Nicotine and alcohol

[nancy]

This is a sobering website about dangers of cross-addiction.

The Sober Alcoholic's Stop Smoking Support Page

[Kitty]

Nancy, that was hard reading, but helpful thanks,

I think giving up the 2 at the same time has been difficult, but I do seem to be able to manage the two sets of cravings in tandem with each other.

I find that smoking does increase my cravings for a drink and vice versa as I am so used to doing both at the same time.

I am very pleased about the non smoking ban which was implemented here in April and will be UK wide come the 1st of July. I cannot at the moment bear the smell of smoke as it triggers a huge craving so it will be nice to go out to restaurants etc and not have to worry about that.

I feel a bit bad though because I have avoided my PIL's as they both smoke at home.

Anyone else have any experience of managing the two addictions???

Kitty

[xtexan]

I quit both booze and cigarettes at the same time. I had to. There was just no other way for me. All or nothing.

I say this because I have tried one, and not the other, and it never worked. One always pulled me into the other somehow.

Giving up both at the same time is indeed a major change, and the psychological difficulties were like walking on thumbtacks in my bare feet for a few months. It now seems to be letting up on the intensity.

My body and brain seem to finally be getting the message that tobacco and alcohol are exactly what they are. Poison to the nerves. We like them exactly because THEY DO poison our nerves. When the nerves start to heal after quitting, it's like bare wires sparking everywhere in the body and mind.

Good luck to you. It can be done, even after years and years of abuse. The supplements recommended by the program probably eased the pain by half or better. The other half is just mule headed stubborn determination to crawl out of the pit.

Neil

[Java]

I did the same, quit both at the same time back in January. Like Neil, one always led to the other for me, so the only way for me to quit one was to quit the other. Once you get over the first week or two it is not that bad, for me, I focused so much on not being able to drink, I kind of ignored not being able to smoke. I still crave the smoking every once in a while, but not as much, and when I smell it I am reminded of why it is bad...I dont want to smell like that....

[Kitty]

Hi Neil and Java,

Yes I agree entirely that one pulls you towards the other. I have tried to give up the alcohol before and I really do believe the cigarette addiction was a factor in my failed attempts.

I read the link from Nancy and it said that inpatient treatment facilities are now beginning to tackle the two addictions at the same time, so the medical proffesionals obviously think it's a good idea too.

It's certainly not easy but doable. I had a particulary horrible day today and I must say I was tempted on both counts but somehow rode it through.

Anyway well done to you both, I shall be calling on your assistance if the pangs get too great.

Kitty

[Cashregister]

I think it's easier to stop drinking when you are not smoking - I just didn't feel like a drink if I could not have a smoke, and didn't really feel like a smoke if I couldn't have a drink with it- so worked both ways in my muddled little brain!

Cheers

Cashy

[healingtouch]

Well am now convinced that any form of addiction especially the drinking and smoking can be deserted once an individual is determined to do it. Yes there was a time when I had the urge for both but over the years I have managed to come out of the habit. I have seen some people in their quitting process to say they cant concentrate if somebody is doing the same in front of them well we cant control what others are doing but we can get ourselves at a different place that time. I am now even immune to these conditions and whether or not someone smokes or drinks in front of me does not make a difference at all.

[LVT25]

Bumping this up.

[Starlight Impress Forever]

LVT25......thanks for bumping this.

Nancy, I missed this when you posted it last year.......thanks for the link.......I had a little read there and was absolutely horrified to discover that Caroline Knapp tragically died of lung cancer within a couple of months of being diagnosed back in 2002, at the young age of 42, only a month after she got married.......how very sad. I`ve only just recently read her Drinking: A Love Story.......tragic that she fought so hard to get off the booze and won, only to succumb to lung cancer a few years later due to her lifelong smoking habit.

Well, I`m 9 mths AF now, save for my slip in mid January, and I`m content not drinking. However, I continue to smoke and seriously think it would have been easier to quit both the drinking and smoking at the same time. I only know that I now need to find the strength to fight the nicotine as hard as I fought the booze......learning of Caroline Knapp`s fate really brought it home to me that smoking could well be the death of me. No more excuses!!

Darling x

[boozehag]

Yep I have given up both at the same time and I was just posting on another thread that without the cigs my brain doesnt really want the alcohol that much. I think I was actually a smoker who drank rather than a drinker who smoked but I just didnt know it. I was at a party the other night and noticed that the smokers drank a lot more than the non smokers and stayed a lot later as I think if you have a pack of cigs as well as the alcohol you can just keep going and going as both feed off each other.
Yes what bad luck for Caroline Knapp to die of lung cancer after beating AL. Thats just not fair. I keep saying to my family that now I have given up drinking/smoking I will probably be run over by a bus or something!
BH