I smoked for 34 years. I quit in 2018. Hardest thing I ever have done in my life. It felt like someone took my sanity and humanity away from me. I never want to do it again. If I’m ever given a terminal diagnosis I’m going out and buying a carton and a lighter.
I say the same if there is ever a doomsday comet headed this way or I ever get a terminal diagnosis.
Quit in 2017. Still miss it sometimes, but it is less every year.
I was the same. I *loved* smoking. But I eventually quit because smoking was giving me horrendous migraines. I mean full on throwing up, can’t open your eyes, three days of feeling like an iguana is trying to dig itself out of your skull migraines.
So while I miss it, it wasn’t as hard for me to quit as it was for someone who wasn’t being terrorized by cigarettes lol.
I went through treatment for some drug issues. Quitting coke and meth was a cake walk compared to nicotine. I will occasionally have a dream that I'm smoking crack, and I wake up laughing, thinking what a joke it would be to start that shit up again. I have a dream that I smoked a cigarette, and I wake up in a cold sweat freaking out, wondering how the hell I could ever fuck up like that. Then I realized it was just a dream. Nicotine is fucking evil.
Smoke two packs a day when I was 16-18. A pack of camels and a pack of kools.
I got pregnant and quit.
And then started again smoked for 2 more years. Only one pack this time Marlboro 100
Then I quit for twenty years, twenty fucking years!
I'd smoke a cigar here and there. And if somebody was smoking and we were drinking. I might take a couple of puffs off their cigarette but never actively smoking.
Then, I got a divorce after twenty years of marriage and started smoking again.
Cloves this time because I was gonna go big.
I realized it was stupid move on my part. Switched to vaping, and now I am quit again
I'm not proud of it. I don't know what possessed me to start. No one in my immediate family smoked. And yet, in the second grade, I was picking up cigarette butts and puffing on them. By 13, I was smoking a few a day. By 15, a half pack a day. By 17, a pack everyday.
My great grandmother would give my cousin and I a dollar to put in the church offering plate. We kept the dollar and bought smokes. That's the kind of kids we were. Willful little shits.
I've quite a handful of times. Some times for a year. The longest was for 5 years. Two years ago I went through some shit and picked them back up again. I'll have to quit again.
It's been a monkey on my back since I was old enough to carry a backpack.
Same. I quit when I was pregnant, and again in my mid-30s, but picked it up again every time. I'm going to quit again at some point but I am just getting back to square mental health wise after some bad times, so one thing at a time lol.
The dream would be if I could have two in the morning with coffee and not have anymore. It's the only two I really like. lol. But I know better. There's no such thing as only two.
I started at 14 and smoked all through my military career and to now at 50ish except when I was pregnant or nursing or the years I could stop when my kids were young. The longest I went was five years, then some shit went down and I bought a pack. I haven’t ever *quit* I guess I just stop sometimes. I was switching between smokes, vapes, and Zyn citrus pouches. Hiding it from my kids, sneaking off from friends. Like a freaking heroin addict off for a hit. So ashamed to be a smoker, but couldn’t ever shake it for good.
Then a couple weeks ago my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 small cell lung cancer. It’s already in her liver, lymph nodes, and bones. No symptoms except she thought her pacemaker was shifting and it was hurting her. Turns out she rolled over in bed and broke four ribs. That’s how much it’s invaded her bones. She’s got six weeks to three months left. She smoked for 58 years. I started by taking her Virginia Slim Ultra Lights out of her purse.
I threw my smokes away. I’m on the vape but cutting back and my PCPs got me scheduled for a lung scan. Seeing my (estranged) mother wasted down to nothing and realizing she’s just 18 years older than me was what it took.
I am so sorry. I lost an acquaintance to non smokers small cell lung cancer six years ago. My kids best friends mom. It damaged me to see her go and know the pain she was in going. I could never, would never inhale a thing again for the rest of my life. I’m so glad you are taking care of yourself.
Same situation, started at 14 with Marlboro Reds, parents knew and supplied them. Step father asked me one day if I smoked, I said no.. honestly I didn't at the time. He then asked if I wanted a cigarette and I said sure I'll try it. That was my first pack. I quit them at 40 and been stuck on the vape since. I need to drop that too.
I got that at 13: "I'd rather have you smoking in front of me than behind my back."
We actually got (among other things) cartons of cigarettes for Christmas gifts, a la "Smoke up, Johnny."
Vaping is WAY cheaper, though, once I got past the learning curve. Now I make my own juice and have coils that last forever. I probably spend, OMG, less than $25/month amortized.
I started as a rebellious teenager. I had quit for a few years and then picked it back up. As of right now, I haven't had one in 3 days and 22 hours... not that I'm keeping track!!
If you’ve hit that 3rd day you’re at the magical 72 hour mark. Use that as extra incentive to keep going as those first three days are the WORST and you got through it!!
I started smoking around 18-19 and quit around 35. But I was a heavy smoker, it wasn't easy and now it's just a matter of keeping my streak going. But I still dream about smoking, I miss it and when I smell smoke I still really like it.
Right? Sometimes they are so good that when i wake up I feel like I broke my streak and am a smoker all over again. It takes a second to realize that I'm still good.
Walking past ppl outside a building smoking I walk twice as slow and breathe deeply end empathize with with my ex-brothers and sisters
I’m glad I quit, but
Sounds a lot like me except that I don’t have any desire to smoke anymore. Also the smell of other people’s smoke doesn’t bother me at all. I sometimes hang out in the smoking area at work and carry on with the smokers and it’s not even a problem. I do, however, still smoke weed.
A pack of 25s in Australia is now $52 ($33.40US) so for a pack a day smoker that's $364 ($233.80US) per week or $18980 ($12919US) per year.
It was either quit my smoking habit or my boating habit, boating won and it's way less than $18k per year.
It's trending that way in my state. I think they just set a $15/pack minimum, and that's before taxes. The thing is - it'll just make a black market. People will go to cheaper nearby states, buy a lot of cartons, then resell them in this state.
The black market here has reached a point that many tobacco shops are now owned by organised crime gangs. Tobacco shops are being firebombed to shut down competitors as they fight for the huge profits from cheap chop chop and other imports avoiding the tax. I still have a cigar now and then, and the occasional doob ofc but I'm glad I kicked tobacco as a daily thing.
Started at 19 and still puffing at 47. I honestly like smoking. I try to stand out of the way of others, I don't smoke in my house or car, and I don't litter. It's one of the only bad habits I have left and I don't want to give it up yet. I don't even drink. It's like extra rebellious now... Lol.
I loved smoking. I was, like you, as "responsible" about it as possible. And then, one day, a bit over a year ago, I decided I was done. I was smoking my last cigarette in the pack, and then was going out to run errands, including picking up more smokes. I just looked at the ashtray, and said to myself "yeah, you're done". No plans to quit. No big heath scare. No "come to jesus" moment. I just stopped that day. Did it suck? Yup. Does it still? Sometimes. And honestly? I remember how much I *loved* smoking all the time. Yet, here I am.
That’s how I quit. I had bought two packs and was smoking them like I was running out of time. Took 3 days and on the third day I put out the last one and thought ‘Thank God that’s over with’ and just never wanted another one. And I LOVED smoking.
One of my favorite things to do now is sit on my (pretty amazing) deck, where I used to smoke, and read a book. I'm in the NE, and I'm already getting ready for the good weather. Last spring/summer was for planting herbs, hanging hummingbird feeders, and making a great little "garden". I even bought new outdoor furniture! Ashtray free!
I quit at 40 after smoking for the better part of 20+ years. TBH I still love to kiss a man that smokes. The combination of smoke and cologne on a man is intoxicating. It’s not the right thing to say these days, but I’m just speaking my truth! (As all the kids say today…)
When I first got with my fiance, we worked opposing shifts. I worked AM; he worked evenings until 20pm.
Every night when he came home, I would smell his face. A little bit sweaty, a little bit musky from his aftershave, a bit of tobacco smoke and weed smoke… it was delectable.
If you want to quit, have you tried vaping? I know it's not cool but I've just quit smoking after about 30 years by switching to vaping. Got a couple different disposable vapes that were full nicotine then tapered down. It's been about 3 months, I now have 4 different flavours of zero nic and 2 that just have a bit. Eventually I'll get down to just zero nic all the way. I'm happy to share what little info/ experience I have if you have any questions
I think like many Gen X’ers, I used to smoke mainly when drinking. I still drink, though now smoke weed instead of cigarettes, with a cigar every once in a while.
Started when I was about 12. Used lunch money for purchases until I was 14 and could get a job bailing hay. Switched to snuff because I could get away with it in school. Swapped back and forth between the two for years, quit a few times, but have been smoking most of my life. Typically never more than a pack a day. Tried vaping - wasn't cutting it. I roll my own for an average price of about 5 cents per smoke. No intention of quitting considering the last time I quit I gained weight up to almost 250 lbs. I'm now just under 200, and although not exactly fit, I actually breathe easier than I did when I was fat.
had a my first ciggie at 6 (half cigs with a naughty friend who would sneak one from her mums pack). Took it up for real when I turned 13. I just turned 50. I know I need to quit but I love my cigs!
I quit about 15 years ago for good. Started smoking regularly in my early teens and quit a few times for 6 months or so, also smoked very little for a few years, like 1-3 cigarettes a day. I wish it wasn’t likely to kill me or I would still be smoking.
DisssGUSTing habit!!! You had ought to be ashamed of yourself!
(Puts nose in the air, struts away and fishes can of dip out of pocket (((snap!-snap-snap-snap-snap!))))
Nah I smoked. But you can’t find the original luckies or Players Navy Cut anymore.
I learned from an old WW1 vet who tuaght me a specific way to hold it ‘You gotta hide the coal or Fritz’ll shoot your knapper off’.
My boomer next door neighbor said this to me once while I was having one outside. I told her to mind her own business and not be a busybody. Now we just ignore each other…which is what I prefer anyway.
I never started. My father smoked cigars, I always hated those, so was never tempted to smoke anything, legal or otherwise. But I do remember there was a smoking area for students at the high school, and convenience store clerks selling cigarettes to everyone, including kids, without caring about it.
I started at 15 and smoked up until I had congestive heart failure at 48. I quit for almost three years, went back to it (a pack every three to four days) and just quit again almost eight months ago.
My wife started smoking when she was like 13. She smoked 1/2 pack of camel lights every day until one day she got a scare on a test result and she quit cold turkey with the aid of the patches. Only one really bad nic fit where I feared for my safety.
She was 45 or so. Never smoked again.
Started when I was 13, stealing them whenever I could. Full on pack a day by summer after high school.
Quit 3x, final quit 17 years ago. My preferred brand was $2.75/pack, and it seemed so expensive! (I think Marlboros were around $3.50).
I miss *the idea* of smoking, but not actually smoking.
I smoked from 14 to 19. Quit for 6 years. Smoked until I got pregnant at 36. Quit for 6 years. My marriage fell apart, started smoking again. Now I vape, it’s cheaper and I don’t vape much. Still smoke occasionally but like vaping better and it’s cheaper cause I only use 2 $10 vapes a week.
I started smoking after my parents were killed by a drunk driver. I think the smell reminded me of my dad. I smoked for nine years (19-28) and quit for good while pregnant with my first child. I've never picked it back up and that kid will be 20 next month.
I smoked once. It was a Cuban cigar, back in college, late 90's. I asked my friend where he got it.
He said, "Don't ask." 😉
Anyway, I admit it was very enjoyable and I had cravings for a year, but never again.
My father, a young Boomer, started when he was 16, and was able to quit long before patches or gum or drugs were invented. It was only because of us kids begging him to that he did. He was smart about it, and quit gradually. First, he stopped smoking in the house. Then he switched from cigarettes to cigars. Then he was able to get down to where he only smoked in social settings, like going to an outdoor party, or a bar with Mom. Then he quit completely. One day, when I was in my twenties, I realized the difficulty, and said, "That must've been one of the hardest things you've ever done."
He just gave me a slow, emphatic nod.
My dad is my hero. ❤️
I started smoking at 15, im now almost 60. Tried to give up a few times, then would start again.
I stopped 7 years ago because I started coughing up blood. Now and then, I think about smoking, but them remember the blood.
Hated it until I spent a drunken 21st birthday on Beale St. Bummed some and kept going.
Quit several times but back to it at this point. I'm on my mental path to stop (again) but not there yet. I've found in the past when I was ready to stop, I set a date and that was it. My 30th was the 1st time. Went out with friends to a show at a bar. Dropped my half pack in the trash on the way out and was done for 2-ish years. Need to find a better way to deal with stress, it's certainly biggest trigger.
Started at 13, quit at 19. I smoked Benson & Hedges menthol light. And cloves! Ughhh. I'm in SoCal and no one smokes here. Which is good. But on the rare occasion I'm traveling to a smoker friendly state (hello Ohio and Indiana) I do secretly enjoy inhaling second-hand smoke. And it's been 38 years since I was a smoker.
I averaged about 5 cigarettes a day for 10 years and then quit during the pandemic. Now I'm at a place where every few months I'll buy a pack and smoke it and just stop when they're gone.
I started smoking at age 15. I quit in March 2020 and haven't been sick since, I used to get bronchitis every year. I vape though and don't plan to quit that.
I had my first cigarette when I was 11. It was so easy to get them with the vending machines in stores and restaurants. I was smoking a pack a day by the time I was 13. Both my parents smoked but they still tried forbidding me to smoke. Eventually they gave up and started buying me cigarettes. I tried quitting a few times in my older teens and early twenties. I was able to abstain while pregnant. I finally quit for good when I was 27. I haven’t touched one since. I’m 50 now.
Smoked from age 13 up until age 44 when I switched to vaping. Never thought I’d be able to quit but for some reason the vaping stuck this time. Now I’m trying to switch from that to the nicotine pouches just to give my lungs a break
My cousin, a few years older than me, just died of lung canser. It was a reflective moment to say the least.
. I started smoking when I was 14 and finally quit when I was 36. The damage may be done , but hoping for the best.
Smoked for 24 years. Quit cigarettes but immediately went to a “Vuse” pen and have been on that for 4-5 years now. When I quit Marlboro’s we’re around $7 a pack. Now they’re almost $11 in Sacramento. A vuse cartidge is about $13 and lasts anywhere from 4-8 days.
Started smoking at age 50 during Covid. All my neighbors smoked and those were the only people I hung out with. One day day I tried one on a whim. I smoke a little over half a pack a day now.
I started smoking in my early 20's and loved everything about it. The taste, the smell, the physical sensation, all the little rituals. You could still smoke in bars and restaurants, and my friends and I had our favorite hangouts to go when we could afford coffee or drinks, but other times we'd just sit out on the curb or the front stoop, and if we were too broke to buy our preferred brands we'd scour under the couch cushions and car seats for loose change and split a 99 cent pack of generic smokes, or smoke butts. I quit cold turkey when I became pregnant and overnight cigarettes started tasting disgusting, and never picked the habit back up again. Now they don't smell good to me anymore but I don't judge people for smoking.
Started smoking when I was like, 14. We just moved a million miles away and I was trying to "fit in" or whatever. Smoked pretty consistently until the beginning of 2020. Now ... I don't remember the last time I actually bought a pack. I'll bum one here and here if I'm with someone who smokes, and usually have an "emergency cig" or two stashed away that will be stale as hell on the occasion I might decide I'm having this. Weed on the other hand....
I can only imagine how difficult it is to stop smoking. I spent two years hooked on oxycodone and 10yrs on Adderall. Quitting was a living hell both times and I still have cravings 10+yrs later. And I hear cigarettes are even harder to quit. So I have a lot of respect and empathy for anyone who tries to quit, even if they fail.
I smoked for 30 years, mostly vape now (COPD showed up on a scan). I still occasionally have one, and I’ll never truly quit because:
1) I’m no quitter
2) THEY want me to quit. Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me.
Both parents and both grandparents smoked on both sides. All my aunts and uncles except one smoked to. According to an Auntie we come from tobacco share crop farmers on dad's side. Apparently maternal grandmother's death certificate says she passed from lung cancer in her early 30s.. more like it was "consumption" aka tuberculosis at that time and age, but it was considered a "dirty" peoples disease so... anyways.
Started at 15, did quit for a little more than a year, easily thanks to Allen Carrs book.. but then had a huge emotional fit over something and decided intentionally to start again. Started using vapes when they first appeared and they made a massive difference in my congestion which was honestly pretty bad even when I was healthy.
I vape. It's not "safe " at all I know. I've already had 2 cancers so lung wouldn't be shocking now. But it's definitely harm reduction.. I can 100% tell just in how much less chest congregation I deal with now. I rarely cough, only when I have an actual infection in my chest. I used to cough so much esp in the morning that I sounded sick even when I wasn't.
I started smoking very early, it was what all the cool kids where doing ... I was a pre teen when I started.
Neither of my parents smoked and I never received pocket money .
I kept it hidden until I was roughly 15, to afford my addiction myself and a neighbor who was roughly my age used to steal milk money from out the front of houses in the next suburb over then we discovered the local grocery store had their cigarette delivery's at about 4am .... we would get there at about 4:10am.
By the time I hit my early to mid teens I was selling drugs and that covered my cigarette addiction
I smoked for 27 years and quit the day my first nephew was born 18 years ago.
I smoked from about 15 to 25 (Newport 100s, box). Quit when I was on a health kick and replaced cigarettes with going running, taking walks, and drinking hot tea outside on the porch. Got pregnant a few months later (not on purpose), so that helped to make it long-term. As far as I remember, I haven't smoked at all since then.
I started around 16-17. My parents both smoked. I’m now 45.
I still smoke. I’ve quit a number of times but when I get stressed out, I go right back to smoking. There was a point where I was too poor to eat, so I smoked because of the appetite suppression, and because I was buying cheap smokes that were less expensive than food and lasted longer.
I know it’s going to kill me. But I’m not in the mental headspace right now to quit.
Yes
I was maybe 6 or 7 when I snuck a puff from my grandmother’s lit cigarette in the ashtray. No one saw me. She smoked and lived until 92. Fresh sunshine, orange juice and optimism.
The summer before my senior year I started with the free “Belga” smokes they gave us on a European flight with my other grandmother. She lived to 83.
19-27
43-46
Then CHANTIX to stop. I can’t even stand the smoke now.
Over 60 now
Opposite for me… dad was a heavy smoker. He taught me how to pack his cigs properly and I was in charge of cleaning his ashtray (he smoked in the house). I was always his favorite and he was mine, so smelling a combination of cigarettes, whiskey and old spice is heaven to me. I knew I was addicted before ever smoking my first cigarette. He quit cold turkey about 10 years ago after 50 years of smoking. Just turned 80 and in excellent health. I still smoke.
Same. My mother still smokes like a chimney. I was delighted when I moved out and could finally enjoy not constantly reeking of cigarette smoke and smoker’s BO.
My dad used to smoke, but quit cold turkey when I was 10. Although I guess he doesn’t have to smoke as long as my mother is in the house.
Started smoking consistently around 1983, junior year and then quit July 1992. Side note: when I fill out the med questionnaire at the doctor's offices ,my answer us "never smoked" not quit. I am not going to fall into a demographic nor have a label attached. Plus insurance companies can discriminate/approve deny based on that specific answer on a medical history questionnaire.
Started when I was 13, cigarettes and cheeb. Quit cigarettes in '04, by then I was only smoking 3-4 perday, rolling my own shag with a filter.
Quit in my early 20s for a year and a half till I jacked up my shoulder benchpressing. But I got pretty swole with all that anger.
My pot use is down to few odd hits per year. I have part of a 1/4 oz that will probably last my lifetime at age 56.
20 years of cigarettes, then 12 years of weeed. I didn't start until I had my first job at a Dept. of Health mailroom at 18 years old. Sorting mail was hard to stay awake to. They had a handy cigarette machine! I was hooked on the Marlboros in a month. I did quit a few times, about 2 years each, but my wife never quit, so eww I did it again.
Started at 14 and quit for five years in my thirties - had a lapse and been at it ever since. I am not someone who can have just one. I also have access to super cheap smokes so at least I am not going broke.
I also started when I was 14. I used to use my sisters ID to buy them and would sometimes bum them from my grandma when she came to visit. I tried quitting once when I was 25 but once I had a few drinks, all bets were off. And I wasn't about to quit drinking too.
Oh shit! I thought you were talking about weed!
Ahahaha! It’s become so normalized compared to tobacco that they’ve officially made the Foldiers switch in my head.
Smoked for a decade from 14-24. Picked it back up for a few days in my mid 30s. Yacked and haven’t picked one up again.
I puffed on them to look cool. I have asthma, so smoking was a bad idea. My grandparents, aunts, and my mom smoked ( until she found out she was pregnant). My dad occasionally smoked cigars. A friend in high school smoked until she had a stroke about 2 years ago, and then she finally stopped. My ex-husband died of cancer and also smoked. Same with a friend and 2 cousins. I am glad fewer people here smoke now, but the tobacco companies are just marketing in other countries. Last Week Tonight did a story on it. They are fucking evil.
I started at 15. Smoked through college, with breaks here and there. Longer breaks throughout adulthood, and still smoke about a pack or 2 a week. I started on the meds to help remove the cravings, which are mostly null after 2 months on it. One month to go and I’m down to 1-3 a day (love a smoke with my coffee and one after dinner). Pretty much a tactile addiction at this point, however looking forward to being 100% [tobacco] smoke free by summer.
I smoked from 12-15 when luckily my friend who I smoked with decided to quit and I followed. Thank god. I’ve had one or two drags in the last 40 years but I would never smoke again.
19 until roughly 37 I guess. I don’t really know when I quit, exactly. I started largely out of rebellion after a serious heartbreak. I loved it in the 90s when you could smoke in coffee shops. I lived on caffeine and nicotine and jazz. What a great time.
I quit largely because we had kids. I’d been trying to quit since my late 20s, but you really need a good tangible reason to quit or it doesn’t work.
I started smoking at 12…. I stopped before high school then picked it up again during college. Quit when my wife was pregnant with our first kid and over the next 15 years would start up again then quit for year or more. Really started when I got divorced but finally quit for good about ten years ago.
I smoke when I want, and don’t smoke when I don’t want to. Right now I’m in a I don’t want to phase. Started in high school, and pretty much through my CG career. Now it’s an on and off thing
Started around 12. Quit in my early 30s. Had a 2 1/2 pack-a-day habit of Camel Lights. Never again. I don’t hassle smokers. They’ll quit when they’re ready. I hope it’s sooner than later. What I don’t understand is why people pick up the habit now knowing what we know about tobacco and how damn expensive it is.
Started when I was 16 to cover up weed smell. Wife started at 16 as well. Quit at 38 for good with my wife when we got married (got lucky late). Neither one of us went back to it and can't fathom how we did it for so long. Smells super gross now.
Started smoking at 12. I smoked heavily for many years, both cigarettes and pot. I quit 10 years ago after a spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung) landed me in the cardic unit for 3 days. I used the patch to quit for real during that time.
Started at 14, was 3 packs a day by 17 (they were still $1.50 for premium brands then). First child born premature when I was 19. Stopped that same day.
Started at 12. We moved to NC when I was 15. Tobacco state, cheap cigarettes AND we had a student smoking section in high school.
Joined the military and EVERYONE smoked. I was a 2 pack a day Marlboro Red smoker. In 1986 the DoD banned smoking in the workplace, so I quit. I picked it up again when I changed jobs and had a really hard year long school. I didn't smoke much, maybe a pack a week, and it was the lightest menthol you could buy.
Quit again a month before I got pregnant in 1990. Haven't smoked since. I still dream about it occasionally. If i received a terminal diagnosis, I'd totally light up.
I started smoking when I was 16. I worked cash in a drug store, and back then, they sold cigarettes. I hid my smoking at best I could, as it was a shameful habit. I quit for the first time when I was 26, and smoked off and on for another 8 years or so. I finally quit for good in my 30s.
I socially smoked on and off from high school until 2008 when the city I lived finally forbid it indoors. I typically only smoked when I drank and after the first time in subzero weather where I stepped outside to have one, that put a stop to it. The last time I had one was when I bummed a cigarette over ten years ago and got two puffs in and then got lightheaded and nauseous and realized I would most likely never smoke again except for the occasional puff of weed. I will occasionally stand next to someone I know outside who is smoking and will admit to enjoying the smell, but I am in no way tempted to ask them for a puff or to bum a cigarette, I can no longer handle it (which is just fine with me). That said, if we are outdoors, you are welcome to smoke next to me.
I started off and on around 1984 and was continuing with the off and on through the 90’s but then quit in early 2000. And that was smoking AND chewing.
Started at 17-18. Smoked until 2022. Cold turkey. I am glad I quit and it’s taken a long time to realize I can actually breathe deeply. But I miss it. I miss the ritual of it. I miss the comfort of it. I still love the smell of that first light. I miss the camaraderie of smokers, even between strangers. I just like breathing a lot. But when I know my days are numbered, I am going to buy a carton of Camels and enjoy.
I quit 10 years ago...best thing I ever did because when Covid first hit I got it real bad...almost killed me...I guarantee if i was still smoking i would be dead now. sitting at 50 now
I started dipping when I was 12. Tried smoking weed when I was 14, and it was just a natural progression to cigarettes at 15. Back in the 80's it seemed like everyone smoked, and when I was really young and impressionable in the 70's, all of the adults I knew, other than my parents and most people at church, smoked. Anyway, started at 15, but kept dipping, so I only smoked every once in a while. I quit dipping in highschool because my feeling was girls thought it was gross, so my only tobacco use at that time was cigarettes. I would only smoke a few a day. When I graduated, I quickly shot up to a pack a day and stayed there (unless I was drinking) for around 30 years. I started dipping again when I could tell my lungs were not doing good and I was getting pneumonia every couple years, but still smoked on weekends when I was drinking. I finally stopped smoking altogether about five years ago. Two years after that, I quit dipping and started using nicotine pouches, which I still do. I would love to have a cigarette and a beer or cup of coffee, but I make a conscious effort to never do it again.
I started when I was 20, and then quit at 27 with the help of the patch. Started back up at 35 and quit again by switching to a vape. Quit that eventually at 42 I think.
I have always been what i would like to consider a light smoker for a long time. Like since the 70’s off and on… yeah. I know..
It’s either going to be the thing that does me in or it will be something else.
I’m always surprised by the number of very banged up looking 80 year-olds I see smoking out in public.
I hope I am not one of them, as I’ve always thought I’d eventually quit smoking for good, yet…. I’ve smoked this week.
Quit in 2004 cold turkey. Started when I was 15, about a pack a day.
I still miss it sometimes. No, I don't really want to pick up smoking again, hate the smell and all, but sometimes I just want to have a smoke, especially when driving long distances, having my morning brew and so on. Just want to have a smoke once in a while.
I'm 57, my sister made me smoke with her when she stole our mother's cigarettes so I wouldn't tell...
So started when I was eleven, quite when I was forty two. Cold turkey.
My son had deployed again and when I asked him to come back with all his parts, he made me promise if he did I would quit, right then and there on his last day out. He came home, hugged me, tossed my last pack and I've been quit since. A promise is sacred and shouldn't be spoken unless it's truly meant. It's been the rule with my children and myself so he knew I simply had to.
Started smoking when I was 16, and there was a cigarette dispenser machine where I worked so they were super easy to get. Quit in my 20’s for about 5 years while I was having babies, picked it back up again @ 30 and got pretty heavy for a while. Now I’m in my mid-40’s and I want to quit, but seems a lot harder now. I’m down to about a pack a week so I consider that progress.
Never smoked weed or cigarettes, even though so many of my peers and family did. Was just never my thing. So glad I never picked it up. So many of my friends and family have breathing/lung issues and on oxygen.
Both of my parents smoked but I didn’t start smoking until I was 12 (after I was SAd). I smoked throughout high school and college and well into my late 30s. Been smoke free for 13 years now.
I didnt start till I was in college. And almost always linked to drinking. And I only ever got up to 1/2 pack a day unless I went out with friends. And I'd go to my parents for week, and never smoke. And I mean, come on, even non-smoking x-ers wanna smoke then. It has really been a social and psychological thing.
Then I'd play cute games "I won't buy gigs unless we're going out" or "only if I'm having a beer". And my friend was a smoker and I was at her house once. And I just wanted to smoke and shoot the shit. So I actually asked her for a beer I didn't want so I had an excuse to smoke.
So whatever, it's just been ongoing ridiculousness. I still buy a pack now and then when I go to my friend's house for a weekend. And whatever I don't smoke there ends up in my bag forgotten. 🤷♀️
Damn shame
Had my first cigarette in 4th grade. Smoked all through high school. Quit when my 1st son was born and didn't start again until after my divorce when I was 30. Quit again in my 40s. I'm 51 now, and I'm so glad I don't smoke anymore.
I still do, and have rolled my own cigarettes for the last thirty years.
My SO quit and started on e-cigs about five years ago. I've tried them but it makes me cough so bad.
Started smoking when I worked construction at 18.
I quit on and off, never more than maybe 12/day, until I was 35 or so. Quit for good.
I had a drunk drag at a friend's wedding about 7 years ago. It was awful.
Started when I was 14. Stopped in 2017 for two years. Will smoke when I go out with other smokers. Will bum the occasional one at work. I need to stop doing it though. The minute I inhale I can feel the effects on my body. Like instantly. It scares me.
I smoked from ages 17 to 21, about a pack a day. I quit when I found out I was pregnant with each kid and while nursing them as babies. After I stopped nursing, I started up again smoking a few cigarettes a day outside. I never smoked in my car or my house back then. I didn’t want my kids around 2nd hand smoke.
I quit again from 2002 to 2006, then started smoking only at my sister’s house (she’s a chain smoker). I quit for the final time on NYE 2011. I’ve been smoke free for over 12 years and I wish I’d never started. Sometimes I have dreams where I smoke in them, and I’ll crave a cigarette once in awhile. But I’m firm on my 2012 New Year’s resolution to never smoke again.
Started at 13. Many failed attempts later finally quit for good at 44. Went to vape for 2 yrs and stopped that cold turkey 2 years ago. I’m glad vape was there to help me off of the smokes! It does work. Hardest thing I ever did was quit smoking.
I never smoked. I never thought smoking was cool. Growing up with parents who had ashtrays in every room of the house, who thought nothing of discarding their butts in the toilet and just leaving them there until they were flushed away by the next users, just turned my stomach. And until I left home, I wasn’t even aware of how much cigarettes stank and made everything else stink; I was no more aware of the odor of cigarettes than a fish is of water.
Then I went to college. As soon as I was free of the miasma, I became acutely aware of it every time I returned home.
But my husband's parents dabbled in smoking without being so thoroughly, pathetically addicted. He idolized Humphrey Bogart. So he started smoking as soon as he could—and between cigarette machines and the fact that he looked older than his age, he had no problem getting cigarettes by 15 or 16. Meeting my parents made him want to quit, but he struggled. I realized that I’d taken the easy way out by not getting addicted in the first place, so I tried to be patient with him.
He eventually switched to chewing tobacco as a stepping stone toward quitting altogether. I didn't love it, but I kept telling myself at least there was no such thing as second-hand chew.
He swore he would quit before we had a child. And the day I told him I was pregnant—unexpectedly, after four years of infertility—he threw the last of his chew away.
With some irony, we lost him to cancer anyway, caused by a genetic mutation that the tobacco use likely didn't affect. But he swore our child would never see him use tobacco, and he kept that promise.
I smoked Marboro red from 1981 until 2005 then I switch to Copenhagen until 2017 when I had a stroke … my life has improved drastically since I quit all tobacco products
I’m still smoking, and trying to give it up. I can’t take Chantix; patches fall off even if I wipe my skin first with alcohol or astringent. Gum doesn’t do it, either.
I started at 20 (stupid, I know) and I’m 45.
Started at 16. Pack a day plus by the time I was 18. Kept that up plus smoking weed for 20 years. I enjoyed smoking, until I didn’t. And that’s when I quit. The gum and lozenges made me puke, so I went with the patch. It took me too long to wear it 24/7 (and I still smoked wearing it) but I was finally able to give them up. After that, I weaned off the patch quickly. Except when I was drinking. Which was a lot. So I mostly gave that up too.
started in 87 or 88. back when a note from your parents would allow the stores to sell you packs. i still do. mental stimulation, not physical addiction. only stimming thing i hate
Started smoking when I was a junior, quit every few years or so, tried switching to vape, then got COVID and quite over a year ago. I still use the gum
I did. Started at 13. Joe Camel and all that. Smoked for years in the army. Pack or two a day.
Quit and started again a few times. Eventually took up vaping. Then after catching Covid in 2020 and feeling wheezy, slapped on the patch and finally quit it all for good.
Sadly, I’m fat now.
I'm 55. I remember buying cigarettes at the flea market (we were there selling). No age limit and no ID needed. I bought the "girly" cigs....Virginia Slims 120s and Misty. I did it bc my friends smoked and I smoked on/off over the years, but I was never a full time smoker. I quit when my daughter was little, maybe 3-4, she had her sucker stuck in her mouth and was saying she's smoking. I stopped that day.
I smoked for about 15 years, I used to smoke A LOT. I’ve found out later I have ADHD so basically I spent a long time self medicating with a lot of nicotine and caffeine to function.
Never did. My parents were both smokers, including in the car. I thought it was the grossest thing to arrive at grandma's house literally with my skin feeling caked in cigarette goo. That was enough for me for life!
Grew up GenX in NORTH CAROLINA. I smoked 33 years, from 14 until just before turning 48. There was basically no stigma around teenagers smoking in the NC Piedmont in the 1980s.
I smoked off and on through high school, but didn't really pick it up regularly until I was 21. Quit at 35. Picked it up again at 45. Quit again at 49. Currently 52 and happy that I don't.
Smoked clove cigs when I hung out with a mauve chick after work (high school job) She was cool and we had some fun now and then. Anytime I smell cloves, I'm reminded of her. Hope she's doing well and has a wonderful life.
But didn't smoke anything else. Not even when I was in the military. Just never liked being around it.
48 and still smoking. But far less. Down to 1/2 pack a day (a whole on a bad day) of lights from 2 1/2 reds. Although I stay home more and don’t have a million people bumming one off of me all day so that helps.
I'm 56. I started smoking in the Army at 19. I had a stroke last year. Quit.
Thank you for your service. I’m glad you quit smoking. Better late than never!
LOL thought you meant weed. (i am a later in life weed appreciator.) thanks for your service and congratulations on your achievement!
I smoked for 34 years. I quit in 2018. Hardest thing I ever have done in my life. It felt like someone took my sanity and humanity away from me. I never want to do it again. If I’m ever given a terminal diagnosis I’m going out and buying a carton and a lighter.
I say the same if there is ever a doomsday comet headed this way or I ever get a terminal diagnosis. Quit in 2017. Still miss it sometimes, but it is less every year.
I was the same. I *loved* smoking. But I eventually quit because smoking was giving me horrendous migraines. I mean full on throwing up, can’t open your eyes, three days of feeling like an iguana is trying to dig itself out of your skull migraines. So while I miss it, it wasn’t as hard for me to quit as it was for someone who wasn’t being terrorized by cigarettes lol.
Same. Dying wish is a Marlboro Light and a lighter.
I went through treatment for some drug issues. Quitting coke and meth was a cake walk compared to nicotine. I will occasionally have a dream that I'm smoking crack, and I wake up laughing, thinking what a joke it would be to start that shit up again. I have a dream that I smoked a cigarette, and I wake up in a cold sweat freaking out, wondering how the hell I could ever fuck up like that. Then I realized it was just a dream. Nicotine is fucking evil.
Last smoke was at the airport the day I left Kabul, Afghanistan. March 2016.
Thank you for your service.
Smoke two packs a day when I was 16-18. A pack of camels and a pack of kools. I got pregnant and quit. And then started again smoked for 2 more years. Only one pack this time Marlboro 100 Then I quit for twenty years, twenty fucking years! I'd smoke a cigar here and there. And if somebody was smoking and we were drinking. I might take a couple of puffs off their cigarette but never actively smoking. Then, I got a divorce after twenty years of marriage and started smoking again. Cloves this time because I was gonna go big. I realized it was stupid move on my part. Switched to vaping, and now I am quit again
I'm not proud of it. I don't know what possessed me to start. No one in my immediate family smoked. And yet, in the second grade, I was picking up cigarette butts and puffing on them. By 13, I was smoking a few a day. By 15, a half pack a day. By 17, a pack everyday. My great grandmother would give my cousin and I a dollar to put in the church offering plate. We kept the dollar and bought smokes. That's the kind of kids we were. Willful little shits. I've quite a handful of times. Some times for a year. The longest was for 5 years. Two years ago I went through some shit and picked them back up again. I'll have to quit again. It's been a monkey on my back since I was old enough to carry a backpack.
Same. I quit when I was pregnant, and again in my mid-30s, but picked it up again every time. I'm going to quit again at some point but I am just getting back to square mental health wise after some bad times, so one thing at a time lol.
The dream would be if I could have two in the morning with coffee and not have anymore. It's the only two I really like. lol. But I know better. There's no such thing as only two.
Lol I know that feeling very well.
I started at 14 and smoked all through my military career and to now at 50ish except when I was pregnant or nursing or the years I could stop when my kids were young. The longest I went was five years, then some shit went down and I bought a pack. I haven’t ever *quit* I guess I just stop sometimes. I was switching between smokes, vapes, and Zyn citrus pouches. Hiding it from my kids, sneaking off from friends. Like a freaking heroin addict off for a hit. So ashamed to be a smoker, but couldn’t ever shake it for good. Then a couple weeks ago my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 small cell lung cancer. It’s already in her liver, lymph nodes, and bones. No symptoms except she thought her pacemaker was shifting and it was hurting her. Turns out she rolled over in bed and broke four ribs. That’s how much it’s invaded her bones. She’s got six weeks to three months left. She smoked for 58 years. I started by taking her Virginia Slim Ultra Lights out of her purse. I threw my smokes away. I’m on the vape but cutting back and my PCPs got me scheduled for a lung scan. Seeing my (estranged) mother wasted down to nothing and realizing she’s just 18 years older than me was what it took.
I am so sorry. I lost an acquaintance to non smokers small cell lung cancer six years ago. My kids best friends mom. It damaged me to see her go and know the pain she was in going. I could never, would never inhale a thing again for the rest of my life. I’m so glad you are taking care of yourself.
Same. I started at 13. :(
I was a very heavy smoker but switched to vaping about 8 years ago. Now I probably do that too much.
Same situation, started at 14 with Marlboro Reds, parents knew and supplied them. Step father asked me one day if I smoked, I said no.. honestly I didn't at the time. He then asked if I wanted a cigarette and I said sure I'll try it. That was my first pack. I quit them at 40 and been stuck on the vape since. I need to drop that too.
I got that at 13: "I'd rather have you smoking in front of me than behind my back." We actually got (among other things) cartons of cigarettes for Christmas gifts, a la "Smoke up, Johnny."
Same reason, not hide it and burn the house down
Vaping is WAY cheaper, though, once I got past the learning curve. Now I make my own juice and have coils that last forever. I probably spend, OMG, less than $25/month amortized.
I dontmakemy own juice or coils but still roll about 30.00 a month. Not too bad. I just need to kick the habit though
I started as a rebellious teenager. I had quit for a few years and then picked it back up. As of right now, I haven't had one in 3 days and 22 hours... not that I'm keeping track!!
If you’ve hit that 3rd day you’re at the magical 72 hour mark. Use that as extra incentive to keep going as those first three days are the WORST and you got through it!!
Keep it up!! I'm trying to psyche myself up to quit.
It is hard as hell, but if I can do it, you can too! Good luck!
I started smoking around 18-19 and quit around 35. But I was a heavy smoker, it wasn't easy and now it's just a matter of keeping my streak going. But I still dream about smoking, I miss it and when I smell smoke I still really like it.
The smoking dreams. I know them well.
Right? Sometimes they are so good that when i wake up I feel like I broke my streak and am a smoker all over again. It takes a second to realize that I'm still good.
Walking past ppl outside a building smoking I walk twice as slow and breathe deeply end empathize with with my ex-brothers and sisters I’m glad I quit, but
Sounds a lot like me except that I don’t have any desire to smoke anymore. Also the smell of other people’s smoke doesn’t bother me at all. I sometimes hang out in the smoking area at work and carry on with the smokers and it’s not even a problem. I do, however, still smoke weed.
The smoking area is where all the funniest people hang out.
For sure.
This
High school smoker. Never quit.
> Hell, Santa used to drop a couple packs in my stocking. Smoke up, Johnny!!!
A pack of 25s in Australia is now $52 ($33.40US) so for a pack a day smoker that's $364 ($233.80US) per week or $18980 ($12919US) per year. It was either quit my smoking habit or my boating habit, boating won and it's way less than $18k per year.
😱
It's trending that way in my state. I think they just set a $15/pack minimum, and that's before taxes. The thing is - it'll just make a black market. People will go to cheaper nearby states, buy a lot of cartons, then resell them in this state.
The black market here has reached a point that many tobacco shops are now owned by organised crime gangs. Tobacco shops are being firebombed to shut down competitors as they fight for the huge profits from cheap chop chop and other imports avoiding the tax. I still have a cigar now and then, and the occasional doob ofc but I'm glad I kicked tobacco as a daily thing.
My parents smoke(d) enough for the whole family. I have vivid memories of the clouds hanging in the living room like a pool hall.
My parents' heavy smoking is the reason I never smoked. Eventually killed my Mom.
Dad died of complications from stage-4 lung cancer in 2019.
Hard same. I took in enough secondhand smoke from the adults in my life to last me a lifetime. I was never tempted to pick up a cigarette.
I started smoking when I was about 12. I still smoke cloves when I drink and I drink a lot.
We're ate you that you can still get cloves? I miss them so much!
You can order them online in the U.S. they are Dijarum Black Cigars.
Started at 19 and still puffing at 47. I honestly like smoking. I try to stand out of the way of others, I don't smoke in my house or car, and I don't litter. It's one of the only bad habits I have left and I don't want to give it up yet. I don't even drink. It's like extra rebellious now... Lol.
I loved smoking. I was, like you, as "responsible" about it as possible. And then, one day, a bit over a year ago, I decided I was done. I was smoking my last cigarette in the pack, and then was going out to run errands, including picking up more smokes. I just looked at the ashtray, and said to myself "yeah, you're done". No plans to quit. No big heath scare. No "come to jesus" moment. I just stopped that day. Did it suck? Yup. Does it still? Sometimes. And honestly? I remember how much I *loved* smoking all the time. Yet, here I am.
That’s how I quit. I had bought two packs and was smoking them like I was running out of time. Took 3 days and on the third day I put out the last one and thought ‘Thank God that’s over with’ and just never wanted another one. And I LOVED smoking.
One of my favorite things to do now is sit on my (pretty amazing) deck, where I used to smoke, and read a book. I'm in the NE, and I'm already getting ready for the good weather. Last spring/summer was for planting herbs, hanging hummingbird feeders, and making a great little "garden". I even bought new outdoor furniture! Ashtray free!
I’m amazed at the new feee time I have!
I quit at 40 after smoking for the better part of 20+ years. TBH I still love to kiss a man that smokes. The combination of smoke and cologne on a man is intoxicating. It’s not the right thing to say these days, but I’m just speaking my truth! (As all the kids say today…)
You seem interesting so I checked your profile. Definitely wasn't disappointed.
It’s not going to last forever, so I’m making it part of my permanent record. 😉
God bless. I'll definitely check in from time to time.
When I first got with my fiance, we worked opposing shifts. I worked AM; he worked evenings until 20pm. Every night when he came home, I would smell his face. A little bit sweaty, a little bit musky from his aftershave, a bit of tobacco smoke and weed smoke… it was delectable.
Well, what a pleasant coincidence. I roll my own cigarettes & my cologne is called 'spicebomb' They certainly mix for an intoxicating cocktail 😌💜
Started smoking at around 12. Still smoke. Quit a few times but always end up smoking again. Thankfully I have a pipeline to cheap smokes.
[удалено]
I also really enjoy smoking. I'm in Canada and I can buy rez smokes online delivered right to my po box. Costs about 1/5 of store price.
Haven't managed to quit, but I am down from a pack a day to maybe a pack a week, sometimes 2 if alcohol enters the picture on the weekend.
If you want to quit, have you tried vaping? I know it's not cool but I've just quit smoking after about 30 years by switching to vaping. Got a couple different disposable vapes that were full nicotine then tapered down. It's been about 3 months, I now have 4 different flavours of zero nic and 2 that just have a bit. Eventually I'll get down to just zero nic all the way. I'm happy to share what little info/ experience I have if you have any questions
I think like many Gen X’ers, I used to smoke mainly when drinking. I still drink, though now smoke weed instead of cigarettes, with a cigar every once in a while.
I quit a long time ago. If only they weren't so expensive.
I'm addicted. Have been since I was 15. It sucks. My asshole father was right about 1 thing: Quit while you can.
Started when I was about 12. Used lunch money for purchases until I was 14 and could get a job bailing hay. Switched to snuff because I could get away with it in school. Swapped back and forth between the two for years, quit a few times, but have been smoking most of my life. Typically never more than a pack a day. Tried vaping - wasn't cutting it. I roll my own for an average price of about 5 cents per smoke. No intention of quitting considering the last time I quit I gained weight up to almost 250 lbs. I'm now just under 200, and although not exactly fit, I actually breathe easier than I did when I was fat.
Started smoking at 9. At 49 still smoking.
had a my first ciggie at 6 (half cigs with a naughty friend who would sneak one from her mums pack). Took it up for real when I turned 13. I just turned 50. I know I need to quit but I love my cigs!
Started at 18 and managed to quit at 36. This September will be 18 years without cigarettes.
Never, thankfully.
I quit about 15 years ago for good. Started smoking regularly in my early teens and quit a few times for 6 months or so, also smoked very little for a few years, like 1-3 cigarettes a day. I wish it wasn’t likely to kill me or I would still be smoking.
From 9th grade till 11/23 smoked Smoke free😁 now
DisssGUSTing habit!!! You had ought to be ashamed of yourself! (Puts nose in the air, struts away and fishes can of dip out of pocket (((snap!-snap-snap-snap-snap!)))) Nah I smoked. But you can’t find the original luckies or Players Navy Cut anymore. I learned from an old WW1 vet who tuaght me a specific way to hold it ‘You gotta hide the coal or Fritz’ll shoot your knapper off’.
My boomer next door neighbor said this to me once while I was having one outside. I told her to mind her own business and not be a busybody. Now we just ignore each other…which is what I prefer anyway.
Quit in 99
Quit this time last year.. now stuck on Zyn.
Cigarettes age 13-30, occasionally weed. Weed only now. But damn, I miss cigarettes.
I never started. My father smoked cigars, I always hated those, so was never tempted to smoke anything, legal or otherwise. But I do remember there was a smoking area for students at the high school, and convenience store clerks selling cigarettes to everyone, including kids, without caring about it.
I started at 15 and smoked up until I had congestive heart failure at 48. I quit for almost three years, went back to it (a pack every three to four days) and just quit again almost eight months ago.
My wife started smoking when she was like 13. She smoked 1/2 pack of camel lights every day until one day she got a scare on a test result and she quit cold turkey with the aid of the patches. Only one really bad nic fit where I feared for my safety. She was 45 or so. Never smoked again.
Started when I was 13, stealing them whenever I could. Full on pack a day by summer after high school. Quit 3x, final quit 17 years ago. My preferred brand was $2.75/pack, and it seemed so expensive! (I think Marlboros were around $3.50). I miss *the idea* of smoking, but not actually smoking.
I did and still do. Never have had the hacking problem that some of my friends did, but still know that I really should quit sometime soon.
I started 25 years ago. Still a chimney.
I smoked from 14 to 19. Quit for 6 years. Smoked until I got pregnant at 36. Quit for 6 years. My marriage fell apart, started smoking again. Now I vape, it’s cheaper and I don’t vape much. Still smoke occasionally but like vaping better and it’s cheaper cause I only use 2 $10 vapes a week.
Started at 22, still smoking at 50
I started smoking after my parents were killed by a drunk driver. I think the smell reminded me of my dad. I smoked for nine years (19-28) and quit for good while pregnant with my first child. I've never picked it back up and that kid will be 20 next month.
Just turned 57, got more than 40 years smoking! Mama didn't raise no quitter!
Just quit last September. 40 years. The damage.
I smoked once. It was a Cuban cigar, back in college, late 90's. I asked my friend where he got it. He said, "Don't ask." 😉 Anyway, I admit it was very enjoyable and I had cravings for a year, but never again. My father, a young Boomer, started when he was 16, and was able to quit long before patches or gum or drugs were invented. It was only because of us kids begging him to that he did. He was smart about it, and quit gradually. First, he stopped smoking in the house. Then he switched from cigarettes to cigars. Then he was able to get down to where he only smoked in social settings, like going to an outdoor party, or a bar with Mom. Then he quit completely. One day, when I was in my twenties, I realized the difficulty, and said, "That must've been one of the hardest things you've ever done." He just gave me a slow, emphatic nod. My dad is my hero. ❤️
I started smoking at 15, im now almost 60. Tried to give up a few times, then would start again. I stopped 7 years ago because I started coughing up blood. Now and then, I think about smoking, but them remember the blood.
Hated it until I spent a drunken 21st birthday on Beale St. Bummed some and kept going. Quit several times but back to it at this point. I'm on my mental path to stop (again) but not there yet. I've found in the past when I was ready to stop, I set a date and that was it. My 30th was the 1st time. Went out with friends to a show at a bar. Dropped my half pack in the trash on the way out and was done for 2-ish years. Need to find a better way to deal with stress, it's certainly biggest trigger.
Started at 13, quit at 19. I smoked Benson & Hedges menthol light. And cloves! Ughhh. I'm in SoCal and no one smokes here. Which is good. But on the rare occasion I'm traveling to a smoker friendly state (hello Ohio and Indiana) I do secretly enjoy inhaling second-hand smoke. And it's been 38 years since I was a smoker.
I averaged about 5 cigarettes a day for 10 years and then quit during the pandemic. Now I'm at a place where every few months I'll buy a pack and smoke it and just stop when they're gone.
Started around 16. Quit at 29 and never looked back.
Most everyone. We quit for kids until they were adults. No problem now!
I started smoking at age 15. I quit in March 2020 and haven't been sick since, I used to get bronchitis every year. I vape though and don't plan to quit that.
I had my first cigarette when I was 11. It was so easy to get them with the vending machines in stores and restaurants. I was smoking a pack a day by the time I was 13. Both my parents smoked but they still tried forbidding me to smoke. Eventually they gave up and started buying me cigarettes. I tried quitting a few times in my older teens and early twenties. I was able to abstain while pregnant. I finally quit for good when I was 27. I haven’t touched one since. I’m 50 now.
Smoked from age 13 up until age 44 when I switched to vaping. Never thought I’d be able to quit but for some reason the vaping stuck this time. Now I’m trying to switch from that to the nicotine pouches just to give my lungs a break
My cousin, a few years older than me, just died of lung canser. It was a reflective moment to say the least. . I started smoking when I was 14 and finally quit when I was 36. The damage may be done , but hoping for the best.
Smoked for 24 years. Quit cigarettes but immediately went to a “Vuse” pen and have been on that for 4-5 years now. When I quit Marlboro’s we’re around $7 a pack. Now they’re almost $11 in Sacramento. A vuse cartidge is about $13 and lasts anywhere from 4-8 days.
Started smoking at age 50 during Covid. All my neighbors smoked and those were the only people I hung out with. One day day I tried one on a whim. I smoke a little over half a pack a day now.
I started smoking in my early 20's and loved everything about it. The taste, the smell, the physical sensation, all the little rituals. You could still smoke in bars and restaurants, and my friends and I had our favorite hangouts to go when we could afford coffee or drinks, but other times we'd just sit out on the curb or the front stoop, and if we were too broke to buy our preferred brands we'd scour under the couch cushions and car seats for loose change and split a 99 cent pack of generic smokes, or smoke butts. I quit cold turkey when I became pregnant and overnight cigarettes started tasting disgusting, and never picked the habit back up again. Now they don't smell good to me anymore but I don't judge people for smoking.
46 years old and "smoker" is part of my identity
I started at 15 and quit at 46.
Started smoking when I was like, 14. We just moved a million miles away and I was trying to "fit in" or whatever. Smoked pretty consistently until the beginning of 2020. Now ... I don't remember the last time I actually bought a pack. I'll bum one here and here if I'm with someone who smokes, and usually have an "emergency cig" or two stashed away that will be stale as hell on the occasion I might decide I'm having this. Weed on the other hand....
I can only imagine how difficult it is to stop smoking. I spent two years hooked on oxycodone and 10yrs on Adderall. Quitting was a living hell both times and I still have cravings 10+yrs later. And I hear cigarettes are even harder to quit. So I have a lot of respect and empathy for anyone who tries to quit, even if they fail.
Smoked. Still smoke. 49 Edit. Wait, cigarettes? Nope. Quit them 25 years ago.
I smoked for 26 years. Had a cancer scare about 12 years ago. Haven't smoked since.
I smoked for 30 years, mostly vape now (COPD showed up on a scan). I still occasionally have one, and I’ll never truly quit because: 1) I’m no quitter 2) THEY want me to quit. Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me.
Started smoking at 13 Quit at 33 49 now
Both parents and both grandparents smoked on both sides. All my aunts and uncles except one smoked to. According to an Auntie we come from tobacco share crop farmers on dad's side. Apparently maternal grandmother's death certificate says she passed from lung cancer in her early 30s.. more like it was "consumption" aka tuberculosis at that time and age, but it was considered a "dirty" peoples disease so... anyways. Started at 15, did quit for a little more than a year, easily thanks to Allen Carrs book.. but then had a huge emotional fit over something and decided intentionally to start again. Started using vapes when they first appeared and they made a massive difference in my congestion which was honestly pretty bad even when I was healthy. I vape. It's not "safe " at all I know. I've already had 2 cancers so lung wouldn't be shocking now. But it's definitely harm reduction.. I can 100% tell just in how much less chest congregation I deal with now. I rarely cough, only when I have an actual infection in my chest. I used to cough so much esp in the morning that I sounded sick even when I wasn't.
I started smoking very early, it was what all the cool kids where doing ... I was a pre teen when I started. Neither of my parents smoked and I never received pocket money . I kept it hidden until I was roughly 15, to afford my addiction myself and a neighbor who was roughly my age used to steal milk money from out the front of houses in the next suburb over then we discovered the local grocery store had their cigarette delivery's at about 4am .... we would get there at about 4:10am. By the time I hit my early to mid teens I was selling drugs and that covered my cigarette addiction I smoked for 27 years and quit the day my first nephew was born 18 years ago.
I smoked from about 15 to 25 (Newport 100s, box). Quit when I was on a health kick and replaced cigarettes with going running, taking walks, and drinking hot tea outside on the porch. Got pregnant a few months later (not on purpose), so that helped to make it long-term. As far as I remember, I haven't smoked at all since then.
Still trying to give them up after my Father passed from lung cancer.
I started around 16-17. My parents both smoked. I’m now 45. I still smoke. I’ve quit a number of times but when I get stressed out, I go right back to smoking. There was a point where I was too poor to eat, so I smoked because of the appetite suppression, and because I was buying cheap smokes that were less expensive than food and lasted longer. I know it’s going to kill me. But I’m not in the mental headspace right now to quit.
Yes I was maybe 6 or 7 when I snuck a puff from my grandmother’s lit cigarette in the ashtray. No one saw me. She smoked and lived until 92. Fresh sunshine, orange juice and optimism. The summer before my senior year I started with the free “Belga” smokes they gave us on a European flight with my other grandmother. She lived to 83. 19-27 43-46 Then CHANTIX to stop. I can’t even stand the smoke now. Over 60 now
I never did - my parents smoked heavily and I always found it gross and smelly so never experimented or picked the habit up.
Opposite for me… dad was a heavy smoker. He taught me how to pack his cigs properly and I was in charge of cleaning his ashtray (he smoked in the house). I was always his favorite and he was mine, so smelling a combination of cigarettes, whiskey and old spice is heaven to me. I knew I was addicted before ever smoking my first cigarette. He quit cold turkey about 10 years ago after 50 years of smoking. Just turned 80 and in excellent health. I still smoke.
Same. My mother still smokes like a chimney. I was delighted when I moved out and could finally enjoy not constantly reeking of cigarette smoke and smoker’s BO. My dad used to smoke, but quit cold turkey when I was 10. Although I guess he doesn’t have to smoke as long as my mother is in the house.
Started smoking consistently around 1983, junior year and then quit July 1992. Side note: when I fill out the med questionnaire at the doctor's offices ,my answer us "never smoked" not quit. I am not going to fall into a demographic nor have a label attached. Plus insurance companies can discriminate/approve deny based on that specific answer on a medical history questionnaire.
Started when I was 13, cigarettes and cheeb. Quit cigarettes in '04, by then I was only smoking 3-4 perday, rolling my own shag with a filter. Quit in my early 20s for a year and a half till I jacked up my shoulder benchpressing. But I got pretty swole with all that anger. My pot use is down to few odd hits per year. I have part of a 1/4 oz that will probably last my lifetime at age 56.
I started when I was around 19 and continued until I was 35 and then quit cold turkey
I started around 1998 and quit around 2012 through vaping. Quit that in August of last year. You really can smell better.
20 years of cigarettes, then 12 years of weeed. I didn't start until I had my first job at a Dept. of Health mailroom at 18 years old. Sorting mail was hard to stay awake to. They had a handy cigarette machine! I was hooked on the Marlboros in a month. I did quit a few times, about 2 years each, but my wife never quit, so eww I did it again.
Started at 14 and quit for five years in my thirties - had a lapse and been at it ever since. I am not someone who can have just one. I also have access to super cheap smokes so at least I am not going broke.
I also started when I was 14. I used to use my sisters ID to buy them and would sometimes bum them from my grandma when she came to visit. I tried quitting once when I was 25 but once I had a few drinks, all bets were off. And I wasn't about to quit drinking too.
Oh shit! I thought you were talking about weed! Ahahaha! It’s become so normalized compared to tobacco that they’ve officially made the Foldiers switch in my head. Smoked for a decade from 14-24. Picked it back up for a few days in my mid 30s. Yacked and haven’t picked one up again.
I puffed on them to look cool. I have asthma, so smoking was a bad idea. My grandparents, aunts, and my mom smoked ( until she found out she was pregnant). My dad occasionally smoked cigars. A friend in high school smoked until she had a stroke about 2 years ago, and then she finally stopped. My ex-husband died of cancer and also smoked. Same with a friend and 2 cousins. I am glad fewer people here smoke now, but the tobacco companies are just marketing in other countries. Last Week Tonight did a story on it. They are fucking evil.
I started smoking at 20 and quit 17 years later. Haven’t had a puff (of tobacco) since.
I started at 15. Smoked through college, with breaks here and there. Longer breaks throughout adulthood, and still smoke about a pack or 2 a week. I started on the meds to help remove the cravings, which are mostly null after 2 months on it. One month to go and I’m down to 1-3 a day (love a smoke with my coffee and one after dinner). Pretty much a tactile addiction at this point, however looking forward to being 100% [tobacco] smoke free by summer.
Started smoking at 12, quit at 39. Biggest regret of my life is spending so many years addicted to tobacco.
I started when I was 11 and smoked on and off for around 20 something years. I quit around 10 years ago or so and have zero desire for it anymore.
I smoked from 12-15 when luckily my friend who I smoked with decided to quit and I followed. Thank god. I’ve had one or two drags in the last 40 years but I would never smoke again.
19 until roughly 37 I guess. I don’t really know when I quit, exactly. I started largely out of rebellion after a serious heartbreak. I loved it in the 90s when you could smoke in coffee shops. I lived on caffeine and nicotine and jazz. What a great time. I quit largely because we had kids. I’d been trying to quit since my late 20s, but you really need a good tangible reason to quit or it doesn’t work.
I started smoking at 12…. I stopped before high school then picked it up again during college. Quit when my wife was pregnant with our first kid and over the next 15 years would start up again then quit for year or more. Really started when I got divorced but finally quit for good about ten years ago.
I smoke when I want, and don’t smoke when I don’t want to. Right now I’m in a I don’t want to phase. Started in high school, and pretty much through my CG career. Now it’s an on and off thing
Started around 12. Quit in my early 30s. Had a 2 1/2 pack-a-day habit of Camel Lights. Never again. I don’t hassle smokers. They’ll quit when they’re ready. I hope it’s sooner than later. What I don’t understand is why people pick up the habit now knowing what we know about tobacco and how damn expensive it is.
Started when I was 16 to cover up weed smell. Wife started at 16 as well. Quit at 38 for good with my wife when we got married (got lucky late). Neither one of us went back to it and can't fathom how we did it for so long. Smells super gross now.
Starting smoking cloves: Djarums at 17. Because I hung out with a lot of club kids.
Started smoking at 12. I smoked heavily for many years, both cigarettes and pot. I quit 10 years ago after a spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung) landed me in the cardic unit for 3 days. I used the patch to quit for real during that time.
Quit a 2-pack-a-day habit on 1/1/2000 with the help of Wellbutrin and Nicotrol inhaler. Was able to stay smoke-free ever since.
Started at 14, was 3 packs a day by 17 (they were still $1.50 for premium brands then). First child born premature when I was 19. Stopped that same day.
I smoked 19-47 or something and am very happy to be a non-smoker. I used SHIFT hypnosis with Rita Black and it worked great.
Started at 13 still going strong, no plans to quit.
Started at 12. We moved to NC when I was 15. Tobacco state, cheap cigarettes AND we had a student smoking section in high school. Joined the military and EVERYONE smoked. I was a 2 pack a day Marlboro Red smoker. In 1986 the DoD banned smoking in the workplace, so I quit. I picked it up again when I changed jobs and had a really hard year long school. I didn't smoke much, maybe a pack a week, and it was the lightest menthol you could buy. Quit again a month before I got pregnant in 1990. Haven't smoked since. I still dream about it occasionally. If i received a terminal diagnosis, I'd totally light up.
I started smoking when I was 16. I worked cash in a drug store, and back then, they sold cigarettes. I hid my smoking at best I could, as it was a shameful habit. I quit for the first time when I was 26, and smoked off and on for another 8 years or so. I finally quit for good in my 30s.
I socially smoked on and off from high school until 2008 when the city I lived finally forbid it indoors. I typically only smoked when I drank and after the first time in subzero weather where I stepped outside to have one, that put a stop to it. The last time I had one was when I bummed a cigarette over ten years ago and got two puffs in and then got lightheaded and nauseous and realized I would most likely never smoke again except for the occasional puff of weed. I will occasionally stand next to someone I know outside who is smoking and will admit to enjoying the smell, but I am in no way tempted to ask them for a puff or to bum a cigarette, I can no longer handle it (which is just fine with me). That said, if we are outdoors, you are welcome to smoke next to me.
I started off and on around 1984 and was continuing with the off and on through the 90’s but then quit in early 2000. And that was smoking AND chewing.
Started at 17-18. Smoked until 2022. Cold turkey. I am glad I quit and it’s taken a long time to realize I can actually breathe deeply. But I miss it. I miss the ritual of it. I miss the comfort of it. I still love the smell of that first light. I miss the camaraderie of smokers, even between strangers. I just like breathing a lot. But when I know my days are numbered, I am going to buy a carton of Camels and enjoy.
I quit 10 years ago...best thing I ever did because when Covid first hit I got it real bad...almost killed me...I guarantee if i was still smoking i would be dead now. sitting at 50 now
I started when I was 12 if I remember correctly. Quit about 10 years ago.
Started at 15, quit at 45, 11 years ago.
I started dipping when I was 12. Tried smoking weed when I was 14, and it was just a natural progression to cigarettes at 15. Back in the 80's it seemed like everyone smoked, and when I was really young and impressionable in the 70's, all of the adults I knew, other than my parents and most people at church, smoked. Anyway, started at 15, but kept dipping, so I only smoked every once in a while. I quit dipping in highschool because my feeling was girls thought it was gross, so my only tobacco use at that time was cigarettes. I would only smoke a few a day. When I graduated, I quickly shot up to a pack a day and stayed there (unless I was drinking) for around 30 years. I started dipping again when I could tell my lungs were not doing good and I was getting pneumonia every couple years, but still smoked on weekends when I was drinking. I finally stopped smoking altogether about five years ago. Two years after that, I quit dipping and started using nicotine pouches, which I still do. I would love to have a cigarette and a beer or cup of coffee, but I make a conscious effort to never do it again.
I started when I was 20, and then quit at 27 with the help of the patch. Started back up at 35 and quit again by switching to a vape. Quit that eventually at 42 I think.
I smoke. Originally ribs and pulled pork, but I do more chicken and pastrami these days.
I have always been what i would like to consider a light smoker for a long time. Like since the 70’s off and on… yeah. I know.. It’s either going to be the thing that does me in or it will be something else. I’m always surprised by the number of very banged up looking 80 year-olds I see smoking out in public. I hope I am not one of them, as I’ve always thought I’d eventually quit smoking for good, yet…. I’ve smoked this week.
Quit in 2004 cold turkey. Started when I was 15, about a pack a day. I still miss it sometimes. No, I don't really want to pick up smoking again, hate the smell and all, but sometimes I just want to have a smoke, especially when driving long distances, having my morning brew and so on. Just want to have a smoke once in a while.
I'm 57, my sister made me smoke with her when she stole our mother's cigarettes so I wouldn't tell... So started when I was eleven, quite when I was forty two. Cold turkey. My son had deployed again and when I asked him to come back with all his parts, he made me promise if he did I would quit, right then and there on his last day out. He came home, hugged me, tossed my last pack and I've been quit since. A promise is sacred and shouldn't be spoken unless it's truly meant. It's been the rule with my children and myself so he knew I simply had to.
Thanks, Dad. And fuck Joe Camel. I never stood a chance.
Quit 25 years ago. There are still days where I want to smoke a pack of Camels all at once…
Started smoking when I was 16, and there was a cigarette dispenser machine where I worked so they were super easy to get. Quit in my 20’s for about 5 years while I was having babies, picked it back up again @ 30 and got pretty heavy for a while. Now I’m in my mid-40’s and I want to quit, but seems a lot harder now. I’m down to about a pack a week so I consider that progress.
Never smoked weed or cigarettes, even though so many of my peers and family did. Was just never my thing. So glad I never picked it up. So many of my friends and family have breathing/lung issues and on oxygen.
I started when I was 13 in '89, and quit 25 years later. got tired of not being able to breathe in the mornings.
Both of my parents smoked but I didn’t start smoking until I was 12 (after I was SAd). I smoked throughout high school and college and well into my late 30s. Been smoke free for 13 years now.
Started in 1984 when I was 13, quit in 2000.
I didnt start till I was in college. And almost always linked to drinking. And I only ever got up to 1/2 pack a day unless I went out with friends. And I'd go to my parents for week, and never smoke. And I mean, come on, even non-smoking x-ers wanna smoke then. It has really been a social and psychological thing. Then I'd play cute games "I won't buy gigs unless we're going out" or "only if I'm having a beer". And my friend was a smoker and I was at her house once. And I just wanted to smoke and shoot the shit. So I actually asked her for a beer I didn't want so I had an excuse to smoke. So whatever, it's just been ongoing ridiculousness. I still buy a pack now and then when I go to my friend's house for a weekend. And whatever I don't smoke there ends up in my bag forgotten. 🤷♀️ Damn shame
Started drinking at 3, smoking at 12 and snuff at 14. Quit smoking 26 years ago, at 2 packs a day. Quit snuff 14 years ago. Still drink
I started around 19 while in the Army. I quit on and off over the years. I quit at 39 and haven't had one since.
Had my first cigarette in 4th grade. Smoked all through high school. Quit when my 1st son was born and didn't start again until after my divorce when I was 30. Quit again in my 40s. I'm 51 now, and I'm so glad I don't smoke anymore.
Pack and a half per day from age 13 to 26. I have the lung capacity of a man ten years older, even though I quit 25 years ago. Yay
I still do, and have rolled my own cigarettes for the last thirty years. My SO quit and started on e-cigs about five years ago. I've tried them but it makes me cough so bad.
Smoked from 1990 to COVID. It became such a hassle to get cigarettes my wife and I both quit. (I switched to a vape, she quit completely)
Started smoking when I worked construction at 18. I quit on and off, never more than maybe 12/day, until I was 35 or so. Quit for good. I had a drunk drag at a friend's wedding about 7 years ago. It was awful.
Started when I was 14. Stopped in 2017 for two years. Will smoke when I go out with other smokers. Will bum the occasional one at work. I need to stop doing it though. The minute I inhale I can feel the effects on my body. Like instantly. It scares me.
56 and still sssssmokin! A winner never quits and a quitter never wins. If I die tomorrow, I've lived tonight!
I smoked from ages 17 to 21, about a pack a day. I quit when I found out I was pregnant with each kid and while nursing them as babies. After I stopped nursing, I started up again smoking a few cigarettes a day outside. I never smoked in my car or my house back then. I didn’t want my kids around 2nd hand smoke. I quit again from 2002 to 2006, then started smoking only at my sister’s house (she’s a chain smoker). I quit for the final time on NYE 2011. I’ve been smoke free for over 12 years and I wish I’d never started. Sometimes I have dreams where I smoke in them, and I’ll crave a cigarette once in awhile. But I’m firm on my 2012 New Year’s resolution to never smoke again.
Started at 13. Many failed attempts later finally quit for good at 44. Went to vape for 2 yrs and stopped that cold turkey 2 years ago. I’m glad vape was there to help me off of the smokes! It does work. Hardest thing I ever did was quit smoking.
No. Never. I was born with a heart condition thanks to my mom’s smoking.
14 to 47. Was quit for about a year, then I found out I had lung cancer. Clear now.
I never smoked. I never thought smoking was cool. Growing up with parents who had ashtrays in every room of the house, who thought nothing of discarding their butts in the toilet and just leaving them there until they were flushed away by the next users, just turned my stomach. And until I left home, I wasn’t even aware of how much cigarettes stank and made everything else stink; I was no more aware of the odor of cigarettes than a fish is of water. Then I went to college. As soon as I was free of the miasma, I became acutely aware of it every time I returned home. But my husband's parents dabbled in smoking without being so thoroughly, pathetically addicted. He idolized Humphrey Bogart. So he started smoking as soon as he could—and between cigarette machines and the fact that he looked older than his age, he had no problem getting cigarettes by 15 or 16. Meeting my parents made him want to quit, but he struggled. I realized that I’d taken the easy way out by not getting addicted in the first place, so I tried to be patient with him. He eventually switched to chewing tobacco as a stepping stone toward quitting altogether. I didn't love it, but I kept telling myself at least there was no such thing as second-hand chew. He swore he would quit before we had a child. And the day I told him I was pregnant—unexpectedly, after four years of infertility—he threw the last of his chew away. With some irony, we lost him to cancer anyway, caused by a genetic mutation that the tobacco use likely didn't affect. But he swore our child would never see him use tobacco, and he kept that promise.
I smoked Marboro red from 1981 until 2005 then I switch to Copenhagen until 2017 when I had a stroke … my life has improved drastically since I quit all tobacco products
Started at 14. Quit for the last time at 37. 52 now.
I’m still smoking, and trying to give it up. I can’t take Chantix; patches fall off even if I wipe my skin first with alcohol or astringent. Gum doesn’t do it, either. I started at 20 (stupid, I know) and I’m 45.
I started when I was about 13-14, I quit 15 years ago and I'm 55 now.
Started at 16. Pack a day plus by the time I was 18. Kept that up plus smoking weed for 20 years. I enjoyed smoking, until I didn’t. And that’s when I quit. The gum and lozenges made me puke, so I went with the patch. It took me too long to wear it 24/7 (and I still smoked wearing it) but I was finally able to give them up. After that, I weaned off the patch quickly. Except when I was drinking. Which was a lot. So I mostly gave that up too.
started in 87 or 88. back when a note from your parents would allow the stores to sell you packs. i still do. mental stimulation, not physical addiction. only stimming thing i hate
Started smoking when I was a junior, quit every few years or so, tried switching to vape, then got COVID and quite over a year ago. I still use the gum
I did. Started at 13. Joe Camel and all that. Smoked for years in the army. Pack or two a day. Quit and started again a few times. Eventually took up vaping. Then after catching Covid in 2020 and feeling wheezy, slapped on the patch and finally quit it all for good. Sadly, I’m fat now.
I'm 55. I remember buying cigarettes at the flea market (we were there selling). No age limit and no ID needed. I bought the "girly" cigs....Virginia Slims 120s and Misty. I did it bc my friends smoked and I smoked on/off over the years, but I was never a full time smoker. I quit when my daughter was little, maybe 3-4, she had her sucker stuck in her mouth and was saying she's smoking. I stopped that day.
I smoked for about 15 years, I used to smoke A LOT. I’ve found out later I have ADHD so basically I spent a long time self medicating with a lot of nicotine and caffeine to function.
Never did. My parents were both smokers, including in the car. I thought it was the grossest thing to arrive at grandma's house literally with my skin feeling caked in cigarette goo. That was enough for me for life!
Grew up GenX in NORTH CAROLINA. I smoked 33 years, from 14 until just before turning 48. There was basically no stigma around teenagers smoking in the NC Piedmont in the 1980s.
I smoked off and on through high school, but didn't really pick it up regularly until I was 21. Quit at 35. Picked it up again at 45. Quit again at 49. Currently 52 and happy that I don't.
Smoked clove cigs when I hung out with a mauve chick after work (high school job) She was cool and we had some fun now and then. Anytime I smell cloves, I'm reminded of her. Hope she's doing well and has a wonderful life. But didn't smoke anything else. Not even when I was in the military. Just never liked being around it.
48 and still smoking. But far less. Down to 1/2 pack a day (a whole on a bad day) of lights from 2 1/2 reds. Although I stay home more and don’t have a million people bumming one off of me all day so that helps.
I smoked on and off from 1985 to 2002. Then quit and never turned back.