I've been addicted to cigarettes for the last 17 years. I guess the only good thing about y2k is that it may make me have to quit. But the thought is scary because I tried to quit about twelve years ago and I almost had a nervous breakdown. I stopped for about to weeks but it was a nightmare.

I know there are more important issues about y2k than smoking but i just wanted to bring it up.

-- tired of worrying (harlyman@bellsouth.net), December 16, 1999

Answers

CANCER isn't a good enuff reason ??

-- Hack (Hack@hack.hack), December 16, 1999.

I'm in the same boat, I have 8 cans of bugler roll your own and some tobacco seeds to try and grow my own. I can't think of a worse time to quit smoking but I can't quit now, and later looks doubtful. FWIW, i think you can find seeds on the net, try E BAY.

-- Zeda (rickster@n-jcenter.com), December 16, 1999.

Yeah, I smoke too. The thing about smoking, is that it is as much habitual as it is addictive. I've noticed many times that when I am someplace, like a vacation for instance, and my habits are radically altered, I can get away with smoking 4 or 5 cigarettes or even fewer in a day rather than the usual pack+. If Y2K gets to a point where you can't get cigarettes, chances are your entire world and habits will be changed too. Might make it easier to quit, since you'll be forced to.

Of course, you may want to just quit anyway, after all, it is pretty damn bad for you. Again, I think the best way to do that is to go away for a couple weeks, like camping or something, and just go cold turkey.

-- (dot@dot.dot), December 16, 1999.

You have to BE worrying to be tired of worrying. I'm not. No way I'll pick this time to quit smoking! As a matter of fact,another thread just asked about what the slackers had bought this week. I've just bought what I think is my last preps,that i'd been procrastinating about.Two cases of Johnny Walker Black Label,Two kegs of beer, and last but not least, forty eight cartons of Merit Filters.Now I'm done prepping.

on de rock

-- Walter (on de rock@northrock.bm), December 16, 1999.

tired of worrying...

I know how you feel. Been smoking for 30+ years...got about 30 cartons stored and 2 weeks of patches when they run out.

hack- I've known PLENTY of smokers in my 52 years. I ONLY know of two, Yes I said TWO that died of cancer.

where do you get your info?....THE GOVERNMENT!!!! ring a bell? THE GOV. LIES!

how many poisons take over 30 years? well?

-- bob (bb@myhouse.com), December 16, 1999.

Cough, cough, hack, sputter, cough, heck yes I smoke, and it's very strange to me that only within the past year or so, the government has decided that it isn't a good habit. I keep wondering what the tobacco companies did to make the government mad at them. No contributions to campaigns? No pay-offs to congress? We all know the government doesn't give a rodents posterior, as to your or my "good health" just ask the boys from the Gulf War. Something smells on this, and it isn't my cigarettes.

Going to get a few tins of roll-your-own and wing it from there. Cough, spit, cough

-- Richard (Astral-Acres@webtv.net), December 16, 1999.

Walter, Looks like you got the 3 of the major food groups covered!

-- robert j. (crandalls@cableone.net), December 16, 1999.

bob -

most people who die from cigarette smoking do not die from cancer - thye die from heart disease. The numbers come from the Center for Disease Control, and they mesh with my family experience.

Smoking does not help with stress, except for the stress of going into nicotine withdrawal.

-- kermit (colourmegreen@hotmail.com), December 16, 1999.

I quit smoking almost three years ago. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I was the type that I had to smoke because I liked it and it was something that I needed to do to relax. I quit because of the price. Even though I could afford to smoke, I felt stupid spending my money that way. The patches helped me to quit. I did not step down I stayed stepped up for a long time on the strong patches, sometimes two at a time. But in a few weeks the urge to smoke went away. I still wanted to smoke because of habit, but that slowly went away too. I would not want to go through that during a stressfull time. Good luck to all of you smokers who are thinking about quitting.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), December 16, 1999.

Hey Bob! Were those two people you knew Yul Brynner and John Wayne?

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), December 16, 1999.

kermit fat intake, lack of exercise, stress jobs, etc. can also cause heart problems. especially genitics! i'm not saying smoking is good for you, I wish I had never started. What I am saying is, like y2k, concider the source of your information (gov) and does it "really" add up.

Guy Daley- I am talking about people that I have known personally and compared that to how many people I Personally have known that smoked. Can you tell the difference? I doubt it.

I have known "personally" and "by media" many more people that have died in car wrecks!! Ban cars.

I really don't want to argue about smoking, I am just saying "concider the source" on your back-up data. Just like Y2k.

THERE WILL BE MORE PEOPLE KILLED IN THE NEXT MONTH FROM Y2K THAN FROM CIGARETTES.

smoke em, if you got em.

-- bob (bb@myhouse.com), December 16, 1999.

I have Zyban but I also have 12 varieties of open pollinated tobacco seed and 3 varieties of hybrid seed. I got mine through Virtual Seeds.com but there is a parent outlet in Missippi on the Web. Don't have the URL in front of me. Do a search. Tobacco is a 60 day crop.

I've smoked longer than you and it is stupid but really, really addictive.

If the SHTF, I figure this is my cash crop. For people who want to moralize about this, I'll be glad to take you on about fat ingetstion and its health effects or GM crops.

Todd

-- Todd Detzel (detzel@jps.net), December 16, 1999.

America -- The Home of the Free and the Brave!!!

GOING -- GOING -- GONE

-- claurann (claurann@aol.com), December 16, 1999.

I drive from NJ to DEL to buy smokes tax free. Saves me big bucks, and I've gotten used to buying 20 cartons at a time. I just went this past weekend and picked up 30 cartons. I hope that will suffice for now. Sure seems like enough. I...hope...!

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), December 16, 1999.

How do we keep the cartons fresh... I can get them at the local indian reservation, but they get stale pretty fast....

an unhappy, but addicted housemouse here....

who likes her evening wine, too...

anybuddy want to guess what going to get me first? the vine or the plant?

just a stupid, addicted housemouse....

.......

-- housemouse (never@mind.com), December 16, 1999.

Get some of those popcorn sized tins and keep the cigs in there. You'll be amazed how fresh they stay.

-- tinman (tinskeep@fresh.com), December 16, 1999.

Jesus, all the lurkers came out of the woods on this thread!

-- Mr. Bob (thebobster@delphi.com), December 16, 1999.

ATTENTION - This is a survival issue.

DO NOT attempt to quit smoking in a high stress environment.

It is too difficult for most smokers to deal with.

If the situation is dangerous, due to societal breakdowns, the last thing you need is to be putting yourself at high risk of stressing further and making bad decisions. Quit smoking later once the threats have been reduced. Quitting smoking under stress is a bad idea. Later when friends and relatives are able to help out with your load of work and knowledge of survival skills and then tolerate your quitting (bad temper, etc.) then go for it.

This is a survival issue. Others can include coffee, chocolate, alcohol or anything else of this type. Withdrawal can put you in danger. Wait until the dust settles.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), December 16, 1999.

another way to keep your cigs fresh is also to put them in the freezer or refrigerator or someplace where they will stay cold and in the dark, you can also put them in a hefty zip-loc bag before storing them.

-- leah (leah@leah.leah), December 16, 1999.

Get yourself some cans of Peter Stokkebye at a tobaccanist shop.

Better price than Bugler or Top, and immeasurably better tobacco. And it's sealed, so it'll keep.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), December 16, 1999.

And I thought I was the only one in the world who worried about running out of smokes! I agree with the post about not stressing yourself any more than necessary at the present time (although it also makes a handy excuse!) and even so, just trying to quit can make you homicidal, so maybe it's better to wait awhile....

-- Ken Jackson (kjackso@max.state.ia.us), December 16, 1999.

Can anyone top Walter's FORTY-EIGHT cartons? Sheesh...

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), December 16, 1999.

Y'know, this is kind of a stupid thought, but if TSHTF and cig's are simply unavailable, what's going to happen with the folks who live hand to mouth and search for quarters in the couch cushions on a daily basis to buy those GPC's?? If you think heroin or crack was a major issue in terms of crimes to support the habit, just wai

-- Nom (nom@de.plume), December 16, 1999.

Cigreets is fur sissies--xtra thins, filtur tips, mentholayted. Real men do a CHEW. Ptoooey.

-- (aman@amanly.dude), December 16, 1999.

It occurred to me awhile back that if I was going to nag my mostly DGI family about preps, I should put my money where my mouth is and quit smoking. I've been smoking for 15+ years and never once went 24 hours without a cigarette. Was smoking a pack a day. I am amazed and happy to announce that I have been smoke free for over a week! I can't believe it! I went to my non-smoking girlfriend's house in the country (i.e., no store within walking distance)and went cold turkey and was amazed to find it almost completely painless. Not normally much of religious person, I can only attribute it to the prayers of family and friends.

Anyway, good luck to all youse who are thinking about quitting. I know the prospect is scary. As for the nervous breakdown thing, has anyone considered that generic sleeping pills could probably be used as cheap tranquilizers?

-- Clare (clarehamilton@mindspring.com), December 16, 1999.

Gurney's seed and nursery Company, Yankton, SD, ph # 605-665-1930, offers a 100 seed packet of white Burley tobacco for $1.19, cheaper if you buy more. Burley is the type of tobacco grown in the border regions and farther north because it doesn't require the hot weather that the southern varieties do. I don't know if this is a hybrid or an open-pollinated variety. It's a 120 day crop. They sell a huge selection of other seeds (vegetable, fruit, spice, flower, tree, etc) many of which are non-hybrid. Very reasonable prices.

-- cut my smoking in half (only@one.lung), December 17, 1999.

Have just made another attempt to quit, and the way it affected me personally is probably something like heroin withdrawel. Sweating, nausea, severe stress. Have only stashed 4 cartons, so if things get bad, that will be the end of my enslavement. But for now, I'm nervous enough...

-- Gia (laureltree7@hotmail.com), December 17, 1999.

my best prep was to quit smoking 1 year ago. i did it with the help of the anti-depressant drug ..Zoloft. Go to your Dr.,get a prescription,figure out how to get extra to stock up and do it FAST! i was "hopelessly addicted", would go CRAZY when attempting to quit....Zoloft gave me enough of an even keel to make it possible.So it'll help ya quit now...or be there for you when stash runs out. But.remember, it takes 2 weeks to take effect, so cut down (?)on smoking during the 2 wks then quit,(or run out). I'm 50 yrs old, smoked for 33 years,1-2 packs a day.if I can do it YOU CAN DO IT! if you haven't quit by now i agree with "wait til the dust settles" but i suggest you have some zoloft handy,by the way i took only 50mg. a day. Thank you to all who've been here since last summer,when i first started prepping in earnest due to this forum,(my first pc). You've helped me get and keep my head together, I hope we all can meet here through the coming year to keep sharing ideas on sustanable living, and i hope i can contribute more.good luck to all.

-- bob (kabob@snet.net), December 17, 1999.

Why don't you check out www.handrolling.com -- a nice way to save money for those who do smoke.

-- Brooklyn (MSIS@cyberdude.com), December 17, 1999.

Nicorette Gum! It doesn't take the place of cig's, but if you pop a piece of gum, it really takes away the craving. After a few days, you feel in control again.

-- Puffer McGee (puffer@marlboro.com), December 17, 1999.

I hate to sound like an opportunist, but as a smoker, how much would you be willing to pay for a pack of smokes if you don't have any (and I do)? I'm thinking of storing a few cartons for entreprenurial(sp) purposes.

-- (rcarver@inacom.com), December 17, 1999.

What about a smoker who runs out of smokes and trades the family's preps for smokes? This will happen if tobacco is available for trade. Smokers you know you will. Please try to quit while help is available.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), December 17, 1999.