Autism and smoking/drinking.

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I have heard that people that are autistic have an even worse chance of becoming addicted to smoking/drinking and the like than NT people. I believe I am. I have been a smoker for the past 8 years, and have a smoke every 30-40 minutes. Even my friends say I smoke like a freight train. Far as drinking, I have drank a lot with friends over the years, causing many blackouts, like I always hear them say they know when their limit is, but I don't get that. If say there are 2-3 beers/shots left I feel compelled to drink them.

I haven't done much "partying" or drinking liquor for quite awhile now, but for the past 1 1/2 years I have gotten into a "routine" wherein I drink a six pack every night while watching youtube/netflix. I am also physically disabled and live in an apt with a roommate and am on SSI. Of course, I realize all of it is bad, and even for NT people can become addicted, but I know I get into this thinking of "I'll stop when x happens" or "I'll stop at y date". Obviously it doesn't happen. Any thoughts?

A couple of beers maybe, but a six-pack every night? Your poor liver.

And your poor lungs. You're not doing them any favours either.

Have you tried giving either up? I know it's hard though.

I tried drinking and smoking at a young age and quickly realised they weren't for me. Plus I take enough head meds now to know I wouldn't have any fun with drinking and smoking.

I've been a smoker for 12 years. I believe what makes cigarettes especially addictive is that it's a way to stim that's socially more acceptable, aside from the obvious chemical addiction.
I'm also an alcoholic. I was blackout drunk almost every night for about 2 years or so. I can't really say for certain, because that's how badly it ruins your concept of time when you drink all the time. I'm a heavy drinker. I can drink more than most men, always more than every woman I've met, and it often becomes a sideshow like attraction for people. I never had to buy my own drinks at bars. I rarely drink anything "softer" than hard liquor. Dependence on alcohol makes one's ability to successfully cope and function non-existent. It gets very ugly, very quickly, with very little.

I'm struggling to detach myself from both. It's been 5 years now that I've been trying to quit. I almost died from alcohol poisoning twice. I've smoked so much that I am literally gasping for breath in bed. No incident, no risk, no threat is going to make you quit. You have to just decide that you don't want to be a part of it anymore. It's the only thing that works, and even then it requires self discipline. But it's a lot easier than suffering the consequences of not quitting.

I wish you lots of luck.

I have never smoked a cigarette in my life and I don't drink alcohol. I think sometimes that because of this I was never really a teenager. Teens are supposed to think they are immortal, have an overwhelming curiosity, and a desperate need to fit in with their peers. I was bullied and teased a lot for openly being disgusted and against such things, but I don't regret a minute of it.

It certainly could be possible. I have people in my life who struggle with those kinds of addictions, but I've never made the distinction of whether or not they were on the spectrum. I'll have to ponder that one, but really I know very few people who I would consider to be NT. Maybe co-workers? But I'm really bad at reading people, I'm always surprised to find out that someone got fired because they failed a drug test with really hard stuff in their system.

I've watched my dad struggle with smoking my entire life (he drinks too, but he's never tried to quit). That was enough to keep me away from those things...tried a puff two or so times when I was drunk, and did not like it at all. My brother was a terrible smelling chainsmoker, now he's replaced it with vape (modded to be extra strong).

Drinking, I can take or leave, really. Honestly I drank more often before I turned 21...I couldn't tell you the last time I drank enough to actually be drunk, but it was probably because I had a glass of wine on an empty stomach.

I am a chain smoker, and I like it a lot. I used to drink heavy, a bottle of bourbon over the weekend but never in the week. Also into lots of strong mixtures like absinthe and brandy. Alcohol for me was a fantastic drug for 30 minutes, and a great escape from anxiety, but there is a price to be paid for that with interest. Not being moral at all about it, it's just the way it is.

What stopped the drinking was me injuring myself from falling over, which was happening more and more often.

Have had only two bottles of champagne over the last three years and feel much better for stopping the regular hard liqour, though get problems with boredom.

Oh, I'm 60 now, and remember that hangovers started to get more and more evil at about 40 years of age.

The good news to being ret*d is that I am so ret*d that I don't know how to actually smoke. I just put the thing in my mouth and don't know how to breath it in to smoke. I have no idea how to smoke.

I do drink a little, but that is just it. I think it has been a couple of weeks since my last drink.

my body can't tolerate inhaled smoke nor imbibed alky, I cough my head off and upchuck. my late father smoked like a chimney and was an alcoholic and I seem to be the opposite of that.

I sometimes drink beer and wine when I'm having dinner with friends, and I've tried smoking marijuana a few times. To be honest none of those things really appeal to me very much.

Tried cigarettes for a bit when drinking out when friends. When that stopped being a thing, stopped smoking. Liked doing it when drinking, but terribly unhealthy and if I smoked too much (which would always happen) I could feel it the next day.

Still drink alcohol, but just at home really. Also don't do it too much due to the effects the next day. Try to drink enough water, take a multivitamin and all that, but sometimes I'll still feel it - stomach ache, additional tiredness, weak muscle feeling, etc.

My main go-to is pot, it's the only thing that helps with the depression. Been on a slew of mood balancers (anti-psychotics) and anti-depression medications, none of them worked. Not living in a legal state I never know when I won't be able to get any more of my medicine and that stresses me out a lot, but it's still worth it for me.

^^^hiya TW7 welcome to the club

I have used both alcohol and nicotine to excess in the past. Smoking, for me, was a combination of stimming and masking - NT smokers accept fidgety smoking habits, and tracing the edge of the filter with my thumbnail between drags drew no notice and kept my hands busy. As one of the smokers, I was part of the group, and included in any smoke breaks, so it disguised my tendency to keep to myself. Same for alcohol - you're part of the crowd. Further, drunk people do silly/clumsy things regardless, so social ineptitude among the intoxicated is far more likely to be given a pass.

Given the predilection for repetitive behaviors it wouldn't surprise me at all to learn we're at greater risk for addiction. Further, the classic model of group therapy or 12-step programs recommended as treatment seems tailor-made to fail for autistics - I'm not going to force myself to speak to groups of strangers regarding an addiction, and any kind of residential detox program would pretty much be torture.

I quit drinking to excess in 1992 when I realized I was expecting the first Chessling. I quit smoking in 1999 when my then-seven year old Chessling said, "Mommy, please don't do that any more, I don't want you to die. I need you." I've indulged in cannabis from time to time as I find it quite helpful for anxiety (and fun). Fortunately I do live in a state where it's legal and readily available. I don't smoke anything at all these days - a lupus diagnosis made me fairly protective of my lungs, but some of those edibles are darn tasty.

^^^those medibles are EXPEN$$$IVE!!

Got a place out here that offers, of all things, a military discount and a membership/points program.

for the first time since I was 12, I tried a medible, it cost me $4 for a chocolate morsel [just ONE! ] the size of a small stone. it had a mild effect on my arthritis pain. I think I needed 10 of 'em to get a really therapeutic dose but if I had done that i'd have been laid out flat.