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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lady Lurksalot who wrote (14705)	1/4/1998 12:02:00 PM
From: MSB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Is the gum compatible for those who have a lot of fillings? I mean, I like my dentist, but now that fillings are about $60 bucks a pop and crowns are in the neighborhood of 450 - 500 dollars, I don't have the Bill Murray, "Little Shop of Horrors" desire for an N2O buzz like I used to. Hey, can you wear more than one patch . . . feed me Seymore!! <ggg> BTW, really enjoyed the story you posted quite a while back about the rabbit who escapes from the laboratory. Really funny! Glad to see you're stopping by.

To: Lady Lurksalot who wrote (14705)	1/4/1998 5:42:00 PM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 108807

Gee, Holly, I remember nicotine gum from a LONG time ago (I used to smoke when I was in my twenties, and tried to stop with it), and in my opinion what fails about it is that you have to CHOOSE to chew some, when you (I, actually) would much rather be sucking in that cool, wonderful, sensuous smoke. I smoked Benson & Hedges menthol, incidentally, just for the sake of reminescence, which in my opinion are the finest cigarettes on the planet, and I have compared them to all the very expensive natural and European ones. What I liked about the patch is that the dose of nicotine is very high, and then tapers down very naturally, and once you put it on in the morning, you are not making constant choices. I had no desire to smoke at all. You have to remember this is anecdotal, and I am aware that they only work for about 20% of smokers. But I have also read that there is a group of heavy smokers who really need therapy to quit successfully, since they are using cigarettes to self-medicate for anxiety disorders. And I agree with MSB--cigarettes are very, very addictive. The new California law about smoking in bars and clubs seems to have some holes it, admittedly. However, it is admirable in protecting workers from smoke inhalation. The state has a valid role in providing workplaces which are as safe as possible, and in trying to maintain and improve the public health. Adair Lara is a very interesting columnist, and nothing she says surprises me. She is also culturally Irish, and the Irish, even in America, are the last diehard smokers. If you follow her work, you probably know that she grew up very poor in very wealthy Marin County, that her dad was an alcoholic bum who deserted their huge family repeatedly, and that her own daughter went through a HUGE teenage rebellion even though she was a Lowell High School student, pushed all the limits in a very scary fashion at fourteen, and had to go live with Adair's sister. Since I have a fourteen-year-old daugher myself, who is applying to Lowell, I sort of took a personal interest. I am really suspicious of parents whose children are totally out of control, because I know it doesn't have to be that way, and takes a long time in developing into such a skewed situation, and having an Irish husband myself, and understanding the sturdy denial mechanisms of the Irish personality, it is easy for me to understand why Adair is all over the road on lots of issues. I agree that everyone has basic civil rights, but am personally confused at how to best accommodate smokers, because I don't believe anyone should have to breathe second hand smoke, since it then violates the rights of that person as well. Since I willingly stood outside and froze and even got wet in the rain when I did smoke, even (especially) at my own house, I know it can be done, and I also know that the process of feeling very isolated, almost a pariah, is ultimately beneficial to health because it creates a process where you review your own addictive behavior. But of course people should be able to smoke where they cannot harm anyone except themselves. How would you reconcile this issue, Holly?