2 packs a day for the past year or so, but i've been smoking for 12 years now. i know all the cancer stats but i'd rather live a full 40 than a bland 80.

 

Sorry, but that's just plain stupid. Do you really think your life will be bland if you quit smoking?

 

no, it's not stupid. it means everything i do, i do because i enjoy doing it. i enjoy smoking, so i don't deny myself. if you think i meant not smoking would make my life boring, you're wrong. but if i want to do something, i just go ahead. i'm not promised tomorrow so i don't bother living my life trying to make it last forever. hopefully, that clarifies things a little better.

 

started smoking at 17... quit for about half a year when i was 18... and officially quit last year, i'm turning 21 soon and it's been almost a year since i've been smoke free. at my worst i was at 3/4 of a pack a day. now i jog and excercise regularly. i need to get my lungs back. smoke free is the only way to be.

i now hate being around cigarette smokers. the smell, though it brings back some nostalgia, for the most part it makes me gag.

 

 

ive started smoking 5 years ago. Im quitting next month, even though no one likes a quitter.

 

smoking is fun and i enjoy it. the smell of smoke never bothered me. i was around smokers a lot when i was younger and didn't smoke. i always liked the smell. that's why i don't understand why people b%tch about it all the time. i hate the second hand smoke argument too. how can smelling a cigarette be more dangerous for you than actually inhailing it directly? you still breath second hand smoke when you are smoking directly.

 

An occasional cigar on the golf course.

 

An occasional cigar on the golf course.

 

I smoke Camel Silvers. But i don't smoke inside my car. I smoke around 1/2 a pack a day now. Started when i was almost 16, stopped when i was 18, started again about 5 or so months ago.

 

That's why I can't be an alcholic, they have to go to meetings, meetings are for quitters and my daddy didn't raise no quitters....

 

amen.... I smoke left handed cigarettes daily.... regular cigs too... have been smoking both for about 4 years.... 1/2-3/4 pack a day...

 

Red 100's

 

Non-Smoker here... Never have, never will! Unless smoking tires counts... I'm addicted to that...

 

Yes, but not in the box. I still have my new car smell after a year and a half. Did for15 years then quit for 4 years then restarted recently but only 1/2 a pack a day.

I love how they come up with the stats for how many have died from smoking. Right, like every body that died had no vices other than smoking, didn't eat red meat and didn't breath the outside air???

 

Well everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but something people don't realize is everybody has something they go back to, or run to..to escape their stress, issues or whatever. For me being a musician, its music and cigarettes and occasionally drinking..

As for the death, its not rocket science that smoking does speed up a persons death. However, everybody dies someday and if someone chooses to smoke, then so be it. I agree with some scientist, that being heavily over-weight (no offense to anyone) will be a leading cause of death in the united states within the next fifty years if diets and bad habbits aren't changed. Smoking is just as dangerous as being over weight. But society has made it a common and natural thing for people to accuse, make fun of and absolutely despise smokers. Personally, i think its rude and disrespectful when people come up to me telling me how bad it is, and how bad it is for others around. Theres no true test results that says second hand smoke kills, if you can show me proof of this i will apologize but i bet you $100 you won't find a single respectable scientist that says there is proof. There isn't. And it's not like the people that come up to me care about me, they don't know anything about me. They just see a guy with a cigarette and assume things. Pre-judgement is the worst judgement anyone can make.

Obviously, there are those that have smoked for 80 years and have virtually no signs of cancer related to smoking. But thats rare, very rare actually. But oh well, we all make choices in life and nothing comes free. Everything has its own consequences, wether its smoking, drinking, drugs, driving, sex, eating, driving a car or having a baby.

Okay, i'm done ranting.

 

It's funny how this topic can spark a heated debate. I can see this from both sides because I smoked for about 8 years. The weird part is, it seems like no matter which "side" you're on, you can find studies and test results to back up your claim. You are correct....it's not rocket science. If you breathe in smoke, it will damage your lungs. The smoke contains tar and other toxins. Any 7th grader who's seen a smoker's lung sample can tell you that. Enough of it can either make you sick, or kill you. If I walk into a room where people are smoking and it's in the air around me, I'm breathing it too. Having a non-smoking section in a restaurant, is like having a no-peeing section in a swimming pool.

The part I think is funny, is how people will try to justify any destructive behavior with the old, "Ya gotta die of smething" argument. Yes, that's true. We are all going to die someday. But I would rather live a long healthy life than one that ends early from cancer or other preventable disease. My wife's father was a heavy smoker and drinker. He died of a heart attack when my wife was just a freshman in high school. I'm sure she would have loved to have her father longer than that. I'm not saying that you should never do anything that's bad for you. I have an occasional drink, but I don't get drunk. I love red meat (steak on the grill is my favorite meal) but I know not to have it all the time. I also exercize regularly to stay in shape. Most things in moderation are fine. The problem with smoking is how incredibly addictive it is. Most people can't just smoke occasionally. They either don't smoke at all, or they smoke every day.

 

^
Yes, if someone is around you smoking its a fact you will breathe in some smoke, i'm not debating or even coming close to denying that. However, theres no pure fact of long term testing that shows second hand smoke truly kills. Infact, the amount of smoke you actually inhale from second hand smoke is so minimal compared to that of actually smoking, it would take at least twice as long to show symptoms... Which if you take an average amount of years it takes to seriously cause problems, which is usually 25-35 years of smoking. Lets just say 25 years, multiply that and you get 50 years. Then you have to take into account, you aren't breathing this air no where near as much as you would if you smoked. Only when you are close enough, and around a smoking person(s). Which would indicate that it would take even longer, lets just say 65 years for it to actually take into effect. 65 years, unless you are surrounded by it from day one, hour one of your birth..The chances of you having cancer in direct cause of second hand smoke while you are alive, is going to be so slim that it's basically impossible..However it can happen, but very, very unlikely.

As for the "everyone has to die someday" comment you and i both referred to. My point was, i personally would rather not live to be 90 years old and have to be taken care of 24/7 by nurses and others. I would perfer not to die from cancer, i'm positive i will quit (i've quit in the past) before anything happens to me to the point of no return. But, even if i never smoked at all i would still rather die prior to being nursed everyday just to live. Thats a miserable thought, at least, in my opinion it is because i would feel in the way of other peoples lives by forcing others to take care of me due to old age and bad health that comes with old age.

Theres no win in situtations of death, you can either die with natural causes or un-natural, but one thing is for sure we are not immortal. What doesn't kill us, just ensures something else will. Theres millions of things that can kill us in this world, wasting time worrying about this just causes you to loose track of whats really important.

I'm not trying to start some heavy debate on here, but people need to realize blaming smokers isn't the answer and solves nothing. Everyone knows its unhealthy and horrible for your health in long term experiences and usage, no one will argue with that if they have any common sense at all. But no matter what anyone does, learn to respect those who live different life styles. No matter what it is, because in the end, everyone is the same one way or another. Its like i said before, everyone has their own thing to escape and "help" stress, depression and so on. It just so happens mine is cigarettes and music. Whos to judge me and say i'm a horrible person for that, making me or anyone else feel like crap isn't a way to win over anyone. I'm not saying you are doing this, you appear to have an open mind and i respect that in a great amount... Its rare in this world that people can actually keep an open mind with anything, its sad..truly sad. Anyways, i'm just talking in general.

 

I think the main complaint for most non-smokers about second-hand smoke, is that they don't want to breathe any of it. They don't want a smoker figuring out if the amount they are breathing is enough to hurt them or not.

I agree with you 100% about not wanting to live to be 90 if it means having to be taken care of in a nursing home. But it doesn't always mean that. That example is always used. Sure, some people end up that way. But what about the people who live to be 90 and are still healthy at home and semi-productive? There are plenty of those too. I could be the perfect picture of health and die in a car crash today. You never know. I just think it makes sense to limit the stuff that's obviously bad for you and has been shown to cause preventable problems. It's simply improving the odds.

 

When I started at 16 my parents thought the only thing that was really harmful to me was rock and roll! Unfortunately, it took having to be on oxygen to finally quit smoking! But, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and I have a new xA.........life is good!!!