Stopping drinking....any tips?

[Stuey]

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I've decided to stop drinking. This isn't because I drink too much (I go out 1-2 times a week), but more because I want to stop smoking. The two seem to be very connected, the minute I get a little buzz going, I start jonesing for some nicotine.


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I also found I cannot drink without smoking not even 2 or 3 drinks. I have no problem smoking and not drinking though. And quitting both was the hardest thing I ever did. It has been over 4 years now I think and I still want a cig. I don't miss the booze though. Crazy hey.

Quitting smoking is stupid hard the article I have quoted below shows that when you smoke your self-control is lowered. We all know that when we drink our self-control is pretty much non-existent!




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From Scientific American MIND July 2005

Where Addiction Lies
By Nicole Garbarini


Quote:
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When smokers satisfy their urge for a cigarette, they dampen their mental resistance to addiction. Researchers at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor imaged smokers' cerebral blood flow as they puffed on a cigarette after a night of nicotine abstinence. They also took images as the subjects smoked a low-nicotine cigarette. Comparing the two images removed signs of activity related to the non-nicotine aspects of smoking, leaving a map of pure nicotine stimulation. The drug intake increases blood flow in areas rich in nicotine receptors. But it also decreased blood flow in areas involved in memory formation and regions that normally moderate drug-seeking behavior.



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Photos were included but not required to understand the ideas.

Related links

Smoking linked to increased alcohol consumption

Alcoholism, Smoking Linked

You can do it but realize it won't be easy even if you are not a heavy drinker it is just as hard imo. It is worth it. gl

[onthebutton]

Thanks for the advice. What's [censored] up is that I go days without smoking. Once in awhile when I'm not drinking I like to have a smoke now and then, but I never smoke during the day, at work, etc. But when I start drinking, I always want one. I go days at a time between smokes often, so it isn't like I can't go 20 minutes like some people.