Choosing between cigarettes or alcohol

After yet another morning waking up still feeling pissed something’s gotta give. For the sake of my health, those around me who I love and from a basic desire to not pop my clogs before my 40th something has to go.

Smoking:
Since I was about 12 am now 36. Currently smoking rollups and have no idea how many a day but if I were on ready made I would take a guess that I would do between 30 and 40.

Drinking:
Usually about 2 bottles of wine in an evening at home (sometimes a couple of shifty vodkas too) and I don’t tend to go out that much anymore. This is 7 days a week. In fact I would say in the last 6 years there have been less that 20 individual days where I haven’t had a drink.

I don’t think stopping both together is going to be an option and to be honest I’m scared shitless about attempting to stop either and failing. Dunno, there are a couple of really special things in my life at the moment and I don’t want to let them down.

So which one should I drop? Anyone got any good tips or advice on either?

Cheers
TBFB

PS: this is really because I wanted to start a poll because I haven’t done one for ages.

random Pikey pic

I think you should go to see your doctor and get a referral to see a psychologist. Not being funny but there's a reason you're drinking and smoking so much and it isn't because you enjoy it.

actually it is because I enjoy them both .. well that and because its a habit.

Ditch the alchohol first..

Get a hobby, something that gets you out with others.. climbing or swimming etc..

As for seeing a doctor... well, I dont think it will help..

There is only one that can help you! and he sits in the same room as you and sleeps in your bed and showers in your shower with you!

You wanna stop?? Then its all down to you!

You will feel better once you pass the first 2 weeks without booze! Beleive me.

SP

Oh... Good luck!

Have you tried moderation? Could you cut down on either or both? Do you have a physical dependency?

The first idea would be to see a doctor. (from a medical perspective I mean just to get you checked out healthwise) and if you are addicted to alcohol just stopping can have some major implications like DTs, hallucinations, seizures and even death!!!

With alcohol, I wouldn’t say its a physical dependency. Not in an I’m shaking and i must have a beer kind of way. I don’t know I guess since my teens I’ve always drank a lot, the only time I didn’t was when I was smoking loads of weed.

I have tried moderation, but one glass of wine a night soon turns back into two bottles very quickly

Trying to stop smoking could easily be sabbotaged the next time you're drinking.

Easing off the drink might be easier because it's not something done all day (and if it is, then you should listen to the "go to a doctor" advice)

MrNosey et al are right - do you have health insurance? You might be eligible for a spa cure - three weeks in an open clinic to learn new habits and get away from the old ones.
The word clinic sounds horrible, but my spa cure following knee surgery was fantastic. You're not locked in and can leave at any time.
There are a lot of different spa cures for a lot of different things - even for giving up smoking.
Have a word with your GP for further information and good luck.

You see thats the point, "just a habit" involves you making a choice to drink each and every time and there are numerous components involved in that choice. Being a heavy drinker does not necessarily make you an alcoholic though, but equally you could be an alcoholic on one glass of wine a night; it depends how it impacts on the rest of your life and relationships.

That was kind of my thought because if I drop the ciggys and keep the drink then I can see myself having a smoke when I have a drink.

And nope its not something that’s done all day its just in the evenings. To add I don’t think its something that actually affects my everyday life, I still function on a daily basis pretty normally. I don’t want to stop drinking but I know that its something that is going to really fuck me up if I don’t get a grip on it.

You could always ditch both and take up mainlining skag. You'll be so pasted that you won't notice the missing alc and cigs...

On a serious note; good luck (alcohol's probably easier to ditch than cigarettes).

AT least you aren't doing drugs mate, which is a good thing!

Then go off for a week and give your liver a break. Heck, I've been known to occasionally do the evening herbal tea thing in the evenings instead of cracking open a bottle of wine. It's a different type of sleepy, but much nicer.

Hardly worthwhile asking which one you should give up TBFB if you do not want to give up either.

DD Bugs suggestion is a good one but i would still get myself off to the docs first.

Yea, took me six years and a move to another country to get away from that one.

The last two new years, I've quit smoking...and every time I drank, I would nearly hyperventilate because I needed to smoke. This year was a little different because I had to give up drinking beer and wine in order to quit smoking. Now, whenever I drink so much as the second glass, I have severe nicotine withdrawals. It's just not a pleasant experience to do it anymore. If you continue to smoke, you might as well drink. They go together.
For your health and those you love, give up both. You'll sleep so much better and lose weight at the same time. good luck
Remember: You stop smoking one day and spend the lifetime quitting.

I would recommend to stop smoking first, but most important - try to find something else you enjoy. Some things are extremely enjoyable and healthy.

Drop the alcohol, fast. Matter of fact, have your GP do a full blood panel, discuss your liver and kidney results with him and then drop the alcohol because you should receive the scare of your young life. Two bottles of wine a night plus the odd hard liquor is a bunch, to say the least. A year ago this week Scogs was trying very hard to kick the bottle a day habit and said that the mental suffering was worse than any physical discomfort, when your brain says, c'mon, you'll feel better with just another drink. Well, you know how that ended, together with abuse of ibuprofen and paracetamol.

Also, find something to do with your fingers instead of rolling a ciggie and smoking it. Fiddle with a pen, twiddle chopsticks, take up knitting, just keep your hands occupied. Quitting smoking isn't a mental action, it's a gut decision. One morning you wake up and something inside you says, today is the day I smoke my last cigarette. After that it becomes a conscious act - quitting smoking is easy, not taking it back up is hard. Ask the lapsed non-smokers.

My only drugs are coffee and chocolate (but even stopping the consumption of those seems difficult/impossible to me; at the moment I am trying to cut back on the chocolate, with relative success).

I think psychic dependence is worse than physical dependence (of which the symptoms disappear after some days).

You could start with consuming more consciously and deliberateley cut back the amount to half. Smoke each cigarette only halfway and then extinguish it. Buy only one bottle of wine or put the stock of wine out of sight. Try to analyse why in a given moment, you feel like smoking/drinking.

I think Katrina's suggestion of a spa cure makes sense. In a different environment, it is easier to break habits and learn that one doesn't really miss the old habits. Then, you "only" would have to transfer what you learned at the spa to everyday life.

Well that’s the thing I don’t really want to stop either but there comes a point when you start to think this cant be good for you in the long term.

fucking hell i hope not Im as thin as a stick as it is

If you're drinking two bottles of wine a day and haven't gained weight, then you're already sick. Wine has so much sugar and if it is leaving your system without gaining weight, that is a sign something is wrong already, don't ya think? I would follow sarabyrd's advice and get a full blood work up.

Quitting smoking has two aspects - physical and mental. Both of which are very strong. Many people quit physically but never get around the "mental" dependance and continue craving cigarettes especially when drinking or in other "trigger" situations. I couldn't quit physically until I had gotten over the mental aspect. However, once that is beat, not smoking becomes a non-issue.

I would think that stopping the drinking would be easier for that and other reasons. Hopefully the mental addiction isn't there, and you'll notice the improvement in your health faster if you switch the drink for something healthier.

However, if you want to gain weight, quit smoking cold-turkey - worked for me

Start with the drinking. I am sure you will find there is a support team there to help you through it.

My doctor recently told me that I must quit drinking. I was all right for the first month but as soon as the weather got nicer, I fell back to my old ways. I have cut down quite significantly though and I am amazed at how much energy I have these days. I am sleeping much less but still waking up feeling refreshed and just enjoying life much more. I would definitely recommend taking up some activity that you would enjoy to fill the void.

Good luck!

As you have reached this point then it is time to check out if damage is already done. Take the advice offered and get an appointment with a doctor, the results of a blood test may just be the motivation you need - the liver can recover from too much booze up to a point, after that the damage can't heal. You can always ask for another blood test after a few months without drink to see what the improvement is.

Apart from the cigarettes and alcohol of course.

Could also be that he has fast/overactive metabolism. Lucky you!

Quit the booze first - as others have said for addicts smoke and booze go together.

90 days - that is your target. See if you can keep off the drink for 90 days, apparently that is the length of time it takes to unlearn/learn a habit.

Simple. Booze.

Drinking to excess involves being drunk; which means massive moodswings, outbursts, tempers, stupid acts and general irrational hurtful behaviour to all those around you.

Smoking makes you cough.

That is not what's written on the side of the packets!!!

Governement Health Warning: Smoking Makes You Cough

Nicotine and Alcohol are drugs.

Edit (damnit I was beaten to the punch)

OK...

Smoking destroys your lungs in the long term. (Unless you post on a ban smoking thread in which case you die from smelling the stale but end from 4 kilometers)

Alcohol destroys your relationships with those around you in the short term. Long term you wont have any.

Smoking is a physiological addiction. Alcohol more psychological. So it's used to cover up the cracks. Cutting it out means a clear head to approach and solve those problems.

And yet Alcohol withdrawal is the one that can be fatal...

OK. Thanks to lilplatinum and Timmeh for stating the bloody obvious.
Fortunately, the OP knew exactly what I was talking about and responded in this manner.

You mention drinking a lot of wine - do you ever/could you switch to drinking (non-alcoholic) beer instead? I've had to give up drinking since becoming pregnant and have found that Germany is great for this because of the wide (and tasty) selection of alcohol-free beer. OK, it's not as nice as 'normal' beer, but when you consider that often the other non-alcoholic options are either hot drinks (often impractical/inappropriate - e.g. in a beer garden), some sickly-sweet carbonated fruit concoction or water, it's a good alternative, - well, for me anyway.

I don't smoke and have never been a smoker, so can't comment on giving that up, i'm afraid.

I wouldn't just do something like this without also seeking medical advice though.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

Smoking and drinking in excess is bad and if you are aware of it and trying to make amends you have won the first battle...now go on to battle 2 and give up smoking. If you can keep drinking to social events that helps, never drink alone because then it all down hill from there my 2 cents...gradually give that up as well.

My first marriage broke up because my ex was a bloody alcoholic and I lost my mom at 63 that’s so young due to cigarettes...she gave them up 7 years before she died but her lungs were so damaged she never did recover.

You can do it...you need to be mentally prepared...Good luck...

Well, TBFB, let’s breakdown your consumption of alcohol and cigarette smoking.

There are 365 days in one year. If you drank 2 bottles of wine per day, it would amount to 730 bottles of wine that you consumed in one year. If you continued this pattern over a 6-year period, minus 20 days of not drinking, you would have consumed 4,340 bottles of wine.

If we used the same analysis for cigarettes, you would have smoked anywhere between 10,950 (30 per day times 365 days) and 14,600 (40 per day times 365 days) cigarettes over a 1-year period. If you continued this pattern over a 24-year period, (from age 12 to age 36), you would have smoked anywhere between 262,800 and 350,400 cigarettes.

Take a serious look at these numbers. You should either be dead or have some serious health issues. I didn’t come close to drinking as much as you have, but I now have a serious stomach problem. Please take the advice of some of the posters and seek some medical assistance and professional counselling, ASAP. Do it for yourself.

I reckon TBFB is secretly Keith Richards

Rubbish.

I know people in their 70s and 80s who have smoked since they were teenagers so lots and lots more than that and they are still alive and not suffering from anything unsual for people that old.

Drinking 2 bottles of wine a day is a bit OTT but not that unusual (think French).

A couple of bottle of whiskey a day would be more problematic but not wine.

You have to consider the amount of exercise/work/stress etc etc before you start worrying about health issues.

Brit Soldiers are famous drunkards but very few of them are overweight or unfit so just sheer numbers is a pants way of decideing the guy must be ill.

Read an interesting review of Alistair Campbell (former British dictator 1997-2003) whose drinking resulted in a nervous breakdown at the Scottish Labour Party Conference (great location for it..) when he was 29

After a couple of days in the funny farm, he didnt go back to London to stay with his partner (who he is still with 20 years later) but instead stayed with friends in the country for a couple of months, so that he broke the pattern of his day to day life. His great quote was that he counted every consecutive day that he did not have a drink, until he was into the several thousands. Then he stopped counting

Get yourself out and about, get fresh air, exercise and a purpose to the day. Get yourself a road bike, spend your sat / sun mornings riding round Bavaria rather than sleeping off the drink.

From an employer point of view, I would much prefer to have guys at work who had been out smoking on their lunch breaks instead of drinking. Or guys who walked into work in the morning smelling of smoke rather than smelling like they'd slept in a puddle of Helles.

Beer/alcohol affects you a lot more than smokes (not you in a general way, I mean you specifically, TBFB). So I still recommend starting with cutting out the alcohol.

Failed again tonight. Well to be honest failed this weekend. Sorry duck.

Kinda have it in my mind to drink everything in the house so the place is dry and there is no temptation. Yea I know it’s just an excuse.

Not gonna pass out on the sofa tonight, cant stand those fucking birds outside tweeting when I open my eyes at 5am.

Don't rely on us, Boy, get professional help. Please.

[quote name='the Boy From Bozlem' date='May 11 2009, 12:07 am' post='1638833']
Failed again tonight. Well to be honest failed this weekend. Sorry duck.



He's duck arsed his bine.

Cheers, thanks for that one lol. I do listen and take in (kinda) what people are saying here . Just a bit arse trying to type when you have had a couple of bottles.

Ok its time for bed, Monday tomorrow. Night all.

thanks SB

This guy's beyond doing things "in moderation." Time for a 12 step group, whatever you think about them. My guess is that it will eventually "take" for a lot of folks. (Hey, Martin Gore of Depeche Mode gave up drinking last year! It's on CNN today, so I'm not giving any secrets away. I won't say that he's a Friend of Bill's, but...) Then try some nicotine patches when you're ready to quit that. And if that way doesn't work, there are other methods. (12 steppers still tend to smoke!)

You're doing amazing damage with both booze and cigarettes. Now, you say that you're afraid of trying and not succeeding. Welcome to a VERY large club...Most people don't do it in one attempt...but they get support from people who've been there.

The very best of luck to you, Boy!

http://www.aa-europe.net/countries/munich.htm

Check it out today while you still feel bad enough to not talk yourself out of it. Good luck.

I very much agree with Sara. Your friends and family can support you but I think the best people to actually help you are professionals. What your loved ones could do is, for example, maybe clear out the house of any remaining alcohol because they care about you. And knowing your friends and family, they will be more than supportive when you get some professional help. You won't be going through it alone or anything.

Edit:
You should get yourself a "sober buddy". With all the money you save on booze each month, you could buy a gym membership or a bike or even reward yourself with a nice weekend away somewhere each month. I reckon you probably spend roughly 500 Euros a month on alcohol. That's a lot of fun money.

Seems that alcohol is killing more people than cigarettes! I was surprised to read that a recent study found that 1 in 25 deaths worldwide can be linked to alcohol in some way.

1 in 25 deaths linked to alcohol, study finds


So how long before we start seeing proposed laws for smoke-free AND alcohol-free pubs?