'Smoking' topic, and the challenges of quitting. The desires to also continue.

The most difficult thing I've ever done is quitting smoking. It was 40 years ago & I still remember it clearly.
It took 3 attempts & every bit of stubborn I have - & I have a lot.
That experience taught me the true meaning of "addiction."
 

All of my years, I chose to smoke cigarettes for just one year, it was
not a lot, just maybe one a week, but if I had gone longer, I do think
it would have been quite difficult for me to stop. Have not smoked
any since the age of 24 years old.
 
My dad smoked a pipe and an occasional cigar. Mom would take a few puffs from a cigarette, but mostly she just held one up between her fingers in social settings. I guess she was trying to look elegant or classy. The only time she smoked at home is when certain people came over, like dad's boss and his wife, his rich relatives, or his antisemitic relatives. But again, she'd only take a few puffs. Mostly she just kinda held it up at about lip-level, and let it burn down, flicking the ash as needed, taking a little puff now and then. Basically, it was a prop.

Smoking didn't become a habit for her, though. I'm assuming she stopped when she realized she was elegant and classy, beautiful, intelligent, and just as good as anyone without any props.
 
I gave up smoking 36 years ago, aged 31 from smoking from the age of 13 , and yes it was hard as I did it cold turkey ,which my doctor was very annoyed at

in the early days of giving up , i was taking driving lesson and driving on my nerves , so even tho ate more, I never put on weight …….
bu my mum decided on giving up also at the age of 65 and she put on so much weight, she wished she hadn’t …
she stopped dancing and slowly went downhill and her weight made her feel tired and breathless….…
so good points and bad ….😵‍💫
 
I smoked for around 12 years! I quit 'cold turkey' at 34. My Dad had heart/ vascular problems at 47 resulting in replacement of his Aorta coming out of his heart. He tried to quit many times after that but could not make it. He died at 69 when his Aorta graft burst, and he bled out. My mom starting smoking when she married Dad in 1946. She quit at 55 years of age. She died of lung disease at 78. My older Sister smoked since she started high school. She died of lung disease at 65. My Dads mother died before I was born, and his dad died at 64 of a heart attack. They both were heavy smokers. My dad's older sister, older brother, and younger brother all died before he did from heart and vascular diseases.
I am now 72 and have good health so far. My wife never smoked. Based on my family history, I am glad I quit, wish I would have never started...

Folks, I am convinced that if you smoke for a long time and don't die from an accident or violence, smoking will play a role in your eventual death...
 
Lewkat said:
When I gave up smoking cold turkey, my doctor applauded me.

Doctor's don't always agree on everything, I guess.
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You should never give up anything cold turkey lewkat
It can cause bad reactions and seizures
God knows why your doctor applauded you
I would change my dr if I was you
 
charry said:
You should never give up anything cold turkey lewkat
It can cause bad reactions and seizures
God knows why your doctor applauded you
I would change my dr if I was you
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It was a long time ago and my only problem was, I couldn't eat. That all passed in a couple of weeks and I never looked back.

By the way, Charry, my doctor is a well known, highly respected physician in the USA.
 
Lewkat said:
It was a long time ago and my only problem was, I couldn't eat. That all passed in a couple of weeks and I never looked back.

By the way, Charry, my doctor is a well known, highly respected physician in the USA.
Click to expand...
For a dr to allow you to
Just stop an addiction !!
Well the mind boggles lewkat
Even I was educated in addiction when I was a drs receptionist !!!
 
Remembering back when my father turned 63. He went in for a check up
because he was feeling 'off' as he'd described it, plus he was due to check
in with the doctor, he hated going and did not except occasionally if at all.
That appointment the doctor said to him these words "stop those bad
cigarettes today or you will die early!

that was all my dad needed to hear, he stopped three days later, never
went back to smoking ever again.
 
This campaign to demonize smokers is out of control.

It's almost as if you are a bad person now if you light up.

Fun Fact-

Winston Churchill, John Lennon and Frosty the Snowman would be kicked off of any outdoor patio in my city.

So now they put rotting lungs on cigarette packs, but heart disease is the number one killer...so why doesn't the Gov't put diseased hearts on boxes of French fries...and decomposing livers on bottles of wine? Oh, right. We can't 'fat shame' or 'shame drinkers'...but it's open season on those who smoke. Ridiculous.
 
I smoked for 45 years and at the end was 3-4 packs a day because I was so stressed taking care of my husband with dementia. In August of 2017 I had my first of 3 ischemic strokes. I asked the doctor what caused it and he said probably the smoking and/or HRT (hormone replacement therapy). I finished my last carton of cigarettes and then tried the nicotine lozenges, which I still have one. I was able to quit but I still want one. I think with me it was more of needing something to do with my hands, you know, hands to mouth habit. I did start again in 2019 but quit for good in 2020 due to the hacking cough. I have deficits from the strokes but I still want one!
 
Beezer said:
This campaign to demonize smokers is out of control.

It's almost as if you are a bad person now if you light up.

Fun Fact-

Winston Churchill, John Lennon and Frosty the Snowman would be kicked off of any outdoor patio in my city.

So now they put rotting lungs on cigarette packs, but heart disease is the number one killer...so why doesn't the Gov't put diseased hearts on boxes of French fries...and decomposing livers on bottles of wine? Oh, right. We can't 'fat shame' or 'shame drinkers'...but it's open season on those who smoke. Ridiculous.
Click to expand...
At first glance I saw your post as being tongue-in-cheek parody. But, what if you're serious? Light up, have a cigarette for me!

...I'll spend the rest of my days waiting for the CT scan that will show what a fool I was to have smoked for over 45 years.

As for "putting diseased hearts on boxes of French fries...and decomposing livers on bottles of wine", that's a great idea, maybe people will get their heads out of their a$$es.
 
I am a smoker that just no longer smokes. It does not change the fact that I was addict. If I could it without any danger, I would. Just like any other addiction those that have and continue to fight any addiction are to be admired, not judged for their past addictions. They have worked hard to get to this point.
 
I went to a stop smoking clinic. It was free at the university and there were 5 and of us in my group that met everyday during lunch hour. We were given a test to determine what kind of smoker we were and which method, cold turkey or cutting back, was best for each of us. It was cold turkey for me. That was 46 years ago. Anyone who quits, gets a hand of applause from me, because I know how hard it is.
 
My father smoked untipped cigarettes from the age of 9 years old, back in the 1930's... .. and continued smoking eventually smoking tipped cigarettes. he smoked a pack a day.. he lived until he was 82 and died from the effects of Parkinsons' disease, never even had a smokers cough
 
I had the horrible ugly cough that would make people stop and look. Even more so when covid came. It went away after a week, I was shocked. Now that I can breath like a normal person, it makes it hard for me to sleep. I was a mouth breather at night, now it makes it weird to breath through my nose.
 
Beezer said:
This campaign to demonize smokers is out of control.

It's almost as if you are a bad person now if you light up.

Fun Fact-

Winston Churchill, John Lennon and Frosty the Snowman would be kicked off of any outdoor patio in my city.

So now they put rotting lungs on cigarette packs, but heart disease is the number one killer...so why doesn't the Gov't put diseased hearts on boxes of French fries...and decomposing livers on bottles of wine? Oh, right. We can't 'fat shame' or 'shame drinkers'...but it's open season on those who smoke. Ridiculous.
Click to expand...
You are certainly in the minority now. Here in Canada smoking is no longer a socially acceptable thing. I laugh at the nicotine addicts all huddled together outside of office buildings in minus 25 C winter weather. You ARE a bad person if you still smoke. JimB.
 

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