Smoking among AA members

mr_clean · Member

Smoking among AA members

TLH · MIP Old Timer

I'm in Hawaii and there's no smoking at most of our local AA meetings. One is held at the beach and you can smoke there, but most people are pretty polite about smoking here and step off a ways and downwind so the non smokers don't get smoked.

I notice when I make trips to the Bay area/San Francisco proper that it seems like everyone smokes- but I've never been to a meeting there. I guess I just notice because so few people smoke here. I think I know three people who smoke cigarettes.

mr_clean · Member

I should add that everyone smoked outside.

Quetzal · MIP Old Timer

Hi A,

Yes, when I first started with AA I noticed that so many people smoked compared with the general population. I'm one of them! For the first year, my GP and most folk in AA told me not even to think about quitting as I could have jeopardized my sobriety.

Here in UK, there is no smoking allowed at any of the meetings so we all have a little 'mini-meeting' before and after as we puff away.

I am planning on quitting in the not too distant future and I'll do that one day at a time as I have with alcohol.

Take care,

Carol

sprygrl · Member

Hi A,

There are a lot of smokers here, I'm one of them. When I first quit drinking and smoking pot the members of my group all told me "one habit at a time". They pointed out to me that I already gave up two of my three addictions and that I would quit cigarettes when I was ready. Just like I did with the other two addictions. I'm still not ready.

As for the meetings themselves, there is no smoking at any of them except in designated areas. I am glad for that because I went to a couple of meetings where smoking was allowed and, within 2 minutes, my eyes were BURNING from all the people smoking!! Plus, I smelled of Ode de tobacco when I left. Yucky!!

Spry

Doll · MIP Old Timer

My HG only has TWO meetings a week that are non-smoking. .......We have low attendance those 2 meetings! The other 5 days smoking is permitted IN the meeting.... We do have non and smoking 'sections'.

It's none of my business either way....I'm there to stay sober.

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Hi Mr. Clean.

When I first started going to AA meetings in the mid 80's in Virginia they had a smoke break in the middle of the meetings where people would go outside for 5 minutes and most of the meetings were smoking meetings where they smoke in the meeting. I quit smoking at the same time I quit drinking and it was difficult to find non smoking meeings back then. Now almost all of the meetings are non smoking and no smoke breaks.

As for the number of AAs that still smoke I don't know maybe half? I think that if you get to meetings with more "old timers" in them you'll find that not as many smoke. Did you get a meeting schedule for your area? I'm not sure about the UK but in the US the meetings held at churches are the older more established meetings with more sobriety. Make sure you get around to as many different meetings as possible and note the ones that you like or feel most comfortable in.

Eventually you'll feel as cozy in your meetings as you did in your favorite pub lol.

-- Edited by StPeteDean at 07:53, 2007-12-19

Bryan39 · Senior Member

I quit drinking a few months before I quit drinking. I had tried several times only quitting one or the other I quit smoking and drink more or vice versa. Drinking and smoking were very much emotinal crutches for me and to get well I had to give up both. I will say I rarely go to the local alano club because of smoking not only were3 my eyes burning and i nose plugged i was close to starting again I equated it with going to a bar and watching people smoke.

Thats my two sense

Bryan

Zarathustra · Veteran Member

I become totally addicted to coffee and cigarettes when ig o dry. I don't understand it, and it sucks...I don't even like smoking. In fact, i f***king hate it, and like, I usually smoke 1/2 of one before i get sick of it and tossit. Yet, im still up to like 1/2 a pack a day in the 20 someodd days ive been dry. Sobriety sucks...

I know though that im not a smoker by nature, (Im basically a nonsmoker until i get stressed out in periods of crisis like crazy s*** at work, or final exams/bar exam, etc.) and its somethin i really honestly can quit whenever im ready to, soooo...i dno.

Alkies are addictive personalities usually, so the trading one bad habit for another seems pretty standard.

PS, something about using the 12 steps to quit smoking just dont sound right... people smoke for different reasons than they drink, imho...

TenderheartsKS · Senior Member

Just my opinion. I think at 2 days sober that worrying about other folks' smoking, especially since they did it outside, should be the least of your worries.

Yes I smoke and yes, I am seriously considering quitting. I will have to find non-smoking meetings in order to do that because all our meetings locally allow smoking in the meetings.

I went to great lengths to drink, so finding a non-smoking meeting is no biggie for me.

nique · Senior Member

Wierd, in over 15 years now I have not seen ONE smoking meeting. Guess some of you are in the dark ages.
As for smoking. Let me tell you, I have emphazema and I smoke 4 packs a day. It is killing me! But even my pulmonary doctor says now is not the time to quit. Yes the smoking IS going to kill me and soon, but the alcohol will kill me sooner. He said of course to cut down which I am finding almost impossible to do. He and my sponsor say I should quit by using the 12 steps when I am sober a year.
Allison

jonijoni · MIP Old Timer

a lot of folks I know have, at some point in their recovery, quit or tried to quit smoking (myself included... tried, that is... and trying again soon).

I think that a lot of AA's put quitting smoking on hold, until they get their sober feet under them for awhile. Nicotine addiction is very powerful, and the withdrawal is hellacious. While it definitely is a "killer", it did not cause us to black out, wreck the car, land in jail, go off on our loved ones or get into fist fights with strangers.

They say, "Easy Does It", when we first get sober. Quitting drinking is a humongous change, and there is time for other things later on.

Most I know who smoke, don't WANT to, but have not yet gotten around to quitting. That is what patches and Ziban and Chantix and all that are for. We just keep it simple in AA.

I am going to quit again on the 26th, by the way, on my way to Florida!! Yippeeee!!!

joni

Phil · MIP Old Timer

jonijoni · MIP Old Timer

mr_clean · Member

Do you smoke Phil?

mr_clean · Member

I wonder if one reason so many AAs have trouble quitting drinking is related to the trouble they have stopping smoking?

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

mr_clean wrote:

I wonder if one reason so many AAs have trouble quitting drinking is related to the trouble they have stopping smoking?

for me it was the other way around. I'd quit smoking for awhile, get drunk, blackout, and wake up the next morning and my lungs would be all nasty. It deffinately made my hangovers worse. I so take for granted that I don't smoke anymore. It was such a problem, like when you get a cold and chest congestion and smoke on top of it. hmm

mr_clean · Member

Didn't smoking kill both Bill W and Dr Bob?

TLH · MIP Old Timer

Y'know, I have had a couple books about Bill W in my queue for about a century and a half. I think I should read one of them pretty soon, because I had no idea:

Wilson's life was continuously slowed by smoking which brought on emphysema and later pneumonia. He continued to smoke while dependent on an oxygen tank in the late 1960s.^[11] Though he had nothing to drink for the last 35 years he had always craved the stuff and on his death bed demanded whisky, which his attendants refused him. ^[12] During the last days of his life, Wilson was visited by colleagues and friends who wanted to say goodbye. Wilson died of emphysema and pneumonia on 24 January 1971 en route to treatment in Miami, Florida.

Zarathustra · Veteran Member

Damn..am i the only one that thinks its just plain wrong that they denied him whiskey on his deathbed?? Or is that just the alkie talkin?? Or both?

-- Edited by Zarathustra at 05:34, 2007-12-20

Phil · MIP Old Timer

Yupper...Mr Clean.....I smoke..:)

Tried quitting a few times, but came down with PMS symptoms...and someone shoved a smoke back in my mouth., before I committed murder..:)

Its just like everything else eh....

One hasta wanna quit...

Im not ready...

To those that do quit? All the power to them.

barisax · Senior Member

It's not surprising that alcoholics have more than one addiction. Smoking certainly isn't a phenomenon among sober alcoholics - I mean, I don't know anyone who quit drinking and then STARTED smoking. But a lot of alcoholics, especially of my generation and older, were smokers even before they were drinkers.

Even though I have never been a cigarette smoker, I didn't mind the smoke at meetings. One meeting I attended ran all kinds of noisy ventilators to remove the smoke... they didn't work, and drowned out the speakers I was trying to hear. I heard many complaints over the years about "Oh I won't go to AA because of the smoke", etc. I've seen people quit smoking successfully, only to refuse to go anywhere near smoke/smokers.

I guess I'm fortunate that I was able to go to all the meetings and learn from smoker and non-smoker alike. With many states now banning public smoking indoors, it has become something of a non-issue for many meetings, clubhouses, etc.

I once went to a meeting in GA. They did all the preliminaries indoors, then split into a smoking (outdoor) and non-smoking indoor group for discussion, but - as long as the weather was nice, virtually everybody went outside with the smokers.

I've been in a few meetings where the smoke was really, really thick - I mean, burn-your-eyes thick. Including one time with my daughter (who is a smoker herself) and we were freezing next to an open window and still eyes were burning. It seemed more like somebody let loose a can of mace than cigarette smoke.

But, I digress - for the most part, one should be able to find plenty of non-smoking AA meetings almost anywhere, and increasingly, finding a smoking meeting is difficult if not impossible in some areas. If you want to fine an AA meeting anywhere in California, just drive around until you smell the smoke - the smokers will be gathered outside puffing away, and there's not much doubt when you see 20 diverse people standing outside smoking, you've found an AA meeting.

I think a lot of people (often spouses) think that getting sober means that in short order, we're going to give up every other addiction, habit, whatever that our spouses think is "bad". I think that's the great mystery of sobriety - when we get sober, we do change, but it's usually not in the way we - or those around us - are expecting or wanting. But, if we're honest with ourselves and put one foot in front of the other, trust the process and leave the outcome up to God, we'll usually find our way to wherever it is we're going.

Barisax

Tanin · MIP Old Timer

mr_clean wrote:
I wonder if one reason so many AAs have trouble quitting drinking is related to the trouble they have stopping smoking?

This is an interesting question. I think the answer is probably yes. For many alcoholics, there is a strong association between drinking and cigarettes. They go together. One fuels the other.

Of course if the answer is yes, then it would be unwise for AA meetings to facilitate and accept smoking as part of the process. Luckily, few do nowadays.

Bill Wilson smoked himself to death but we do not have to follow suit.

MarcLacroix · Senior Member

Other than caffeine and nicotine I do not drink or do drugs. :)
And I would have given Bill some Jack Daniels Black...

Marc

Pythonpappy · MIP Old Timer

Okay, for what it's worth, I feel yes, definitely smoke'n and drink'n go together ... for me, I drank to get a buzz, I smoked for the very same reason ... every time I smoked, I got a little buzz (lack of oxygen) ... it helped me to relax a bit, or to 'calm' down if'n I was anxious ... at times, depend'n on where I was, or the situation, I could smoke without draw'n a suspicious eye, no one cared if I smoked in public(way back when), but If'n I was drink'n, people would watch me closely ... either that or I was just very paranoid, LOL ...

And another thing, ... if, when I started go'n to AA meet'ns, they didn't allow smoke'n either in the meet'n or outside of it, I'd probably never have continued to stick with the AA program ... (which saved my life) ... Early on, I was told that I had to stop drink'n or die, soon ... and that once I worked the program and got my drink'n problem took care of, then I could work on the smoke'n problem ...

Note: I stopped smoke'n cigarettes a few months ago ... however, I did start smoke'n my old pipe a few times a day (my Doctor told me 'at least that ain't as bad as cigarettes') ... and this weekend, I bought one of those 'vapor' thingys ... this is where you can get different strengths of nicotine and slowly taper off to where you're smoke'n with zero nicotine ... (Chantix simply made me sick) ... wish me luck ... I actually think this is go'n ta work ..

Pappy

MarcLacroix · Senior Member

Pythonpappy wrote:
(Chantix simply made me sick)

I am not a Doctor and I am not surprised.

Based on your posts regarding health issues a competent MD would not have prescribed

Chantix for you. Here is my opinion.

Remission from cancer requires meds.

Carotid Artery surgery requires meds.

Open Heart surgery requires meds.

So meds, meds and meds. Adding Chantix to the mix is an exercise in stupidity.

Either that or all your surgery talk is BS to gain sympathy.

Of course I could be wrong.

Marc

Pythonpappy · MIP Old Timer

I tend to agree with you Marc, ... I ended up take'n so many meds, I actually felt they were make'n me sicker ... the 'extreme fatigue' was not only get'n unbearable, but get'n me very depressed ... I've cut back on some of the meds and am start'n to feel much better, however, their are some meds(statins) that my body doesn't care for that I must start back on or suffer another arterial blockage sooner rather than later ... it's seems to be a '2-edged' sword ... damned if I do and damned if I don't ... (they know I'm allergic to statins, ... they cause extreme leg muscle weakness, but provastatin is supposed to be the 'mild' statin) ...

'All the surgery talk???' ... I was asked how I was do'n ... and gave as honest of an account on my situation as I possibly could ... I'm certainly not look'n for sympathy( little 'compassion' from the wife maybe), but not anything from anyone else, except prayers ... and I AM do'n better but have a ways to go ... Did I make up the surgeries?, you decide:

chris · Senior Member

Marc, really? Pappy is lying about open heart surgery to gain sympathy? And Chantix is not for everyone. You and your doctor can make that decision. I was on it for six months with no bad side effects and was able to kick a 28 year smoking habit. Going on 6 years smoke free. I wish you would think about things before you post them, have a little tact.

That's quite a zipper ya got there Pappy, best wishes to you!

MollyMunch · Member

When I first got sober in 1995 (relapsed after 13years but been sober again for 6years by the grace of God & AA) you could smoke in all the meetings (UK). Even though I'm a smoker myself, I felt bad for the non-smokers having to sit in a blue haze of second-hand smoke. Looking back it was pretty selfish behaviour on the part of us smokers. I'm glad we've got to go outside now if we want a smoke. When I joined AA I'd said I was willing to go to any lengths to stay sober one day at a time. It's not very good on my part if I can't do without a ciggie for an hour or an hour or an hour and a half during a meeting where I might hear exactly what I need to help me stay sober that day or to help me live life on life's terms for another day. I also feel rude getting up to go out when someone is sharing. As I say, I don't do that now - I may miss something I was meant to hear at that meeting just for the sake of a few drags !

Welcome Mr Clean ! Don't worry or concern yourself with others habits - concentrate on getting identification in the rooms. Read the literature you've got even if you don't understand it, get to plenty of different types of meeting, get there early & ask what you can do to help set the meeting room up (vice versa at the end) - "washing-up therapy" is great for learning & it's never too early to get into service ! Ask the men who have what you want (ie the kind of sobriety you would like) for phone numbers. Have a good look around the meeting rooms for a sponsor, someone you feel comfortable with & whom you feel you can trust, to take you through the 12 Steps & to explain the 12 Traditions.

Step 1 is admitting (& accepting in your heart & soul) that you are powerless over alcohol & that your life is unmanageable - so we need to find a Power greater than ourselves who can remove our compulsion to drink, one day at a time. It's your own conception, very personal to you & whatever you want to call it. We're also powerless over other people (& their "bad" habits !) It's sweet of you to be concerned about us smokers Mr Clean but put all your efforts into your recovery & before long you will discover the joy of carrying the AA message to the still suffering alcoholic - our "insurance" against taking the first drink (we've got to give it away to keep it)

Keep close to the Fellowship & before long "you will know a new freedom & a new happiness". Keep coming back !

Pythonpappy · MIP Old Timer

Great post there Molly, ... I enjoyed reading this ... and some very good advice to boot ...

Love ya and God Bless,
Pappy

MarcLacroix · Senior Member

I looked at the image and noticed the skin color is different from the one in the avatar.
Is this Pappy or is this a headless 'John Doe' torso from the city morgue?

Marc

Pythonpappy · MIP Old Timer

The one in the avatar is a frick'n Tee-shirt Ding-a-ling ... LOL ... Plus, I'm minus the beard for the Summer 'heat' ... just started re-growing the beard for the Winter ... fyi ...

leavetherest · MIP Old Timer

I need to quit smoking and applaud you Pappy. Not only for being able to give up cigs, for having so much strength and courage to share about it.