go of the rest - to be HELPFUL is MY only aim - thank you- I believe in YOUR heart YOU know the answer to YOUR question and please remember - it was SUGGESTED to ME to EDUCATE MYSELF on MY NICOTINE ADDICTION - FACT- NICOTINE is still killing people- those who CHOOSE to use it - please check out the videos at whyquit.com on early deaths from using cigarette - menthol non menthol - NICOTINE ADDICTION is NICOTINE ADDICTION - TAKE 3 deep breathes - instead of sucking on death sticks - YOU are worth quitting death sticks - YOU have to choose and make that decision just for YOU- which you can DO now - if you CHOOSE to - gentle hug.
Welcome to our community!
One of our more irreverent members has a saying, "If you quit smoking and you are still smoking, you are doing it wrong." ALL cigarettes are bad for you...period. Did you plan and prepare for this quit? If not, I highly recommend you do it now before you start in again. Educate yourself, prepare by getting a quit kit together, and think about what you will do instead of buying more cigarettes to get past a craving.
The important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.
You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract. I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another. You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them.. For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum. For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and it has not yet been proven safe .
It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced. Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit. If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
You need to distract yourself through any craves. You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game. Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time. You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits. Get busy! Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoke
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?" Then DO it. You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.
Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!
Nancy
There is no such thing as a safe cigarette. Education about this addiction will help you immensely as will the support from this site. You have to commit to the quit...no smoking, no matter what. Please pay close attention to what Youngatheart.7.4.12 has shared with you...you CAN do this and we will help you in any way that we can.
Welcome to EX,
Ellen
Is it bad, seriously? Yes its bad, there's no such thing s a GOOD one. I am not trying to be hurtful, just truthful.
I know you know this to be true. So the next thing you need to do is figure out WHY you are trying so hard to convince yourself that an non menthol cig is okay. Please take time to read the above links provided . This is a great site and I am SO GLAD you found us. Stick close. We will help you through the. It is SO HARD, but it is SO DOABLE. Okay
A wise woman said recently that if you're smoking when you're quitting, you're doing it wrong. (paraphrased elvan)
A cigarette is a cigarette is a cigarette. I have cravings a lot lately. I'm not going to bust my quit and give in. I'm done with stupid smoking and you need to go ahead and decide if you're done or not. All cigs are bad.
Donna
Day 167
DonnaMarie I can't take credit for that because it came from jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 and not from me. I just thought it was a great thing to say.
Was it good or bad? If you want to quit smoking and you buy some cigarettes, it probably wasn't the wisest of choices. Right? I mean, what's the point of you being here? You want to quit. So the fact that you switched from mental to non-mental is at least a step in the right direction. You're now putting a cigarette in your mouth and inhaling it and hopefully it won't be as satisfying. Right? The problem is with this addiction, that your nicotine receptors are still happily charging along. Whether you're free-basing into your brain by smoking menthol or non-menthol. Check out this video. It may help you to understand the nature of our addiction.: https://youtu.be/IpWMgPHn0Lo
Don't think in terms of "bad or good." Let's just say any excuse to smoke is not helping you achieve what you want to achieve - which is quitting smoking. You have to get down and dirty with yourself during this process. Be utterly truthful with yourself. Today was your quit day. You went and bought a pack of cigarettes. So - today was not your quit day. Ya know? Think about it.
====== just editing this, I realized I said "switched from mental to non-mental" What a RIOT! Obviously what I meant was menthol. But this really is a mental process. And when you can switch to the non-mental side of things, you'll be much happier! lol ================
All cigarettes are bad for you.
Switching from Non-menthol to a regular cigarette. Are you kidding me ,as a once hard core menthol smoker nothing tasted worse than a regular cigarette. And I played that game a couple of times with myself. In no way am I being mean here. It brought back memories to me of my addictive behavior.
I found that menthol cigarettes just gave me a worst case of bronchitis....
But I guess I don’t understand why you bought cigarettes at all. I thought you wanted to quit? I think you just need an attitude adjustment. Rather than thinking of your quit as scary, think of it as an exciting adventure, cause it really is. You need to write down all the reasons you want to quit. I’m sure it’s not a decision you’ve made lightly and then you need to trust yourself.
The unknown can be scary and chances are you’ve been smoking your entire adult life. Be honest with yourself though in recognizing the fact that there really are no positives in smoking. I smoked for 37 years and have been quit for over 5 months now and do not regret it for one second. Come to find out cigarettes do not have all the magic powers I thought they did. Somehow I’ve been able to deal with life’s challenges just as well without them. Who would have thought....
I truly believe that that a successful quit is all about your shear determination, attitude and stubbornness! I hate to fail. I will not let myself down. There are truly so few things we have control over in our life and whether we smoke or not is one of them. Stay out of your head and stop letting cigarettes have so much power over you. It is just a fricken cigarette!
You truly have the ability to do this and be amazing! We are here for you!!!!!
Beck
There is been a lot said before me; please go and read the recommended documentation, it will help clarify your relationship to smoking. It took me many years to quit for good; I always found an excuse not to quit. But eventually I started seeing clearly in what the addiction was doing to me, came here, followed the guidance for our peers who've seen many quits before and have so much wisdom to share, and here I am 1178 DOF (days of freedom, and that is a little over 3 years). This group of people have your interest at heart, we are not getting any kick backs from being here, just the satisfaction of helping another human being get their freedom.
Hello 12711MyHearts and Welcome to Ex’s
All Cigarettes are bad for you menthol and non ~ menthol. The idea about quitting is finding something else to do other than smoke. (Ie., clean, do a puzzle, watch a movie, jumping jacks, take a shower, etc.,) Smoking is not an option.
If you haven’t already, read at My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX to gain knowledge and preparation for quitting. Stay close to the support site to get help and give others support...WE are all in this journey together. YOU can do this...~
Colleen 181 DOF
I really hope you don't feel like we all piled on you, we want you to be successful and we are just trying to help you in any way that we can. I think your question was a sincere one but I really think that you need more of an understanding of this addiction and how powerful it is. Take your power back!
Ellen
The answer is not "Yes" or "No"... it is HUH??? I think you already know and you are hoping someone will say it's Ok. Sorry, I cannot do that.
Please take the advice of Youngatheart.7.4.12 posted and get educated about this addiction. These tools helped me - a 40-year plus smoker - to quit for good!
As Dale says. "If you quit smoking and you smoke, you are doing it wrong."
Everyone has already stated it's still smoking either way. Personally, I could never stand non-menthol cigarettes. Here's some information for you from the American Cancer Society (and available from other sources):
Menthol cigarettes are not safer than unflavored cigarettes. In fact, they could be even more dangerous.
Menthol cigarettes tend to be “easier” to smoke – the added menthol produces a cooling sensation in the throat when the smoke is inhaled. It lessens the cough reflex and covers the dry feeling in the throat that smokers often have. People who smoke menthol cigarettes can inhale deeper and hold the smoke in longer.
The specific dangers of menthol cigarettes are an active area of research, but they are at least as dangerous as unflavored cigarettes.
Thanks all you guys I got this no more cigarettes at all completely done
Congratulations on your quit. Keep reading and educating yourself on nicotine addiction.
If it hasn't been recommended to you yet, read Allen Carr's "Quit Smoking the Easyway". I quit last Wednesday March 30 and, about three days in, I was really struggling. Trying to convince myself not to go buy a pack, or an ecig, or anything! Just to make this suck less. Found this book, bought it on Kindle, sat down and read it in one go. I have been doing much better since. It really helped! Also, I listen to "quit smoking" videos on YouTube. At night, before bed. They help me relax and keep my eyes on the goal. Hope these tips help.
Way to go. There are up and down days but Believe and you will and can do this.
Keep repeating that - out loud! I'm serious! It really helped me!
You know what I think.....Any attempt is better than none. I did the same thing;Ended up smoking those for 7 years.
Try new non tobacco ways love.
Hugs Kim
Reading this thread, I am in ABSOLUTE AWE of this support team!!! Nothing better than the TRUTH delivered in a very caring way. I hope you are using all the resources above and having more success today, 12711MyHearts!
I'm totally rooting for you!
I came to this site every morning and every evening and read blogs and saw what was working for others, it strengthened my quit a little bit every day.
Remember NOPE, Not One Puff Ever!
Ellen
I just have to say again that nothing helped me as much as Allen Carr’s book. I focused on the fact that the only thing that makes you want a cigarette is the last one you smoked. Do try reading it. It worked for me. I had smoked for 46 years. I am now just over 3 years smoke free. Distractions and carrot sticks etc did not work for me. The book did.
How are you doing with your quit today?
All cigarettes are bad. You can't smoke and quit at the same time. I'm sorry it just doesn't work like that.
Please try to educate yourself about this addiction, and about the hazards of smoking anything. There is no "better for you" cigarettes, they all do their damage and ruin your health, not just your lungs but virtually every system in your body is damaged by smoking.
There are multiple resources at this site and elsewhere on the net to help you find your way to a very do-able quit.