Buddhism and smoking, what's your thoughts?

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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Buckwheat
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by Buckwheat »

Congratulations on two full days!!! :woohoo:

:candle: :bow: :clap: :thumbsup: :anjali:
Sotthī hontu nirantaraṃ - May you forever be well.
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

delf7 wrote:that's why i want to quit.
well.... that and the fact that it's slowly killing me.
And the financial cost too no doubt. Donating the money you would otherwise spend on cigarettes to a cancer charity may be another incentive.

Making a formal undertaking to quit may help. Starting this thread was a good move — now we all know that you're trying to quit, and we are interested to know how well you do.
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delf7
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by delf7 »

learning about impermanence & craving, something i did not think about last time i tried to do this, has helped me this time around. i am reading more and spending more time in meditation to keep my mind off the smokes.
thank you all for the advice & support. i will keep you posted.
befriend
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by befriend »

how about if you let go of the craving. its not YOUR craving. you know. relax the tension in the mind caused by the craving, and then do some metta or something positive. when you feel a craving coming on switch your attention to doing a good deed however small. sweeping the floor, or go play a sport.
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
dhamma_newb
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by dhamma_newb »

Hi delf7,

Here's a link to an article describing using Mindfulness meditation to "urge surf." It is used by Psychotherapists to help "people recovering from addictions to alcohol and other drugs. It can actually be used to help with any addictive behaviour such as gambling, overeating, inappropriate sex or any other destructive impulses." Hope it helps.

And be gentle with yourself. I took me many failures to finally succeed in my final quit. I wish you the best.

Peace,
Don

Note: I've also attached the article as a PDF
Attachments
URGE SURFING.pdf
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The watched mind brings happiness.
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silentone
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by silentone »

Have you tried N acetyl cysteine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-acetyl_cysteine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)? Its a very cheap antioxidant you can get in most health/wellness stores It is being used in some promising clinical studies on a variety of physical and mental disorders. Some evidence shows it cuts the addiction from nicotine, cocaine, and other stimulants. It also reduces the toxic damage from the cigarettes and a number of toxic substances. Its been studied for years in the laboratory, some ER physicians use it to treat tylenol overdose (in iv form). You can get 600mg, to 1g pill sizes for about $6-10 that should be about a months supply.

When I was quitting I found green tea to be very helpful. It contains theanine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) which can also be very useful.

Good luck!

"Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it a thousand times." Mark Twain

Efficacy of N-acetylcysteine in the treatment of nicotine dependence: a double-blind placebo-controlled pilot study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21606648" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

** "Interestingly, subjects receiving NAC rated the first cigarette after the abstinence period of 3.5 days as significantly less rewarding than subjects on placebo (p = 0.04, d = 0.85)."

Effects of oral administration of N-acetyl-L-cysteine: a multi-biomarker study in smokers.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11867504" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine reverses cigarette smoke-induced myocardial infarction by inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress in a rat model.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21968809" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Effects of N-acetylcysteine on Clara cells in rats with cigarette smoke exposure.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20193479" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Buckwheat
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by Buckwheat »

How is the quit going? I sure hope you are doing well. :anjali:
Sotthī hontu nirantaraṃ - May you forever be well.
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ground
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by ground »

delf7 wrote:i have been smoking for 35 years. i have tried to quit a thousand times before - ...
so, today is day one - and i have already confronted mr. nic-o-teen with several greetings of "hello, my old friend habit energy - i see you"
so far so good.
any good words would be appriciated.
thank you.
delf
I hope you are still on track.
Since it is all about abandoning habits the most obvious and unwholesome ones should be abandoned first. To spare the abandonment of these "for later when the time will be right" is likely to undermine the abandoment of all other habits and thus progress on the path may be blocked in the first place.

Kind regards
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Moth
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by Moth »

I used to smoke as well. Switching to e-cigs helped, but I relapsed a few times after that (usually from bumming a smoke or buying a pack and throwing it out). What really helped me quit was to focus entirely on the unpleasant aspects of smoking, and also by comparing the expectation to the experience itself. For example, if I saw others smoke I would reflect upon how they were rolling the dice with cancer, perpetuating addiction, etc. If I relapsed I focused on the gross feeling and the unsatisfied craving that lingered afterwards, and the sense of shame and disappointment I felt towards myself. If you keep focusing on the negative aspects eventually it will lose its appeal and you will become disenchanted.
May you be happy. May you be a peace. May you be free from suffering.
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delf7
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by delf7 »

dhamma_newb wrote:Hi delf7,

Here's a link to an article describing using Mindfulness meditation to "urge surf." It is used by Psychotherapists to help "people recovering from addictions to alcohol and other drugs. It can actually be used to help with any addictive behaviour such as gambling, overeating, inappropriate sex or any other destructive impulses." Hope it helps.

And be gentle with yourself. I took me many failures to finally succeed in my final quit. I wish you the best.

Peace,
Don

Note: I've also attached the article as a PDF
thank you very much for the link & pdf. i have printed it out and looked it over. i think this will be of some help.
delf7
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by delf7 »

Buckwheat wrote:How is the quit going? I sure hope you are doing well. :anjali:
thank you for asking. things are going o.k. i have not been able to go longer than 3 or 4 days without a re-lapse, tho.
as of right now, i'm pretty much "on track". i am down from over a pack a DAY when i started this "quit", to 2 packs a WEEK! i plan to cut that in half in a week, then cut that in half the next week. my goal is to be DONE smoking at all by the 6th of february, as that will give me 3 weeks to get over the final withdrawl before my 10-day retreat at the end of the month. i don't want to be distracted by nicotine withdrawl symptoms durring my 1st retreat.
thanx again for asking, everyone, as it helps me want to quit even more when there are people giving encouragement!
Buckwheat
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Re: smoking (cough, cough)

Post by Buckwheat »

Good... I look forward to your return from retreat with a month of smoke free breathing under your belt. Wishing you the best.
Sotthī hontu nirantaraṃ - May you forever be well.
SarathW
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Does smoking violate fifth precept?

Post by SarathW »

Does smoking violate fifth precept?
Are monk allowed to smoke. Please refer attached article.

http://www.fsnewsletter.amaravati.org/html/38/38.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is it possible a person who attain Sotapanna will smoke?
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
gendun
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Re: Does smoking violate fifth precept?

Post by gendun »

I know nothing of Sotapannas but smoking is clearly a breach of common sense.
Whether it is a breach of precepts is moot.
My understanding of the Theravada view of the fifth precept is that it concernes that which causes heedlessness...Does smoking tobacco do that ?
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Cittasanto
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Re: Does smoking violate fifth precept?

Post by Cittasanto »

SarathW wrote:Does smoking violate fifth precept?
Are monk allowed to smoke. Please refer attached article.

http://www.fsnewsletter.amaravati.org/html/38/38.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is it possible a person who attain Sotapanna will smoke?
Smoking does not breach the precept, but different cultures have different expectations.
In Thailand it is not unusual to see monks smoke yet in Sri Lanka it is (as I understand it).

Smoking does not cause heedlessness so is not classed in the precept.
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