Smoking cigarettes

[listenup]

How many do? The CDC tells us less than 21%
The study that came out today said over 30%

I smoke. Do you? And why (I started when I was a wee little person)?

[bigendian]

1. Peer pressure.

It's a decadent pastime. I only do it when I feel "retro".

[aquaman]

2. I am a weekend smoker only

I smoke about ten cigs a week, exercise at least five days a week and don't pass out. So, I will keep smoking ten cigs a week, cause I like it.

[listenup]

4. You are a lucky person

I look at a picture of a cigarette and have to smoke. 10 each week doesn't seem like enough to hurt, but I don't know. If you are doing healthy things at the same time, that's great!

[aquaman]

5. Every year when I get my physical

My doctor asks me whay I bother smoking that little. I asked him if smoking that little has any adverse affects. He stated that "studies" show if you smoke more than three cigs a day it can have a negative impact on your health. He was pissed because he couldn't tell me that smoking as little as I do has an adverse affect on my health. Well, gotta go smoke.

[nyrnyr1994]

6. I wish I could do that...

I probably average about 1.5-2 packs per day. Really need to stop, I'm a diabetic and I don't need the extra pts. against me for heart disease.

(If anyone wants to help convince me or kick my ass online please do)

[bigendian]

7. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR F**KING MIND??????!!!!!!!

Consider yourself dopeslapped.

____________________________

Forgot the exclamation question marks. Must be precise.

[nyrnyr1994]

11. Thank you sir may I have another!

I hope this is the week I stop. Both my heart and my wallet are begging with me.

[aquaman]

12. nyrnyr1994, Please cut down or stop

If I smoked as much as you I would throw up often. My dad was diabetic and died from complications at 57 and didn't smoke. STOP SMOKING.

[nyrnyr1994]

15. I know how stupid it is

And i know it's not easy, but I really hope this is it this time. I don't even want to know how much $ I've spent over the last 7 yrs. (my God it's been that long, since fr. year of college).

[jono]

27. nyrnyr1994, try this

I'm smoking now too, but I've quit a few times. I think the best thing you can do is to lower your nicotine and tar intake, but do it over time. If you smoke filters, switch to mediums for a couple weeks, then lights, then ultra-lights, then Carltons or whatever. Try to get down to pack a day if you can, but don't cut down any more than that - if you try to space them out too far apart, it will make each one more valuable to you and that much harder to give up. Instead, if you smoke with the same frequency but lower the tar and nicotine content, it will become less satisfying and (hopefully) get to the point where it becomes a pointless (and large) waste of time. At that point, the biggest hurdle becomes learning what else to do with your time and your hands. :)

Please, do something. 2 packs a day is too much!

[ET Awful]

40. I recommend . . .

Talking to your doctor about getting Zyban (aka Welbutrin).

It worked for me, I was a 1 1/2 to 2 pack a day smoker and I quit in May of last year. With the Zyban, it was fairly easy to do.

Just ask the Doc. IT works :)

[BiggJawn]

45. Try this one on for size....

If you stop smoking, your dick will get harder.

Try the Zyban method, visualize your little buddy getting stiffer, the fat-cat tobacco executives who don't give a shit about your health getting poorer, and those bastards at the statehouse having to spend a little less because they lost one of their favourite "Cash Cows"....

And if you don't have a dick...well.....Shit I don't know, gotta be something in there....

I did it 6 months ago. I don't miss smoking.

[prolesunited]

49. Here's what's worse than a heart attack

when you're a diabetic. When you have a heart attack, you're probably thinking you'll die and it will be all over or you will survive and it will be OK. Well, I'll tell you what's worse because it happened to my mom.

Smoking does irreversible damage to your blood vessels. No big deal. Wrong. Thing about the blood vessels that travel down your legs and to your feet -- the farthest away from your heart. Once your veins start collapsing, the heart is not able to get enough blood to those tissues. You know what comes next: gangrene.

My mother watched as they slowly hacked of her foot, first the blackened big toe, then a couple more toes, then further down her foot. You get the picture. Then they gave her a choice: amputation below the knee or vein replacement theory. She picked the latter and never fully recovering, lingering for months before dying.

The doctor who did the vein scan immediately knew she was a smoker. Just something to think about.

STOP SMOKING NOW!!!

On edit: Plant this thought in your head. You now have had your foot amputated. Are you going to be sitting there thinking, "Wow. Those cigarettes sure are worth it?"

[Skittles]

54. I'LL KICK YOUR ASS SWEETIE PIE

but really I'd rather you just quit. Come on now, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT WAYS FOR YOU TO DO IT. It really is worth it and you can get encouragement from us DUers.

[fortyfeetunder]

56. I saw the end results

My mom was a diabetic and smoked at least a pack a day. Ended up with an enlarged heart, congestive heart disease, kidney failure and a leg amputated...but she wouldn't stop smoking, even when the MDs told her to quit. I never was one to smoke but watching her decline and death was enough to never ever consider it...

[arcos]

66. Last year I averaged 2 packs a day...

and it really sucked. I'm now down to more normal levels of 5 or 6 packs a week (slightly less than a pack a day).

Good luck in cutting it down!

[Blue_Chill]

3. I smoke

Tried to quit but it's NOT easy is it.

[Kool Kitty]

8. I smoke.

I've been smoking since I was thirteen. I'm fifty. That's a lot of cigarettes. Dang.

[listenup]

9. Tell me about it!

that's a lot of money!
but
We all have ways to spend our money, and, like Kurt Vonnegut said:

You pays your money, you makes your choices

I have. Hell. I could have owned the northern half of Utah by now.

[Capn Sunshine]

10. You're all unwitting tools of an industry dedicated to addicting you

it's not edgy
it's not "bad"
it's just money out of your pocket for a drug you MUST have.
Not to mention how much older you look than those who don't
Those that hold stock in , BT or MO say :

Thanks a lot suckers.

[bigendian]

13. So ..sunshine .

Are you addicted to anything?

[Capn Sunshine]

63. Nope.

Not that I know of

Except DU
But I don't think they are dedicated to addicting me.

Oh, and water.Sex.food. But thats biology.

[listenup]

14. You are right about the suckers

we are.

Every time I quit, I think how great it feels, not to be able to breathe better, but how I am not paying those evil, death promoting bastards another nickel.

Then I'm stupid, and start again.

[DoNotRefill]

16. I started smoking because people said it would stunt my growth.

They lied. :(

Now I smoke because I want to die. :) I average about a pack a day when at home. When I am where it's unacceptable to smoke, I stop. I do this for a couple of weeks at a time.

[listenup]

17. Man, I had a quick response until I saw your ending

??????????????????????????????????????

[BettyBoop]

18. I SMOKE

and I have high blood pressure. I'm on medication for it. I guess the smoking counteracts the purpose of the med.

I've been talking about quiting for weeks. I've tried to quit 4 times, maybe, this time it will work for me.

Wish me luck!

[listenup]

19. I've had limited success with the patches

try the Wellbutrin - I think over the long haul it may work. I'm considering it seriously soon.

[BettyBoop]

20. I tried

Wellbutrin and th patch together twice. It didn't work for me, I went back both times. My cousin was put under sodiumpenathal and has been smoke free for 2 yrs. But it cost like 2 thousand dollars.

[listenup]

21. Do you mean a hypnotist type of thing?

?

[BettyBoop]

22. NO

they put her to sleep and gave her sublimial (not sure of spelling) meesages for 2 hours.

[listenup]

23. Sounds like a hynotist kind of thing

but a little skewed.

I don't know what the answer is, except time. Don't smoke for a certain amount of time, be pleased with it, get a craving, fight it off, be pleased with the amount of time. It gets longer between cravings all the time.

Damn those cigarettes.

[arcos]

67. I couldn't stand patches...

they itch like hell and leave a red spot on the skin.

[DoNotRefill]

24. Which part?

the wanting to die or the stopping smoking for a couple of weeks at a pop?

Life is pain. Death will be nice.

I stop smoking when I have to, if I'm too broke for smokes, or at my mom's house, or out of town on business.

[listenup]

26. I had to think about it

and decided after responding that your words were not meant to be taken literally. Now, I am not so sure.

You have to make a choice - probably between life and many more things than cigarettes. It's your choice. To say things like "Life is pain. Death will be nice." is either something you got from Marilyn Manson, or you are thinking that way without direction. If the latter is true, find help this minute. Now.

[DoNotRefill]

33. Nope....it's part of my overall moral philosophy.

My "job in life" was to grow up, have kids (thus passing on my genetic material), and raise them/provide for them. That's pretty much taken care of. Now, I'm genetically unnecessary. My duty's done.

In 500 years, who will give a shit? It just doesn't matter.

I have no desire to actively take my own life. "Passive suicide" is another matter. Besides, life-shortening vices are good for the environment. ;-)

[salmonhorse]

25. Yep ~

Sherman's...'brown' box. Pixie got me off of Swisher Cigarillos within the last 6 months and I thank her for that.

Why?

Started back when I worked pipeline. The control rooms were so full of smoke 24/7 it seemed a progression of sorts but may well have been peer pressure after all. I go for long periods of time, however, when I don't smoke at all go figure ~

[TacticalPeek]

28. Smoking cigarettes is an extremely addictive activity,

that gets worse over the years.

I've known folks who kicked heroin, but could not go without the squares.

[jono]

29. I smoke

and I absolutely hate it. I started as a freshman in high school because other kids were doing it (it sounds so irrational now). Not only does it make me feel unhealthy and smelly, it makes me feel awful to know the amount of money I've willingly turned over to the corporations I detest so much. It is not easy to quit, but I'm just about ready to give it another try. I have few regrets in life; most everything I've done has given me a positive experience or a valuable lesson. But I absolutely regret ever having picked up a cigarette - it is a COSTLY lesson to have to learn!

[Bake]

30. I smoke probably more than anybody here

At least 2 packs a day; sometimes more. While studying for the bar it was 3 1/2 pack a day.

Do I hate it? No. I've enjoyed just about every cigarette I've ever smoked. I went to the store the other night and they were out of my regular brand (Marlboro Ultra Light Menthol 100's) so I bought a carton (yes, a carton) of Marlboro Mild Menthol 100's and they SUCK. But I'm smoking 'em and hey, they're better than nothing! I'm even enjoying one of 'em now.

Is it a stupid habit? Stupid, yes; habit, no. It's an addiction, and I am an addict.

I can do without it for short periods, and I don't smoke in public places. I'm considerate of others. Just don't come into my house and tell me I can't smoke there. I **will** kick your ass.

Bake

[Rhiannon12866]

31. Yes, I do. I have tried to quit numerous times, but have not gotten

too far. I guess I prefer to smoke. I would like a miracle cure. Any suggestions?:shrug:
:smoke:

[listenup]

32. Somebody suggested Jebus

but I had no idea.

seriously, There is so much out there for anyone to try, it's a shame for people like me that continue to stop and start and stop and start. I like cigarettes. Am I delusional? Probably.

[jono]

34. No, you're not delusional at all

They are very addictive. And don't get me wrong, I like them too. Enjoying them so much is part of why it's so hard to quit. But they say that it takes on average something like 7 tries before a smoker will quit for good. I think multiple quits, at the very least, indicates a continued desire to do something good for yourself.

[listenup]

35. I have seriously quit twice

for months at a time, but always go back. I don't think of myself as dumb, but damn,..............

I will keep trying. And, I have noted that exercise and getting away from the everyday routine has helped in the past.

[jono]

36. I know

I've seriously quit three times (months at a time). That's why I regret it so much, because it's such a bitch and yet it draws me back time and time again. Fading nicotine and tar levels is helpful, too. I'm thin, so I keep lots of healthy snacks around me at all times when I'm quitting. (OK, I keep lollipops too. :))

edited to clarify thought

[Rhiannon12866]

38. Yes, it's the routine that gets to you. If you can get out of a pattern,

you stand I much better chance. I gave it up when driving my grandmother down South for the winter (I didn't want her to know), but started again when I returned to my stressful job. My friend quit for eight years when he left for Italy shortly going through Smoke-enders. They claim 90-some percent quit, but I have noticed most go back. I did, though I never ``graduated.'' It is really tough. My doctor has recommended the patch. I believe that the hypnotism method was most effective, but you have to give yourself a breather from the cues that usually set you off for awhile afterwards. Good luck! I do understand.:-)

[Rhiannon12866]

37. Of course not. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I understand

the reason that you and I smoke. It's not just the nicotine addiction, but, even more so, it's an ingrained habit. I tried a hypnotism course last summer which proved very effective until my mother, who failed to noticed I wasn't smoking, started her usual harangue about it. You will surely have more luck with this than I did, though I plan to go back. For $50, I have a lifetime membership and can go back for a refresher course whenever I want.:shrug:

[ET Awful]

41. Like I said above . . .

Zyban :). I tried for years to quit before I got that stuff.

Worked wonders for me.

[short bus president]

43. Zyban - quit fattening the evil tobacco industry

and fatten the evil drug industry instead. ;-)

Heads, you lose. Tails, they win.

[ET Awful]

58. Well

considering I only took Zyban for a month and a half, at a grand total cost of $120, I don't think I fattened anyone :).

Much better than the $4.75-$5.00 a day I was spending on cigarettes.

[Piperay]

39. NO,

tried it when I was a teen-ager in high school cause I wanted to be part of the in crowd. I was lucky though because I hated it and I didn't have the money to buy smokes so I never picked up the habit.:-) I would hate to be giving money to the scummy tabacco companies, they are some of the sleaziest businesses around. :mad:

[Rhiannon12866]

69. I don't think that any of us relish contributing to the tobacco companies

It's just that smoking is an addiction, like anything else. At least it is legal, though not in many places, anymore, in New York State. To get his strict ban on smoking in public places to pass, Governor Pataki had to join forces with New York Democrats. His fellow Republicans wouldn't back him. This is one thing I have never understood!:shrug:

[NashVegas]

42. I Wanted to Piss People Off

At the age of 9 I made the discovery of what a fucked up world we live in, didn't want anyone to see me in my Catholic School uniform and mistake me for a good girl.

It wasn't for another 4 years that I actually inhaled. Even then I was fully aware it's a slow suicide.

I almost quit 7 years ago, was down to having maybe 5 a week; then my 18 year old cat's liver gave out.

When I see how sanctimonious the anti-smoking crowd ("AM I BEAUTIFUL?" - Lapham, Harpers, August '03) gets, nothing makes me want to light up more.

[Enraged_Ape]

44. I toyed with smoking until I became a physical therapist...

and began working with patients with emphysema and heart disease. Now you won't catch me within 50 yards of cigarettes or cigarette smoke.

Most young people think, "Feh! I'm gonna die anyway, whether it's from cancer or something else." But the problem is not so much that there's a chance that smoking will eventually kill you, it's just that you stand a much greater chance of living a miserable life for a number of years before you go.

(I will never get on a motorcycle either, and you DON'T want to get me started on that topic.)

My wife has never smoked a cigarette and she avoids the sun like Vampirella. She is also in her 40s and looks 20, and that is NOT an exaggeration. She is like one of the elves in Lord of the Rings, and she should live happily that way for many, many years.

[Jen72]

46. yes, I try to keep it to five a day.

I started aged thirteeen, but seriously smoked aged 16.
I used to be able to stop and start until, seven years ago in
a high stress job, I found smoking on breaks and after work to
be helpful.

[jus_the_facts]

47. ahh yeah......".....killin' myself to LIVE!" another awesome quote.....

....from the Oz man...hell yeah I've smoked since I was conceived...if you count second hand smoke as smoking...everybody smoked in my family...always loved the smell of fresh lit Borkum Riff pipe tobacco...and a Marlboro Light can smell as sweet...sometimes...killin' myself to live....says it ALL :evilfrown:

[Cadfael]

48. Used to smoke

3+ packs a day..started when I was 15 for the usual reasons...thought I looked "cool"...quit about 3 years ago at age 38. Still crave a cigarette every day. If I was ever diagnosed with a terminal illness the first thing I would do would be buy a pack of cigs.

[toddzilla]

50. i paint apartments for a living...

so i've seen just about everything that people do to their dwellings.

i can paint an average 2 bedroom in about 2 hours, top to bottom, all surfaces...

a heavy smoker, living in an apartment for years can require me to-

stain kill all exposed surfaces with industrial oil based sealer

paint everything in the apartment twice, sometimes 3 times..



some times in kitchen/bath areas where the paint is a gloss-type paint, the walls have to be washed because the nicotine will sit on top of the surface and drip down off of exposed bumps and nails etc..

it can take me up to 8-10 hours to paint a "smoked out" unit.. ugh...


this is just secondhand smoke wafting through an apartment, imagine a lung..

sometimes the carpet has to be pulled and an ozone machine brought in to get rid of the smell..

yeah, i want to start smoking..

the funny part is, of the company i work for, approximately 95% of everyone smokes..??? wtf???


i worked with a woman once that had found out she was pregnant-she quit the same day and didn't have a cig for the entire term. then she had the baby and went right back to puffing.. go figure..:wtf:

[DoNotRefill]

55. Been down that road...

I find that you can wash the walls with hot water and detergent to get the smoke residue off them, then paint as normal. Cleaning the carpet's another matter.

[trof]

51. and watchin' Captain Kang-garoo

Now don't tell meeeee
I got nuthin' to doooo.

Well, nobody ELSE did!
;-)

[ibegurpard]

52. I smoke

I started because it gave me something to do when I felt awkward in settings like nightclubs or bars. No peer pressure. But it led from there.

[Skittles]

53. I smoked for 30 years

I LOVED IT. Quit on Oct 25, 2001, mostly because I got tired of planning on HOW I could sneak a cig EVERYWHERE I WENT. Plus the money for a pack got to be ridiculous. I'll always miss it though.

[LynneSin]

57. I love you all and I hope you all talk to your doctors about how to quit

It's a tough habit to quit, but my father quit the hard way: he died of lung cancer when he was 41 years hold. He had picked up the habit at the age of 13 from his 2 older brothers. Of those 3 brothers, only one is alive and that brother had to have part of his jaw removed and most of his tongue; again, from smoking related illnesses. Needless to say I've never taken up smoking, heck I won't even smoke a joint and yes I know that isn't the same as cigerettes - it's just a promised I made :shrug:

I know it's a tough habit to quit but the cost of the prescription or patches will far outweigh the money you'll spend on smokes.

You are all wonderful progressive liberals and we need you around for decades to help take back our country!

[WilliamPitt]

59. Me

Pack a day, more when I'm writing. Fucking pernicious habit, over and above the addiction. You might remember when Stephen King's books started sucking out loud several years ago? It happened because he quit smoking, because his blood became suffused with more oxygen than before, and it made him feel stoned and unclear all the time. He wrote about this. It messed up his writing bad.

[dofus]

60. Since I've never smoked

it's very hard for me to understand why anyone would want to do something that is expensive and makes them smell bad, plus is almost guaranteed to leave them in ill-health at some point.

A couple of points. Don't ever kid yourself that no one can tell you smoke, just because you don't do it in public, or in front of the anti-smoking nazis. We can still smell it on you. And you look older than the other people your age. The older you get, the longer you've been smoking, the greater the difference. It's very, very easy to spot the smokers by their appearance.

The other thing I really can't understand is why someone who had successfully stayed off cigarettes for months or even years, would go back to them under "stress". And don't even try to explain, because I'll never get it. After all, you have to go to the store and buy the cigarettes before you can light up. Why?

Anyway, good luck to all of you who are trying to stop. And for my part, I'll try to stop being such a nazi.

[maxanne]

61. I smoked for 20 years

got up to 3 packs a day.

I quit 13 years ago. Cold turkey. It's the best way. You want to remember the pain, so you won't start again.

Pay attention to how people look when they smoke - really watch them. Does it enhance their visual "IQ?" Spend some time around a really, really, heavy smoker. Smell them. Smell their clothes. You may smell the same - that wet ashtray smell of death.

Just do it. Drink lots of water, change your routines, move your furniture if you have to - it helped me. Detox takes about 10 days. After that - it's all in your head. A craving lasts approximately 30 seconds. Ride it out. You can. If I can do it - anyone can.

[toddzilla]

62. that wet ashtray smell of death.

LOL, that totally nails it!!!

[BonjourUSA]

64. When I like I don't count.

Moreover I'm gonna carbonize a little one immediatly.

Every day, I think I should stop.

In an anti-smoking consultation, I met a fat whale full of hamburgers who will keel over of a cholesterol excess soon. She tried to explain how I could avoid to smokeÉ funny no ?

[DODI]

65. I smoke a pack a day

I had quit for 7 years -- I quit when I got pregnant with my daughter. I went to a hypno-therapist (a REAL doctor, not a seminar). That worked great. I learned how to self-hypnotize and relax. I then gain about 100 pounds and became very depressed, tried Prozac, etc. Didn't like it. When my second child was about 3 I thought I could have just on cigg. Well, I am back up to a pack a day two years later -- but I am no longer depressed and I lost about 110 lbs. I believe the weight gain and depression were brought upon by the combination of quitting and all of those wonderful hormones (how do you spell that). But now I am afraid to quite, (terrified really) because I don't want to experience the depression again. I tried to quit with the Wellbutrin but had panic attacks with it. Anyone out there who is thinking about starting smoking -- for the first time or if you think you can be a weekend smoker after quitting for a while -- DON'T. It doesn't work that way.

[Droopy]

68. I had my first cigarette when I was eleven

My friends and I would steal them from our fathers. A little later when I was a paper boy, I discovered a little store that would sell cigarettes to kids. "Just be sure to stick those in your pocket before you go out!"

[VOX]

70. Smoked in my teens and 20s. Chesterfield Kings (hack hack).

but I kept getting bad clutches of bronchitis; at one point, I came down with pneumonia, and that was it -- I was off the nails long enough that I was able to quit, if that makes any sense.

Lately, it seems that docs aren't asking so much *if* you're smoking now, but more like, "How many cigarettes have you smoked in your life?" As though there's a cumulative effect.

I still smoke a pipe on rare occasion, but that's not inhaled (except for secondary smoke).

[hel]

71. i love my cigarettes!

I've been smoking since almost 10 years and I'm only 24. I smoke around 25 cigarettes each day. And I have never even considered giving it up! I'm soo addicted.

I hate that anti-smoker types who just *have to* go on talking about how bad smoking is all the time. I know how smoking affects my body, even better than you do, thank you.

And I thought you Americans did not smoke btw! :)

[Rhiannon12866]

72. Yes, plenty of Americans smoke

The problem is the stigma that is now attached to it. It is outlawed in so many places that you're forced to plan your life around where you can and cannot smoke. A lot of us would like to quit, but it's much tougher when you know that you will be forcibly denied for a portion of your day.:shrug:

Welcome to DU, hel! I am very pleased to welcome someone from such a great country that would listen to the will of its citizens rather than be bullied by the likes of George Bush*.:hi:

[hel]

73. Hi

And I am very pleased to see that not all Americans are as stupid and evil as Bush (and the ones who voted for such an idiot).

Thanks for the welcome :)