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Location: Lots of sun and palm trees with occasional hurricane :)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seashelly
Speaking of smoking in another post, first of all, I was never a smoker so help me understand something here. There must have been a time, before the addiction set in, that you could have stopped so my question is, what was your reason for smoking in the first place? And, for whatever your reason, was the result accomplished? Just curious.
I'll tell you. My mother had this friend that was like a 2nd mother to me, and she smoked. I would light up her cigarettes when I was like 7 or 8 y.o.
When I turned 16, I was smoking 1 pack a day of the red Marlboros. Then, one day I got a really bad cold and I switched to Newport. Menthol. Wow, what a relief. Smoked menthol for years, years, years. Then I ALMOST quit one day but was going through a divorce and came home one day and my ex had kidnapped my son and run off to his country with him. Took me 3 months and hundreds of cigarettes later, but I got my son back. (That one is a really l o n g story).
When I moved to Miami, it was difficult to find the Newport's 100's so I changed to Marlboro Lights, regular, hoping that they would be so disgusting, I would quit. Yeah, right. I've been to I don't know how many "sessions" to quit smoking. Two years ago I went through a program for 7 weeks and I could have all the stop smoking aids you could want. So I was on antidepressants, acupuncture (2x/wk), hypnosis, and the patch SIMULTANEOUSLY. When quit day came, I was actually feeling GREAT and swore I would never, ever, light up again.
Well, my husband smokes too. So here I am so confident that I said -"give me a drag". He had been very supportive and good about not smoking around me and he would hide and then rinse his mouth and wash his hands, etc. The next day it was 2 drags and then a whole cigarette. I felt so, so guilty that I swore I would quit the following week. That was two years ago and I have chronic bronchitis and well on my way to worse problems. So it really is all my own fault!
I told my son that if anyone ever asks me while I'm still alive or on my deathbed, what do I regret most in life, the answer is "smoking".
I first tried smoking when I was like in 6th grade. Never really got "addicted" to it. In fact, I was never inhaling the smoke.. just blowing it right back out. I didn't know.
I first really started smoking, when I started smoking pot. They just went hand in hand.. and I haven't stopped. Well.. the pot I have... ciggs..not as of yet. I will soon though, especially since my husband and I are trying to have a baby.
Just as everyone else stated friends parties etc... You have to remember 15 years ago Charlotte and the surrounding areas were nothing but farm land so there was not much to do.... I smoked from the age 15 until my wife told me she was pregnant I was 25. I decided I was not quitting for myself but for our new Child. I finished the last cig. that night bought the nicorette gum the next morning and have not smoked since. Its been 5 years now... I must tell you though when we go out with friends to a bar after a few beers I still think of smoking just one.... the smell in my clothes the next morning reminds me of one of the many reasons why I stopped.... These should be in the same class as cocaine and Heroine.... its a terrible habit and I am just glad I had the will power to put it up....
Like Lannie, and SeaShelly, I have never smoked, although my mother did, when I was young. When I was about twelve, she got another round of walking pnuemonia, (she used to get it every year), and it scared her so bad, when she couldn't get her breath, that she quit. For years, after that, she kept a pack of Salems in her dresser drawer. As long as she knew she had a pack, she felt like she could just tell herself, that she could smoke anytime she wanted, that she would have one later. It seemed to work for her.
My husband quit about two or three months ago. Pack-a-day habit. I'm hoping he sticks to it! He didn't smoke inside the house. Went out to the porch. He knows I don't like being around it, although I don't mind, if I'm outside, and someone lights up. I just don't like being in an enclosed area with anyone smoking. But, he's being doing real well, so far. He quit cold turkey, unless you count sunflower seeds, gum, and candy. He says it's still hard for him, especially in the mornings. He used to like to have one with his coffee. I think he may be more encouraged to stick with it this time, because when he quit, he had a touch of the bronchitis. Made it harder for him to smoke, because of the breathing thing. He said he cheated once, and the doggone thing actually tasted bad! I told him, good, and that I hope it always does. One of his arguments against quitting, when we had our dicussions about it, was that he figured there was no certainty that they would make him sick. I always told him, there was no guarantee he wouldn't. Some folks can smoke, with no problems, and may die when they're 90, but why take the chance? To me, it was kind of like arguing that there is no guarantee about driving on our local roadways. I may or may not get injured or die, but I'm dang sure not going to tempt fate, any more than necessary, by pulling out in front of a Mack truck! Besides, I also told him, that I don't think it's going to fit into our life, with hunting and fishing, etc, to have him attached to an oxygen tank! And, to top it off, when he went to the doctor, recently, he found he does have a touch of emphysema(sp), nothing dangerous, but I'm certainly hoping that now he's convinced that he's not invincible, and that he could, indeed, get sick, if he doesn't stay off of them. And, if he does stay away from them, I would like to see how well his lungs have repaired themselves a couple of years from now. The body is amazing, if we give it half a chance!
Location: Lots of sun and palm trees with occasional hurricane :)
8,293 posts, read 16,173,538 times
Reputation: 7018
It is absolutely true that just because you smoke doesn't mean you will have lung cancer, but statistically speaking, you will. Even as a second-hand smoker your chances are good that you will have problems. However, the lung cancer is not the only thing to worry about. Vision is highly compromised, after your 50's. Smoking causes macular degeneration. You do not want to be almost blind. Eyesight is one of the most precious gifts of life. Low birth weight for your future offspring. Clogged arteries = heart attacks, skin ages more rapidly. Sense of smell and taste are gone. Smoking is no good for anything! I have worked in healthcare for umpteen years and this smoking issue is something I have researched thoroughly. Trust me. It's no good at all. It affects every body organ and system. But it's also never too late to quit. Even if your health is seriously affected already, you will stop further damage and manage to improve if you quit.
I say all this to myself every single day. Wonder when my day to stop will come. Do you all know how many respiratory therapists are smokers????
Unbelievable.
Location: Lots of sun and palm trees with occasional hurricane :)
8,293 posts, read 16,173,538 times
Reputation: 7018
Quote:
Originally Posted by CharlotteAgent
Just as everyone else stated friends parties etc... You have to remember 15 years ago Charlotte and the surrounding areas were nothing but farm land so there was not much to do.... I smoked from the age 15 until my wife told me she was pregnant I was 25. I decided I was not quitting for myself but for our new Child. I finished the last cig. that night bought the nicorette gum the next morning and have not smoked since. Its been 5 years now... I must tell you though when we go out with friends to a bar after a few beers I still think of smoking just one.... the smell in my clothes the next morning reminds me of one of the many reasons why I stopped.... These should be in the same class as cocaine and Heroine.... its a terrible habit and I am just glad I had the will power to put it up....
The only difference is that nicotine is legal and most smoker's can still "function" but it's a proven fact that it is easier to quit cocaine and heroin than nicotine.
How 'bout them apples????
It is absolutely true that just because you smoke doesn't mean you will have lung cancer, but statistically speaking, you will. Even as a second-hand smoker your chances are good that you will have problems. However, the lung cancer is not the only thing to worry about. Vision is highly compromised, after your 50's. Smoking causes macular degeneration. You do not want to be almost blind. Eyesight is one of the most precious gifts of life. Low birth weight for your future offspring. Clogged arteries = heart attacks, skin ages more rapidly. Sense of smell and taste are gone. Smoking is no good for anything! I have worked in healthcare for umpteen years and this smoking issue is something I have researched thoroughly. Trust me. It's no good at all. It affects every body organ and system. But it's also never too late to quit. Even if your health is seriously affected already, you will stop further damage and manage to improve if you quit.
I say all this to myself every single day. Wonder when my day to stop will come. Do you all know how many respiratory therapists are smokers????
Unbelievable.
Yes, my sister is one. In fact, I know plenty in the healthcare field that smoke.
Thank you, I am glad you understand, people that don't smoke, have no realization on how hard it is to give up those darn things. My family doesn't want anything to do with me since I smoke, even though I have never smoked around them, only outside.
I respect others, and if it bothers them, I go else where, or wait until I am all alone. I really hope that I can quit, I wish my husbands health insurance would pay for some of the stop smoking methods that are on the market.
For now I choose to live day to day, and see where it gets me. Thanks again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gizmo980
Wow... I'm sorry you've had such a rough life. But it can only get better from here, and I wish you luck on quitting again! I'm in the same boat (trying to quit), so I fully sympathize with that.
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He says it's still hard for him, especially in the mornings. He used to like to have one with his coffee. I think he may be more encouraged to stick with it this time, because when he quit, he had a touch of the bronchitis. Made it harder for him to smoke, because of the breathing thing. He said he cheated once, and the doggone thing actually tasted bad! I told him, good, and that I hope it always does.
And, to top it off, when he went to the doctor, recently, he found he does have a touch of emphysema(sp), nothing dangerous, but I'm certainly hoping that now he's convinced that he's not invincible, and that he could, indeed, get sick, if he doesn't stay off of them. And, if he does stay away from them, I would like to see how well his lungs have repaired themselves a couple of years from now. The body is amazing, if we give it half a chance!
But it can only get better from here, and I wish you luck on quitting again! I'm in the same boat (trying to quit), so I fully sympathize with that.
