Sl and the nicotine stained fingers

....I have managed to quit. I admit, I was grinding filterless after filterless butts out in the tray next to me while I was whiling away the hours on SL. I still sometimes feel the worst urges to smoke when sitting in front of the machine on SL. But still I managed, and after 3 months, that urge is gone. All you have to do is distract yourself for like 2 minutes, and you'll forget you want to light up. Immediately though, throw away all smoking materials and paraphernalia. Ash trays, cartons/packs, lighters - all of it. Toss it OUT - then take the trash out to the can/dumpster and forget about it all. Then find neat ways of tricking your mind into thinking there is no addiction when it presses your urgency buttons. The first three days are going ot be your WORST - once over that hump, it's a downhill race.

Knock on wood, I quit before I had my surgery thinking that a healthier body will lead to a faster recovery. I also ditch the truck for anything than grocery fetching. Living 2 blocks from my office means I back-pack hike with a day pack made to carry a notebook PC back and forth for the morning rush, home and back again for a home made lunch, and then back again at night. One gets plenty of shuffle exercise done too when the terrain is all hill and valley like with some of those hill climbs more than 30 feet in difference.

As for radiation? Well, if you have LCDs, no worries. Modern CRTs do not give up much unless they are *cheap*. A good CRT will have at least 2" of lead crystal faceplate and the convergence/sweep electronics and coils shielded in a metal cage with perforation to allow ventilation. And agreed....pre-90's CRTs, especially Television sets would push upwards of 24keV and when those electrons struck the phosphor, would kick off not just light we can see but a dose of X-radiation that would kill just about all flying insects in the room after an hour of operation.

Cellphones though close to microwave, are not quite there. Needn't worry about them so much, but that high power wireless-G router/home gateway scares me more. That's dead in the middle of microwave frequencies that directly affect water, and therefore human tissues. 200mw units with anything more than a 3dBi forward gain directional antenna can push effective radiated power into a level that can cause headaches - then blindness over time. Headaches are your first sign that you are getting *nuked*.

Play on happy people! And good luck with trying to quit luv - some of us have been there and that is a terrible beast to wrestle down.

I recently read a paper describing how the authors sbmitted a cell culture to low-level low-frequency (radiowave) radiation. They found that the radiation activated an enzyme that plays a major role in cell division. Although that doesn't directly suggest that radio waves are harmful to living tissue, it does suggest they have an effect on biological systems.

I think the main thing is to maintain a sense of perspective; we are constantly swamped in radiation, both artificial and natural. I do share your concern with the wireless router Bodie, and I recently reverted back to a wired network.

DVT, unfortunately, doesn't require mass amounts of time to develop. It's a danger on moderate to longer plane trips, because people get packed into the planes like sardines and then sit there without moving for the duration of the flight. I wonder if the cabin pressurization might have an effect, but that's obviously not an issue for those of us who spend a lot of time at the computer, unless you go from sea level to 8000 feet every time you log on.

The real issue that you face as a computer user isn't danger from the computer itself, it's all of the serious health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Lack of activity results in weight gain, which leads to all sorts of cardiac issues, diabetes, High blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Not to mention, it's no fun to be overweight. Add the dangers of smoking, which I don't even need to mention here, and you will be dead long before the radiation from the screen or the ozone kills you.

Quitting smoking is incredibly difficult, but you have to do it. Your life is worth more than the cigarettes. I wish I had some advice on how to do it. Maybe talk to your doctor. He or she can get you on the patch or the gum or something like that and you can wean yourself off the nicotine. Then think of your friends and family every time you want to light up. Go for a short walk to keep your blood moving and carry on.

I'm an "indulgent smoker", about a half pack a day. But not at the computer! I have more concern for its health than I do for my own...because circuitry is not self-repairing.

Sensitive electronics and smoke are not a good combination. Take that cigarette break outside.

ps -- I've "quit" twice. Using both the patch and bupropion does wonders to reduce the cravings. My relapses were due more to the fact that I missed the social aspects of smoking than to problems with the physical addiction.

I couldn't get through this thread without a craving. Seven Days, 7 Hours and 14 Minutes, without a cigarette. Already saved about $70.00

I've been on hiatus from SL and my online life, mainly to make some serious personal lifestyle changes. It started with my PC dying, most likely due to all my smoking. But that helped me get on with a better diet and exercise, due to tipping the scales past my max weight. One thing lead to another, finally had to acknowledge my lungs were in far worse shape than the rest of my body.

Found a whole lot of amazing help at http://whyquit.com/. And, I'd be interested in some kind of support within SL, might help me ease back in.

Best of luck to you, Amy!

Lollipops worked for me. Get the no-sugar ones and then you can have your hand to mouth oral fixation (yeah I said it) with no guilt.

I've also started riding my bicycle to work; Arizona is blessed with 320 days of sunshine every year, and it's a 40 minute ride each way.

For all of you trying to quit or cut down, best of luck. I know how hard it is seeing various family members have different levels of success, and seeing what it did to those who didn't quit. All that makes me immensely grateful I never started.

I wish I could ride my bike to work year round - Western Washington is NOT blessed with 320 days of sunshine, and I'm guessing the health benefits would be offset by bike crashes in the snow and ice and pneumonia from riding in the freezing rain.

Here in Jersey you can't ride your bike to work if you work around the corner. Damn Jersey drivers.

Thanks for the tips! I'll hop on my stationary bicycle when i get back from the store.