To Smoke or Not To Smoke?

It seems ridiculous to want an addiction to take the place of an addiction, but that's the predicament I'm in. Or rather, the one I've put myself in. I'm sure there are people out there who are strong enough to beat this thing without trading one for another, but as I find myself mowing down on a box of donuts without reason, I find that I'm probably not one of them. I also notice that there are smoke breaks at twelve-step meetings for a reason. I wonder why alcohol is considered a drug (under NA meeting standards) when nicotine, which just as addictive, is not. Still, I am toying with the idea of picking up the habit.

Before you pick up the phone to call me and/or send me literature in the mail about all the awful things that can happen to people who smoke, let me remind you that I used to, in fact, be a health teacher, and I do happen to know better. I'll also remind you that that didn't stop me from swallowing truckloads of Vicodin, so feel free to tell me whatever will assauge your own conscience.

Still, not smelling like an ashtray is more appealing to me than the potential drug-craving-curbing benefits. Fortunately, with advances in today's medicine, there are ways to get the "benefits" of smoking without the smoky aftertaste. Nicotine gum and lozenges are available for an exhorbanant fee. Still, the majority of NAers that I've spoken to that have gone this route have been happy with their choice. A few have cautioned me about the extreme addictive quality of nicotine... maybe the consensus is that nicotine is the lesser of two evils? Step One identifies this as a cross addiction. I guess the reason it's not as bad as the other substances (for most people) is that a "bad" addiction has to interfere with your daily living to be a problem, you have to be in danger of neglecting your children, etc. I know people that can't go more than an hour without a cigarette, which seems to qualify as interfering with daily living, but I think the qualifications are talking about something more extreme, like nodding out while driving, or leaving your kids unattended while you run to get more drugs.

I will be really honest with all of you, because you have always been so supportive of me. I have already started using nicotine lozenges over the past few weeks to help with drug cravings, and I feel like they really help. I realize this could be a dangerous precedent to set, but I'm not sure what else to do. I would really like everyone's feedback on this- and honest feedback, not just the whatever-you-think-is-best kind. Thanks.