I find taking an L-glutathione capsule along with up to 5g of vitamin C allows me to smoke more. So that's something to try. I think when your body is depleted of antioxidants it can make smoking more difficult. Initially during smoking the glutathione in the lungs is depleted, and a few hours later it rises to much higher levels. So perhaps to really benefit from this process your body needs to ingest or be capable of making all the glutathione it needs.
Finding it difficult to smoke lately
- Thread starter SolarMother
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SunEterna
Jedi
Yep, the smoke makes free radicals. What about the carbon monoxide replacing oxygen in the blood cells? I guess that smoking should be a question of quantity and equilibrium. It's like everything. And every thing has its level of equilibrium, nevertheless, exposing it to equilibrium too.
I say this, because, my woman only swears by tobacco.
[Tobacco God] When she is talking about tobacco, it is like smoking would be more important than breathing.
Peace.
I say this, because, my woman only swears by tobacco.
[Tobacco God] When she is talking about tobacco, it is like smoking would be more important than breathing. Peace.
SolarMother said:
Hi SolarMother, when i was smoking AS tabacco i was rolling manually my cigarettes, at the beginning i had some difficulties, but after a while you get used to it, otherwise you can get a hand roller from any tobacco shops, it doesn't cost much and it's very simple to use. As for my experience with smoking, I've noticed recently that i smoke a lot more than a couple of months ago, i usually, smoke American Spirit or Pueblo cigarettes, i like them very much, and I'm feeling really better after smoking one, some times i even smoke 2 -3 cigarettes in a row ;D.
Fluffy
Dagobah Resident
The C's said smoking is not for everyone.
There are other ways to get the same benefits of smoking if you can't tolerate it.
4.5 years ago I took up smoking again after a year off, almost instantly my cough was back along with the addiction. Last few months I'm really hating smoking. I don't see any benifits anymore and I'm not sure I ever did to be honest, I wanted to believe I did and for years I staunchly defended my decision to smoke, but now I'm a miserable smoker and in the process of quitting.
I'm not willing to shop around for different organic brands that might reignite (haha) my love of smokes. I feel they are bad for me, my heart rate shoots up- especially in the morning, sometimes get head aches, i cough a lot and I'm full blown addicted, they're nothing more than a crutch to me and something that stops me from doing other things that would give me similar results without the toxic overload. My partner hates my smoking, it doesn't cause rifts but I know the smell can be quite offensive to some people so I do keep a distance if I've just had one and I smoke well away from the house.
I've accepted that I just don't fit the profile of being one who is able to smoke and have a healthy life. I've had 4 periods in my adult life where I didn't smoke for a year or more and I feel better, healthier, more in control and certainly fitter cardiovascular wise.
There are other ways to get the same benefits of smoking if you can't tolerate it.
4.5 years ago I took up smoking again after a year off, almost instantly my cough was back along with the addiction. Last few months I'm really hating smoking. I don't see any benifits anymore and I'm not sure I ever did to be honest, I wanted to believe I did and for years I staunchly defended my decision to smoke, but now I'm a miserable smoker and in the process of quitting.
I'm not willing to shop around for different organic brands that might reignite (haha) my love of smokes. I feel they are bad for me, my heart rate shoots up- especially in the morning, sometimes get head aches, i cough a lot and I'm full blown addicted, they're nothing more than a crutch to me and something that stops me from doing other things that would give me similar results without the toxic overload. My partner hates my smoking, it doesn't cause rifts but I know the smell can be quite offensive to some people so I do keep a distance if I've just had one and I smoke well away from the house.
I've accepted that I just don't fit the profile of being one who is able to smoke and have a healthy life. I've had 4 periods in my adult life where I didn't smoke for a year or more and I feel better, healthier, more in control and certainly fitter cardiovascular wise.
SunEterna
Jedi
Hello!
Yo Fluffy. I also have this addiction parameter! When i was in my smoking period(i started smoking because i spent a lot of time with a friend who was smoking), i was every time called by the cigarette, it was an obsession. I could not equilibrate it. The cigarette pushed me to take another one quickly! I was in the unbalance! :)
Yo Fluffy. I also have this addiction parameter! When i was in my smoking period(i started smoking because i spent a lot of time with a friend who was smoking), i was every time called by the cigarette, it was an obsession. I could not equilibrate it. The cigarette pushed me to take another one quickly! I was in the unbalance! :)
Cassandane
Padawan Learner
I've only been smoking for about 5 weeks (having never smoked previously), and I've gone through a period of adjustment similar to what has been described here. Not knowing anything about it, or even anyone who smokes, I did a lot of research on the internet about how it is done. YouTube was a great deal of help...except for the dude who lit and ate a cigarette (blech). 
Here's what helped me build this new skill:
I read somewhere that, apparently, new smokers often take puffs that are too big to manage, so I found that reducing the amount I inhaled at one time was much more comfortable. This also cuts down on the vertigo, especially if you don't rush through your cigarette. For me, relaxing and taking a drag no more frequently than every 4th breath was much more enjoyable. I also make sure one of those breaths between drags is a fully counted "round breath" from Laura's Eiriu Eolas breathing exercises. Doing the full EE program several times a week is also most beneficial.
After getting several bouts of upset stomach after smoking, I also discovered that I was breathing into my stomach instead of my lungs when I inhaled. As a former runner, I know that inhaling through your mouth does not have to impact your stomach, so I paid attention to how I was inhaling when I smoked. What I noticed was that, since I have something between my lips, I expect to be swallowing it soon and automatically get my tongue, lower jaw and the muscles in my throat ready to swallow instead of to inhale. The solution was to mindfully relax all those things, especially the lower jaw. This, combined with smaller puffs adds more enjoyment.
Smoking has given me significant clarity of thought, energy, relaxation and freedom from the ruminations that lead to depression. Caffeine by itself does not do any of these things, except that for an hour or so, it gives me the energy to natter about nothing. In fact, caffeine causes me to talk without thinking, while smoking helps me think but not necessarily to talk.
I think it's well worth making the effort to find a comfort level with the art of smoking. It's also important to remember that while we are conditioning our bodies to make the physical changes brought about by smoking (increases in acetylcholine and building receptors for this vital neurotransmitter), we are also removing part of the Matrix's programming in our subconsciousness. Removing programs is quite difficult because they are hard to spot in oneself. The anti-smoking one is out in the open, thanks to Laura, so it can be used as a toehold to reach for the next one.
Here's what helped me build this new skill:I read somewhere that, apparently, new smokers often take puffs that are too big to manage, so I found that reducing the amount I inhaled at one time was much more comfortable. This also cuts down on the vertigo, especially if you don't rush through your cigarette. For me, relaxing and taking a drag no more frequently than every 4th breath was much more enjoyable. I also make sure one of those breaths between drags is a fully counted "round breath" from Laura's Eiriu Eolas breathing exercises. Doing the full EE program several times a week is also most beneficial.
After getting several bouts of upset stomach after smoking, I also discovered that I was breathing into my stomach instead of my lungs when I inhaled. As a former runner, I know that inhaling through your mouth does not have to impact your stomach, so I paid attention to how I was inhaling when I smoked. What I noticed was that, since I have something between my lips, I expect to be swallowing it soon and automatically get my tongue, lower jaw and the muscles in my throat ready to swallow instead of to inhale. The solution was to mindfully relax all those things, especially the lower jaw. This, combined with smaller puffs adds more enjoyment.
Smoking has given me significant clarity of thought, energy, relaxation and freedom from the ruminations that lead to depression. Caffeine by itself does not do any of these things, except that for an hour or so, it gives me the energy to natter about nothing. In fact, caffeine causes me to talk without thinking, while smoking helps me think but not necessarily to talk.
I think it's well worth making the effort to find a comfort level with the art of smoking. It's also important to remember that while we are conditioning our bodies to make the physical changes brought about by smoking (increases in acetylcholine and building receptors for this vital neurotransmitter), we are also removing part of the Matrix's programming in our subconsciousness. Removing programs is quite difficult because they are hard to spot in oneself. The anti-smoking one is out in the open, thanks to Laura, so it can be used as a toehold to reach for the next one.
Fluffy
Dagobah Resident
SunEterna said:
Yeah absolutely unbalanced, I feel like I'm not in control of of it all, smoking owns me. I know I have free will to chose my actions yet my mind hankers for another cigarette. Even if I say no and wait an hour that whole time I am thinking about it.
That alone is not healthy, addiction of any kind is not healthy. My personality or physiology- whichever it may be, takes on new things adapts quickly to them and they become an integrated part of me before I've made a conscious decision about it.
They say it takes an adult about 21 days to form a new habit or routine and a child 2-4 days... I'm wired like a kid and I know when I finally stop smoking again that I'll be over I fast as if I had never started. I'm just waiting for the feeling to arise, when it does, I'll break the shackles of addiction.
Azur
The Living Force
Some open questions:
What is the perceived benefits of smoking? Strictly inhaling smoke from a specific burning plant?
Is it:
1) That the body's response is to create more phlegm in the lungs that has a side effect of capturing infectious virii/bacteria before ingress
or:
2) absorption of nicotine (Acetylcholine enhancement?)
For those that have problems stopping or starting, it's not an addiction issue.
What is the perceived benefits of smoking? Strictly inhaling smoke from a specific burning plant?
Is it:
1) That the body's response is to create more phlegm in the lungs that has a side effect of capturing infectious virii/bacteria before ingress
or:
2) absorption of nicotine (Acetylcholine enhancement?)
For those that have problems stopping or starting, it's not an addiction issue.
BHelmet
The Living Force
I would like to toss out another "conscious choice" vs. mechanical behavior aspect RE smoking:
Self-calming. (!) Smoking definitely involves self-calming for me.
(and yeah, it is so hard to find anything worth smoking in the USA, which also has a major effect on the experience)
Do we kid ourselves in saying "I intentionally choose to smoke"? (when it is difficult to quit)
Sometimes I will go on a fast (food) and recently I managed to quit smoking for a week.
In going back to smoking, the American Spirit Organic tasted like garbage.
(Peter Stokkebye Turkish tasted better but who knows what is in that stuff)
It's crazy - I can go down the street and there are a half a dozen places within a couple miles of my house where I can choose from 50-60 different kinds of marijuana.
No such luck where tobacco is concerned.
But I do have a nagging thought in the back of my head: "Am I kidding myself?"
Self-calming. (!) Smoking definitely involves self-calming for me.
(and yeah, it is so hard to find anything worth smoking in the USA, which also has a major effect on the experience)
Do we kid ourselves in saying "I intentionally choose to smoke"? (when it is difficult to quit)
Sometimes I will go on a fast (food) and recently I managed to quit smoking for a week.
In going back to smoking, the American Spirit Organic tasted like garbage.
(Peter Stokkebye Turkish tasted better but who knows what is in that stuff)
It's crazy - I can go down the street and there are a half a dozen places within a couple miles of my house where I can choose from 50-60 different kinds of marijuana.
No such luck where tobacco is concerned.
But I do have a nagging thought in the back of my head: "Am I kidding myself?"
Fluffy
Dagobah Resident
monotonic said:
Comparatively smoking wins hands down. I say no to sugar all the time- if there is a strong desire then that urge can be fed and eradicated by eating fatty meals. There is no 'go to' for smoking that I've found that works, sometimes I eat just so my smoking experience is better.
First thing in the morning I smoke, I never want to eat in the morning but I want to smoke- a lot, lately I've been waking up at night and having a smoke (makes me woozy and I stumble back to bed- that's probably why I like smoking in the night)
I wanted to quit a few weeks ago but now I love it again. Yet I'm coughing up a LOT of phlegm and my chest is really rattling. It's very disgusting what I bring up. I smoke about 15 rollies a day, I think being a past pot smoker has done lots of damage and I haven't yet cleared my lungs from years of smoking weed.
There's plenty of research about smoking on the forum here and in articles on sott; just do a search.
One very important factor is that nicotine increases the number of red blood cells. Another is that it induces the increase of acetylcholine receptors which is helpful for pain relief. A lot of people with autoimmune conditions self-medicate with tobacco because it reduces their pain.
One very important factor is that nicotine increases the number of red blood cells. Another is that it induces the increase of acetylcholine receptors which is helpful for pain relief. A lot of people with autoimmune conditions self-medicate with tobacco because it reduces their pain.
As Laura said, just do a search on SOTT.
For quick pointers, here are just a few:
-Aromatase inhibitor: inhibits sex steroid hormone conversion to estrogens - preserving androgens like testosterone, DHT, and androstenedione
-Glutathione synthesis: Increases glutathione (main antioxidant system) systemically and in the lungs several-fold via activating the NRF-2 hormesis pathway
- Superoxide/Catalase productions: Increases these two antioxidant systems in the lungs
-MAO-inhibitor: Decreases breakdown of brain dopamine and serotonin levels. Can be helpful for people with polymorphisms in genese associated with excessive breakdown of these neurochemicals
-Acetylcholine receptor antagonist - binds with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the central nervous system - can be both excitatory and inhibitory depending on the context
- Increases thyroid hormones - increases both T3 and T4 from what I remember for the research. Therefore "spares the thyroid" in some cases, which can be found in anecdotal evidence
- Increases the NAD+-NADH ratio by increasing the expression of SIRT genes-->proteins - Sirtuin expression associated with longevity
- Can activate uncoupling proteins in mitochondria - Uncoupling proteins take food energy and convert it to heat, very useful for weight loss
- Carbon monoxide in small doses is hormetic, in that in initiates adaptive beneficial responses from the body such as increasing heme, oxygen binding capacity of red blood cells, etc
There are many others, but those are the main ones off the top of my head.
For quick pointers, here are just a few:
-Aromatase inhibitor: inhibits sex steroid hormone conversion to estrogens - preserving androgens like testosterone, DHT, and androstenedione
-Glutathione synthesis: Increases glutathione (main antioxidant system) systemically and in the lungs several-fold via activating the NRF-2 hormesis pathway
- Superoxide/Catalase productions: Increases these two antioxidant systems in the lungs
-MAO-inhibitor: Decreases breakdown of brain dopamine and serotonin levels. Can be helpful for people with polymorphisms in genese associated with excessive breakdown of these neurochemicals
-Acetylcholine receptor antagonist - binds with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the central nervous system - can be both excitatory and inhibitory depending on the context
- Increases thyroid hormones - increases both T3 and T4 from what I remember for the research. Therefore "spares the thyroid" in some cases, which can be found in anecdotal evidence
- Increases the NAD+-NADH ratio by increasing the expression of SIRT genes-->proteins - Sirtuin expression associated with longevity
- Can activate uncoupling proteins in mitochondria - Uncoupling proteins take food energy and convert it to heat, very useful for weight loss
- Carbon monoxide in small doses is hormetic, in that in initiates adaptive beneficial responses from the body such as increasing heme, oxygen binding capacity of red blood cells, etc
There are many others, but those are the main ones off the top of my head.
