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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zonder who wrote (34332)	5/12/2005 6:58:17 AM
From: Lady Lurksalot	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

Zonder, First, my congratulations to you on your quit! I do well know the difficulty and perseverance that takes. Second, thank you for your very sound advice. My good friend Mary had quit smoking when one morning about six years into this quit, her 15-year-old daughter came down to breakfast, and Mary noticed something shiny on the girl's nose. Mary took a closer look and discovered the durn fool kid had had her nose drilled for a bauble of some sort. To say Mary came unglued would not begin to cover it. Her first thought was to reach for a cigarette--not hard to do, as her husband still smoked. Then she thought, "I can have this cigarette and my daughter is still going to have that hideous thing in her nose. My having this cigarette won't change that." She didn't have the cigarette. Instead, she proceeded to give the kid a well-deserved tongue-lashing, take away her privileges, and banish her to her room. She then poured herself another cup of tea and proceed to telephone plastic surgeons. That happened years ago and, to my knowledge, Mary has yet to have that first cigarette. Stressful events and situations can be oh so seductive and allow one to fool oneself to having "just this one smoke and then I'll quit again for good." Next time I quit and some stressful something rears its ugly head, I'll remember what Mary thought and did. Again, my hearty congratulations to you! Keep up the good work! And remember: "It's not that you don't get to smoke. It's that you don't have to smoke." - Holly

To: zonder who wrote (34332)	5/12/2005 9:18:14 AM
From: Bill	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 90947

Congrats on your abstinence. If you quit in January, unfortunately you still might not be over the hump. Many years ago, I too quit in January. Cold turkey. I chewed on straws in bars and gum after my morning coffee. By summer, I was convinced I had beaten it for good. Then someone offered me a smoke. Just one I thought. No problem, I don't have the habit any more. So, I smoked my first cigarette in six months. The following week, someone offered me another. Sure, why not. Then another. And another. The next week, I bought a pack, just to have around, in case I wanted just one. Within three weeks, I was back to where I was before I "quit". After a couple months of that, I remembered why I wanted to stop in the first place. I threw away my smokes and haven't touched one in 25 years. I hope you can avoid the kind of relapse I and so many others have had in beating this addiction. Congrats so far...!

To: zonder who wrote (34332)	5/12/2005 10:16:00 AM
From: Oeconomicus	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

"I quit smoking on 4 January." Congratulations. BTW, here's another way to encourage quitting: State workers who smoke will pay more for insurance By NANCY BADERTSCHER, JAMES SALZER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 05/12/05 Teachers and other state employees who smoke will have to pay $40 a month more for health insurance starting July 1. Employees are fuming over the surcharge, which hits state workers, public school teachers and their families who admit to smoking or using tobacco in the past 12 months. Laurie Reid, a secretary with the Board of Pardons and Paroles and a smoker, said her insurance was jumping from $74 to $117 a month. "That's a lot of money for many state employees," she said. "Our hands are tied. We have to have health insurance. What are we to do?" ajc.com What are [they] to do? How 'bout quitting? Smoking, that is, though thinning the ranks of state employees wouldn't be awful either. ;-)