h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

well, smoking ofcourse is a notoriously dirty habit, though i love it and find myself wanting to murder innocent people when i try to quit. but i actually heard something interesting from one of my professors, mainly this, that addiction to cigarettes take on a cycle of 8 years, and that most people who quit before the eight years start again until their 8 years are up. Also that if you count (i'm on my 4th year only 4 more to go) 8 years from your addiction its usually a lot easier to quit. It may be flummox but who knows? its more addictive than heroin the say, so i suppose i should just smoke crack or lick the sidewalk or something, much less addictive and hard on the tongue...

This 8 year theory sounds a bit difficult to believe. I quit after 10 years, having cut down to almost nothing over the previous 2 years - sort of making me an 8-year smoker (with 2 extra for being a good girl?) Taking two years to quit does seem a bit of a long-winded way round, but since I quit (almost a year ago now) I have never been tempted to start up again. Doest the 8-year theory mean thatI shall be back on the fags in another 7 years though?

I don't think so, i was thinking maybe it had something to do with the regeneration of our cells or something peculiarly similar. The body completely regenerates itself with completely new cells every 7 or 8 years so maybe that has something to do with it or perhaps its bullshit. i have no idea, these are just my vague notions... My professor didn't elaborate on whether you'd start up again or not, so I have no idea, but i think when she says quit she means quit and not just "take a break". What method did you use to quit??

I moved in to a flat with a non-smoker, who as soon as I mentioned my desire to finally stop altogether, just wouldn't let me have a cig. So the threat of physical violence (I was down to about 1-2 a day - as i said I cut down over about 2 years)

I think it was easier because I was smoking hand-rolled cigs and for some reason I don't find them half as addictive as normal cigs. If I ever bought normal cigs I'd smoke loads more than if I roled them myself.

ah, i see. an acquaintance of mine does that roll thing also, and aside from being too lazy to roll a cig every half hour, he can also roll a joint in about 3 seconds flat now, talk about perks, jeez. Physical violence is a good one, i have had many people advise me on to that method, but its just doesn't seem to be my time to quit yet as it seem to be poignantly clear that i am not a very nice nor sane (not that i normally but just magnify x100) person if separated from my cigarettes for too long. i have no will power against nicotine.

I know this is dead boring, but if you really want to quit THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING STOPPING YOU.

Just stop.

Dull though the fact is, you are not legally considered a non smoker in the UK if you have smoked in the last 10 years. This is only important for insurance purposes however. I think you're a non smoker as soon as you don't _want_ a cigarette...