Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Nicotine could ward off memory loss

Health Jan. 12, 2012 - 06:59AM JST ( 11 )

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11 Comments

0

suzukakidJan. 12, 2012 - 11:49AM JST

Smoke don't smoke make up my mind government!
2

MaboDofuIsSpicyJan. 12, 2012 - 02:07PM JST

I used to smoke, wore a patch and chewed that nicotine gum all at the same time. Made my hair stand up, and really makes you speedy.
-1

Ranger_Miffy2Jan. 12, 2012 - 05:14PM JST

I wish every smoker would just wear a nicotine patch and get it over with...Every smoker remembers to grab their cig pack o'cancer sticks and lighter, that is for sure. They never remember to see if anyone is around who might inhale their wretched smoke bombs, though. Remember others are breathing in the izakaya and restaurants they are smoking in? Not a chance. I so wish Japan was non-smoking inside all buildings...anyway....go ahead and delete me, Mod.
0

ThunderbirdJan. 12, 2012 - 08:30PM JST

No thank you!!
2

JohnBeckerJan. 13, 2012 - 03:17AM JST

Ranger, let me educate you a bit. I'm a former smoker, having had my last cigarette on July 26 last year.

It's true that smokers remember to grab their cigarettes before they go anywhere, just as you would remember to grab your keys and wallet. It's so ingrained a part of their lives that smoking is as natural as breathing. For people who have never smoked, it's hard to understand that smokers are dealing with both an addiction and a habit. That's what makes it so incredibly difficult to quit. Smokers grab a cigarette not just when they feel they want one, but also when they find themselves in certain locations/situations. Speaking from experience, it was hard for me to talk on the phone, get in the car or finish eating without lighting up. (Other situations too, though I don't need to give more examples.)

Patches and gum can replace the nicotine, but not the actions and sensations of smoking. That's why Mabo was compelled to smoke/chew/use a patch all at the same time. (You're lucky you didn't have a heart attack, Mabo.) If it were as easy as just sticking a patch on their arms, every smoker would successfully quit. We know that's not the case. Patches and chewing gum address the addiction, not the habit.

I smoked almost a pack a day, for about 30 years. (I did quit once for about 5 months. I was the most miserable sonovabitch you've ever seen.) What allowed me to quit was an e-cigarette. I was still getting nicotine, but not all the tar and other chemicals the tobacco companies put in cigarettes. And I was still going through the motions of smoking. I could use it whenever I would have normally smoked, so the habit was taken care of. I gradually reduced the dose of nicotine I got from the e-cigarette, until I was down to zero. Once I was good with that, I stopped using the thing. I'm now about two weeks free of the e-cigarette. I'll never smoke another cigarette in my life. But I still catch myself sometimes, on my way out the door, slapping my shirt pocket to make sure I have my cigarettes with me. When I find that I don't, I just smile and move on.

As for your bitching about inconsiderate smokers ruining your life... Yes, there are plenty of inconsiderate smokers. Most, however go to great pains to be very considerate. I was one of the considerate ones. But if I was officially allowed to smoke in a particular area, I had no qualms about lighting up, non-smokers be damned. Go somewhere non-smoking and get over it.

(Full disclosure: About two months after my last cigarette, my system had cleared out enough for me to realize that cigarette smoke STINKS. I'll avoid it when I can, but I'm going to try not to bitch about it.)
-1

GurukunJan. 13, 2012 - 07:04AM JST

Maybe there should be a law that states if you drink, you must smoke. Then let's see if we still get the "I don't remember,"excuse after a crime has been committed by a plastered person.
-1

anglootakuJan. 13, 2012 - 09:02AM JST

Right............
-1

anglootakuJan. 13, 2012 - 09:04AM JST

They only say this as the Tabacco industry being a multi billion dollar a year industry is lagging in profits and hinders on economies, so to try to shed some light on a dieing industry, they need to say lies to boost morale to the masses to keep buying their death sticks..
-1

anglootakuJan. 13, 2012 - 09:05AM JST

*Tobacco
-1

HimajinJan. 13, 2012 - 09:37AM JST

The article was about using nicotine patches, not smoking...the government is not trying to get you to smoke.

My MIL with Alzheimer's was beginning to be a fire hazard while smoking. She had smoked for 60 years, no matter how hard we tried to convince her to quit. She has (controlled) high blood pressure, diabetes and extremely high blood lipids(also now controlled) , all the precursors of a stroke but she wouldn't stop smoking. As she entered late Stage 5 to early 6 with the Alzheimer's she was dropping cigarettes everywhere and burning clothes and blankets as well as smoking a tremendous amount as she was forgetting she had already smoked several times. We tried a nicotine patch. It was hard to get a result as she has no short-term memory...she'd light up, take a few puffs, feel nauseated, put out the cigarette......and repeat it several times a day, but eventually she was able to make the association between smoking and not feeling well and she has stopped smoking and no longer needs the patch. She was quite alert on the patch, I have to say. Now that she has stopped the patch she seems a bit lethargic and her thinking is more confused, so it seems that in her case at least the nicotine was good for some added clarity of thinking.
-1

anglootakuJan. 13, 2012 - 10:23AM JST

That is right it is about nicotine patches, that product category comes under the tobacco industry overall.