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smoking

The only person and first person I knew who was ever on a raw food diet was religious about it and always preached to other people. I thought the smoothie she made was good. Then after that she lit up a cigarette. I told her that cigarettes were bad for her and she said they werent so bad. Cigarettes would be worse for her than not eating raw all the time. Maybe she was delusional. How can anyone not know that smoking is bad for you? Her friend smoked 3 packs a day for forty years and is now in intensive care for triple bypass heart surgery.The person in surgery also has crazy fears about things like flouride and teflon will kill you and not having the garbage disposal working because someone might get thier hand cut off in it. The raw foodist is getting ready for nuclear meltdown and stocking up on supplies and lives in the woods. I guess some people are just irrational.

Comments

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    WTF??? DENIAL is not just a river in Egypt….......heh.

    I LOATHE smoking…I used to smoke, I am SO GLAD I QUIT. It’s the only drug (yes..it’s a drug) you can do that can KILL OTHER PEOPLE

  • I’m truly without words anytime I see someone smoke. My father died of cancer that spread to his lungs and although the sounds of his breath during his last few weeks haunts me, sometimes I wish I had a recording so I could play it for smokers and perhaps they would get a better understanding of what they’re in for. It’s truly heartbreaking that people smoke and that it’s even legal to manufacture cigarettes!

  • I smoked for ten years, and quit just last year, I am glad I quit but there are days when a cigarette is all I really want! Although, going raw has made it easier to avoid smoking and now when I smell someone doing it, instead of enjoying the smell, I have started to abhor it.

  • elizabethhelizabethh Raw Newbie

    i know someone like this, absolute “health freak” (not raw but very health nutty nonetheless) but a chain smoker. fortunately she at least does not rationalize it and says “i know it’ll kill me some day, but i’m weak.”
    i really don’t get it. lets put this into perspective people: raw almonds are illegal, and cigarettes are legal and sold absolutely everywhere.

  • It seems in whatever approach to diet and health we are all in danger of extremes. One friend I had used these extremes to “balance” as he called it his health. He died young but he would certainly say (if he still could) that it wasn’t because of his smoking. May I suggest to not look at others’ examples in their application of the Raw Food Diet but to stay educated and focused on practicing it well yourself. Its the only way I know to stay straight on and not falling into the side ditches.

  • humanimalhumanimal Raw Newbie

    haha I still have problems with smoking, but i def. do not think that raw foods will somehow reverse the bad effects of it. Does anyone have any suggestions for quitting. I have tried so many times and it is not the easiest thing to do. I do it primarily when I am bored. Any help would be great!

    V

  • susannabellajanesusannabellajane Raw Newbie

    Hi everyone! I quit smoking almost a year ago (2 pack a day for 20 years+/-) and I never even tried to quit I was so scared at how awful it would be and how weaK and dependant I was. But three days before we left for a three week trip to New Zealand my Dr. called to say the ‘routine’ CATScan of my lungs showed a distinct tumor….but he said go ahead on the trip because “if it’s going to kill you three weeks won’t matter”.

    During the trip my (also smoking) husband and I read Allen Carr’s book Easyway (The website link is here: http://allencarr.com/central/). Allen kept pointing out the addiction to nicotine causes all the stress and worry about getting the next fix, and that nicotine addiction is actually not that hard to kick. When you get past the physical addicition he teaches you how to get back (head-wise)to where you started from, free from nicotine desires and naturally disgusted by smoke. He is a strong believer Nic gums, patches, etc just prolong the agnoy of withdrawal. When I read this book I was aware that Allen died a bit ago from lung cancer, which made his words ring even more true.

    So…..we read the book, hiked and traveled by day, fought a lot on that trip, but came home non-smokers with no looking back. My lungs hurt for 10 months, sore throat, breathless, and then when I discovered eating raw a little over a month ago it started to ease and is 90% better now.

    So yes, just do it. You won’t miss the smoke, honestly you won’t!! And your body will love you for it. And BTW….the tumor in my lung ended up being a cluster of begnin cysts in my breast, which was still a pain but thanks be there was nothing killer going on. I’ve been better to my body ever since….a whole second chance I didn’t deserve but I won’t dishonor this gift with a cigarette.

  • i hate smoking i hate smoking i hate smoking. i have absolutely no respect for anyone who smokes. they don’t even respect themselves cuz how could you do such a thing to your body? and just cuz they want to die, why do they have to kill the planet and kill US w/ their nasty fumes? why don’t they do that in private? and how rude is it for them to smoke around us pregnant girls, too?? that is SOOOO messed up!!!! seriously, ppl who smoke, that is one of the BIGGEST things that makes me SOOOO mad i just want to EXPLODE!!!! ahhhhh!!!!

  • and sorry, i did not mean to offend anyone on this thread who smokes or used to smoke. you just have no idea how much it really gets on my nerves tho. and everyone knows not to smoke in front of pregnant ppl, but i wasn’t even showing until 6 months. ppl smoke in public and they have absolutely no idea if the female strangers walking by are pregnant or not so why do they do it? i’m about to pop the baby out anyday now and ppl still don’t put their cigerettes out as i walk by. they are rude and have no respect for anyone. in return to their RUDENESS i always cover my nose w/ my sleeve and sometimes glare at them. it is really frikkin messed up that i have to hold my breath half the time i am in public because of all the smokers. big reason why i hate society. everyone smokes and drinks and just kills their bodies and yet someone I am the who is the weirdo because caring about your health is just crazy. but yah, i don’t want to offend anyone on here and sorry if i did. i am just venting.

  • IsisDCIsisDC Raw Newbie

    Humananimal- I feel your pain!

    I have been off and on with smoking since I was 14, and I am not going to tell you how many years ago that was, but, let’s just say it was the last time hip-hugger-bell-bottom jeans were in style.

    I took it up again this past year.

    And, not only did I smoke, but I was puffin Nat Sherman filterless cigarillos, very Marlene Dietrich sexy!

    I love to smoke, I love the way the smoke passes through my lips, making smoke rings, french inhaling….you get the picture.

    But, it started catching up to me.

    Making me tired, fat, and I started seeing lines on my face that were not there before I took it up again.

    I kicked smoking on my first day of my first Master Cleanse a few months ago (I am now on my second cleanse).

    Detoxing really kicked the nic out of my body and caused me to reject it.

    I don’t know if it will help you as well, but we are all here for ya buddy, and no judgement if you feel it isn’t your time to kick it yet.

    Peace!

  • humanimalhumanimal Raw Newbie

    You did a little bit. But I do forgive you. Criticize yourself before you work on others.

  • humanimalhumanimal Raw Newbie

    thanks IsisDC! It is really nice to have some support. Maybe I will try the Master Cleanse and see how that goes. Thanks again to you all!

  • QUIT!! My mom died 3 months ago from lung cancer and emphysema.She only lived 6 months after being diagnosed and going thru chemo. Her breathing was so bad and was on full time oxygen and the highest possible. She was suffocating to death. I watched her slowly deteriorate as I live with her. Her breathing was so hard and shallow and she was panicky all the time from not getting enough air and there was nothing I could do. This is also hard on the family to watch and you can’t help. My mom in law still smokes and she calls cigarettes coffin nails or cancer sticks. Look at all the raw food you can buy instead of spending it on dried plants wrapped in paper.

  • I don’t like smoking and have seen it’s effects first hand. My dad had severe heart disease (3 bypass operations) and eventually died from it. My mom has end stage lung disease after smoking 40 years. That said, I think it is incredibly easy to judge smokers, many of whom want to quit. It actually is a harder addiction to give up than heroin. I think we all need to look at our own addictions (benign or otherwise) before throwing spears. Yes, I don’t like it when I get a nice drag from someone’s cigarette on the street, but overall, it’s something I can generally avoid. And there are choices. My husband knew I wouldn’t be able to marry him if he continued smoking. I didn’t ask him to quit, and just hoped he would both for himself and our life together. I’m lucky—he did quit (hardest thing he ever did), but every now and then when highly stressed he will partake. And I don’t think it’s the end of the world. Anyway, we all know the dangers…I don’t think pointing fingers helps. And anyone who has tried to give up certain foods, coffee, etc. should have compassion.

  • Wow! Rawveganlove…such hostility. Dont you know that an attitude like that is about as poisonous to the body as a cigarette? I get the impression that you are very young. Hopefully you adopt a more accepting nature in the future because you really wont get far in life with that one. Having said that…I quit smoking 2 years ago and it was definitely the hardest thing I had ever done. I didnt sleep for 2 solid weeks because of night sweats and shaking. It was the worst 2 weeks of my life followed be the 2nd worst 6 months of my life. It was rough. But I made it. Actually my husband quit the same day as me and neither of us have had a cigarette since. I knew if I ever smoked again I would have to go through that hellish detox again and I am just not willing to do that again! By the way we both quit cold turkey. It was the only way. And yes we were hardcore smokers. 2 packs a day each and we were only 22 and 25 years old. Though I had been smoking for 13 years already ( yes I was 9 when I started) and again yes, I LOVED smoking and I still miss it. But I just wont do it again. Period. Now if only I could quit all cooked food forever:)
    Hope this helps someone. Jaclyn.

  • Oh and I have 2 beautiful happy healthy children that I smoked those 2 packs a day with while pregnant…and a beautiful and healthy miserable baby who I didnt smoke with. Thay are all just fine. Not to say I dont regret smoking during their pregnancy, but nevertheless they are perfect and free of illness and defects.

  • humanimal, think of a cigarette as ‘not raw’.you are heating it up and ingesting it.Unless you’re not 100% raw anyway so you might not care. But you seem to care that everything else you ingest is raw.Maybe chewing tobacco is raw but that also causes mouth cancer. Wait, is tobacco good for your body? I thought this website was about putting healthy things into your body. and everytime you light one up it’s like eating a mcdonalds double quarter pounder.Yes, they are that bad.

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    wow jgagnon smoking 2 PACKS a day while pregnant? never heard of that before. Lucky for you and your kids that they are healthy.

  • Hmm- I’m in the same boat as humanimal, although boredom is not a trigger so much as stress. If I don’t smoke, I binge on pizza or fight with my girlfriend, or engage in some other self-destructive activity. It’s a safe and predictable outlet for negative energy. Granted, it will also do horrible things to me at some point, but a girl’s gotta prioritize.

    I try to be very respectful of others, and am quite frustrated by the militant attitude that a lot of non-smokers have. That said, I thank most of you for your compassionate attitude. It is much appreciated.

  • I used to smoke too, a few cigarettes a week.
    Then I realised that life is short, and that I have to care for my body not try to destroy it.
    Alot of people long for health – while I’m destroying mine.
    No more cigarettes for me, thanks!

  • militant? i think that raw foodist was militant about her lifestyle and so are some of the people on this website about being raw. They won’t even use a sauce or dip that is not raw. Why even try to eat raw and smoke? Smoking undoes all the effects of eating raw anyway.If you smoke, maybe you should go to the junk food website. It seems that the crazy ones are the hippie types that do drugs and preach to other people and judge people on thier unhealthy diet. Like this one guy I knew. When I tried to eat white rice, he would point and say how bad it was. Then I saw his lifestyle, constant drinking of alcohol, smoking pot all the time and sometimes even smoke meth and harder drugs. I shook my head in disbelief. What are these people thinking? Maybe all the drugs (and nicotine is a drug also) mess with thier minds. and you think that non smokers are militant? how about all the smokers that light up anywhere they feel like it and then blow the smoke in the nonsmokers face as they walk by. Not that they purposefully blow it in their face, but smoke travels without the smoker realizing it and we end up breathing it in. I think thats militant of them.And the fact that they would burn my arm as they walked by with their cigarette and not even apologize while I let out a loud yelp. Fortunately, in DC, smoking just got banned in all clubs and bars. I’m just saying that I have no respect for someone who is all high and mighty about their healthy diet but smokes. Some raw foodists are militant about their lifestyle saying that people shouldn’t even take a vitamin or supplement for a deficiency they have because the supplement is not raw. While I’m not 100% raw and don’t plan on being, I try to incorporate more raw foods into my diet. That’s why I look at this website. I think that being 100% raw would be militant for me especially because I am a long distance bus driver and on a tight schedule and am not home much to prepare foods. All of our rest stops are at stops on the highway which are mostly junk.It’s really difficult.

  • susannabellajanesusannabellajane Raw Newbie

    Smoking is bad, yes, but life and the path to wellness isn’t all or nothing….each person arrives at different places at different times.

    I would never suggest someone who smokes just give it up and not waste their time eating healthy and raw food. Do the best you can where you can and the rest will follow.

  • SueSue Raw Newbie

    Wow, there is a lot of “passion,” for lack of a better word, on this post. I need to add some input, based on life experience, and a little knowledge. First of all, I understand the intolerance that a non smoker has to smokers. Everything about cigarettes stinks; your breath, your lungs, your skin, etc.. BUT, my grandfather used to chain smoke while he sat on the steps (in the Bronx, NY) while watching over his grandchildren as they played. I saw him, not as a stinky smoker, but as a protector. You have to understand that until relatively recently, smoking was glamorized in all of the old Hollywood “A” movies, (Casablanca, for examble) There was even a time when Doctors’ actually prescribed smoking as “healthy” for their patients, I swear!! So all you non smokers, don’t be so hard on people that happen to be addicted to nicotine. If nothing else, I have come to view this website as a positive, healthy oasis for anyone who wants to improve their health. I say, “One day at a time!” That’s all we really have.

  • FreesiaFreesia Raw Newbie

    I agree that we should not be judgemental about people’s choices in life, we need only concern ourselves with our own choices… but whe someone’s habit starts to affect others who are standing by… we need to think again.
    Blowing smoke in someones face, smoking whilst people are eating, (let alone the huge litter/environmental problem of discarded butts) is invading personal space. If someone smokes near me, I’ll ask them to move away if it’s bothering me…most of them are quite happy to do so.

    If you want to destroy yourself with drugs.. go ahead.. your choice, but don’t “drag” me (pun intended)..or my children.. along with you…but I could come and vomit all over you and walk away… and then you’d understand the effect that smoking has for us non smokers ??!!

    Here in Australia.. on the west coast, we have the lowest incidence of smoking in our country. Smokers are beginning to feel like pariahs and most people openly tell them to move on. Many of our beaches are smoke free and certainly all food establishments, bars and government edifices, including hospitals .. are no go areas for smokers. But we have been like this for many years now whereas I believe these types of laws have only been introduced into Europe recently.Littering of cigarette butts attracts a $70 fine, but it’s not policed as such.
    I think the smoker DOES realise that the second hand smoke travels.. it’s just that the habit is more compelling, more important .. than thinking of one’s fellow human being.
    Good luck to all of you trying to give up. Can be a hard road, I’ve heard..

  • humanimal, Jala neti (Nasal irrigation with warm sea-salt water) may help in quitting smoking. Please take a look at the following article. There’s a whole section dedicated to smoking.

    http://www.yoga-age.com/asanas/jala.pdf

  • I agree with Elizabeth…even though I’m allergic to all nuts. :(
    Where’s the outrage?

    Smoking is a horrid habit. I tried it a few times out of teenage rebellion, but have long since learned my lesson. (It also helps to have a mom who is a respiratory therapist, who wants to further study holistic medicine.)

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