"There's more to health than food, and there's more to life than health." Or something like that.

Most excellent thread here.

I keep drinking booze in ever ebbing and flowing amounts, while otherwise paleo. I'm utterly positive I'm healthier drinking booze on paleo than I was drinking booze on SAD.

I used to worry that my dependance on Prilosec was on account of my wine and whiskey habits, but nope, a clean diet cleared up those gut issues, I quit the PPIs, and booze seems to cause no troubles at all.

As a result, I feel pretty unmotivated to give up booze. I like it. It tastes good. It feels good. It's often times artful in its creation, preparation, and presentation--a true feast for all senses. Sometimes it's cheap and dirty and that feels good too.

Now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps I'll have a nip of cheap and dirty bourbon from my flask on my noisy Chicago El ride home. A little bourbon can quiet those vexing cell phone talkers, letting the hypnotic wheels on steel squeal through.

Can I just say, I think its wonderful how open-minded and non-judgemental everyone's comments have been here. When I clicked on the link to look at this topic, I hesitated as I thought it would be filled with harsh criticism against smokers. (I guess this is also because I live in Australia, and Australians are VERY judgemental of smokers and the government is cracking down more and more every year against us, so I forget that people the world over are more open minded) I've been a smoker for 7 years. I've been vegetarian since I was 12 (for moral reasons only) then became vegan about 3 years ago (again, only for moral reasons). I became 'raw vegan' about 1 year ago and don't plan on quitting smoking. I don't want to. Its not because I think I cant, I know I can. I've done it before. (Didn't feel any better in the year that I wasn't smoking). I'm not a raw vegan for the health benefits, but for how I feel. It started by way of a detox and I became 'hooked' on the energy I had, the clear mind I had, the way I had more control over my emotions and also, it cleared up my adult acne. Now you may ask "doesnt smoking make you feel bad?"- well it doesn't. People have said its because I'm young (I'm 24) and that as I get older I'll start to feel the effects. When that happens, I'll consider quitting. But while I thoroughly enjoy it and it doesn't make me feel physically 'bad' I wont quit. Not to mention, I exercise for 1-2 hours 7 days / week and practise a raw-vegan approach to my diet, so I believe that 4-5 (additive free hand rolled tobacco does not have over 2000 chemicals as manufactured cigarettes do) cigarettes a day isn't too bad. Sure, not great, but not too bad either.

I'm a vegan and a heavy smoker, it's simply because I'm addicted and have trouble stopping. Though I'm never giving up on trying to quit. I don't believe it compensates at all, I'll still likely get cancer if I keep smoking no matter what my diet is like however I still feel there are lots of benefits from a vegan diet that are not negated by smoking & I have moral reasons for being a vegan as well. Just cause I have one unhealthy habit doesn't mean I should and do other unhealthy things as well.

I was never a heavy smoker, but smoked about three packs a week from ages 17-22, maybe 23. I would sometimes chain-smoke while drinking (which was pretty much every weekend). 4 years ago or so I got Bell's Palsy, and it's really hard to smoke when half of your face is paralyzed! I guess at that point I was ready to let it go; I quit completely for about a month, and since then I've been able to have a smoke or two with drinks, and that's it (and I rarely do that any more). I guess I'm lucky that I can have an occasional cigarette and leave it at that; a lot of people who used to smoke regularly can't, and end up getting addicted all over again. Sometimes I feel a little ashamed about smoking at all because I'm "such a health-conscious person," but I'm probably being a bit hard on myself. For a lot of people, it's a tough addiction to kick, and raw vegan smokers probably are a lot better off than SAD smokers!

Big upps for the I like smoking, smoking in general, despite being a raw vegan (jk). Part of me wants to quit for health reason, part of me really wants to continue smoking for the enjoyment and stress reduction. I smoke primarily in conjunction with cannabis, and rarely the two shall part. It's a heck of a lot better than when I was eating SAD, though when I eat SAD it can get pretty ridiculous in quantity. Personally I feel like sugar is way more addicting than most illicit drugs, but I haven't taken a ride on the H-train.

I'm a raw food vegan who has been smoking for just under a year. I smoke because I like smoking: the feeling of smoke entering my lungs and exiting my mouth and nose. If I could smoke weed in public, I'd do it. However, that's not possible, so I smoke cigarettes during my time away from home. Not everybody smokes for the nicotine.

It's not a thought process, it's an addiction. No rules apply.

A raw vegan might actually be less susceptible to some of the negative effects of smoking due to their high antioxidant intake, which would mitigate the oxidative stress brought on by the smoking. This could possibly reduce the likelihood of lipoproteins becoming oxidized and converting into macrophage foam cells. The high polyphenol load might have a positive anti-carcinogenic effect via hormesis as well. Not an experiment that I would willingly participate in however.

No one is born addicted to cigarettes, but whether one is predisposed to becoming addicted to smoking depends on a confluence of physiological and environmental factors. This is why the "stickiness" of smoking varies from person to person.

Heavy smokers typically have a someone in their life who, indirectly or directly, introduced them to smoking. This may be a "cool" friend or older sibling. It could also be a respected/loved parent or grandparent who simply smoked in the presence of the child.

Heavy smokers also have a strong pleasure/reward response to nicotine. Like anything else, this response varies from person to person and as a result, some are repulsed, some are ambivalent, and some become chain smokers.

The bottom line is that the decision to start smoking and whether or not one continues is not rational.

Smoking was not particularly "sticky" for me personally (smoked on and off for a few years in high school and college), but when I decided to quit I had no problems.

However, this does not give me the right to assume that everyone's experience is the same as mine.

If someone wants to do right by their health in one area, and is dealing with an addiction in another area, they are at least trying to do right by their health in one area.

Such hypocrisy! Lighting up counts as cooking...A real raw vegan would consume tobacco raw.

What does the "chain" part mean? Is it any different from regular smoking?

I was a smoker for 20 years before I went Paleo. I have quit, but am now addicted to nicotine lozenges. I can't seem to give them up, no matter how well I eat. I tell myself it's better for me than smoking (which it is) and they help with the stress of having 2-year old twins (which they do) but they still contain toxic aspartame. I refuse to put chemicals in my body in the way of food, but will happily pop 4 or 5 of these lozenges every day.

I smoke occasionally, I usually have one or two cigarettes a day, but none on the weekend. I'm super weird that way. Most smokers I know wish they could get away with smoking as little as I do. I am not addicted, at all. It doesn't bother me not to smoke. It's a weird social habit at work that gets me away from my desk.

I know it's not good for me. I just kind of think everyone has to have a vice of some sort. I don't know. It wouldn't bother me to give it up, but I do enjoy it.

It's called licensing. You feel that since you did something that was so good, you can reward yourself with something that is just a little bad.

People have a tendency to overestimate the good they've done and minimize the bad.

Here's an article on psychology today:

http://tinyurl.com/3e5px5m

Well let's look at this from another side for a minute - what if I were talking to you about the health benefits of Paleo while being a chain smoker? Yes, chain smoking is not good, but does that mean what I am telling you about Paleo is a lie?

The logic is, you realize the health consequences, but you haven't yet come to terms with your quit. For some, quitting can take months or years. Or even multiple attempts. You could have caught him in between quits. Or he could just be petrified of quitting because it isn't just like giving up bread, it's an entire lifestyle change. What do people do when they have a glass of wine? Or coffee? Or need a break from work? Or, by god, after sex?! It's scary. And then the health side effects. There was a while there where I felt so horrible I swore I was healthier before I quit.

I quit 6 months ago. It is my second long term quit. I am only now, six months in, starting to feel human again. My quit was easy. The physical side effects over the course of months were downright debilitating. But I was still paleo the whole time - before my quit and after. It doesn't change whether Paleo is good or bad because I was putting off going through the quit.

So you were right not to say anything. Maybe it's ironic to you, but chances are, it's a war in his head. And he probably likes someone poking at his personal struggles the same amount that you would like someone poking at yours.

suicide...........

I started smoking coincidentally around the same time I started eating Paleo, not sure why. The irony is obvious enough for those around me. Not trying to defend smoking here, but I´m healthier than ever because of eating the right foods and exercise. I´m going to quit this month, but I don´t think there is any logic involved in such an unhealthy habit.

There's not much of a thought process with addiction. This I know for sure.

While not ideal I think it's better to be a chains smoker who's at least paying attention to what they put into their mouth rather than not. Nothing makes up for being an addict of any kind but trying to eat something beyond Doritos and twinkies is a move in the right direction.

I try to take people where I find them and always assume they are more than the worst thing they do or have done be it to others or their own bodies. Everyone's out there just trying to do the best they can or at least I like to operate out of that assumption.