The End

Well, my enthusiast blog is coming to a close, and I hope if anyone besides Ms. Portman has read this you enjoyed reading about me trying to quit smoking. It has been a long, interesting, and frustrating experience that saw multiple relapses but also a lot of progress. I learned from the beginning that I am definitely not a cold turkey, had a strange experience trying to get my self hypnotized to stop smoking, and certainly snapped at a bunch of innocent people along the way due to my agitated state. But I am glad I made the effort because I smoke significantly less cigarettes today as I complete this blog than I did when I started it. I still smoke when I drink beer, but that's a work in progress. That's going to take a little more work. I'm convinced beer and cigarettes is a curse God has placed on people like me. I have come a long way, and I am proud of the progress I have made. I think writing this blog actually kind of helped my efforts. Who knows.

Doctors Smoke Camels

Another entertaining cigarette commercial from way back in the day...

Videos!

I am kind of at a stand still with my progress towards my goal of quitting smoking. I'm pretty much a non-smoker sober (maybe 1-3 a week), but a regular smoker when I drink beer. I was looking over my past blog posts trying to figure out what I should make my final few posts about when I decided that anyone reading this blog must be getting tired of hearing me blab on and on about my struggle to quit smoking. So I decided to at least attempt to make my blog a little more interesting with some multimedia. Here is a funny, and truly unbelievable cigarette commercial from the 1950s. Talk about marketing towards children....

E-Cigs Pt. 2: How it Works

I have continued to look into the electronic cigarette that I posted about previously, and it is truly strange, but fascinating. The more I look into it the more I want to try it out. Below is a video that demonstrates how the typical electronic cigarette works. Maybe rather than being Addicting to cigarettes I could be E-ddicted! Haha!

Sympathize With Me!

As I near the completion of my blog during which I have traced my struggle to quit smoking cigarettes, I realized that it must be very hard for anyone who has never been a regular smoker to understand why it is so hard to quit. If you are one of those people, I tell you that it is very, very hard. It is one of the hardest challenges I have ever taken on in my life. Quitting cigarettes results in real withdrawl sypmtoms. The following is from a website I came across as I researched different ways to quit smoking:

"To quit for keeps this time, know your enemy. The nicotine in tobacco is extremely addictive.3 When you try to quit, the absence of nicotine can lead to withdrawal symptoms, such as:
-Dizziness
-Headache
-Fatigue
-Depression
-Increased appetite
-Trouble sleeping
-Irritability, restlessness, and difficulty concentrating
-Strong urges to smoke

Physically, your body is reacting to the lack of nicotine. Psychologically, your mind is struggling to give up the habit of smoking." (From http://oralhealth.deltadental.com/Adult/OralHabits/22,21258)

During my effort to quit I have experienced all of these symptoms to varying degrees. The worst one is several nights my cigarette cravings have kept me awake into the early morning hours. I hope that any person who has never experienced nicotine addiction, and the struggle of trying to kick the habit, can understand and appreciate how hard it is to quit, and that all of the withdrawl symptoms above do occur.

The E-Cigarette

Throughout my efforts to quit, I have been constantly doing research trying to find new alternatives that are out there to help smokers quit for good. During my research, I came across a very interesting product that has become a popular alternative to traditional cigarette smoking: the electronic cigarette. Above is a picture of an electronic cigarette "kit."

I had never heard of an electronic cigarette before, and I have no idea if it truly does work the way it is advertised, but I won't deny this product caught my interest. Once again, I have no idea if the following claims are supported by any truth, but electronic cigarette distributors state the following as the main advantages of their product:

- Electronic cigarettes are a much healthier alternative to traditional smoking because while they deliver the smoker the desired nicotine, E-cigarettes do not contain any of the dangerous chemicals and toxins of regular cigarettes, such as tar, carbon monoxide, and other carcinogens that do the must to damage a smokers lungs and heart. Electronic cigarettes contain water, nicotine and propylene glycol.
- Electronic cigarettes are significantly cheaper than regular cigarettes. A "cartridge" of E-cigs (which is the equivalent of around 1.5 packs of regular cigarettes) is only $3, wheras depending where you are this would cost $6-10 buying regular cigarettes.
- Electronic cigarettes create no second hand smoke. This creates many advantages. It makes for a greener planet and also works to eliminate the health hazards caused by second hand smoke, while also allowing the smoker to smoke anywhere they please.

These are the main advantages distributors of E-cigs claim their product offers. Of course I am very skeptical of the true effectivness of E-cigs, but after looking into the product a bit more, I won't lie I am becoming increasingly tempted to at least try them, just to see what they are like. For anyone interested in E-cigs, I found the best website concerning this new product to be: http://greensmoke.com/