# Encourage Q.E.D. to quit smoking! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293 "2003-05-05T23:59:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/62 "2003-05-07T03:53:11Z")
**hug** my bro and I would watch the “quit smoking ads” when we were aboot 5, and harassed my parents to quit. We were obnoxious. I’d harass you here, but looks like all I can do is go… Keep it up **grin** good luck. Now you won’t smell funny. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/63 "2003-05-07T10:34:08Z")
**Q.E.D.** , we can suffer along together. It’s been two weeks since my last cigarette. I smoked for ten years, and the last few years have been up in the pack a day range. 🙂 My keyboard is thanking me too. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/64 "2003-05-07T10:41:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > **I think your teacher engaged in a bit of melodramatic hyberbole, for effect. I don’t think it’s actually possible to cough out lung tissue. Blood yes.** Unless I’m misremembering, it is in fact possible to cough up lung tissue. It happens in tuberculosis and lung cancer. It disintegrates first and pretty much looks like blood when it comes up, but it’s lung tissue nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/65 "2003-05-07T10:51:17Z")
My friend died of lung cancer. It was a really crappy way to die. He left behind a wife who misses him terribly. She wears his wedding band on a chain around her neck. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/66 "2003-05-07T19:11:12Z")
Smoking causes impotence! (Maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t but are you willing to take that chance?) ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/67 "2003-05-07T19:54:48Z")
Here’s another tip: Drink lots of water and if you’re Jonesing for real, do a set of pushups to exhaustion, it gets the heart beating faster in a healthier way. Also **DAVEW0071** is absolutely correct about the better circulation and um, enhanced elasticity of blood vessels you’ll soon be experiencing. When I quit I was as horny as a Catholic highschooler…which is why I started smoking again _more than ever_.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/68 "2003-05-07T20:21:27Z")
**Q.E.D.** , if you quit smoking, I promise to give you three deep, long, passionate, wet soul-kisses. With tongue. Guaranteed. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/69 "2003-05-07T20:32:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nichol\_storm \* > \*\*\*\*Q.E.D.\*\*, if you quit smoking, I promise to give you three deep, long, passionate, wet soul-kisses. With tongue. Guaranteed. > > .:Nichol:. \*\* You better be a girl! Anyway, update: Day Two. It’s been some 20 hours since my last one and still no severe cravings. I’ve noticed a slight tendency to replace cigs with food, which I’m trying to quell. I don’t want to end up putting on huge amounts of weight like some ex-smokers do. I can feel my lungs clearing up, and I haven’t coughed up any phlegm all day. Smells and flavors are more enhanced already (I think it’s time to wash this shirt!) It’s going quite well, so far. Yep, I think I’m gonna do it this time! ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/70 "2003-05-07T20:49:05Z")
Go, **Q.E.D.**!! I’m rooting for you!! Have you considering upping your exercise? I think it’s going to be hard not to eat when you get a craving for nicotine. My bookworm tip is, read Grisham’s _The Runaway Jury_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/71 "2003-05-07T20:58:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*You better be a girl! \*\* I am a girl, but you don’t have to kiss me if you don’t like tall busty blondes. YMMV, of course. But I’m sure smooching you will be much more pleasant once you’re rid of the ashtray-mouth. My mother smoked since she was fourteen, and even though I begged her to quit, she always refused. “I enjoy it,” she’d say, “and I don’t see why I have to give up something that I enjoy.” She used to have awful coughing fits that would wake me up at night. Then she got sent to prison (long story) and while in there actually fell off the top bunk of her cell when she had a horrible coughing fit. She was examined and diagnosed with emphysema. _That’s_ why she should have given up smoking, whether she enjoyed it or not. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/72 "2003-05-07T21:10:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nichol\_storm \* > **I am a girl, but you don’t have to kiss me if you don’t like tall busty blondes. YMMV, of course. But I’m sure smooching you will be much more pleasant once you’re rid of the ashtray-mouth.** With encouragement like this, how can I lose? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/73 "2003-05-07T21:35:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Popsicle \* > \*\*I read Carr’s _Easy Way to Stop Smoking_ immediately after I stopped (cold turkey at the end of last year after more than a decade off and on). It reinforced my decision not to light up again and indeed I haven’t smoked since. The book is, in my opinion, not all that well written but it does get across the point that there is no benefit to continuing and that the desire to smoke can be ended quickly, as Andy wrote. Carr’s book is designed to be read while the person is still smoking (i.e. it builds up to the reader’s last cigarette) but I don’t think that should put off readers who’ve already passed that stage. > > By the way, I never tried nicotine patches, gums and other things to replace smoking. I cannot see the point in continuing addiction and cravings with other products once one has moved on from cigarettes. Good luck, Q.E.D! \*\* Wow, **Popsicle** , are you me? I smoked for eighteen years and your post reflects word-for-word my experience and outlook, and my opinion of Allen Carr’s book (I subsequently found other, better written books which take a similar approach). To reiterate, IMO the trick is to eliminate the desire to smoke. It’s possible to quit otherwise, but very hard, as witnessed by many people in threads like this. Get rid of the idea that you are making a sacrifice, though, and it can be surprisingly easy. I speak as someone who failed to quit many times before this time succeeding with no great effort, by focussing on the fact that I didn’t really enjoy smoking that much in the first place, it was 90% habit. OK, it’s only been 4 months, but apart from a couple of cravings in the first week I have had no desire to smoke at all, I don’t feel as if I’m missing out on anything, I just don’t think about it. I still can’t get over how easy it’s been, actually (tempting fate). ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/74 "2003-05-07T22:30:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*Ah, the old _post hoc ergo propter hoc_ fallacy. If I quit smoking it will most assuredly not be because I obeyed your commands. 😛 \*\* Thats what I want you to think!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sivispacem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@sivispacem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sivispacem)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/75 "2003-05-07T22:35:00Z")
To avoid gaining weight and satisfy the whole oral fixation thing, stock up on fresh, crisp veggies (carrots, celery, red and green peppers, etc.) and get some no-fat ranch dressing. Wishbone is my favorite, works great when you’re cutting weight for wrestling - just bust out the veggies and dip and munch away to satisfy the cravings and for a negligable caloric intake. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/76 "2003-05-07T22:44:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DreadCthulhu \* > \*\*Thats what I want you to think!!! 😃 \*\* Excellent. You now have me exactly where I want you. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/77 "2003-05-07T22:53:50Z")
QED; In addition to all the good reasons already listed: once you quit, your lungs will start to heal. They have the ability to generate new tissue, and eventually (depending on the gunk quotient in your immediate environment) you will have healthy lungs again!! The damage done by the smoking you’re doing now will take time to erase, but it will happen. Best of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/78 "2003-05-08T03:44:56Z")
In case I haven’t said so already, thankyou everyone who replied so far. It’s still going well, with no sign of bad cravings! Whooo hooo! ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/79 "2003-05-08T03:48:23Z")
Hell, QED, keep it up and you can be the first recipient of my non-cigarette-y kisses. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/80 "2003-05-08T04:35:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daerlyn \* > \*\*Hell, QED, keep it up and you can be the first recipient of my non-cigarette-y kisses. 😃 \*\* Whoooo hoooo! A plethora of kisses keeps **Q.E.D.** from smoking. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zenham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a5b964/32.png) [@Zenham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenham)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293/81 "2003-05-08T11:33:19Z")
By the way, Q.E.D., I touched one cigarette from every pack in Elizabeth, NJ to the inside of a cow’s rectum. Best of luck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encourage-q-e-d-to-quit-smoking/173293.md?page=5)