Do you still smoke or did you quit?

RFW said:
If so, why?
If not, when did you quit? How long had you been doing it before that? Were you a heavy smoker? How did you pick up the habit?

As for myself, I've never smoked anything in my life except barbecue. Not because I knew it was bad for your health, but my dad was a chain smoker and I really hated that and the smell. My friends from work were smokers back when I guess pretty much everyone smoked. I liked to ask all these questions and some found it weird. I have an acquaintance who quit al the bad habits except smoking which I can understand. It's the only vice he has left.
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I've always wanted to see a list of "all the bad habits." Back when i was a smoker, my husband and his sister as well as co-workers would often talk, right in front of me, about what a nasty, filthy habit smoking was and how glad they themselves didn't have any bad habits. I could have listed about twenty bad habits they had that they were blissfully unaware of, but I held my tongue.

To answer your question, I smoked two packs a day for 25 years and have been smoke free, for 29 years. I've been fat and angry ever since.
 

Della said:
To answer your question, I smoked two packs a day for 25 years and have been smoke free, for 29 years. I've been fat and angry ever since.
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Oooh! This reminded me of something else about quitting!

I quit right around the time I went into menopause. What a double whammy that was!! 😖 Over the next 5 years I gained 40 pounds! It made me crazy!! I didn’t change the way I ate (I’ve been a health conscious eater for years..lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains,,though I ate few grains, very little processed food etc) but no matter how hrs I tried I just couldn’t stop gaining weight!

For the first time in my life I had to start counting calories, because that, ultimately, was the only thing that worked to stop the gain and slowly lose. I leveled off at 145, 10 pounds more than my normal adult weight, but I felt good and didn’t want to cut back any further because my nutrition was going to suffer if I did.

Now, at almost 70, I struggle to keep the weight off even though I’m eating more healthfully than ever. 😢 Sometimes I’m tempted to start smoking again just to control my weight more easily! I WON’T!! because I know that menopause and a changed metabolism is more responsible for the weight than smoking cessation is.
 
I quit smoking decades ago. At times, it's really easy for me to stop smoking-cold turkey. At other times, ain't no way I'm giving up my Newport 100s. Uh UH!!!! I loved smoking. . Normally, I don't have the urge to smoke, but seeing someone take a deep drag-oh, god!!!!!!! If I knew I was going to die in a month, I'd immediately buy a carton.
Nonsmokers do not realize how pleasurable smoking is.
 

fuzzybuddy said:
If I knew I was going to die in a month, I'd immediately buy a carton.
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I've always said that, too. Even after almost 30 years I still get (rare) cravings.

Every time I think about having the back porch screened in and putting comfy furniture on it -- I know I shouldn't because it would be the perfect smoking spot.
 
Lee said:
Was a 3 pack a day smoker, quit several times without success. Then quit once and for all on April Fools Day, that day somehow seemed fitting. No pills, no patch, nothing but willpower.

I watch my hubby struggle with bad COPD and even if you quit years ago the damage is still there. Wish some of these kids could witness someone who is now paying the price.
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I think you beat everyone here in terms of how you smoked and how you quit. :D
 
I quit when a pack approached $1 in the 70's. Expensive habit now more than ever. Was at a convenience store a few years later paying for my fillup. Customer ahead of me was complaining about the price of gas. As an after thought she told the clerk she wanted a carton of Winston's - price $32. Never once complained about that.
 
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I smoked a pipe for ten years, I quit when I was 34. I was driving to work and a guy on the radio told a joke about how he quit smoking. It was funny and I began laughing. Then for some reason I grabbed my $60 pipe and pouch of tobacco and threw it out the window of the car. (I know, I know, litterbug!) But I never went back, I never tried another tobacco product that was over 30 years ago. I cannot say why I quit for sure, but I am GLAD I DID!

My Grandparents on my Dad's side died before I was 5. My Dads two brothers and his sister are dead and have been for many years. My Dad died in 1995, he had his first heart/ lung problems at 47. My Mom died over 10 years ago, she had COPD for over 12 years. My sister died 3 years ago from COPD. All my cousins are dead. No one in my family that I have ever known about is still living, they are dead. They all had two thing in common, they all smoked, and they all died from smoking related disease.

Yes, I am glad I quit when I did...
 
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Della said:
I've been fat and angry ever since.
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Hopefully it's not always all bad!!!

I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and still be slim. Now I'm yoyoing like crazy if I'm not careful. My recent health issue has been it easy for me to stay think but lowering my appetite. I guess that's a silver lining. :cautious:
 
Out of necessity I quit smoking over 56 years ago. I was in the Navy when my 1st. son was born, a carton of cigarettes was 80 cents a carton. Then a massive jump to $1.20 a carton meant making a choice. Baby food was 8 cents a jar. I could still smoke or buy 15 jars of baby food. A no brainer.
 
Here in Canada smoking is no longer socially acceptable , and as a result the number of smokers is at a all time low, with about 14 percent still smoking. One of the influences is a national "no smoking law " that prohibits smoking in any work place. So no smoking in offices, factories, cafes, bars, hotels, trains, busses , aircraft, and parks. Anyplace where some one is being paid to work, is a "no smoking area ". Tobacco products cannot be advertised here. Stores that do still sell tobacco must hide them behind screens . The prices are amazingly high, with a carton of 200 selling for over $75. Some Doctors here will not take on patients that smoke, and for some medical procedures the patient must be "smoke free " for 6 months or more, before the surgery will be done. An example would be bariatric weight loss surgery. I used a method where I wrote down the time when I had each smoke on the package, extending the time between smokes by an hour each day. After 2 weeks I was able to go 6 hours without one. Then I quit . JimB.
 
What many don't realize is that the addictive properties of things like tobacco and alcohol (even coffee, sugar and such) do not have the same effect or hold on everyone. It depends on receptors in the brain. What this means is that some of us may use those products in moderation or very sparsely and may go months or years with out 'wanting' or consuming whatever.

I often think my Mom tolerated my smoking, as long i paid for my own, because she caught on quick i was strictly.a social smoker, it was a youthful affectation. I'd buy a pack on those rare occasions she allowed me to go to a party, smoke maybe 5, give another 2 or 3 to others ( i always smoked filterless things from Camels to Gauloise)rest of the pack would go stale before the next time i'd want them--- so Mom would use them tho she preferred filtered.

When i was out of her house, friends took that same advantage, tho since i could socialize more i did smoke more of each pack. Never a heavy smoker i quit with no withdrawal symptoms early in first marriage when pondering how to broach a problem with him i lit up. He said "Out with it, what is bothering you? You never smoke at home (he was a 2pk a day man) when its just us unless something bothering you. "

I didn't like having that 'tell' because i prefer to think things thru before opening discussion with partner. So i quit, that day. Didn't smoke for well over a decade which covered my pregnancies during which i also refrained having alcohol. Because i've had respiratory issues much of my life i never smoked when already experiencing congestion.

Later in life, post menopause, i would occasionally want a smoke, knowing how i am i'd get one of those little cigars they sell individually at some convenience stores. (i abhor wasting things) Sometimes i don't even smoke the whole thing, a little bit satisfies. On medical forms i put that i might smoke 1 or 2 little cigars in a year, just to be honest but many of the doctors have scoffed it hardly counts. At this point its been over 2 yrs since i've smoked anything.
 
JustinCase said:
I quit when a pack approached $1 in the 70's. Expensive habit now more than ever. Was at a convenience store a few years later paying for my fillup. Customer ahead of me was complaining about the price of gas. As an after thought she told the clerk she wanted a carton of Winston's - price $32. Never once complained about that.
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When I quit, 1990s, the price of a pack of Newport 100s was $4.35.+ tax.
 
I started smoking when I was 16, so it'll be 51 years in September. At first I smoked as often as I could sneak one out of my grampa's pack, 2 or 3 a day, but not every day. For years I was an occasional smoker, a "social smoker"; smoked while I was out with friends, mostly. I've been smoking a pack a day since I was 24. That's when life got super stressful. I had 3 kids, a troubled marriage, and circumstances kept interrupting my efforts to better myself professionally.

I did manage to quit a number of times. Once, with the aid of a medication called Chantix, I quit for a whole 5 months. The next time I used Chantix it didn't work at all. That's when I only smoked a brand that claimed "no additives"; no harmful chemicals, only pure, organically grown tobacco. They cost 2 or 3 dollars more than regular brands, but it seemed worth it. They never made me cough and they tasted great.

Then I broke my back, lost a good-paying job and started taking work where I could get it. At one point, I bought a business with my cousin. a liquor/convenience/neighborhood grocery store, but it got shut down after I discovered my cousin embezzled around $20K in state lottery money. He couldn't pay it back, so I had to report it. Anyway, I'd started smoking the cheapest cigarettes I could find.

Until recently, those were Korean imports. I figured they probably used less chemicals in Korea but I could've been wrong. Now I can't get those so I'm smoking domestic poison, 4 cartons a month.
 
Never started and that is maybe why I'm will be 76 next month and still kicking. I walk outside 5 days/week and don't need an oxygen tank to keep living. By the way, I am not making fun of anyone who has to use an oxygen tank to keep breathing. They have to do what they have to do. Just saying I never smoked and I breath pretty good when I am walking outside and I will be 76 next month; touch wood. To me, smoking is stink. I can smell a smoker 20 feet away. The only smoke I like is campfire smoke under the stars. Hey! Spring is here and summer is coming.
 
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Murrmurr said:
I started smoking when I was 16, so it'll be 51 years in September. At first I smoked as often as I could sneak one out of my grampa's pack, 2 or 3 a day, but not every day. For years I was an occasional smoker, a "social smoker"; smoked while I was out with friends, mostly. I've been smoking a pack a day since I was 24. That's when life got super stressful. I had 3 kids, a troubled marriage, and circumstances kept interrupting my efforts to better myself professionally.

I did manage to quit a number of times. Once, with the aid of a medication called Chantix, I quit for a whole 5 months. The next time I used Chantix it didn't work at all. That's when I only smoked a brand that claimed "no additives"; no harmful chemicals, only pure, organically grown tobacco. They cost 2 or 3 dollars more than regular brands, but it seemed worth it. They never made me cough and they tasted great.

Then I broke my back, lost a good-paying job and started taking work where I could get it. At one point, I bought a business with my cousin. a liquor/convenience/neighborhood grocery store, but it got shut down after I discovered my cousin embezzled around $20K in state lottery money. He couldn't pay it back, so I had to report it. Anyway, I'd started smoking the cheapest cigarettes I could find.

Until recently, those were Korean imports. I figured they probably used less chemicals in Korea but I could've been wrong. Now I can't get those so I'm smoking domestic poison, 4 cartons a month.
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Not saying I love that you smoke, Murrmurr.......love that you shared your story.

And love all who have shared their stories as well
 
Murrmurr said:
I started smoking when I was 16, so it'll be 51 years in September. At first I smoked as often as I could sneak one out of my grampa's pack, 2 or 3 a day, but not every day. For years I was an occasional smoker, a "social smoker"; smoked while I was out with friends, mostly. I've been smoking a pack a day since I was 24. That's when life got super stressful. I had 3 kids, a troubled marriage, and circumstances kept interrupting my efforts to better myself professionally.

I did manage to quit a number of times. Once, with the aid of a medication called Chantix, I quit for a whole 5 months. The next time I used Chantix it didn't work at all. That's when I only smoked a brand that claimed "no additives"; no harmful chemicals, only pure, organically grown tobacco. They cost 2 or 3 dollars more than regular brands, but it seemed worth it. They never made me cough and they tasted great.

Then I broke my back, lost a good-paying job and started taking work where I could get it. At one point, I bought a business with my cousin. a liquor/convenience/neighborhood grocery store, but it got shut down after I discovered my cousin embezzled around $20K in state lottery money. He couldn't pay it back, so I had to report it. Anyway, I'd started smoking the cheapest cigarettes I could find.

Until recently, those were Korean imports. I figured they probably used less chemicals in Korea but I could've been wrong. Now I can't get those so I'm smoking domestic poison, 4 cartons a month.
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How many cigarettes in a carton ?
 
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Murrmurr said:
No. One pack per day. 10 cigarettes a day, so 70 per week, yeah? I generally buy 4 cartons a month, but then every few months I only have to buy 2 or 3. My buddy at the smoke shop charges me $60 per carton, which is a deal.
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Ok, bad math. 20 cigarettes in a pack, so 20 a day. But still, about every few months, I only need to get 2 or 3 cartons, so obviously some days I don't smoke a whole pack.
 

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