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[Rath Darkblade]

I may be one of the few people of my generation who has never had so much as lit a cigarette. When I was required to carry one in a theatrical production, someone had to show me how to hold it. How was I to know one didn't use the thumb and index finger?

One doesn't? *confused* Sorry, I don't know. I never smoked in my life, and I don't intend to start now.

As far as I knew (from growing up in a family where my dad, mum, two uncles, and one grandfather smoked), you hold it with your index and middle fingers ... and when the thing starts getting small, you use your thumb and index finger. :-\

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I always saw people do it.

P.S. Granddad died from cancer before I was 2 and one of my uncles died from emphysema before I was 10. Dad and other uncle quit, thank goodness. Mum still smokes, but infrequently.

 

[GrahamLewis]

I was a social smoker into my early 30s, never physically addicted (why I don't know). When my oldest daughter was born in 1983, wife forbade smoking in the house. The evening of the day my wife and newborn daughter came home from the hospital, I was sitting at the desk in my downstairs office, where I found an old pack of Turkish cigarettes, a gift from a friend. I lit one up, and a few minutes later my wife's voice drifted down the stairs -- "Are you smoking down there?" I put out the cigarette and have never had another one; nearly 42 years back. I don't miss them, but I know that if I tried one, and survived three puffs, I'd be smoking again.

 

[GrahamLewis]

I hate all of you and your quitting stories (kidding). I've been a pack plus for 30 years. It's coming to an end now and I want to claw my eyeballs out. Nobody's fault but mine.

Please take "fault" out of the equation.

 

[big soft moose]

I love you too in the same sense! I'm cutting down and kicking the small habits before I tackle the capital H Habit. No smoking in the car, no smoking after meals, no smoking with the morning coffee. I'm still smoking but at offbeat times and in offbeat places. I'm learning why they call it a habit. There's the physical addiction for sure, but a lot of it is stupid routine.

looking on the bright side lung cancer is a lingering disease so you'll have plenty of time to pass the forum over (Nicotine patches on the backs of your ears would be my recomendation.. don't use vape or you;ll just windf up addicted to vaping)

 

[Louanne Learning]

I've heard this book has helped a lot of people quit smoking

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking​

 

[Rad Scribbler]

The only time I tried a cigarette was a couple of sneaky puffs by the bicycle shed at school.

Tried it, didn't like it (coughed my lungs out), and haven't touched one since - nearly 50 years ago!

 

[Madman Starryteller]

I smoke cigars once in a while, like a true mafia boss.

 

[Homer Potvin]

(Gnaws on the drywall)

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Seven years ago, I quit teaching dance due to worsening arthritis. Over the intervening time, my once excellent physical condition has deteriorated. To avoid further deterioration, I have to change my habits. Sigh. Why are bad habits so easy to form and good habits so excruciatingly hard?

How many calories in drywall, anyway?

 

[THUNDAIR]

I quit by taking a motorcycle trip up from San Diego to Merced and all the old gold mining areas. I took plenty of books and a fishing pole and no cigarettes. Six days later, I never touched another cigarette.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Wishing you the best in your recovery @Homer Potvin. Chewing plasterboard is a start. Hot mints that obliterate taste buds helps too. Break the back of that s.o.b. and you'll never look back.

 

[Catrin Lewis]

looking on the bright side lung cancer is a lingering disease so you'll have plenty of time to pass the forum over (Nicotine patches on the backs of your ears would be my recomendation.. don't use vape or you;ll just windf up addicted to vaping)

Three days before my uncle died of smoking-induced lung cancer, he helped carry his hospice bed into the house. Oh, the irony.

 

[Catrin Lewis]

I've just installed an app that's supposed to keep short videos from playing on my phone. We'll see if it does me any good.

 

[Homer Potvin]

4 cigs in the 8ish hours I've been awake. Not terrible. Work is the worst. At least I have distractions at home. Reading and video games help the most.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Waiting on a call from the director of communications about upcoming book events. Hoping they can all be scheduled in a specific region during the same week. This stuff is never simple. Whine, whine.

 

[Louanne Learning]

I was reading today about a massive star that was torn apart by a black hole as it exploded as a supernova.

When you read something like that, you wonder how to use it in a story. That's got to be a metaphor for something, but all that came to mind was explosive diarrhea. Too much?

 

[Rath Darkblade]

I was reading today about a massive star that was torn apart by a black hole as it exploded as a supernova.

When you read something like that, you wonder how to use it in a story. That's got to be a metaphor for something, but all that came to mind was explosive diarrhea. Too much?

I apologise, but that would turn me off. (And stars don't stink!)

If I were to use a metaphor, I would use something like what happens when a bomb explodes. To quote from AI:

When a bomb explodes, it releases a tremendous amount of energy in a short amount of time, causing a variety of effects. These include a powerful shockwave, intense heat, and potentially harmful radiation, depending on the type of bomb. The explosion also generates debris that can be hurled at high speeds, causing further damage and injuries.

This is just what happens when a star explodes, except on a much smaller scale ... and I'm sure enough people have seen the aftermath of a exploding bomb. (Remember the Boston Bombing, the London Bombing, and others?) Also, enough people have seen (or even felt the effects of) an exploding bomb, particularly if they work or worked in the military.

For a non-military metaphor, imagine what'd happen if a gas oven exploded. Here's google again: Can a gas oven explode? I agree it's less common than it used to, but it could still happen: gas leak coupled with the spark of a match, or faulty ignition that leads to the build-up of gas.

 

[Louanne Learning]

I apologise, but that would turn me off.

Lol, I was trying to be funny. I guess toilet humour is not my forte.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I dunno. It grosses me out, but I'm still gonna have the giggles ten minutes from now. Gives a whole new meaning to something being blown to shit.

I've ceased whining. Communications person is going to do all the tour planning and the publisher is going to pay for it. Found out the first run of the book was 17,000 copies and as of a few weeks ago, 16,000 of them had sold. I had no idea, so that was a pleasant surprise.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Congratulations, Catriona! That is a sizable sale, indeed. Well done to you!