Are we more or less likely to smoke tobacco?

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Are people on the spectrum more or less likely to smoke tobacco?
I am a smoker 22%  22%  [ 20 ]
I have never smoked 64%  64%  [ 58 ]
I was a smoker but quit 13%  13%  [ 12 ]
Total votes : 90

Rascal77s
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27 Sep 2012, 3:11 pm

As per the title please select on of the options. I would love to hear of your experiences.



Ecksenntrik
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27 Sep 2012, 3:14 pm

Where's the option for, I tried one cigarette, threw up, called the offending person a word I can't use on this forum, and then never smoked again? :)

Anyway, I think we're no more or less likely than anyone else. It's down to the person.



equestriatola
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27 Sep 2012, 3:14 pm

No. I would NEVER touch the stuff with a forklift. My dad smoked, and I got him to successfully quit. I am NEVER smoking, EVER.


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27 Sep 2012, 3:35 pm

I tried it a few times when I was about 12, but I didn't get hooked at all.

I think saying are ''we'' less or more likely to smoke sounds a little too generalized, even if the results ended up more of us smoked than didn't that still doesn't mean there will be a justified answer ''yes, Aspies are more likely to smoke than NTs.''

Like Ecksenntrik said, smoking is one of those things that is down to the person, it's not about what neurology you've got.


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lostonearth35
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27 Sep 2012, 3:42 pm

I have never smoked unless you count all the times it was second hand from all the lovely people who were not aware back then they were poisoning ME and not just themselves. I don't know if secondhand smoke alone caused my ears to go "bad" as a child, but I'm sure it didn't help all the ear and mastoid infections I've had all my life. My dad started smoking since he was nine so I have some resent towards him because he used to smoke around me too. And my mother who now has asthma. He has recently quit, however. But mainly because he's taking something that manages his nicotine so he doesn't go into withdrawl. What bothers me is that recently Hollywood TV, movies and even some video games make a guy who shows his lack of regard for his personal health look all tough and "badass", while girls are smoking mainly because they think it will help them stay thin. The tobacco companies are no better than the people who push hard drugs on the street and are pure evil. :x



outofplace
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27 Sep 2012, 3:48 pm

Smoking is illogical. Why would I want to start a bad habit that is more addictive than heroin that no one I have ever met who has started wants to continue? Worse still, almost none of the smokers I have ever known who want to stop have done so successfully. Add to that the fact that it significantly shortens your natural life expectancy and the fact that it makes you beholden to a conglomerate of drug pushers...err... tobacco companies and it makes no sense. It seems then that the most logical option is to never try it in the first place and that is the way I have always seen it.


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Last edited by outofplace on 27 Sep 2012, 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Woodpecker
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27 Sep 2012, 3:49 pm

Labpet has commented that people with autism tend to be less likely than the "average" person to be smokers. I have read that a link exists between psychosis and nicotine receptors in the brain. If I recall correctly a brain which is disposed towards psychosis has more nicotine receptors than an average brain while the brain of a person with autism tends to have even fewer nicotine receptors.

So if this idea is correct then a person with autism will get less of a nicotine effect from smoking than the average person would.


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Robdemanc
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27 Sep 2012, 3:52 pm

I have smoked on and off since 15. At the moment I am on.

To me it is an addictive substance and I am brainwashed by the idea that it is somehow cool. I also see it as an act of rebelion. I know it does me absolutely no good and yet every day I smoke. There have been periods in my life where I did not smoke and I felt healthier and less on edge. But something in my head blinds me to this and I just think I enjoy smoking and it adds something to my life.

However, I know I can stop if I want. Nicotine is easy to withdraw from. The difficulty is the sense that something will be lost. So I can convince myself that I will gain healthier lungs and my breathing will not deteriorate as I head into my middle age.

Nicotine, I would say, is the easiest drug to become addicted to, the effect of it is so mild that after just your first few days of smoking you will not feel anything from smoking one. It doesn't make you feel good, or bad, just nothing. Compared to other stimulants it is a poor choice, and yet it is the most popular. Bizarre!



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27 Sep 2012, 3:56 pm

I have never smoked because I've seen in my own family how addictive it is, with my mom managing to quit, but then started up again, and one of my aunts is probably going to die from a tobacco related disease if she doesn't die from alcoholism first. That aunt smokes so much, that when she mails gift packages every Christmas, they have to go in the garage to air out, and any clothing has to be washed right away to remove the ashtray smell. Non-clothing items go back into the garage for a few days to air out. My mom recently started smoking again, and she's in denial about it as she claims she only smokes "occasionally."

One thing I do know is that it has nothing to do with having AS since my NT brother is also someone who doesn't smoke.



1000Knives
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27 Sep 2012, 4:54 pm

I've tried cigarettes before, but I put "never smoked" down in the quiz, as I never like, habitually smoked. I've probably had a dozen or less cigarettes in my life. To be honest, I like the feel of smoking. It feels good. But, I never found it really worth the literal price of tobacco, or to my health, especially now with athletics. It did make you "cool" in certain circles in high school. Like one time I walked into a convenience store after school, kids were smoking, and they were like "here, want a puff?" I'm like "I guess?" and then I puffed it and they were like "ah man, I knew you were cool." Things are still like the anti-smoking commercials?

I do like cigarettes, though, I completely understand why people smoke, but it's not something I care about enough to indulge in. Haven't smoked any cigars, either. I think part of the reason I didn't smoke much was smoking is a social thing sorta, and I suck at socializing. So, yeah. Same reason I didn't get into drugs or drinking much either, you need a social circle to do those things.

One time, a guy I knew at another convenience store, when I told him about how I've tried smoking he's like "Nah man, don't even bother, it's such a waste, anytime you feel like you wanna smoke, just grab a Red Bull" which is solid advice. Stims me out nicely. Seriously, I can be stressed as hell, and then Red Bull to the rescue. It's great.

So no, don't smoke.



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27 Sep 2012, 5:05 pm

I have never tried a cigarette. I can't stand being around them.



Alfonso12345
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27 Sep 2012, 5:12 pm

If we were more likely to smoke something, it certainly wouldn't be tobacco. Marijuana would be much safer and less addictive, depending on who is selling it of course. I've never tried it before and I'm not sure if I ever will, but I know from research that it is much safer than tobacco.



mljt
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27 Sep 2012, 5:21 pm

I used to smoke a bit when I was about 15-16. I wouldn't say I was a smoker though. It was mainly because my friends did. I think I had the mindset of "I know it causes cancer, but I don't do it much and I won't carry it on." (Idiot!)

Now, the smell of smoke makes me gag. Some smells really overwhelm me and smoke is one of them. Moreso if it's stale smoke. If people come into work who have been smoking (it happens a lot), I have to hand over to my colleague until they're away from the desk. I was on my way to work the other day and there was an old couple who stank of stale smoke on the tube. I felt sick for hours afterwards.



ayla
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27 Sep 2012, 5:28 pm

I've never smoked, I'm also asthmatic so I wouldn't even try.



MandiLynn
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27 Sep 2012, 5:37 pm

I did try it a couple of times. But it was just too awful. Did not make much sense. Tastes terrible, smells bad, doesnt do anything good at all. And you will most likely die a terrible death. (sorry so blunt) I just dont get it.



MandiLynn
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27 Sep 2012, 5:38 pm

I did try it a couple of times. But it was just too awful. Did not make much sense. Tastes terrible, smells bad, doesnt do anything good at all. And you will most likely die a terrible death. (sorry so blunt) I just dont get it.