Nurses Smoking

CPD4RN · Apr 17, 2008

i am one of those self loathing smokers. i think it's a disgusting habit. i have tried to quit about 7 times, and each time with varying degrees of success.

what i HAVE LEARNED is that i am in fact an addict. i am 100 percent addicted to smoking. if smoking became outlawed tomorrow, i think (more then) a few of us would resort to junkie-like behavior. I mean, if you think about it we already do... huddling around a doorway at -40, panic when you can't find a lighter, working a stop to 7-11 everyday into your schedule, knowing all the "good spots" for a cheap fix...er i mean the gas station with the best price for ciggs.

i don't look down on other smokers, THAT would be hypocritical. i do have more empathy for junkies and drunks though, because i know in MY heart, I am an addict, same as them. Just because my drug of choice isn't illegal, and doesn't impair me mentally, doesn't mean I am some kind of "better" addict.

We all have issues, if we reached out to each other as a nursing community, instead of shaming and ostracizing our patients, coworkers, and family members by passing judgment,maybe then we could empower each other to be better people.

JENNLEE · Apr 17, 2008

i am one of those self loathing smokers. i think it's a disgusting habit. i have tried to quit about 7 times, and each time with varying degrees of success.
what i HAVE LEARNED is that i am in fact an addict. i am 100 percent addicted to smoking. if smoking became outlawed tomorrow, i think (more then) a few of us would resort to junkie-like behavior. I mean, if you think about it we already do... huddling around a doorway at -40, panic when you can't find a lighter, working a stop to 7-11 everyday into your schedule, knowing all the "good spots" for a cheap fix...er i mean the gas station with the best price for ciggs.
i don't look down on other smokers, THAT would be hypocritical. i do have more empathy for junkies and drunks though, because i know in MY heart, I am an addict, same as them. Just because my drug of choice isn't illegal, and doesn't impair me mentally, doesn't mean I am some kind of "better" addict.
We all have issues, if we reached out to each other as a nursing community, instead of shaming and ostracizing our patients, coworkers, and family members by passing judgment,maybe then we could empower each other to be better people.

:up: it is so very hard to quit :banghead: :smokin:

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2008

it is so very hard to quit

That is true. But the good news is that there has never been more help to quit than there is now. Nicotine replacement therapy, wellbutrin, chantix, and a plethora of support groups. Really, if a person wants to quit, there is a lot of help available.

JENNLEE · Apr 18, 2008

That is true. But the good news is that there has never been more help to quit than there is now. Nicotine replacement therapy, wellbutrin, chantix, and a plethora of support groups. Really, if a person wants to quit, there is a lot of help available.

i understand that there is a lot of help available but isn't it just as hard to get a heroin addict off drugs? how many times do they fall off of the band wagon? just as there are long term effects of smoking - what about the replacent therapy drugs? just because something is fda approved does not make it safe as well. and support groups are great - that is....if you have someone by your side everytime you have that urge. but what happens when noone is there? people will say that it is more mind over matter...but i don't know....

dreamon · Apr 18, 2008

I'm not presumptuous enough to tell others what habits they should have, whether good or bad. So I fall into the indifferent catergory.

coolpeach · Apr 18, 2008

I have tried about everything. I can't do gum because of dental work, and when I tried the patch I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive. I knew I was allergic to bandaids, but I never thought about the patch causing problems. It's been a couple of years, and I am going to try again. Wellbutrin made me very tense, paranoid, and not myself, and after all the negative stories I am afraid of the new chantix. I do want to stop smoking, but don't want to freak out because of a drug and kill the kids. Everyone around me smokes, and that makes it even harder.

In addition my insurance wont pay for smoking drugs so I have to fund it myself, and they are expensive. If they don't work I am stuck with the cost which I can't afford to experiment.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2008

just because something is fda approved does not make it safe as well.

So...you don't want to put a substance into your body because you're worried it may not be safe?

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2008

I have tried about everything. I can't do gum because of dental work, and when I tried the patch I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive. I knew I was allergic to bandaids, but I never thought about the patch causing problems. It's been a couple of years, and I am going to try again. Wellbutrin made me very tense, paranoid, and not myself, and after all the negative stories I am afraid of the new chantix. I do want to stop smoking, but don't want to freak out because of a drug and kill the kids. Everyone around me smokes, and that makes it even harder.
In addition my insurance wont pay for smoking drugs so I have to fund it myself, and they are expensive. If they don't work I am stuck with the cost which I can't afford to experiment.

What about lozenges?

danissa, LPN, LVN · Apr 18, 2008

I am a good nurse, the fact that I smoke when I'm off the job does not make me less so, I know my job, I love the babies, what I do in my time off is MY choice. I just don't do it on shift.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2008

Are cigarettes FDA approved?

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2008

it is so very hard to quit

From what I've heard, yes it's very hard to quit.

That's why I never started. Seeing my grandma die a painful death from lung cancer was more than enough reason for me to never start.

JENNLEE · Apr 18, 2008

So...you don't want to put a substance into your body because you're worried it may not be safe?

i was just meaning that it is one or the either. seems like a lose lose situation to me. i suppose you pick the lesser of the two evils and run with it.