Random Question #1

[Crushed]

Well, do you?

I've been doing it for half a year now. It used to be all right; I'd get a good feeling every so often and it's a good 4-5 minute passer-by... but now it just sucks and it's burning a hole in my pocket, so I'm quitting. =P

[Don Simeone]

yeah i do

been smoking since i was ooooh 14...first cig at 13, so it's almost 10 years that i've been smoking now (that really bothers me too :) )

i've tried to quit a couple times but not anymore for the last 3 years or so...i've just decided that i like to smoke...sometimes i cut back tho, like when i start coughing up more slime than there was in ghostbusters

i'm an exception too, most smokers i know are constantly whining about quitting

[Palmer of the Turks]

Nope. never have, never will.

NASTY.

[Deidre]

Nope. Never have. Not even once. Never will. Not even once.

Smoking has ruined my life and that of those around me enough without having to do it myself.

[IGemini]

Nope. Tobacco ruins my lungs exponentially faster than marijuana ever will.

[Kuky]

Nope, but I don't judge (until I see a smoker bad talk marijuana or something haha... pathetic sight, that is).

You should turn this thread into a poll or something...

[Wolf]

I saw the most retarded thing. I saw someone on my military course start smoking specifically to fit in. But then I thought... That's what most people start smoking for.

Pretty stupid.


Put me down for a no.

[NightHawk]

nah...my dad smokes, and because of that, i have to carry an asthma inhaler with me all the time.

[lain13ego]

no and that includes smoking ANYTHING not just cigarettes

[vampbarbie]

Nope, I hate the smell. Yucky.

[The Original Taco]

Smoking is disgusting.

So...NO!

[Kuky]

That being said... feces is still ok :lol:

[Crash Override]

I smoke.

I tried to quit once, and went smoke-free for a few weeks, but when everyone you know smokes and you're surrounded by it nearly every day, it's not easy.

I think it's stupid, though, and anybody who starts smoking after the age of 21 is an idiot, because by then you should be smart enough to know how addictive it is, and I'm not talking about the nicotine. You should see how every real smoker around you desperately wishes they had never started, for good reason.

In the end, I don't think real smokers can ever REALLY quit; I think they just go into what I call "smoker remission," which means you stop smoking, but could potentially start up again any time. The cravings will be with you for the rest of your life, mentally, even when the physical cravings are gone. You WILL want one every time you see one, and you can choose to not ever have one again, but that doesn't mean you don't want it.
I mean, a friend's mom hadn't smoked in over 20 years, and she's recently gone through an inordinate amount of stress, so what did she do? Yup, started smoking again. Like I said, real smokers never quit, they just stop for a while. You'll never be a non-smoker. You'll never know what it's like not to crave cigarettes, even when the physical addiction is gone, and when the chips are down, guess what? You're a smoker again.

That said, quitting is an admirable goal and I fully support anybody who can have any level of success. Cigarettes are stupid.

[SoSweetAngel]

Yeh, I do.
I tried to quit a few months ago, but didn't manage it.

One of my friends has "quit", and he really pisses me off. I KNOW he hasn't quit, at all. He has definately cut down, a lot, which I guess is a good thing.... it's jsut the way he shoves it in everyones face... "I quit smoking and it was really easy, I didn't have any cravings or anything". How do I know he hasn't quit? Because he STILL SMOKES, when he's at home, when he's out. He asks for a cigarette off of someone, they give him one, he smokes it, then says "nope, that didn't feel good at all. I'm glad I quit, I don't crave them at all any more, cigarettes are stupid". Then does it again about an hour later. GRR.

As for constantly whining about quitting.... most of the time I'm reasonably happy with the fact that I smoke.... but lately I've been coughing a lot and it's starting to worry me.... so i think I might give it another shot. As Bil said, it's really hard when everyone around you smokes....

[kuju]

never smoked, never will. I've been tempted at times, especially when out with other people who smoke, but I'd rather not spend my money on something that kills me. I'd rather spend it on chocolate, and hope THAT doesn't kill me.

That, and the fact that every time I walk past construction where they're tarring the road or something I nearly vomit from the nausea from the tar... why would I willingly put it into my body?

[Nonny]

On occassion. I'm rather fond of cloves, but tend to smoke them more often for the anesthetic effect (mouth pain and such) than anything else. Considering it takes me a number of months to go through a pack (and I tend to forget I have them), I'm really not concerned about it. :P

[Crushed]

I forgot all about this thread. ^_^

Well, I started "the quit" today. Let's see how that goes. =P

lol poll =d

[chiukit]

crash... too true... too true...
well i guess im taking a 'break' from smoking then...
a big one at that lol.

[StrayDog]

Nope.

But I can't say I never tried. In fact, being a former typical impressionable kid, I did see it as cool. I tried for a good few days. Didn't see any benefits, didn't feel great about any chemical effects. Never got hooked and never bothered to really explore it further and that was that.

And it's not like I don't have other habits borne from addiction either.

Guess I was lucky that with my physiology, nicotine couldn't work it's magic with me.

Same goes for weed. Tried it, knew how it affected me, but in the long run, didn't acquire an addiction, didn't really see any benefits to its chemical effects, and never really understood why others can get hooked. (I guess they say weed is less addictive than cigs)

[Burro]

lol, for one thing, it takes more than one cigarette to be addicted. I would venture to say it takes at least a few packs, and marijuana isn't addictive, at least physically, but that's just statistically speaking, I guess someone COULD get addicted after one smoke, but i HIGHLY doubt it.

Chalk me up for smoke, but I'm definately quitting after last night, my throat is so fucked up I can't even fathom putting smoke in it.

[StrayDog]

I tried more than one stick. Much more.

[dtbmnec]

I won't touch it with a ten foot pole......I remember my dad used to smoke and I didn't like it.....My roomates smoke upstairs in their bedrooms (why they can't just go out back instead I don't know....and yeah I've brought it up a few times.....lazy pot smoking asses.....and they wonder why I'm never upstairs and talking with them!) and when the smoke comes downstairs to my room I hate it.....I've also got another roomate who is a bit allergic to it too......my bf also hates the smell too.....I am sorta used to the smell but I've kissed a smoker before and it hasn't been good....:( oh well that time is past and life is good and mostly smoke-less....

Megan

[KnappyOne]

Bil, I agree with you 100%. I took one of them breaks, almost 6 monthes, and then my smokers reality came back to me. I'm smoking again, not nearly as much as I used to, but yeah, I'm smoking. I used to be over a pack a day, sometimes 2 packs a day. Well, now, I'm around 3 to 4 cigs a day, not including drinking nights, cuz yeah, something about alcohol and cigs just go so well together.

[Don Simeone]

Originally posted by KnappyOne@Jun 5 2005, 10:59 AM
something about alcohol and cigs just go so well together.
that's why i'll never be able to quit :)

[huh]

I don't smoke. It just doesn't seem like a very good habit to me, and I'm glad I made it through my teens without trying. I exercise quite a bit and am a pretty health conscious person, so it would be a big waste for me to start.

[SoSweetAngel]

Originally posted by Don Simeone@Jun 5 2005, 03:49 PM
that's why i'll never be able to quit :)

something about alcohol and cigs just go so well together.


Yeesssss... Last time I tried to quit I was fine in the day... it was just the nights when alcohol was involved... I just couldn't do it.

At the moment I'm in the last two weeks before my exams at the end of the year. I'm not exactly stressed - but it's a great excuse to smoke as much as I like and not feel too guilty about it... heh...

[nicruns]

no, never. nasty habit

[LynzyLou*]

I did it socially when I started high school, it was kind of just one of those 'everyones doing it' things, and then by about grade 11 I decided it was stupid, and never did it again. I dont see the point. It smells, kills people, and just looks stupid. But hey, if you wanna do it, by all means go for it. I dont hate on people who do it, I just dont do it myself.

[Kuky]

*wonders whether random question #2 will be whether we own any pets*

[Lone_Raider]

I guess I'm awesome lol :rocker:

[Anthropolemic]

Nope. Won't do it. My dad smokes. Cigarettes ultimately killed my grandmother. Nasty shit.

[Wolf]

I love that people actually checked off "Yes, I love feces."

[Don Simeone]

Originally posted by Wolf@Jun 6 2005, 05:01 AM
I love that people actually checked off "Yes, I love feces."
goes to show how much smokers care about the stigma about smoking nowadays, IMO

really funny to see how there's more social and political backlash against smoking cigarettes than smoking weed nowadays (well almost :) )

[Wolf]

Originally posted by Don Simeone@Jun 6 2005, 05:46 AM
goes to show how much smokers care about the stigma about smoking nowadays, IMO

really funny to see how there's more social and political backlash against smoking cigarettes than smoking weed nowadays (well almost :) )
45,000 people per year don't die of marijuana in Canada.

[Danae]

I smoked for the first time last September and really took a liking to it, though I wouldn't call myself a regular smoker. I smoke heavily when I drink and occasionally when I'm sober. If I'm stressed or around other people who are smoking, I get the urge to but I don't do it on a regular basis by msyelf or anything. I guess I'm a social smoker heh

[MuthaFranka]

yes yes yes.

On again off again smoker for the past 9 years now. Getting harder to be off again each time i try.

My basic idea is that i will quit, no matter what, when i'm 25. Hopefully i'll drop it before then, but i suppose we have to be realistic about these things.

And the bitching non-smokers like to dish out is one of the few things i don't turn into the elitist liberal type over. Cry about it elsewhere and go to the non-smoking restaurant down the street.

[water nymph]

Nope, won't ever smoke, though I do hang around smokers when I sit to talk with the regulars outside Starbucks. And they are very courteous smokers: they blow the smoke away from you but they won't just up and stop. They figure that since I came to their smoking turf I should be able to deal with the smoke or leave.

I :heart: my Starbucks Regulars!

[Fun Lovin' Criminal]

I hate those people that come up to you and cough. That fucking shits me.

"The worst kind of non-smokers are the ones that come up to you and cough. That's pretty flippin cruel isn't it? Do you go up to cripples and dance too?"

"Obnoxious , self-righteous, whining little fucks. My biggest fear is that if I quit smoking, I'll become one of you...Don't take that wrong. I have something to tell you non-smokers that I know for a fact that you don't know, and I feel it's my duty to pass on information at all times. Ready?.......Non-smokers die every day...Enjoy your evening. See, I know that you entertain this eternal life fantasy because you've chosen not to smoke, but let me be the 1st to POP that bubble and bring you hurtling back to reality....You're dead too."

- Bill Hicks (May he rest in peace)

[MuthaFranka]

my my I love Bill Hicks.

[Niki22]

GREAT QUOTE.

Not everyone that smokes will get cancer from it and die, people. My grandfather smoked since he was EIGHT and NEVER got cancer from it.

Another thing that I ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT STAND is those anti-smoking commercials.....WHY?? JUST.....WHY? Those people need to get a REAL job and stop trying to push their beliefs in other people's faces.

I'm a social smoker.....I never "need" a cigarette, but like said, when out drinking.....goes so well. Also every so often when taking a drive on a nice night it's relaxing to drive, turn up some good music, and enjoy a cig. (Thank God summer is back)

[Asphodelle13]

I quit with my bf in April after having smoked on and off again for 4 yrs(except when I was pregnant and another time I quit). I never was a hardcore smoker anyway; I made a pack last a week.

[Bravehearter]

Not cigarettes.

Ill smoke the occasional Cuban Cigar, Green one., or a certain someone has me liking Clove cigarettes. Its the flavor I like more then anything else.

[alegria]

heh...I detest that habit. I started dating a guy who didn't smoke. Lo and behold, after he starts getting stressed out all the time, has a bunch of friends who smoke (and, since he spends an exorbitant amount of time with them...) kissing my boyfriend now is like kissing an ashtray.

Eh...still with him, though.

[water nymph]

Originally posted by Niki22@Jun 7 2005, 02:31 PM
Another thing that I ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT STAND is those anti-smoking commercials.....WHY?? JUST.....WHY? Those people need to get a REAL job and stop trying to push their beliefs in other people's faces.

I am actually very fond of the anti-smoking commercials. I don't like smoking and I think that there are still plenty of people who don't know the full dangers of said habit or the various acts that cigarette companies did in the past. I think that people need this kind of information because it is proven that cigarettes cause cancer, granted not everyone actually gets cancer but it still needs to be advertized. Truth be told, if you don't like them, turn them off. The media is free (or at least it is supposed to be) and if they pay for those commercials then they can be on. It is no different than the campaign commercials- they are getting their side out.

In the end it all comes down to this: it is still your choice. You don't have to do what the commercials say, it's your body, do with it what you will.

[Crash Override]

But some of the anti-smoking commercials are really dumb.

I saw one that had this lady clutching a metal pole in the middle of a huge thunderstorm, and the ad was her saying, "Oh, you think this is stupid? Well, only [x] people die per year from being struck by lightning, but [y] people die per year from smoking! NOW who's stupid?"

Granted, that would be a worthwhile and effective commercial if it wasn't so FUCKING RETARDED. If I got about as much enjoyment out of a cigarette as I do STANDING OUTSIDE IN THE MIDDLE OF A THUNDERSTORM HOLDING A FUCKING METAL POLE, guess what? I WOULDN'T SMOKE, IDIOTS! NOBODY FUCKING WOULD!

That's my beef with those commercials.

[Rosie]

I'm smoking as I read this thread...and i agree smoking is dreadful, i wish i had never started :(


I was 14 when I started and now its 20 years later :( STUPID HABIT

[water nymph]

Originally posted by Crash Override@Jun 8 2005, 12:08 AM
But some of the anti-smoking commercials are really dumb.

I saw one that had this lady clutching a metal pole in the middle of a huge thunderstorm, and the ad was her saying, "Oh, you think this is stupid? Well, only [x] people die per year from being struck by lightning, but [y] people die per year from smoking! NOW who's stupid?"

Granted, that would be a worthwhile and effective commercial if it wasn't so FUCKING RETARDED. If I got about as much enjoyment out of a cigarette as I do STANDING OUTSIDE IN THE MIDDLE OF A THUNDERSTORM HOLDING A FUCKING METAL POLE, guess what? I WOULDN'T SMOKE, IDIOTS! NOBODY FUCKING WOULD!

That's my beef with those commercials.
OK, I have to admit that said ad is very stupid. I'm thinking mainly of some of the truth.com ones, simply because they are so powerful and seek not only to educate the public but also to make cigarette companies "pay" (I can't think of a better word. I don't mean making companies pay through the ass to every single person who has ever smoked or been affected by it, more that they are forced to come to terms with their actions. How the members of a company that sells death sticks can sleep at night is beyond me.) for their actions.

I believe that people have every right to smoke but that they should do so with when they are properly informed of the side effects. I'm not going to get in some smoker's face and call them horrid people for smoking because that is just rude. Some ant-smoking ads are like that (like the one you mentioned, Crash), they won't really change anything. Real facts presented in a non-threatening, non-abrasive manner are far more effective and harder to refute.

[Kuky]

Haha that metal pole lady is part of the [X]... only [X] people a year hold a metal pole in a thunder storm :lol:.

The commercial I do like is the one that goes "The tobacco industry spends [x] dollars a year trying to get me [some teen] to smoke... I'd rather they just gave me the money."

...but I wonder how much it would come up to, per-capita hehe.

[IGemini]

Yeah, that ad is pretty terrible...I haven't seen a lot of "bad" anti-cigarette ads, just the factsheet ones. I hate the marijuana ones more. Watch them closely enough, you'll see they don't actually say anything bad about them. I don't get it...they just say that "drugs are bad and marijuana is a drug, therefore it's bad" but it's okay for a grandfather to get wood again from a pill.

That said, here are some alternatives (Half-Life and CS fans, stay tuned):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v713/sniper1337/uppedbyhiggins.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v713/sniper1337/radioactivelego.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v713/sniper1337/noob.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v713/sniper1337/TheDox.jpg

[halcyon]

Nope. I tried it once or twice when I was younger, but it had no effect on me, so I went for other things that I ended up quitting.

I'm happy I don't because one of my brothers, who is now 28, had to get a physical/stress test/etc for his new job, and his doctor said something along the lines of 'wow, you have great lungs for a 41 year old!' He's been smoking since he's been 16 -- not a very heavy smoker either. . .

I think it's stupid how at least in the U.S. they're banning smoking in bars and such. I'm a nonsmoker, but christ, most people who socially drink socially smoke. . . the two just go hand in hand. . .

[BodyBuildingBrat]

I tried it once, felt sick, almost like I hadn't had anything to eat in weeks.
If I'm drunk I'll do it, because all my friends are. (My drunken stupidity, though I don't drink but a few times a year).

But, I didn't like the feeling it gave me when I did it sober, so...I've never been a "smoker".

[Lone_Raider]

To add something else, my state banned smoking in all public places a few months back in, restaurants, bars, etc. I think its one of the greatest laws ever, smoke irritates my throat and lungs severly, got sick multiple times from my fathers smoking as a child, smoking has killed 3 of my grandparents and my father continues to smoke and has contracted emphysema. He's tried to quit over 20 times, no luck.

I'm an anti smoking Nazi when it comes down to it, and most smokers would probably hate me. My doctor actually told my dad he had to smoke outside and away from me when I was around 10, which he has done since then and I respect that.

We actually took care of my last grandmother here in my house while she was dying of lung cancer from smoking. I guess you can't understand how much I hate smoking unless you have watched a close relative slowly suffocate and die right in front of you, it is not a pretty site, quite a horrific and slow death, very sad. I love every anti smoking attack ad, I think they are great, smoking has wiped out nearly my whole family and will probably take my own fathers life one day. And the fact that I don't have to inhale someone's second hand smoke when I go out now is fantastic.

Of course, I don't drink alcohol or smoke pot either, so I'm not being a hypocrite when it comes to taking in chemicals. I might be an ultra radical leftist politically, but I have the mindset of a decemberist. They were liberal Russian revolutionary's in the 1820's who tried to overthrow the Tsar, they never drank or smoked and always maintained a serious attitude because they needed to dedicate every moment of their waking lives to change, that's all that mattered ;)

[Nurseman]

When I was 19 I tried to cultivate a pipe. I thought it would make me look older and more mature. Uh huh.

Now that I AM older, (but, probably, not much more mature) I realize I must have looked like an idiot.

[BabyDiva]

Never have, never will. My dad smoked until I was 7 when he had a massive heart attack. He didn't touch it since then. His heart attack was partially attributed to the smoking and lack of oxygen.

More of a reason not to, as if I needed one, right now I'm sitting in the room next to my father. He's coughing, needing to do a respiratory test every hour, and he cannot walk more than 5-10 minutes at most without gasping for air. Why? Because he had lung cancer and now only has 4 of the 5 lobes in his lung left. They removed an entire lobe. He's in massive pain, cannot function normally and starts chemo next week.

If watching someone go through that isn't enough, I don't know what is.

Stuart's mom and stepdad smoke, unfortunetely. Stepdad already had a quadruple bypass, and his mom watched her father die of lung cancer. Some people need more than that as a reason to quit apparently.

[Nurseman]

Originally posted by Fun Lovin' Criminal@Jun 7 2005, 11:33 AM
"Obnoxious , self-righteous, whining little fucks. My biggest fear is that if I quit smoking, I'll become one of you...Don't take that wrong. I have something to tell you non-smokers that I know for a fact that you don't know, and I feel it's my duty to pass on information at all times. Ready?.......Non-smokers die every day...Enjoy your evening.
Yes we do. We ALL do. But what you are ignoring is the fact that Non-Smokers DON'T usually die wasted away, smelling bad, unable to breathe, having to carry an oxygen tank with them everywhere, unable to even get out of a chair without help, and needing to stop and catch their breath every few steps.

Its a most unpleasant, really shitty way to die. May I also add that it isn't like they just get sick suddenly and die in a few days or weeks. It takes YEARS. Emphysema makes you feel crappy EVERY friggin' day. You cough, you wheeze, you take LOTS of meds, including nebulizer treatments. You go through the rest of your life feeling like you have a plastic bag over your head.

I won't bother to mention the SURGERY, or the fact that now you have to always go outside to smoke because nobody wants to be around your smelly ass.

But you'll be ok. You've got your "Nobodys-gonna-tell-ME-what-to-do", attitude and you've got your firm belief that it just happens to other people.

You just keep on smoking, buddy. I won't "preach" to you. You see I'm a RESPIRATORY Nurse. I'M the guy that will be setting up your oxygen. Thank you for my job security.

[Fun Lovin' Criminal]

Don't mention it.

[Shan20]

I watched my Uncle die of lung cancer in February. Literally watched. All those machines, and the morphine drip. No one should have to watch something like that. So no, I don't smoke. And I never will.