Is Anyone Here A Smoker

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i'll start from the bottom up because i sense that perhaps you kinda understand what i am trying to say. even tho we are not agreeing with each other.

as you have said, stimming is a "natural act/action" for those on the spectrum but, this does not mean external methods may not be introduced, and you mention the toys. up to this point we are in agreement, at least lol

my reading also leads me to understand that stimming may not be denied, and to do so causes harm to the individual. i.e, the individual has no choice, but to stim. this is where we part company, because smoking is a lifestyle choice. stimming is not a lifestyle choice, it is an outcome of having ASD.

i do not doubt that "just because something is harmful it may not be a stim"...i was contesting the choice to smoke that one makes before it ever can get the chance to become a stim. to me, the question that OP asked could as well have been, "is going to the gym considered a stim?"...both are lifestyle choices. both offer the appropriate chemical responses. both are medically proven to be negative, and/or positive, respectively.

therefore, to my mind, to compare the outcomes of a condition (stimming/ASD) with the addictive properties of a negative lifestyle choice (smoking)...well, if it's not ridiculous, then what is it? honesty IS important here, right?

with the former, one has no choice, with the latter, there is always choice. if one makes bad choices, irrespective of brain wiring, then the outcomes will also have to be dealt with imo.
that's not me taking a moral position but just plain common sense, no?

the OP asked; and then went on to ask ...

and it's the above line of questioning that caused me to pause...what is the meaning of this question here? perhaps unwisely but, i put the whole together and felt it was important to respond accordingly.
i mean, WHY would ASD cause someone to start smoking? bad choices causes one to start smoking, surely?

but you can accept that it doesn't cause cancer, emphysema, stroke etc etc, right? cos that's the point i was making.




personally, the tone that the thread has taken is not to my liking. i said what i needed to say...i'm done.

The question about ASD contributing to you starting smoking is not just stimming related , I'm talking about the bigger picture of having ASD , growing up in a time where smoking was socially acceptable , your parents smoked around you , and all the people you wanted to be friends with smoked. Yes I can agree with you that starting to smoke is a bad choice but was that bad choice based on faulty logic that ASD can create i.e. If I act like these people I want to be friends with , I've got a better chance of fitting in thus I'm gonna smoke , wear uncomfortable clothes , go to the pub , have sex with 'x' just coz everyone else is doing it - you get the picture.




Just in case you come back.

Of course I can accept that but you seemed to suggest that smoking could not be a stim as stimming didn't have a physiological impact which IMO does not seem logical , it must have otherwise it wouldn't feel good.

That's not faulty logic you're describing though, that's peer pressure and all teens suffer that. Isn't that something that people with ASD are *more* able to resist? Don't they tend to have a "stronger sense of logic", aren't they more prone to follow their own path? I'm not saying they don't succumb to peer pressure like everyone else, but if I had to make an argument about if they were more or less prone to it I would say less rather than more. For the relatively high-functioning anyway, maybe not the lower-functioning who may be more vulnerable.

I thought peer pressure involved encouragement or disapproval from your peers?

Thanks , the only strong opinions I have about smoking surface when my daughter or kids are involved.

Not necessarily, it includes a feeling of pressure to conform or fit in. It happens as children grow up and learn things like social acceptance and become influenced by friends. Both things that if anything someone with ASD is probably less likely to experience. Not sure if anyone has studied this or not.

I would of thought that someone with ASD would be more vulnerable to peer pressure due to wanting to fit in - who knows - everyone's different.

Wanting to fit in requires an understanding of social norms, social structure, group relationships and dynamics etc.

ok , so maybe the concept of 'fitting in' only comes with hindsight or good insight ( this forum is full of people who say different though) but I don't think you need to understand social structure etc to want to be the same as everyone else i.e fitting in.

Think of it like this....will a blind man covet your jacket? Want it for himself? No, because he can't see it, he doesn't appreciate the concept of things being visually appealing. So is someone who is socially blind going to covet strong bonds in peer group relationships? Probably not for the same reason the blind man doesn't really care about your jacket.

Edit: As I've said though, this is just a theory, I have no idea if anyone has actually done studies on this

I get where your coming from but I think what your talking about is an extreme case scenario , your not taking into account the spectrum that ranges from complete social blindness ( if such a thing exists ) to minor social impairment. And I'm gonna take a guess based purely on what I've read here , the majority of people with ASD are not completely socially blind.

I used to smoke, but switched to vaping.

I have became a little obsessed with it, collecting a lot of mods (49 so far), but I'm not hurting anyone and I enjoy it, plus feel better since switching.

Never smoked a single cigarette. Life is short enough as it is - I prefer not to shorten it with such an unnecessary harmful substance.

Does it not rot your teeth?

I gave up coke (the soda) for this very reason.

It sure can rot your teeth & gums even with good dental hygiene.