# Smoking. Enough Said.



## Katura (Aug 18, 2006)

I think this is a pretty big issue in dealing with health and excercise. 

I've been dancing since I was about 3 years old and regrettably last year picked up a bad habit that comes in packs of 20 and puts an unhealthy dent in your wallet and smells awful.

Luckily I didn't get too attatched to the habit and quickly walked away from it. I couldnt breathe right, it made it hard to get through class, and I have this 'thing' about smelling good all the time and obviously that wasnt working for me.

I quit cold turkey. Started chewing Trident Orangey flavored gum and had no problem at all. But I have friends who either just cant seem to quit because either they dont want to bad enough or well, I dont know I guess its harder for some people.

Anyone here smoke? Quit smoking? How'd you do it? Why?


----------



## Dreamergirl3 (Aug 18, 2006)

I smoke, and am currently in the process of quitting. Luckily, I have the support of my family and friends to help me. I really think the one who smokes REALLY must have the desire to quit..I've seen too many of my friends fail because their families want them to quit, and they don't want to.
I don't smoke that often, but I guess smoking in general is often enough. I was about up to a half pack a day before I decided I wanted to quit.
Thing is, health wasn't my main concern for quitting *SHOCK*. I've always hated the taste of cigs, the smell, the way the scent lingered on whatever hand I was holding it with. That, and all the money I was spending. Those were the reasons why I decided to quit.
I have no prejudice against anyone that smokes, because I believe it is a personal choice to start, then of course one gets addicted and can't seem to stop. But, in the end, it was too un-attractive and expensive! Addicted or not...haha
hth


----------



## d_flawless (Aug 18, 2006)

i'm a former smoker. i dated a guy who hated it and i stopped cold turkey.

i'll have the occasional cigarette but truth be told, just like peer pressure can influence you to do things, it can also turn you away from them.


----------



## Another Janice! (Aug 19, 2006)

I smoke.  I have for longer than I care to admit.  I started because my best friend and I thought we were cool swiping our parents ciggys and hiding behind the houses to smoke.

Truth be told, I love to smoke.  Yes, I know it is killing me softly.  But I also know that I cannot quit until I really want to.  And right now, I really DON'T want to.  The longest I ever quit for was 10 days when I was 15 because I had my tonsils removed and it just hurt too bad.  Why I ever lit another one is beyond me.  

The smell sucks and so does the expense, but overall, I find it enjoyable.


----------



## pumpkincat210 (Aug 19, 2006)

I'm a former smoker too.  I quit cold turkey when I did it..and it was 5 years ago.  The getting wrinkles early and cancer was a good deterrent.


----------



## queenofdisaster (Aug 19, 2006)

i quit cold turkey b/c i got pregnant. and my loving husband quit too... (although he uses chewing tobacco now, ugh) but i really can honestly say i don't miss it, i don't have cravings and i won't start again. i don't want wrinkles or cancer... at least prematurely.


----------



## VeganChick (Aug 20, 2006)

I rarely smoke, but I do. I can never figure out what to tell people when they ask if I smoke.
It's not an addiction for me, nor is it due to peer pressure. It takes the edge off and yes, it makes me feel good. I never gave into the pressure to smoke with my friends when they did, I got cigarettes off people I knew on my own time and smoked alone. I have smoked a couple times with friends though, but only after I asked if I could have a hit of whatever they were smoking at the time.
It's not a habit and I don't condone it in any way. I hate the smell, which is probably why I never picked up the habit. But it nearly always makes me feel better, and it's better than the other drugs I've been tempted to get into...
It's bad for me and I know it, which is why I don't do it very often...

If you haven't started, don't start now. If you are addicted, I'd advise quitting. Myself, I'm on middle ground and I won't change that until I have to. But the more distance you put between yourself and anything containing tobacco, tar and nicotine will make you better off for it.


----------



## DaizyDeath (Aug 22, 2006)

im sorry but thats a bunch of bull that its a personal choice smoking not only causes harm to the person who smokes but it also causes pollution in the air and and to the people around smokers so it damages all of us. 


I was talking to this guy who use to work at the labratorys for phillip morris around a year ago. [btw he didnt smoke at all] and he said that his team of people had developed a cigarette that was non addictive and wouldnt harm the body. Guess what 1 week later he was fired all of his studys were destroyed and he was instructed to never tell anybody about this beacuse if he did then "bad stuff" could happen. 

Why would you want to give your money to a company that tests and torchures animals and they certainly dont care about you. 

Cigs contain Arsenic, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, tar and carbon monoxide and some other poisons mmmm yummy.


And btw phillip morris also owns those gum companys that claim to help you stop smoking. Btw those gums have nicotine in them thats why they help. But i guess it is better just to have the nicotine and not the rest.


Ive never been rude to smokers infact ive even dated a smoker but now ive seen a few smokers say their vegan and love animals and also ooo when they see a car driving down the road that has shit comming out the tail pipe their like omg why is that on the road.
Yet their doing the same thing?


----------



## Tyester (Aug 22, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *DaizyDeath* 
_... ive seen a few smokers say their vegan and love animals and also ooo when they see a car driving down the road that has shit comming out the tail pipe their like omg why is that on the road.
Yet their doing the same thing?_

 
These are the funniest people of them all.

It IS a personal choice, you can either choose to not smoke/be addicted/admit it or you can choose to pollute the air/cause harm to yourself and others/stink like crap/have bad breathe/have bad teeth/get crazy when you don't get your fix.

But I don't know if it's hipocritical of me to say every once in a blue moon I enjoy a cigar. I'm not addicted, and it RARELY happens because I hate the taste it leaves on my breathe.


----------



## Dreamergirl3 (Aug 22, 2006)

I don't think it's a choice to get addicted, but CHOOSING to START smoking IS a "personal choice." It does cause pollution, secondhand smoke kills, and it does harm the enviroment and everyone in it.
Yet the choice to START, is in fact, a personal choice.

Phillip Morris does own "stop smoking" aids, and they contain nicotine because when your body is so addicted and dependant on nicotine, it can be damaging to quit cold turkey, and it's a lot harder. They work by weaning your body off nicotine.


----------



## Tyester (Aug 22, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Dreamergirl3* 
_I don't think it's a choice to get addicted, but CHOOSING to START smoking IS a "personal choice." It does cause pollution, secondhand smoke kills, and it does harm the enviroment and everyone in it.
Yet the choice to START, is in fact, a personal choice._

 
THAT'S what I meant to say... not the addiction , the starting.


----------



## bellaetoile (Aug 22, 2006)

i smoke. i have for a couple years, off and on.

i'm not necessarily "quitting", but i am slowing down, and i can go for days without a cigarette. i tend to be more of a social smoker, especially since most of my friends smoke, and when we go for a night out, cigarettes almost always get factored into our plans, lol.

i do believe in being respectful, though, of non-smokers. i know how aggravating and ulhealthy smoking is, and i try, to the best of my ability to do it when there aren't others around. i'm aware that second-hand smoke kills, so i try to be as reppectful as possible.


----------



## Vicky88 (Aug 22, 2006)

I smoked at school somtimes, if I could get cigarettes then when I got to college I started smoking 20 a day for around 6 months.

I quit when my mum was pregnant and had my brother, but truth is, I think deep down, I'm still a smoker and will smoke again when I move out. 

I haven't smoked for around two years now (except for like twice, at a party) and I will try my best to keep that up, but when I'm living alone who knows what will happen?


----------



## Katura (Aug 25, 2006)

Thanks for all of your replies.

 I had a minnor slip up in my nice long streak of not smoking this past weekend...at a party, having a few drinks, "hey lets go smoke a jack..." blah blah blah....went from there to me going to the 7-11 to grab my own later that night. Now, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm a little mad at myself. When I first started dating my boy, we both smoked. I quit right before Christmas vaca as my parents are super against it (they made my grandparents stop smoking or they couldnt come see me when I was born...they quickly did) After the first of the year, my boyfriend quit too. I was so proud of him. About two months ago though, he started slipping back in there, and I was *ofcourse* giving him a bit of crap for it, telling him it was gross, that I didnt like it; I wasnt telling him NO but just what I thought after the long absence of Marlboro Menthol Lights from our lives.

So now! I feel like a bit of a hypocrit.

rrrrrrrg.


----------



## MAC_Whore (Aug 26, 2006)

Through my parents divorce and subsequent remarriages, I had 8 grandparents at one time.  5 out of 8 were smokers.  Of the 5....

One died of emphysema, one died of throat cancer, 2 more have  emphysema now, another has had throat cancer, but was able to survive through treatment.  Unfortunately, the treatment scared her throat so badly, she lost the ability to swallow and now has to use a feeding tube in her stomach.  

I am sorry if this is too graphic for some, but this is what the harsh reality of smoking is.  I have spent too many days in hospitals watching people I love try to breathe.

Quit now....for yourself and those who love you.  I know it is hard, but every effort you make gets you closer to being smoke free.


----------



## Jaim (Aug 27, 2006)

My mom quit smoking after getting some sort of laser treatment, then stopped again after hypnosis. She is bad and started up again though.


----------



## aquarius11 (Aug 28, 2006)

I'm not a smoker; never smoked, never will.  But, my dad smoked (2-3 packs/day) for over 40 years and just 3 years ago he had a major heart attack and almost didn't make it.  He had 2 stents put in one of his major coronary arteries, which was 90% blocked.  He was told by the docs he needed to quit cold turkey.  And they said that his smoking habit was the primary cause/reason he had the heart attack.  Needless to say, he struggled to quit and from time to time for the first few months he'd sneak cigs.  After my mom caught him and brought it to his attention that it was a matter of life or death and he needed to quit altogether, he finally gave up.  He hasn't touched a cig since.  The docs even said his heart is starting to get stronger where it was damaged from the heart attack.  I don't know first hand what it's like to quit, but I did witness my dad struggle with quitting, and to be quite honest, he's doing so much better health wise.  

I wish you luck in your quest to kick the habit for good!


----------



## flowerhead (Aug 28, 2006)

I smoke about 40 malboro lights a day, and I know it's awful for your health but i enjoy my cigarettes too much to give up.


----------



## caffn8me (Aug 28, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Another Janice!* 
_Truth be told, I love to smoke.  Yes, I know it is killing me softly._

 
There's nothing soft about lung cancer or coronary artery disease.  I've had many members of my family die prematurely from smoking related diseases and none had a pleasant death.

The lung picture below is a genuine autopsy/post mortem picture of a smoker's and a non-smoker's lungs and heart.  As well as the obvious difference of colour due to tar and soot, the heart in the smoker is significantly enlarged as it has to work harder to pump blood through compromised lungs.

I should also add that when I was at medical school I saw (and dissected) this sort of damage first hand.  It isn't pretty.


----------



## Katura (Aug 28, 2006)

Oh yuck....I hate how that looks...I'd rather my body be pretty on the inside as well as the outside..... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




AH! and I came clean to the boyfriend about my slip up. He forgave, but told me 'Baby, there is NO reason for you to be smoking! You're too good/pretty/blah blah blah/boyfriend mushyness...for that!"

I shall work harder.


----------



## Shimmer (Aug 28, 2006)

I've also worked with smoke damaged lungs.
It's NOT pretty. :/
Smoking isn't "awful" for your health, it's deadly, it truly is. 

Of course it's also a personal choice.


----------



## Wattage (Aug 28, 2006)

*WARNING - may be disturbing to smokers!!!!*

So I thought I would just share some images of just a select few of things smoking cigarettes can do to your body:

Necrotic tissue:






Healthy lungs (what your lungs SHOULD look like):






Smoker's lungs: 
















Wanna kiss, baby??






Some food for thought next time you want a ciggy...


----------



## Shimmer (Aug 28, 2006)

I just hurled my fucking breakfast. :hurl:


----------



## Wattage (Aug 28, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Shimmer* 
_I just hurled my fucking breakfast. :hurl:_

 

LOL - that was the effect I was going for... glad it worked


----------



## Shimmer (Aug 28, 2006)

Too bad I don't smoke 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



I;m just a hapless bystander


----------



## Jennifer Mcfly (Aug 28, 2006)

Wattage, can you add the damaged lung pic, it's not showing up for me.

I'm going to send this link to my bf, who is a smoker! I freakin' hate it! For 2 years I've been trying to get him to quit. Not only b/c it stinks to high hell but also for his health. He has alot of smoke related deaths in his family so he really shouldn't be risking it...


----------



## MAC_Whore (Aug 28, 2006)

I just made myself the most delicious wrap with grilled chicken, shredded cabbage, a bit of tzatziki and tomatoes.  I was just taking a bite when I saw these!  Yak! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  Timing, eh?  

Seriously though, thanks for posting these.  Tangible evidence is sometimes what it takes.


----------



## Wattage (Aug 28, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Jennifer Mcfly* 
_Wattage, can you add the damaged lung pic, it's not showing up for me.

I'm going to send this link to my bf, who is a smoker! I freakin' hate it! For 2 years I've been trying to get him to quit. Not only b/c it stinks to high hell but also for his health. He has alot of smoke related deaths in his family so he really shouldn't be risking it..._

 

Hey JMcF 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Pics are back up, plus a few extras - just a special tidbit for your bf


----------



## Raerae (Sep 1, 2006)

Heh

I smoked for a bit, about 2 years ago...

I picked up the habit from friends...  College dorms, people I wanted to hang out with, asking for a cig is an easy way in, since smokers dont always like smoking alone (I know I didn't, but if the same person always asked to bum a cig because they didn't buy their own, i'd stop sharing).  Same thing happened with a job I had.  It's a easy way in, since it's social.  Plus you'll often find that a lot of skinny attractive girls smoke.  And thats the crowd I generally hang out with.  Not to mention meeting guys.  See a cute guy you want to talk too, and he's smoking?  Walk up and ask to eigther bum a cig, or borrow a lighter.  Instant ice breaker.  So as bad for your health as it is, it does have it's advantages in some ways, socially anyways.  But those same advantages are also keeping you away from meeting non smokers of the same type.  So imho looking back, it's a wash.

I wasn't a heavy smoker, and would generally smoke on work breaks, or @ parties.  Since when you smoke, a lot of your friends smoke, just how it happens.  And one of my roomates smoked, so we'd sit on the porch and drink and smoke @ night and chit chat.

How did I quit?  I got sick.  Not from smoking, but from the flu that went around one year.  I was hacking up nasty tar covered stuff from my lungs (gross i know LOL), and that stuff taisted NASTY!  Congestion + smoking = not happy.  Plus i really hated how it made my hands, clothes, everything smell.  And no amount of washing your hands, and perfume would change that.  So i just decided I'm over it.  I never wanted to be a smoker, and regardless of how little or much you smoke, your still a smoker.  I quit cold turker, and then gave my roomate a hard time till she quit too.

I will admit, I've probably bummed a handful of cigs in the years since, but generally it involves alcohol, and a hot guy i want to talk too.  And well, it worked then, it still works now.  But I have no intention of buying a pack ever again.  And if my boyfriend does end up being a smoker, i'll make him quit, cuz kissing is so gross when one person smokes, and the other person doesn't.  LOL!


----------



## mizzTruLe (Sep 17, 2006)

OMG.  i didnt expect to see those pictures! ewww disgusting..please gimme a warning beforehand. LOL. it's actually making me want to quit smoking tho.  so good job? hahaha


----------



## hannahjohnson (Nov 20, 2006)

I'm a smoker, I started very very young, but quit for several years when I decided my friends were bad, bad influences... I started again a couple summers ago when I started hanging out with a new group of friends... all smokers.

I nearly got the boot from cosmetology school for constantly smelling like smoke, so I quit smoking for 7 weeks while I was there, and thoroughly washed all of my clothes. Of course, I started again afterwards, because I had 6 packs of cigarettes left, the remainder of my last carton before I had quit. Blahhh i kept on smoking, but I've cut down greatly. At the most I have four a day, a bad day up to 6 or 7, a good day (most days now, thankfully!) only one or two!

I know this will sound bad, and others might still say "You're still a smoker, you're still killing yourself." But after smoking a pack and a half per day... after eating, while drinking coffee, chainsmoking with friends etc, I'm pretty proud of myself! 

My mom says she'll buy me some Gum or Patches for a "thanksgiving gift" (teehee, i've never gotten one of those before!!), because I'm pretty positive I wanna quit very, very soon, before I have to get a job making-over strangers. It would NOT be good to be stinky at a real awesome job!!

PS, my Grandmother died from cancer (she was a lifetime smoker... over 60 years 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 ), but it was breast cancer that spread to her lungs, liver, colon, spleen etc. but my Great Grandfather who was a constant chewer, cigar and cigarette smoker, lived to 108, and was never diagnosed with cancer. He just died of old age. But I think a major reason he lived so long was his dedication to his work (He worked as an AMAZING First Amendment Lawyer for over 70 years... he retired at 103, mind still as clear as a bell!!) He represented a whole bunch of feminist and anarchist revolutionaries in the 50's, 60's and 70's, Black Panthers (Including Afeni Shakur, 2Pac's mommy, in the 70's!!), criminals who were falsely accused of murders and were on death row falsely etc. It was VERY RARE for a waspy white dude to represent (pro bono, most of the time, too) some VERY taboo people.

He was SO PASSIONATE about his work, it was what he LIVED for! I think that's the reason he lived so long, and I really hope that I don't get sick, so I can still pursue my passions, like he instilled in me, since i was very little.

SORRY THAT WENT SO OFF-TOPIC! I'm just so proud of him, and I miss him very much, and he was the smartest and most inspirational man I've ever met, not to mention he's a case of a guy who didn't get cancer. Sorry, ya'll!


----------



## NikkiHorror (Nov 22, 2006)

I was going to post pictures of what smoking can do to your body, but thank you for taking care of that!  I think everyone needs a wake up call once in awhile.

I have never chosen drugs, alcohol or cigarettes for myself.  Put simply, smoking is fricking disgusting, and I think the worst thing you can do to yourself.  A cigarette is a cancer-causing stick cocktail of over 4,000 toxic chemicals...ammonia, carbon monoxide, pesticides, formaldehyde, tar, acetone, cynanide just to name a few.  Holy shit, it's like you're poisoning yourself from the inside out. For me, it's not worth it.  Slowly killing myself over time just to end up with wrinkles and gray skin, smelling like an ashtray, getting mouth cancer, having black tar-filled lungs, and becoming physically dependant on something has no place in my life.

And I don't need to get a high to feel good about life or about myself.

[ _See_ straightedge. ]


----------



## quandolak (Nov 28, 2006)

..........


----------



## Pascal (Dec 5, 2006)

three years ago I started smoking , it only lasted three months, and that was it. I just couldn't convince myself to really like it, it felt like I was living a lie, it made me smell bad, costs money. Also I would always take a drag out of the left side of my mouth and now I have one yellow tooth and the rest of my teeth are white, it's disgusting. Now I am allergic to it so if I'm in public and someone is smoking it's drives me crazy and I get a sore throat. Plus I hate wrinkles, and dread the idea of wrinkles of my face. ewwwwwwwww


----------



## jenii (Dec 5, 2006)

I used to occasionally smoke from the ages of around 14 to the age of about 24. As in, it would take me a month to go through one pack. Occasionally, I'd smoke more and it'd take me two weeks, but that's as bad as it got.

I tend to be fine with quitting anything, except SODA. I cannot get that monkey off my back, no matter how hard I try. And I really do want to stop drinking it because it's bad for me, and I'd kinda like to lose some weight, and I *know* that the soda is completely screwing that up for me.

Anyway, nope. Didn't have a problem quitting cigarettes. I wasn't too into them in the first place.


----------

