Smoking ciggaretts to cope

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I took up smoking when on a recent trip to a third world country to cope with the stressful conditions there. I stoped for about a month and a half, but work lately has been stressful so I've been somking occasionally to cope with being bullied at the workplace by employees and customers.

I have smoked for a very long time (I was 12ish when I started), on-and-off, more on then off though, because off was pure hell.
I started because I liked the smell of it. I kept smoking because it did a couple things, first it gave me something to do
with my hands - that I did not get teased about or slapped for.

I get told that I play with my cigarette more then I smoke it, not sure. But I also will play with my lighter
when I need to (can't really explain that). Sometimes I will hold, play with a cig without lighting it for hours.

When I quit smoke the first time, I almost went insane, because I had nothing for my hands to do when I really needed it.. pencil tapping drives others crazy, same with nails clicking.

But the worse part of stopping smoking for me is the increase of my noses ability.
I simply cannot deal with that. Smells double or triple in strength when I stop smoking
and it is bad enough when I smoke I can hardly deal with it. I still try every now and then to stop, but I cannot find replacements.
So I guess I do use it to cope. Plus, I also enjoy it.

Stim = self-stimulating behavior. Something you do because it feels good, especially something you do because it feels good, the good feeling of which is based entirely on immediate sensory input that an NT would not respond to that way. Rocking, squeaking, hand-flapping, head-banging... (NT "stims" are generally related to grooming, and they make them social-- like brushing someone's hair, to do their stim for them.) This explanation sucks.

Not a good way to cope, in my opinion. Some people can smoke a ciggy every now and then to relax and never get addicted, but don't gamble on it. Modern cigarettes are full of nasty crap anyway. Only 50% is fresh tobacco. The other half is equal parts of "reclaimed" tobacco (cleaned from machines, floor, etc.) and a mixture of all kinds of additives to trick your body into feeling a smoothness, rather than the harsh burn.

To those who smoke, I recognize that right and don't have any problem with you at all. I would just discourage people from trying it out as a coping mechanism, which could easily lead to an unhealthy habit.

Myself, I like to smoke a quality cigar now and then, but I don't use it a coping mechanism. It's just a nice way to relax outside in the evening. Even though they're pure tobacco without a bunch of chemicals, they'll still give you mouth cancer if you smoke them enough. That's why I try to avoid making a regular routine out of it.

it mutes sensory input (for me at least).

i have quit smoking many times and whenever i do it is especially hard to tolerate lights, sounds, & smells for awhile.

i agree though: don't try this at home. not recommended as a coping tool. bad news all around. i don't even want to post but i'm curious to see if anyone else has noticed this.

Not that I would ever advocate smoking, which is harmful in myriad ways, but I do have a playful thought about a theoretical benefit of cigarettes.

I've read and heard that Asperger's Syndrome is associated with hyperactivity of the basal ganglia. That's a set of structures in the brain associated with inhibition (please forgive the drastic oversimplification, I'm not a neurologist). I've also read that smoking damages this part of the brain. So, perhaps cigarettes could serve to attenuate Aspergian symptoms by decreasing the effectiveness of the basal ganglia.

Again, this is not meant to be taken seriously. My own opinion is that cigarettes should be treated as a prescription drug, with allowances contingent upon a pre-existing addiction to smoking.