Your Turn
Such a simple question, but so many answers. Do you smoke? Have you smoked? Have you tried to quit? What do you think of smokers? I don't smoke. But, I can say that it does not really bother me if people smoke around me. I don't care. As long as I don't wake up smelling like someone rolled me in cigarette smoke, it doesn't bother me.
Don't smoke, never did. Have a very vivid memory of my beloved grandfather holding a cigarette in his one working hand after 3 strokes and 3 heart attacks. Right before he died at 61. No thanks.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I've smoked for over half of my life and I hate it. I've tried hypnosis, acupuncture, habitrol, e-cigs, and more. I've quit a few times and made it through pregnancy & nursing but holy hell is it a monkey on my back. Anyone want to share what worked for them?
ReplyDeleteOh, and when you are trying to teach your kid how bad smoking is by buying them a carton thinking they'll get sick of it, they just get hooked. Stupid parents of mine.
Not a smoker. Horrible lung problems since I was very little - allergies, asthma, bronchitis.
ReplyDeleteThat said I definitely TRIED to be a smoker during my club days. It was a disaster!!!!
I can't be around other smokers now. I'm just way to sensitive and my lungs will go into fits. Good thing all the bars are smoke-free these days :)
I smoked cigarettes from age 12 to 30, quit for three years and then picked it up again, then quit, permanently, a second time. I am the worst type of ex smoker, I loathe being around smoke. Quitting was hard and miserable and worth it. If I can do it, anyone can, and honestly, just based on the price of cigs, why not quit?
ReplyDeleteI don't smoke never have, but my husband does. I wish he would quit. Our toddler imitates him and that's what drives me nuts. I also hate it when you leave an event and every smoker has to light a cigarette at the doors right when they exit. I wish they would just take a few extra steps. I really hated walking through that cloud of smoke when I was pregnant.
ReplyDeleteIn the early stages of quitting...Day 3. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
DeleteKeep strong FSP!
DeleteI have an e cig I puff on constantly but when I have a drink the smoker in me comes out and I crave real cigs.. It's a nasty habit, I know. I'm a shame smoker.
ReplyDeleteNo I don't smoke. Used to. Quit over ten years ago (by substituting carrots for cigs), and yes, I abhor when smoker's throw their butts out anywhere besides a garbage can, as they take eons to disintegrate, not to mention, they stink to high heaven, AND smoking is THE slowest form of suicide.
ReplyDeleteI am a smoker, have been for about a decade. I recently quit for 2 weeks but started up again because I was going insane being at work, dealing with the general population and not having those 5 minutes every couple hours to wind down. That being said, I usually only smoke at work and I refuse to smoke inside my house. I'll have the occasional smoke outside my house tho, mostly while letting the dog out. I went from a pack a day to 2 packs a week..I'm proud of that.
ReplyDeleteGood job on cutting back so much! It's a tough habit to break.
DeleteSmoked for five years and then quit, cold turkey. That was over six years ago now. Decided to stop when my husband told me he wanted me to live long enough to see our kids grow up.
ReplyDeleteI have always hated it, but did try a few cigs when I would go out to clubs. Not for me.
ReplyDeleteIn the last few years, I have lost both parents to smoking. One to a COPD related heart attack. The other to lung cancer.
Breaks my heart to walk out of the hospital where I work to see health care workers lighting up. No thanks.
I will add that I won't smoke around people who do not like smoke or can't be around it. I like to be considerate and I don't mind taking a walk to have a smoke.
ReplyDeleteNever been a smoker. Smokers largely don't care how much they pollute with second hand smoke and throwing their fucking butts everywhere. SMOKERS SUCK.
ReplyDeleteNice blanket statement. I have smoked for several years and not once have a just thrown a cigarette butt on the ground. And I scould everyone of my friends who do throw their butts on the ground. I have made several of them pick it up and throw it in a trash can.
DeleteAmerican spirits write on their box to use it as a trash can for your butts.
Fsp- you can do it. Try replacing it with running or walking. When I exercised, the thought Of smokes was disgusting
ReplyDeleteEnty, smoke what? Can you clarify?
ReplyDelete@yawnathon~ my sister went to her regular dr and got a rx for Wellbutrin. It is an antidepressant but it works on a part of your brain that triggers smoking and overeating. It has the same ingredients as chantix(sp?) but chantix is not covered by insurance and can be expensive. Wellbutrin is covered and all you have to do is pay a copay if you have one.
ReplyDeleteI'm a dork. When I was 15 I tried to start smoking so that I could uunderstand what my moms nasty habit was about. She would become a mad woman if she didn't get her cig in on time. For some reason, and lucky for me, it never took. I am now 32 and enjoy an occasional cigarrette when I'm drinking heavily with girlfriends. A pack of cigs would literally last me a year and half, that's how often I smoke.
ReplyDeleteI did the whole "smoking while drinking" thing when I was younger, but luckily never picked up the habit. Smokers generally don't bother me except for when I am stuck in line behind people who reek of cigarettes.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad smoked off and on for over 40 years. He now has emphysema and can't stand up from the couch too fast without fainting. No judgment to you smokers out there, just giving you some motivation to quit.
No
ReplyDeleteNo
N/A
Honestly, I hate them. It looks incredibly passé and, while I hate people who judge how other people spend their money, it's an expensive habit if you add it all up and it's killing you in the process so it's just stupid. I also hate people who claim that they're allergic to the smoke when they're simply bothered by it b/c people, like me, who are legitimately allergic don't get taken seriously when they have to ask a smoker to put the cigarette out, go outside or move away( if they're smoking outside your window/door) so that I don't go into a full blown asthma attack.
No, don't smoke cigarettes
ReplyDeleteAnd as for smoking itself, I don't do it and would not date anyone who does. I tried to once, and I didn't want him touching me unless he washed his hands. Nobody wants a snatch that smells like cigs.
ReplyDeleteFSP and Carebear! Good luck you can do it!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy brother is stopping too. I think taking the pharm drugs helped him. He tapered down them stopped all together. It's been a month w/o ciggies.
Don't smoke, never have, not one puff. Ditto my siblings. Our mother smoked unfiltered Camels while I was growing up, and it completely grossed all of us out. I remember living in Chicago as a kid, and she'd smoke in the car in the winter with the windows up and the heater on. I wanted to vomit. Will never smoke.
ReplyDeleteI live in California now and LOVE that we have strict smoking laws. I hate going to other states, especially Nevada where you can smoke everywhere, including grocery stores.
I am a super polite smoker .. I never toss my butts in anything but the trash and I don't smoke inside my house or car.. Cigs that is.. My bong is always right next to my bed! I'm getting a vaporizer for the Mary J though and I'm trying to stick to e cigs only.. Recently getting back into running, my lungs need all the help they can get.
ReplyDeleteI used to smoke. I smoked regularly for 21 years. I quit cold turkey in April of 2005. The first 3 days were hell. The first 3 weeks were difficult. By the end of the first 3 months, I couldn't believe I hadn't quit sooner. For the first 3 years, I'd sometimes catch a whiff of cigarette smoke somewhere and feel a yearning, but that's it.
ReplyDeleteOn the 10th day after I'd quit, my mother died in the hospital. It was not expected. When that didn't make me reach for a cigarette, I knew I had it beat.
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ReplyDeleteI smoke.
ReplyDeleteI love smoking. I know it'll kill me but I actually enjoy it.
Life's got a 100% mortality rate so... I say do the things you wanna do as long as they don't affect others. And honestly? My smoking doesn't since I'm pretty polite and keep it away from other people.
My favourite smoker shaming: coughing while I pass you on the sidewalk. Um, yeah. Okay. You see this street we're on with the thousands of vehicles spewing out smoke at you? Far worse than the momentarily smell of me passing you.
I "tried" to be a smoker for awhile in college and then again after college when I worked at a bar/restaurant- mostly so I would have the privelage of taking frequent cig breaks, but it never stuck (and yes, I realize how ridiculous that actually sounds!) And no matter how many times I smoked a cig, that nicotine rush was never enough to compensate for the feeling of suffocation when I inhaled, the horrible breath that followed or the nasty-asty crap I would hack up the next day. So that being admitted, I do support a person's personal freedom to smoke cigs if they choose but that's probably because nobody is allowed to smoke inside public places anymore (legislation I whole-heartedly support!)
ReplyDeleteDia- I'm gonna try to quit cigarettes again since I quit drinking a few months ago.I always gotta smoke when I drink. Why drinking and cigarettes go so well together, I'll never understand.
ReplyDeleteI do smoke pot and I won't give that up unless I become pregnant. People have a glass of wine after work, I smoke a bowl or a blunt if its been a super rough day.
Good luck FSP. First 3 days are the worst. I made it 13 days last time..you can do better.
I occasionally smoked from 18 to 24, and then smoked regularly from 24 to 33. Like Miranda, I LOVED smoking! I used to travel a ton, so it brings back very fond memories of sitting in bars around the world and having a smoke with new friends. I tried to quit several times, but failed. I finally cut it back to 1 cig at the end of the day, but quit all together the day I decided I wanted to get pregnant with my first child. She was conceived a month later! The only 2 times I have had a cigarette since quitting, I have thrown up the next day so I am cured :)
ReplyDeleteP.S My husband started smoking AFTER I quit, and I'm still not tempted at all
Thanks dia and rcb!
ReplyDeleteI don't smoke, and hate being around smokers. They smell like cigarettes, and kissing them tastes like licking up an ashtray.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in college, I would bum a cigarette every now and then when I was drunk. I bought a pack when I was in my mid-20s, at a particularly stressful job, but that pack sat in my purse for months until I finally threw it out. Now I just own my non-smoking like the unpretentious badass I am.
No, I tried it in HS but just was never a fan. For vanity reasons I'm glad as I know it can age you- health issues aside.
ReplyDeleteWhen my husband and I first started dating he was a smoker (a pack a day habit for almost 2 decades) he quit cold turkey about a month into our relationship and I was/am proud of him for having such willpower.
Smoked for 2 decades and quit cold turkey. It's the staying quit that is really reeallly difficult (just like it's the staying thin after a diet that is the hard part) so have an e-cig loaded up and handy by in case of cravings.
ReplyDeleteEveryone who is thinking about getting around to quitting: You can do it! Sorry to be the Enthusiasm Rabbit about this but life is just better without the cigs. I used to light up right after leaving the gym, and I'm hard core about my exercise. It was that bad. But you don't need them. Smoking is not a part of your identity. Do what you need to do to get away. Maybe lay off other smokers and don't be holier-than-thou about it, though. This is not helpful to anyone. Smokers don't get marked down in my book. Having a cavalier f-u attitude offsets the point deduction for bad decision-making. And, c'mon now, smokers are no more prone to littering than anyone else.
I'm a smoker. Have been ever since HS, when smoking was "cool" ...
ReplyDeleteOh for a time machine to go back and smack those things out of my hand.
I've been smoking now for almost 40 years. I'm currently on the patch, (again), having basically tried everything once or twice in attempts to quit...this time, however, I'm going to do it.
I loved smoking, but quit to help my boyfriend break the addiction. He was a really heavy smoker, and quitting has always been really easy for me. Neither one of us has had a cigarette in 4 months. I went cold turkey, bf took Chantix.
ReplyDeleteHe said it was awful and it gave him really awful dreams and horrible sleep. He said if you could do it without taking it, he would recommend it.
Smoked on and off - mostly on - for 38 years. Lived on cigs and tab when I danced. We'd smoke in the dressing room. Finally quit for good using nicotine patches. I followed the directions religiously and worked my way down the levels at 2 week intervals. It's been almost a year now. I don't mind people smoking around me at all.
ReplyDeleteI tried to be a smoker for about 3 weeks when I was 18. It didn't take. Also, I only smoked Cartier cigarettes. Would have been a very expensive habit!
ReplyDeleteSunny: me too! Isn't it crazy? I have tried smoking a couple if times after I quit, but it was mainly to fit in at a job (sometimes it really helps) but I just hate it, feel sick and throw up.
ReplyDeleteJennifer H, congrats on your successful quitting. My Mom, who never smoked a day in her life, has just been told she has an issue with her lungs, probably caused by all the smoke she inhaled as a kid. To those of you who think you're not hurting anyone else, read this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/tobac-tabac/second/do-faire/threat-menace-eng.php
Rant over.
Don't smoke, have tried it but can't get the inhaling down. Hate the smell of smoker's breath and they way it clings.
ReplyDeleteI smoke when I drink. I like smoking, but I hate that I like smoking. I can go days and days without it...but put a drink in my hand, and I enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI still think it's disgusting and I can't stand when people smell like ashtrays.
Never did, but was forced to be around smokers for the first half of my life: parents, college roommates, co-workers. Diagnosed with asthma; thanks, smokers. Refuse to be anywhere near smokers the last 25 years.
ReplyDeleteI don't get voluntarily inhaling the fumes from a burning weed.
ReplyDeleteI watched my parents and two brothers kill themselves by smoking, so no, never tried it never will.
smoked like a chimney for 24 years- from the age of 12. Craziest addiction ever- why do we poison ourselves like this? still love my weed though ;-)
ReplyDeleteif you wish to quit- i would recommend- #1 set a hard date, #2 use those patches! love the patches- i kept cutting them up smaller and smaller as time passed. I still have my last patch in a medicine pouch (for 6 years now)
ReplyDeleteI tried three cigarettes in college and absolutely loved it. For once in my life I had a moment of clarity and realized I'd be up to 3 packs a day in no time so I made a conscious decision never to try another cigarette. Even now, 40 years later, when I'm stressed, I think about it. But I can't stand being around smokers - sorry to all you who do smoke. Even if you don't smoke in front of me I can tell from the smell of your clothes. I dislike the smell of smoke so much I had gas logs installed in my fireplace so I wouldn't have to smell the smoke.
ReplyDeleteI did smoke. I haven't for years and years. I never was a pack a day person or anything, more of a social when I'm drinking smoker. Even after I stopped that I was never a militant antismoker. In fact I still enjoyed the smell of a freshly lit cig. But recently I went out with a guy who smokes regularly and kissing him was awful. Truly like kissing an ashtray. Total turnoff.
ReplyDeleteUsed to smoke. Three packs a day. Started when I was 17 and ended at 28. I'm 50 now. Doesn't seem that long ago. Cigarettes bother me sometimes. It's still a trigger for me on occasion. I don't mind cigar smoke. I hate the smell of stale smoke on kids, tho. That's something smoking parents seldom realize...their kids reek. I don't know how average people can afford to smoke.
ReplyDeleteI do but still don't want to label myself as a smoker, I feel like the bad girl my Mother never wanted me to be. There are lots of people who know me, but don't know I smoke. I had a boss for many years who never, ever saw me smoke and we traveled together. I do not smoke inside my house or car and purposely walk away from anyone either outside or in a casino. I know it's wrong, unhealthy, etc., but it doesn't make it okay to insult me. I've had people sit next to me while I'm smoking and then start that fake cough or wave their hand in front of their face.
ReplyDeleteI've had some of the most interesting conversations with smokers in tiny smoking areas of airports or restaurants. It's like we've got our own little club and only we understand why we're standing outside an airport in the snow knowing we've got to go back through a long security line just to enjoy a few puffs.
I smoked marlboro reds for about 25 years. my use varied, but generally it was a pack a day to a pack every couple of days. i work with physically and mentally challenged adults, and about two years ago one of my smoking clients saw an ad for e-cigs on tv and wanted to try them. i told him that if he tried it, i would too. he did it for a week or so and wound up going back to smoking. i never did. it worked incredibly well for me. now i don't even smoke the e-cigs. well, about once every three or four months i do, but that's it. no weight gain, nothing. it (the e-cig) doesn't work for everyone, obviously, but it sure worked for me :) and i'm very grateful for that...
ReplyDeleteSmoked as a teen, quit when I got pregnant. Then took it up again in my early twenties for about three years, then quit again. I'm one of those cold turkey quitters. Can't stand the smell of them now, especially from those very heavy smokers who leave vapor trails wherever they go. You know, the ones you can smell from their closed car when you're waiting on the corner for the light to change.
ReplyDeleteI'm more of the puff-puff-pass variety smoker now. Only green.
I smoke. A half pack a day, never in my house. I police the butts and even living in Vegas I always ask the person next to me in a casino if they mind if I smoke.
ReplyDeleteI have just gotten the nicotine patches and lozenges, and hope to report that I am a non-smoker one day.
Very sporadic smoker here, always have been. I can truly take it or leave it. Given my addiction issues, that is kind of a miracle.
ReplyDeleteI have friends who smoke. Doesn't bother me THAT much, but I don't like it to be in my living space.
There is a restaurant right next to the gym where I work out. People can't smoke inside, so they all come out to smoke. That sucks. It gets hot in the gym so the doors are open a lot. I do absolutely hate smelling cigarette smoke when I am working out and already gasping for air, lol.
I smoked from age 15 until 36. That was 4 years ago. I quit during both my pregnancies but started up as soon as I had that first beer when they were babies. I tried Chantix and while it helped, I didn't quit. I finally just did it cold turkey. I was on a road trip AND on my period. It was hell. I was a very very heavy smoker too. Almost 3 packs a day. I still love the smell of fresh smoke, but hate the stale smell on clothes.
ReplyDeleteI would start back in an instant with just one puff because I loved it, so I know I can't ever go there.
Good luck to all of you trying to quit!
I smoked for 50 years, and have probably quit 50 times, if not more. Wellbutrin made me crazy, there are still places I can never return to because of the total ass I made of myself while taking Wellbutrin. Chantix made me vomit. Cold turkey works best for me, and it's not fun.
ReplyDeleteBut I ended up with emphysema, and I am now unable to do almost any physical activity. At 70 my mind is still alert, but my body gasps for breath just walking out to the car. Taking out the trash is a huge undertaking for me. It's all I can do to keep my apartment reasonably clean. Even taking a shower is a huge production.
For those who smoke, please quit. For those who haven't started, don't. I would love to be able to walk on the beach, but I can't.
I don't smoke. Never have and never will. I do however, have a thing for guys that smoke. I met my ex and he smoked. He stopped smoking while he was with me. This guy I have a crush on smokes and is trying to quit.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because I hate it when people smoke.
I smoke. I don't smoke in the house, I keep my butts in the trash where they belong, that's just common courtesy. I know that I should quit, but let's be honest, I Love To Smoke.
ReplyDeleteI've never smoked, and to be honest, have never understood why anyone would.
ReplyDeleteI used to smoke outside only. I quit the day my son ran into my hand while I held a lit cigarette. It burned him just above his eye and all I could think of was what if I had held that cigarette just a bit lower... His health and vision was more important than whatever reasons I gave myself for my need to light-up.
ReplyDeleteYes, I smoke and I hate that I am addicted but I like it! But the funny thing is that I hate the smell of it and I cannot have it swirling around my head because it makes me sick!!
ReplyDeleteI love how everyone is a polite smoker - yeah me too;P
People that don't smoke would never ever call a smoker a polite smoker! and the worst ones are the ex smokers! Someday I will quit........
I used to, when I was in the food industry and took tons of adderall daily. I had to have something to calm the jitters.
ReplyDeleteThat shit is so so so bad for you. They give out prescriptions way too easily.
That reminds me, hurricane possibly coming to SoFla, must charge E Cigs and clean the Bong ! No lectures, I gave up Ambien and switched to Melatonin, that was this year's goal.
ReplyDeleteBe careful and keep the weed dry! :)
DeleteHow is the melatonin working for you? I have thought about trying it but a friend told me it made her real nauseated. I would love to find something non narcotic that actually works.
DeleteAs a kid I tried smoking. I didn't like it. I think people who smoke are crazy. It is one of the few products, if used normally, will kill you. You also pay and expensive price for the privilege.
ReplyDeleteDon't smoke now. Did for awhile when I started working but it was more like holding a cig so I could get out of work. Quit after a friend died almost 30 years ago. Would never again, nothing in my lungs like that.
ReplyDeleteSmokers are filthy people with no self respect, respect for others and a death wish. They might as well roll in dog shyte they smell so bad to me. It's sad but their self inflicted issues such as strokes, heart attacks and lung disease are their problems. They are not getting any assistance from me ever again. Waste of my time.
I don't like being cigarette sick. When I visit friends or relatives who smoke I can't stay long at all. No big deal. I'm over it. If I ever have to be on oxygen it certainly won't be from something stupid and self inflicted.
I think health care should be on a pay as you go basis for smokers, no insurance. I don't want to pay for ignorance. It should cost money to be stupid. Fun post!
I grew up with two chain smoking parents who both passed away too young. I grew up with the embarassment of smoke stench in my hair and my clothes. I grew up on long vacations and car rides with smokers going non-stop in the car.
ReplyDeleteI detest smoking. I think marijuana should be legal, but please do not smoke around me.
I don't think it's fair that smokers "have to have" their breaks at work while the rest of us get one maybe, if possible.
I HATE beaches and sidewalks littered with butts. It's disgusting - the world is not your ashtray.
My mother died of an aneurysm and my father of cancer. Two lives cut short by smoking.
Legalize it!
ReplyDeleteMy parents were also chain smokers. They smoked non-stop from the moment they woke up in the morning until just before they went to sleep. My mom started smoking when she was 13. Don't know when my dad started. She died in 1987 from lung cancer. He died in 1994 from a heart attack.
ReplyDeleteI have never smoked and never will.
My grandparents smoked in their house and cars while I was growing up. The smell of smoking bothers me. But I smoke. I like it. I have insurance. I will quit before I turn 30. I will probably quit before then. I am cautious around other people and always throw my butts in the trash. I make my boyfriend brush and wash his hands before we get to any play time, he has smoked for 10 years and would also like to quit.
ReplyDeletePeople who are so high and mighty need to step off. I am allergic to booze, don't do drugs other then weed, hike regularly and am very much a nature lover. You drive cars that emit tons of pollutants. Stop driving if you find polluting repulsive. I don't smoke around people blatantly and try not to smoke around large groups who are not also smoking.
And I do not smoke in my house or car. I drive with dogs in the car 80% of the time and that would be aweful to subject them to. I as a person have a choice to smoke, animals and children do not.
DeleteI learned how during a high school year in Europe (because I wanted to try pot and be able to inhale properly).
ReplyDeleteI smoked quite a lot in college, fueled by time in Paris (out of control smoking, then!) and coming home to NYC in time for 9/11 (post-terrorism depression!).
Then I got pregnant and I quit totally. Have smoked only a handful of recreational cigs, since!
I live with a heavy smoker though, and it irritates me at times.
And my mother has smoked her entire life, through 3 pregnancies, hell and high water.
This Christmas will be 4 years smoke free for me. I used to smoke 2 packs a day. I quit cold turkey, it can be done!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI smoked for over 20 years, and finally quit 9 years ago after both parents died from lung cancer. I used the patch but what helped me the most was a concept called "cognitive quitting". Once I got over the initial nicotine withdrawal I honestly have not craved a cigarette since. I know that if I have just one then I'll be right back at a pack a day.
ReplyDeleteSmoking seems so foreign to me now... I only have 1 or 2 friends that still smoke and it seems like such a hassle. Where I live you can't smoke in bars or restaurants, and not even at the beach. And I don't know how people can afford it anymore.
I smoke weed.
ReplyDeleteQuit smoking in 2003 cold turkey.
Will not date a smoker.
"Smoking is the most obvious IQ test known to man."
Sorry that makes me giggle. and yes i am an asshole ex-smoker.
I still love your raspy ass, Miranda.
I have asta and am highly allergic to cigarettes. Even being near it like walking past a group of smOkers makes my face swell up. My mother kept smoking around me and it's on of the reasons I don't talk to her. My. Neighbor upstairs in my apt complex smokes. It gets in my a/c system and makes my apt smell and she only smokes on the balcony. I can't open my door either because the stench comes in. I hate smokers and many ( not all ) are selfish. Also people that smoke in cars. Guess what, it comes through our car and in through the windows.
ReplyDeleteI apologize. I meant I hate smokers habit but not them personally. But I refuse to date smokers
ReplyDeleteStarted smoking in my early thirties during a stressful period, smoked about half a pack a day for a long time, then quit a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteTobacco that is!
I always wonder to myself when I see kids now buying $10 pack of lung killers, "some kind wouldn't be better??" (AHH, but that's right, around here you can get 3yrs min mad for a J in the wrong area. +Years of probation, court mandated "drug counseling,"etc....) It's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteDo not understand tobacco smokers. But do herb tokers.
timely question.
ReplyDeleteI started smoking at 15. Did Smokenders and quit for a year at 23, then moved in with smoking bf and started up again. Quit for good at 34. It's been 24 years! I used gum (mixed 1/4 piece with regular gum) and 2 weeks of valium so I didn't kill anyone. Saddest thing is both my kids smoke. Hopefully that will change, today is my son's first day off cigs.
I am so glad I quit- to all you trying- keep at it. I used every behavior modification trick I could- and told myself I could smoke again when I turned 64. no desire at all.
I was a "social" smoker. First time was in college. Could not STAND the smell, but I sure did have to have one if I was a) drinking and b) with a room full of smokers. :-/
ReplyDeleteMy husband was a FT smoker but quit cold turkey several years ago (THANK GOD b/c that shit was annoying when we traveled or had to only frequent bars where smoking was allowed).
I started running a little over a year ago and I don't think I could regularly work out if I even had only a few a month.
I have no opinion on smokers. It's a terrible habit, but also a free country.
My niece has started smoking. She says it's just for now. Sigh. I have tried to impress upon here that it's not the way that works, but she's a teenager and I'm her dumb old aunt. :(
I smoked for a few years. Quit when I was 19 using the patch. Even now, 15 years later I (very occasionally) crave a cigarette.
ReplyDeleteMy husband always said he'd quit when we had kids. Had the first one and he emphasized the S. Now that we've had the second he does the token buy the nicorette, chew a piece, then has a cigarette. I'm hoping he quits yet.
I smoke about three cigarettes a day; today I hope to only smoke two. I have purchased nicotine gum and chewed it once or twice; it's not the same at all, so I'm wondering if the e-cigarette might be better instead.
ReplyDeleteI started smoking in high school and I've quit for many years, smoked for a few, quit again, and so on. I'll be 40 in a few years, so I'd like to quit once and for all. (I'm also trying to give up caffeine, among other healthier life changes.)
I started smoking at 13, quit for the first time when I was 19 and pregnant, started again after my daughter was born, quit when I found out I was pregnant with my second at 25, stayed quit until a particularly stressful weekend when I was 29, and quit for good just after my 30th birthday.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is still a heavy smoker, and I loathe it.
@jax, YEAH YOU DO! Speaking of which, I need a smoke right now.
ReplyDeleteOne day, I promise I will quit, and that day will be the day I decide to procreate. Make note, future spawn: you are more important to me than cigarettes. :)
I am enjoying all these stories! To smoke or not to smoke!!!
ReplyDeleteI have an interesting story for all you guys who go "natural". I actually can't smoke weed either. Become realy, really sick. And horrible neurological things happen too. Learned this the hard way in HS. I have a weird body, what can I say?
I can hear the audible gasp from everyone. Haha!!!
I detest the smell of smoke. I can smell it from far away, my nose is sensitive. So many smokers throw their butts on the floor, the street, out car windows. THOSE are the smokers I hate.
ReplyDeleteAlso people who have smoked a lot for many years, it is smelled on you. It comes out of your skin. I have been totally nauseated in stores, elevators, etc by the nicotine stink coming off of them. It is just fucking disgusting.
No, I do not smoke.
All you judgy pants, give the other peeps a break ;) Smoking (IMO) is harder to quit than a lot of other drugs because of the psychological component. Those boys at Phillip Morris really knew what they were doing.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy for all those trying to quit. Good luck!!!
Please don't attack me. I just wanted to say Judgy Pants!
I have never smoked. I grew up with 2 heavy smokers for parents and I hated the smell of it all through my childhood.
ReplyDeleteMy mom finally quit when I was grown and I was tickled that she finally made up her mind and did it. In the end she died of cancer--was it part of that.....who knows--she had cancer all over by the time she passed.
I still hate the smell--and when I am around smokers I generally feel sorry for them because it is so expensive and once you are addicted it is so hard to quit.
Good luck to all you quitters....hope it sticks...and if it doesn't try again!
Yes, I smoke..and I'll quit when I am ready. I don't smoke in my home, I ensure my cigarette butts are not tossed in the street or tossed out the car window. I can't stand ex-smokers who preach about the health care costs and the filthy smell - I don't drink, I don't text while I drive, nor do I judge anyone for their vices or bad habits
ReplyDeleteI was one of those impressionable kids who started around age 15.
ReplyDeleteFast forward 20 plus years before I gave up. A few false starts. Tried the patches, and wow, the dreams were so wacky and vivid it was like Alice in Wonderland starring me, every night.
I also smoke pot and I think the main reason quitting was so hard is because I used to mix it with tobacco. When I started smoking the pot straight, my cravings dropped right off.
My husband used the oral meds called Champix. He used to get quite cranky but they were the only way he could quit.
Hope this helps someone. It's a hard road to stop, but every time I walk past and smell a smoker, I am so happy that isn't me anymore.
I'm on day five of quitting cold turkey. It is...it's been rough.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Sean!!! You can do it :D
DeleteWhen I was about 13 I stole cigarettes twice from my mother to try it. Vile. I remember using almost a whole tube of toothpaste each time to get the nasty taste out of my mouth. I can smell tobacco on a person a mile away and (flames be damned), I have always resented the endless cigarette breaks colleagues have taken over the years. Why should they get paid to smoke while I'm toiling away at my desk?
ReplyDelete/end rant
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ReplyDeleteI am with @miranda - I smoke. I love it and yes I am an idiot but someday when I hate it i will quit. Oh and for the record I don't HATE non-smokers, don't smoke where I shouldn't and always put my butts where they belong.
ReplyDeleteMy parents smoked for over half their lives (they are in their 70's now) and have both quit cold turkey in the past 2 years. God bless 'em...they aren't anti smoking tho- if they were they would never see me with a cig in hand- Dad is good - mom has had nothing but sinus trouble since she quit. go figure.
How about lightening up on the EVERY SMOKER SUCKS AND I HATE THEM... Every one has bad habits and judgement should be checked at the door. Ok time for a parliament light now...
LOL Roman!
ReplyDeleteI love your solar flare avi btw. The solar flares are making everyone crazy! I swear it must be that ;)
@Mango - you do have a point. I used to get pissed too. But then I would just take more internets breaks to balance it out.
I think you either have the gene for loving smoking or you don't.
ReplyDeleteI smoked pretty heavily from about 15-22years of age and I loved it. I finally quit because it made me feel sick, and I realized that if I didn't stop then I'd be doing it forever. So I took up soccer and THAT worked wonders. You cannot become athletic if you're a heavy smoker.
12+ years later I still love it an I still miss it. I breathe deeply when I walk past smokers. And weirdly, that intensified when I was pregnant, although I'm happy to say I have no desire to act on those cravings.
People just don't understand addiction. I will always be a recovering smoker.
Don't smoke and never have. It seems like a very expensive habit.
ReplyDeleteI've never smoked. I think it's disgusting because my mother's an inconsiderate smoker, and having to deal with her reek while I was growing up nullified any cool factor for me. I had bronchitis every winter until I left for college, and then never got it again. Even now, she doesn't like to go places that don't allow smoking (which is, basically, everywhere but her house) and if we're carpooling, she acts like she's doing everyone the hugest fucking favor on Earth if she deigns to crack the window. (I used to put up with it, to the expense of my outerwear. Now, I just roll my window down and stick my head out like a golden retriever.)
ReplyDeleteI don't think that smokers stood out as much as they do now until our state passed the smoking bans. Now you can pick them out at 50 paces. So gross. I think that if smokers could smell themselves the way nonsmokers can smell them, it would be quite a deterrent. Maybe.
My mom is under the delusion that when it's her time to die, she'll just burn out like a light bulb. I have a feeling she'll be in for an long, painful, unpleasant surprise, during which she'll probably blame everything else but herself. But hey, you pays your money, and you takes your chances.
However you feel about smoking, if you have children and smoke, PLEASE think about the consequences for them.
ReplyDeleteMy parents smoked around me my whole life. I have horrible allergies and still suffer from asthma. I remember going to the allergist as a child and him telling my parents that they made my allergies so much worse.
Even if you don't smoke around your children, think of what it means for them to see the most important person in their life engage in such a deadly habit. There is a reason that so many children of smokers end up being smokers themselves.
You have the choice to live with the consequences of your decisions...your kids don't.
I'm an ex-smoker, cold turkey for me. I was smoking a pack of Camel Lights a day in my early 20's and a *ton* of weed. When I coughed up brown crap one morning, that was it for me and the cigs. Picked it up a few years later but only smoked about 4 a day, then quit when my hubby (long time smoker) decided he wanted to quit. I used my insurance and got him Chantix. It gave him weird crazy dreams, but it worked. We've been smoke free for almost 4 years. Good luck to everyone trying to quit!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I like to breathe, but other times I just want to go to Flavor Country.
ReplyDeleteToday would have been my mom's 73rd birthday if she hadn't smoked. She died of lung cancer, and her biggest wish was that her story would make you quit.
ReplyDeleteHttp://www.momscancer.blogspot.com
I smoked for 12 yrs & LOVED it. I felt guilty about it, but couldn't ever quit. Once I resigned myself to never quitting, I guess it took the anxiety of feeling like I should quit away. Long story short, once I decided never to quit, I realized my body didn't want the smoke brought into my lungs, & I just kept waiting until I felt like my body WANTED the smoke. And it just really never did again. That was 16 yrs ago. I've had maybe a total of a pack since then, with friends, but I'm very relieved not to be addicted. It sucked having to plan my life around when I'd be able to light up.
ReplyDeleteMy mom is dying of cancer and she's never smoked, drank, done drugs, always ate healthy, been healthy, etc. Something's going to kill you, eventually.
ReplyDeleteI smoke. Very little, now. Haven't smoked indoors for years now. Never smoke around The Short One (I don't want him to smell or inhale).
I quit when I was pregnant, I've quit several times, and always started again. Two years tops.
Judgmental ex-smokers are the fucking WORST. Lots of people don't know I smoke, it's easy to hide if you wash your hands, eat mints, don't smoke indoors or in your car, don't smoke a lot. I have dated quite a few non-smokers.
Tip o' my hat to those who have quit or are in the process of quitting. It's so hard! My time is coming, soon, The Short One has really been on me about it, even with the few I smoke. I think more about how I influence him than my health.
Hi Kid Sis!!! Miss you around here. Thanks for the post. On my way to read it.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your mom! What a great way to honor her memory. Hugs to you :D
@EmEyeKay - So sorry about your mom. I'm glad you can be there for her. I know it doesn't feel like it now but this is such a special time for you both. Savor every moment. Big hug!
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only fake smoker! Asthmatic theater majors are kinda meant to smoke, and I "smoked" the most pretend cigarette, the benson and hedges light 100 menthol, basically flavored air. Stopped as soon as I got pregnant a million years ago. Have embraced my 420 lifestyle since I was 15, and will never give that up. Nothing but support for those who have quit/want to quit/think about quitting some day.
ReplyDelete@e gee be
ReplyDeleteOh, you're cute. I'll take your Benson and Hedges 100 menthols, and raise you a Capri Menthol 120. Yes, what Nanas smoke
Sunny! I'm trying to catch you ;)
ReplyDeleteSunny! I'm trying to catch you ;)
ReplyDeleteThe Capri! Totes allowed in my fake cigarette club!
ReplyDeleteBecame a full blown smoker a year ago when I moved to the south of France. Prior to that, I smoked when I partied but became easier here as most people smoke and in Monaco, you can smoke inside the clubs.
ReplyDeleteThankfully I went off cold turkey a few months ago and now the smell makes me sick.
@dia - I can't smoke weed, either. Paranoia city! I almost wish I could, because I wonder if it might help with my fibro and migraines and other assorted maladies.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for calling Judgy Pants. I guarantee that the folks who do this have icky vices or habits of their own...so LAY OFF. ;-)
(For the record, like I said, I smoke about three a day, always outside, not near other people, and I have no children.)
You can do it, Sean! As I am also trying to quit (or at least I'm thinking about it most days, ha ha), you are my hero!
@EmEyeKay - I'm sorry about your mom, too, and I'm also glad that you can spend this time with her. (((HUGS)))
@saucyjane - The idea of it being a genetic thing...is that true, or do you just suspect it? Because even though there are a LOT of smokers (past and present) in my family, neither of my parents smoke. My father has never so much as taken one drag, he hates it so. Hmm.
By the way, has anyone ever tried herbals? Not weed, hee hee, but herbal cigarettes? I think they might be just as bad for you, though, because although you're avoiding the chemicals in tobacco (as well as the stimulant effects of nicotine), you're still putting smoky crap and tar in your lungs. Still, I've considering trying them as I quit...Honeyrose is one brand? Anyone?
ReplyDeleteHi AKM! Glad you found that funny :)
ReplyDeleteI have fibro too! That's so interesting. Hmmm. I know I feel better when I'm not eating crap. Winter is real hard and the fatigue sets in, in a bad way.
I think that any smokey stuff in the lungs would be bad. I can't even be around wood fires. I do anyway (camp fires, etc) but even that kind of smoke screws up my lungs. I want to take this body back to the store and exchange!
Used to smoke - started whan I was 14, quit about 3 years ago. Quitting wasn't hard for me for some reason. I started to really take notice of how it made me feel, and that made me smoke less and less until I wasn't smoking anymore, other than when there was partying involved. And then I quit that too. I don't get the cravings anymore either, not even when I have a drink.
ReplyDeletesmoke... what?
ReplyDeletehahahahaha
Currently on day 12 of using e cig. Love it! Even my pack-a-day fiancé hasn't had a real cig, And that's a big deal! I've come to realize what a selfish habit it is, and I've even worked out three times this week! Quit cigs AND working out? Watch for flying pigs, my friends!
ReplyDeleteI do not smoke I think it is fisgudting. I always said I would never, ever try butg I did a couple of yhears ag :( I was with a guy I liked and I was really drunk and I just took one puff or whatever then coughed for about 5 minutes. I did say at the time I hated smoking etc but they egged me on to try and when I 'm drunk I pretty much do anything, which has got me into some not so good situations LOL. I feel bad even thinking about it god I really hate smoking, don't think I would even date a smoker eurghhh
ReplyDeleteI smoked for 39 years. I have discovered that the best thing for me to help me quit is the electronic cigarette. I use 0 mg nicotine flavor cartridges simply because for over half my life, I got used to having that stick in my off hand.
ReplyDeleteCopperTop, I have an e-cig kit on its way to me any day now. I'm definitely not physically addicted to nicotine, but yeah, that psychological gotta-hold-something-and-do-something-with-it is strong, in the car and when I'm stressed. I think it'll work well!
ReplyDeleteSo, 0 mg nicotine means you're getting none whatsoever, right? I could see myself doing that eventually...just smoking the water vapor and not even needing a nicotine hit. Guess I'm just orally fixated! Ha ha.