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70 Comments
- pinniger, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21wow, I've never heard someone be called an ***** because the QUIT smoking!
- warmonger48, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20Smoking isn't a habit. Smoking is an addiction.
Still trying to quit. - TroubleInMind, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16The scientific case for second hand smoke causing cancer is weak at best. There is only one study that supports the theory, and scientists are roundly critical of the methodology.
Having said that, smoking around other people is simply rude, and one should refrain from doing so. - syder, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16Uh, maybe because our brains and our social systems are a tad more complex than that of the pigeon?
- aspec, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16@pinniger
Welcome to digg! - haggie, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16Life is too short to not smoke, drink, do drugs, and ***** hot psycho chicks with daddy issues.
What you call "bad habits" is what I call "the weekend". - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12we're just lazy bastards.
- aspec, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12The problem is that most people don't want to. I quit smoking because it was too expensive... I loved to smoke. I don't care if it's a bad habit. It's my bad habit, god dammit.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I've seen lots of things. Dogs that can walk on two legs. Cats that go to the bathroom on the toilet. Humans that can perform superhuman feats of athleticism.
Does that mean EVERY dog can be trained to walk on two legs? EVERY cat can go to the bathroom on the toilet? EVERY human can be molded into a perfect athlete?
No, it doesn't. Just because it works for one person (or penguin) doesn't mean it'll work for everyone. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12I think one of the biggest wastes is that the vast knowledge of behaviorism and conditioning is not made easily available to the populace.
I have seen films where behaviorists successfully trained pigeons to play the piano.
If you can teach pigeons how to play the piano, you can teach willing people how to break their bad habits. Especially if you combine operant conditioning/behavior modification with cognitive therapy and/or hypnosis.
All of these things are powerful tools for change.
Don't let people tell you that you can't change your bad habits until you have tried all three. - TheBogie, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8People can't stop smoking because there aren't enough ads paid for by public funds telling us how bad smoking is.
- snacktime, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I was a little surprised to find that the article did NOT list, among its causes, the nature of reinforcing/punishing behavior.
The first poster, tinker, mentioned behaviorism.
The reasons the article mentions... defiance, social acceptance, etc -- These are all proximal causes. What it boils down to, is that the smoker is rewarded each time they smoke a cigarette and punished each time they don't. And that's what a habit is -- a behavior that self-reinforces. If you want people to quit smoking, figure out a way to reward them each and every time they REFUSE a cigarette. - vikingcoder, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6There's the main problem right there... **willing**
The article lists it as the first cause - innate human defiance. - Encablossa, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"We're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time"
- bigstinky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Money was a major reason why I wanted to quit smoking, But ultimately it came down to the ambulance trip to the hospital I took. I suffered acute respiratory failure.
Let me start by saying I also have asthma and take Advair to control it. (Which may have been what did me in.) Yes, I am admitting that I was an idiot for smoking with asthma. But this was my vice. My bad habit. I loved smoking...even though it was killing me. I tried to quit on numerous occasions, but stress or some other weak excuse would ultimately doom me to failure. Then came the night where I just stopped breathing. The ultimate asthma attack. Imagine someone holding your head under water after you have already run out of oxygen. I don't recall how long it was I could not pull any air in, but the EMT said I was at 72% blood/ox when they started treatment.
The worst part of this, and what finally made me quit smoking all-together was my 5 year old son watching his dad almost die. (I never smoked in my house or around my son by the way. I did respect his and my wife's lungs.) Funny how it took an extremely traumatic event in order for me to quit. I smoked at least 1 pack a day for around 25 years. I have not touched a cigarette in three and a half weeks. Nor do I plan on ever smoking again.
I don't begrudge people for having bad habits, nor do I call them weak for having difficulty quitting them. Some people are stronger willed than others. As well, some people just plain don't feel that their vices are doing any damage. To each his own, I always say. Other smokers will never bother me though, unlike the anti-smoking Nazi's out there. I like the smell of cig smoke. Plus, I can always walk away.
* Forgive the novel. - drake77, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6The problem with our society now is that we don't hold people accountable for their unhealthy behavior enough. Take healthcare for example. If you want to make healthcare affordable again (yes, at one time health insurance was relatively inexpensive) you restrict individuals that refuse to keep their costs low. If someone smokes, is overweight, has high chloresterol (eats unhealthily), or otherwise does not take care of themselves, they should be dropped from health plans. Yes, dropped.
The fact is that the vast majority of diseases plaguing the western world now (and destroying our healthcare system) are self-inflicted AND these people are not just hurthing themselves as they prefer to think. They are bringing down everyone else by raising the cost of health insurace across the board.
Personal responsibiltiy it a major key in solving the current healthcare crisis. - kanemano, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7cause it feels good,
smoking feels good,
eating feels good,
getting a blowjob from the toothless crack whore in the alley......... feels good - Taromsn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"Taxes = the only way a free society can limit the use of substances that are detrimental to its citizens."
Societies that use the government to limit the use of ANY substances are not free. - dggeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3FYI, fighting an eating addiction is a little different than most other types of addiction, due to the fact that you can't just quit and be done with it. You have to face your addiction every day for the rest of your life.
- spiritamx79, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Is masturbation a 'bad habit'? I know I can't stop....
- FearFactory, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5But But But you're gonna die anyway might as well die doing something you enjoy.
- PseudoThink, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Distraction is sometimes an excellent way to break bad habits...avoiding temptation by distracting oneself from it with healthier or alternative activities. Distracting oneself from an eating disorder by playing world of warcraft, for example. I think American society has a lot of constructs that focus our attention on and reward bad habits. Who honestly thinks that telling people what they *shouldn't* be doing (smoking, drinking, indulging, having dessert before dinner, whatever) is truly effective? People respond better to being treated like responsible adults, being given accurate information, and allowed to make their own decisions (and deal with the repercussions). A society that treats itself like children is going to act like children.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Where can I get me one of those piano-playing pigeons?
- Woknblues, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2you should watch some video or read a book on what is actually under your fingernails. you will stop.
- aspec, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@Steve
You don't get to choose. I understand that prostate cancer is fairly painful. - Promantarius, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Societies that use the government to limit the use of ANY substances are not free."
By that definition no society is free and I sincerely doubt anybody would want to live in a free society. I personally wouldn't want to risk living with people that have no rules to control what they do, it'd be complete chaos.
People may say that they want absolute freedom, but I don't think they really understand the horrors associated with giving those same freedoms to some people in our societies. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2form new habbits with will power
- Narkinbarf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I don't have any "bad" habits, just don't take away my Guinness.
- aywwts4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have my doubts.
- SteveRogers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2People who smoke always say "death is inevitable." Yeah, that's true- but why the ***** would you want to increase your chances of lung cancer? There are much less painful ways to die.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Right on, haggie...right on.
- championchap, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Because it feels good?
Smoking?
When you start out it certainly does not feel good.
So there must be something else there for that particular example. - Wilf55, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Comment abuse - but if you're really trying to quit I recommend a book by Allen Carr, either the 'Easyway to Quit Smoking' or the 'Only way to permanently quit smoking'.
It doesn't try to ***** you into all the horrors of smoking and crap like that, it just goes through it all logically and simply. - GameMonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"government is unable to ban most substances that are unhealthy for their citizens. We don't believe in banning cigarettes, alcohol, or french fries, for example."
Maybe the government doesn't ban those substances, but they do ban cannabis among many others.
Sure it helps to not put yourself at risk, especially habitually, but the short term is more important because we're already dead in the long run. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Because whatever it is, it's ***** *good*.
- spect3r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Not all habits are bad though..
Humans are creatures of habit. It's built into us - to cling to something - whether it be smoking, love (relationships), religion or the internet (etc.). We need repetition and familiarity... it provides security to us, even if in the end it could be all meaningless.
This need for security could probably be traced to our need for survival and our natural survival instincts. - janeslogin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Quote: "...wonder that a smoker won't quit after hearing that puffing away is a leading cause of death..." but nowhere among the reasons for not quitting did I see (1) death is inevitable anyway (2) each year one lives long costs more than one before.
I quit all those nasty habits a half century ago but I don't see potential longevity as a good reason to do anything. - milomilomilo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1this seems like over simplifying the matter.
Humans do not just intake info and output a response. We are complex creatures who think in abstracts and express and understand complex mental concepts such as irony and satire.
Such a question as "why do something we know is bad for us?" is not really that valid, might be for some lower animals ie; pigeons, small rodents.
hell, questions like these don't even take into account factors that would effect any study of this occurrence such as; how much the person may value their life/health, whether they may be ok with a shorter life, whether they simply believe the enjoyment they get out of the harmeful things outweighs the damage etc. - soulsolution, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am an addict. I am addicted to nail biting. If someone has a solution, please post here. I've been biting my nails for the past 15 years. Bitter nail polish, paprika paste, nothin worked. Daamn, if only my willpower was strong enuf.
**totally disgusted with myself about my bad habit** :o( - Unclekoolaid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have been smoke free since December, damn it was and still is ***** hard, what's driving me? Money, I couldnt stand spending so much on smokes, it was disgusting to think what i spent in a year on them, id rather spend the money on my other addiction, gaming.
- Johny900, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1i quit smoking a long time ago and i dont miss it at all! this is the best thing that i did in my life.
Johnny - California health insurance quote
http://www.californiahealthinsurance360.com - mapkinase, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Here is my answer:
Human brain is a _literally_ neural network (you know, the one that is used in many software apps). That means that acquiring new information (then getting it accepted firmly, then acting upon it) is a process of image acquisition in repeats. More repeats of the same image - more impact on the brain, more firmly the information is implanted in the brain.
Now, look at the bad habits. They are habits, because we do them all the time. How many times you reproduced the whole process of going to the stand, buying a pack? How many times you reproduced the cycle of reaching your _cigarettes_ pocket, popping up the cigarette in one learned move, putting it into your mouth, reaching for the lighter, lighting it and puffing it? Even without a positive feedback of pleasure the whole thing is addictive when done 1000s times.
The scientific information about dangers of smoking is read irregularly, in different words, in different places with different degrees of our trust to it. Much less repetition, much less impact.
It is clear what is needed for a person to break his bad habits: equally repetitive reminder of how bad it is (may be followed by a hearty electroshock to the groins, but it is just me...). - 1911wolf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2In the end, we are all going to die. So we may as well go out on our own terms. If those terms include Scotch a cigar and a greasy pizza, so be it.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Smoking has been linked to a number of things, but it has never been proven that smoking causes things like lung cancer and heart disease. Sorry folks, this is fact. Not every smoker develops lung cancer or the other diseases commonly attributed to smoking. This kills the cause/effect hypothesis. Doctors really like to harp on smoking, but primarily because it introduces alot of unknowns to a person's health. With all the ingredients being inhaled, it's hard to get a fix on exactly what is causing what. But again - it is not a proven fact that smoking causes anything excepts perhaps bad breath and yellowed teeth. The article even quickly dismissed the "90 year old who smoked all her life", yet she shoots a pretty massive hole in their theories.
- Twango, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What it is!
- FLHealth, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Great choice as quitting smoking will increase your life expectancy, increase your sex drive, increase your discretionary spending money, lower your long term medical costs, and lower your individual health insurance premiums.
Health Insurance Quote
http://www.HealthQuote360.com - CaHealth11, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Within the first 20 minutes of quitting smoking, the healing process begins. The benefits will continue to improve your health and quality of life for years.
http://www.HealthInsuranceShopper.com - vertinox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1In other news, after viewing "Truth" ads most non-smoking viewers inexplicably started smoking.
- FLHealth, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Great choice as quitting smoking will increase your life expectancy, increase your sex drive, increase your discretionary spending money, lower your long term medical costs, and lower your individual health insurance premiums.
Health Insurance Quote
http://www.HealthQuote360.com - CaHealth11, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I forgot to mention I do still have the occasional cigar, but I don't inhale, lol.
http://www.healthinsuranceshopper.com -
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