[Closed] Who smokes?

I have a friend who smokes Drum. I will roll one with him when he visits, and quite enjoy it. But no, I would not call myself a smoker.

Drum gold here, now n then

I quit (again) last Friday. The gym is easier already.

I used to smoke, and have been largely successful in quitting, but sometimes my willpower caves in when alcohol is involved, fortunately I only drink 20 pints a day.

I smoke once or twice a day mostly, sometimes I can go days without a cig, if I'm out drinking I can do quite a few.

I do like a nice cig now and then. Strangely, I really enjoy a cig just after exercise like swimming.

Occassionally after too much drink.

Is it ok to admit to the 'funny smelling' ones as well?

funny smelling ones... you mean old holburn and such?

Drum Gold - i would quit if my wife did (probably) trouble is she prefers the sudden stop whereas i prefer the wean myself off 'em approach.

I am probably classed as a moderate smoker, but the plan is to quit in the new year.

I want my fitness back. I want to get 10k down to 45 minutes or less, then do a half marathon and do a triathlon, so smoking is not really a sensible thing to do.

I used to enjoy the funny ones far more than I should have but got sick of being in a walking coma....

I know next time I'm out on the beer will be hardest to deal with, that'll be Wednesday, Friday, Saturday then

Like them best when outdoors, camping or on top of hills. Or drunk.

They seem to serve as a little break from proceedings, particularly useful if I'm tired, lost or just plain not enjoying myself! Suppose others would have a brew or a snack, rollies are just easier.

Enjoyed the funny one's on a daily basis (and I mean every single day) from the age of 17 to 29, slowly cut down until the beginning of this year.

The majority of the people who did likewise are f'ing nuts these days!

I enjoy the occasional rolly (another drummer here) but thats like one a month, maybe more if i'm on nights.

I'm a bit too partial to the funny smelling ones and the odd rolly. Like Elf above I have to say the best rollies are after I've been swimming.

imagine if there was a "STW Funny Smelling Smoke Ride"...

the race to the cafe would be hilarious

Sort of...

I haven't had a cig since July 2004. But one of the various mind tricks I used at the start was telling myself that I was still "a smoker", just one who hadn't sparked up since yesterday/last week/last month/last year/last decade. This is partly because I didn't want to become an annoying ex-smoker. Preachy non-smokers get on my wick more than a little, the interfering busybodies. Anyway, it seems to still be working.

One other trick I used was promising myself that if I made it to eighty I could start smoking again. So, hopefully, I'm actually just between cigarettes. 🙂

phil - I used to get up on a Saturday morning and light up at 7am. My riding buddy would then ensure I had a steady supply of funny fags all the way to Wales. Apparently they had a massive impact on how quickly I rode!

mintimperial - I've been a preachy ex-smoker since Saturday am!

One other trick I used was promising myself that if I made it to eighty I could start smoking again.

i plan to start again when i retire/ go in a home.

Yes, I smoke. But I can quit any time I want. I'm so good at quitting that I regularly quit two or three times a week.

Saying that, I am making a determined effort this time and haven't lit up since Sunday. I miss it.

sponging machine to the forum!!!!!!

Stick with it Yoshimi.

Its either that or stay addicted.

Older generations are hooked and didn't really know the full advertised extent of how bad smoking really is for you.

Children/young adults who try it now are blithering idiots. Theres no excuse.

It embarrases me to admit it but I fully agree with Hora.

Smoked for about thirty years. Right through road racing, marathons,triathlons the lot. I did a full ironman in 85 and there were a few smokers at that.
Still fond of a rolly, but can't face normal fags anymore.

Its one thing I applaud new Labour for. The balls to actually ban smoking which would surely hurt them at the polls in some form.

I was addicted for years and went gradually from thinking it made me look older, to cool to abit sad. I couldn't quit though. Hated it. Then I started getting annual chest infections in winter. Doctor told me I could happily carry on smoking for a few more decades but then it would be a slow and painful long decline in longterm health.

Sat with me and took her time.

She stopped me smoking on the spot. I still frequented pubs (and worried about getting pissed and having a fag but never did). It was more the fear that stopped me.

I might still have a slow and painful death however it wont be because I have restricted airways and need help getting round slowly from the front of supermarket parking spots.

We all talk of saving money, pensions etc for later years however smoking fags now stores up future problems for a very poorly future. Sort of banking on lack of ability to move or enjoy life as much anymore. That is much worse than a swift death.

I've been a preachy ex-smoker since Saturday am!

I reckon a certain amount of banging on about it is entirely forgiveable at first, because it's a flipping difficult thing to do.

I was really referring to people who haven't smoked in years, or have never smoked, who take it upon themselves to try to convert random smokers when it's none of their business at all. I suppose you might not encounter these interfering busybodies so much nowadays, given that there's basically almost nowhere that you're allowed to smoke at all any more...

mintimperial are you a middle-aged rebel? You know that attitude goes out of the window after your teen years. No offence but there is nothing about smoking that marks you as cool, living dangerously etc.

In a way it is similar to alcoholism. Sorry, its true.

Yeah, to be fair I've just been smug so far. Especially to friends that are also trying to quit.
The only time I've ever been really preachy was when I [s]quit[/s] took a break before and my then girlfriend still smoked... kissing her was f'king disgusting.

Another smoker here, keep thinking about quiting, but just the thought of it gets me a bit scared and I have to go and have a nice relaxing cigarette 😉

In all seriousness though, I quit for 2 years in my early twenties, and I remember how much fitter I felt for it, so I know that I should really give up now, the problem is that I just don't want to at the moment.

smoke a couple of rollies a day and bit of weed /hash now and again. Still run a 41min xc 10k - not bad for my age.

Kev

Preachy non-smokers get on my wick more than a little, the interfering busybodies.

Then, as if by magic:

No offence but there is nothing about smoking that marks you as cool, living dangerously etc.

In a way it is similar to alcoholism. Sorry, its true.

Hora, do you drive a car what pumps out loads of toxic and carcinogenic fumes into the atmosphere which are actually far more damaging to [i]other [/i]people's health?

Shut up then. 🙄

I like a nice cig now and then.

Binners; next time Hora passes out after one too many shandies:

[img] [/img]

Please.

I was really referring to people who haven't smoked in years, or have never smoked, who take it upon themselves to try to convert random smokers when it's none of their business at all.

Funny one on morning walk at 6.30, couple of cigarettes during working day, then back to funny ones. Is it the weekend yet?? Hold down a good job, am active, dont drink, reasonably fit, can hold conversations .........'best' ones are after any exercise. If I caught the kids doing either I would go mad at them and ground them forever! Hate seeing people smoking, hate the smell of cigarettes (stale or fresh), am addicted and not proud of it. I just dont think I smoke enough to go through the 'pain' of giving up, plus I enjoy it. Quite often just funny ones at beginning and end of day. Makes me more 'zoned' and determined to get up that hill. Funny ones, never giving up.

Hora, do you drive a car what pumps out loads of toxic and carcinogenic fumes into the atmosphere which are actually far more damaging to other people's health

and that large black-fume-belching bus that you ride round on? 🙄

mintimperial are you a middle-aged rebel?

Heh. As soon as I'd posted that I knew I'd regret it. I just have sympathy for smokers because I used to be one, and it really can't be much fun any more. That's all really.

You are, of course, completely right, Hora. I'm not going to list the many very good reasons why, though, everyone knows them anyway.

Good luck to all who are trying to quit. Stick with it, you can do it.

Good luck to all who are trying to quit. Stick with it, you can do it

Agree totally.

Sorry if I come across abit angry. Smoking is bloody evil. We used it like a crutch the same as alcohol. I'm no saint with alcohol infact when you quit smoking your alcohol consumption ramps up for a while doesn't it?

I don't use the bus, hardly ever. I ride my bike.

Do you think smokers don't know what a filthy, unhealthy nasty expensive habit it is? Do you really think they want to be told? By some preachy self-righteous twunt?

You add to global pollution. When every aspect of your life is green and lovely and harm-free, then you can come and preach.

In the meantime, try to understand that smokers don't want people like you banging on all the time. It's boring, and it's not actually going to motivate them to quit, so please just keep it to yourself. What your actually doing, is not trying to be helpful, but just to constantly remind yourself that smoking is bad. Fine. Just do it in your own head, and give the rest of us some peace.

Cheeze, I need a cig now after that....

then a few hours later would start complaining when I pinched and ripped up every fag they tried to put in their gob.

I would really, really love to see you try to do that with some of the smokers I know.

I'd have St John's Ambulance standing by... 😉

and that large black-fume-belching bus that you ride round on?

three wrongs don't make a right..

I enjoyed the rock and roll woodbines and the altered perception it gave me of the universe every day for many many years.. it got to me in the end though and now I hide in cupboard cowering from the thought police for days if I so much as stand next to a hippy..

As for the evil tobacco..? I gave up for the fisrt time since I was 13 for the first half of this year... didn't miss it a bit and felt bloody great.. lots healthier and less stressed.. then I convinced myself that I could just maybe smoke one cig here or there.. or perhaps even have a night on the fags occasionally with no harm done..
then I started just having one on my lunch break each day..

long story short.. I'm on about 10 a day now.. I feel sluggish.. apathetic and short of breath... my skins awful I'm constantly craving the next one so I'm irritable all the time.. and I can't afford it..

ace.. I love ciggies.. loads.. apart from nearly everything about them..

I'm no saint with alcohol infact when you quit smoking your alcohol consumption ramps up for a while doesn't it?

Yup. Still waiting for it to ramp back down TBH... 😉

Thing is, I know how disgusting, sad, controlling and harmful they are........just wish there was some miracle cure.....just wish I'd never thought it was a good idea to 'become addicted' all those years ago sat in the park drinking Breakers, MadDog and Thunderbirds along with all my mates.

I really, really hope I can do it this time!

but at least you agree you smoke now, you face restricted lung capacity etc etc in later life (i.e 50's onwards)? Not every smoker keels over and dies from Cancer in a relatively short period.

Visiting hospital you see older people stood outside with drips etc pulling away on a cigarette.

That depresses me. Quality of life is key regardless of how long it is.

Been stopped for over a year after decades of smoking. Reaping the health benefits now

This may just be coincidence, but...

When I'd quit before I used to get ID'd for booze every month or so (aged 30), started smoking again at roughly the same time I turned 31. Got ID'd again for the first time yesterday since being 31... 3 days after I stopped again.

Smoking ages you, FACT!

There is nothing worse on gods earth than preachy ex-smokers.

And what's more its completely andd utterly counter-productive. When I've got some sanctimonious, whining health-nazi bleating on at me, I glaze over and reach for the B&H

Most anti-smokers are too self-righteous and dense to actually realise this. Aren't they Hora? 😀

first and probably last time i agree with fred.

i smoke rollies, some days none, some days half a dozen, i do notice the effect in my lungs if i smoke straights.

Its just one of my vices, its my life and i will live it/die it how i want.

One day binners I will put you into my work camp. Work makes you free you know. 8)

Those people who wanted to quit, did quit and have remained smoke free, how did you do it?

I smoked 30 a day until 6 years ago.. When I quit, I used patches, determination, a new house with larger mortgage, and took up mountain biking to keep me from smoking... 6 years down the line, i've certainly spent more on bikes than I did on cigs... but I've had soo much more fun and I don't stink like a dirty (old) pub anymore !

Two other things stopped me. 1, my wife is a respiritory nurse - does this spirometry test that shows your lung age vs actuall age... V scary to see that 10 years ahead of actual age.. today I'm beating my age by 5 years.

The other thing was Nigela's husband dying from Lung cancer at 30 something and not seeing his two daughters growing up....I wanted to see mine growing up.

To be honest, I couldnt face being socially outcast as smokers are now, being kicked outside into the street to smoke etc.

Good luck to anyone quiting... its worth it.

Hardwork.

For years I wanted to quit. Hated having to check how many I had left and spent many nights going out to get some more so I could have my just before bed cigarette. I tried patches, gum etc- it just prolonged the agony for me. Cold Turkey did it.

You have to be ready to quit. Don't quit for the sake of it.

It went from enjoyable for me (cool to the girls), to endurance, to hatred of it for feeling commited without choice.

The line 'you can't save those who aren't ready to be saved' could be used....

I stopped on March 2nd this year.

Just did it cold turkey this time.

Luckily I had become so mentally sick of everything to do with smoking that it was not too bad altogether.

Giving up the first one in the morning was difficult and the one after dinner, so what I did was purposefully take breakfast with my son (he thought it was great that I was sitting eating with him) and after dinner I would have a wee snooze rather than go outside for a smoke.

Oh, I had also set myself a goal of being smoke free by 40 and I am 40 next month, so it looks like I will achieve my goal 🙂

The only downside is I have put on about 10lbs since stopping, but that does not bother me to be honest.

stopping smoking when you 'actually' want to, is easy. No really, it was.

It's a mental thing, you either want to stop or you don't, it's that simple, I didn't want to smoke any more, so i stopped, once you realise that, there's no point in trying to stop until you really really want to. But when you do, it'll be easy, 'cause you actually look forward to not smoking, and not resenting giving something up.

I quit..

For my Children
To give me a chance to actually do the 'todo' list b4 I die.
Because I'm scared of a long horrible death,
Because I hate being controlled by it,
Because I don't enjoy it anymore.
Because it's slowly killing me.

I hope all you quitters succeed.

This helped for me....

I smoked big **** off cigars for a while after quitting...

Those that do smoke - must be getting pretty grim these days?

Having to find crappy little places round by the bins at work.
Friends and relatives asking you to stand outside to smoke when you visit their houses.
Constantly creeping off outside when on a night out.
Half the population (of the ones you'd be interested in) discounting you as a potential partner no matter how fit/intelligent/funny you are just because you smoke.
And then the cost.....

I'd be finding a new vice.

Those people who wanted to quit, did quit and have remained smoke free, how did you do it?

By being awesome.

I was ready to give up. Until you are really ready then you will struggle.

Until you are really ready then you will struggle

Is there not an element of convincing yourself you're ready?

Mugs game. End of.

Nope, you can't stop half-heartedly. Certainly in my experience I needed a reason to stop and that was when my kids came home from school saying their teacher had told them it was bad.

But some folk need a little assistance - acupuncture didn't work so it was then on to the Nicorette gum. Oh, and I took up running. 8)

I smoked for 20 years, had been bought up in a family of smokers, and now have no desire for a cigarette at all.

You have to want to stop.

The introduction of the ban on smoking in public places has been great IMO and it certainly helped me to stop and will help me to stay stopped.

I am not an anti-smoker, that would be very hypocritical of me given my past, and I believe that if people want/choose to smoke then they should be allowed to.

Those that do smoke - must be getting pretty grim these days?

FAO convert:
obviously its very personal but,
i dont smoke at work as a general rule, i dont like the way the tetchy non smokers are so quick to judge a book by its cover, i also dont have coffee breaks or gossip breaks.

i dont smoke inside at home, (for the smell) with the exception of my bike shed. So it doesnt bother me going outside to smoke. If its lashing it down then i just wont bother, the rest of the time its peace/quiet/fresh air, an escape if you like.

On a night out, you tend to find the more sociable people outside smoking, it seems to stem from the 'blitz mentality' particularly i love the non smokers now complaining that people going outside is ruining their night, its like STWrs complaining about people smoking in a park!
I would never be interested in a partner that was that shallow.
cost: £5 of baccy lasts me about 2/3weeks and i love it.

Those people who wanted to quit, did quit and have remained smoke free, how did you do it?

I smoked for well over 20 years. Climbing in the alps convinced me that my lung capacity wasn't what it was and if I wanted to keep doing outdoor activities etc then it was time to do something about it ...

There's a quote from the 1991 film 'Dead Again' spoken by Robin Williams:

"Someone is either a smoker or a nonsmoker. There's no in-between. The trick is to find out which one you are, and be that. If you're a nonsmoker, you'll know"

I realised that I was a 'smoker' - 20 odd years of addiction & ingrained behavioural habit's doesn't dissapear immediately. I just told myself that "I wasn't smoking today" ... and that was four years ago.

Give up if you can - it's worth it! Some people can smoke for years with little or no ill-effect ... but it will catch up with you at some point ...

I'm back on the blooming things again. Gave up for four months over Summer, then had a week in Italy, sitting outside bars / cafes in the sunshine surrounded by beautiful Italians enjoying lovely tabs.

So I started again. Will be having another go very soon - mostly for the sake of peace and quiet from Mrs Removed - very aware that this isn't a good reason to quit but it's as good as any other....

Not a fan of 'straights' - always rolled my own (another Drum smoker).

Bah!

soobalias - Member

On a night out, you tend to find the more sociable people outside smoking

Interesting comment given how anti-social smoking is considered nowadays!

On a night out, you tend to find the more sociable people outside smoking

😀 That's funny - keep telling yourself that. You are obviously still of the "all the cool kids smoke" school of thought. I thought most people grew up past that stage by about 16!

I would never be interested in a partner that was that shallow.

I don't think it's anything to do with being shallow or not - most non smokers (and that's the vast majority of the population now - esp among the higher socio economic groupings) think that smokers stink and sharing spit with a smoker if you aren't one is not very edifying.

catch your will power on a good day. when i was 21 i woke up one day and gave up drugs/booze but not the odd rollie/bidi(indian cheroots) my habit was small most of the time then at 30 i did the same, woke up one day and said 'thats it' despite the urge now and again the 'no voice' in my head is louder. on the down side smoking helped me relax more and general anxiety is def worse in the last 6 years. much fitter tho.

I gave up 3 years ago.

I recognised the triggers that made me smoke. They were:
Lager- so I drank bitter
Instant coffee - so I drank tea
long car journeys - hard to avoid with my job but I did it.
a certain set of traffic lights on my route to work (unbelievable I know) - I went a different way to work.

Try to find your triggers and avoid them for a month.

sitting here, trying to think of something inspirational, or at least 'non-pious ex smoker' to say, as encouragement to stop, but can't really. it is rather a pointless drug though.
anyone who's still in that 'i'll smoke if i bloody want to' mindset won't be dissuaded by a few words written by me, and frankly, i couldn't care less.
i used the allen carr book 'easyway to stop smoking'. if you want to stop, or at least, don't see yourself smoking for the rest of your life, buy it, read it, and let it do it's thing. it's not very thick, and you could probably read it cover to cover in a few hours, if you were so inclined. might turn out to be the best book you ever read.
what have you got to loose?

Gave up smoking about 4 or 5 years ago, occasions have one when drunk or a special one if there's one going round but by and large am pleased I no longer smoke day in day out. Def think you need to want to quit rather than thinking you should.

You don't have to quit cigarettes.

They'll quit you - and like all separations from someone/thing you love it's long and painful.

Don't smoke! It's gross, you smell bad and if you don't die of cancer you will eventually drown in your bodies own self developed green gunk which will slowly build up in your an attempt to save the smoke from damaging them even more until you will literally not be able to breathe anymore. Trust me, I know and it's vile. People concentrate too much on the 'don't smoke, you'll die from lung cancer'. Actually there is a fair chance you may not but you will spend many years dying very slowly and miserably of other smoking related illnesses. Not nice

its only non smokers, most usually ex smokers, who think that its an antisocial habit.

convert - pious ex smoker? loving your generalisations but they dont actually apply to me. my wife and three ex partners who are all non smokers would inform you however i suspect that you are not one to listen perhaps because you believe you are from a higher socio-economic class.

Don't smoke! It's gross, you smell bad and if you don't die of cancer you will eventually drown in your bodies own self developed green gunk which will slowly build up in your an attempt to save the smoke from damaging them even more until you will literally not be able to breathe anymore. Trust me, I know and it's vile. People concentrate too much on the 'don't smoke, you'll die from lung cancer'. Actually there is a fair chance you may not but you will spend many years dying very slowly and miserably of other smoking related illnesses. Not nice

Erm, thanks, but I kind of think we already know that. 🙄

And what's more its completely andd utterly counter-productive. When I've got some sanctimonious, whining health-nazi bleating on at me, I glaze over and reach for the B&H

Got a light, Binners?

.

Those that do smoke - must be getting pretty grim these days?

Having to find crappy little places round by the bins at work.
Friends and relatives asking you to stand outside to smoke when you visit their houses.
Constantly creeping off outside when on a night out.
Half the population (of the ones you'd be interested in) discounting you as a potential partner no matter how fit/intelligent/funny you are just because you smoke.
And then the cost.....

I'd be finding a new vice.

Is what I thought...

Only the smoking ban has polarised people more... Inside pubs and clubs is a far more pleasant place for us non smokers to be these days, the problem is that for most people under 30, going outside to have a fag is cooler than ever cos it makes them part of an elite club! See this all the time, bars/pubs/clubs with more than 1/2 the punters huddled around outside, often under patio heaters, smoking away...

I'm a vehement anti smoker, always have been. But then even if I liked the smell of it, or what it did, having lost 2 of my direct relatives to Cancer even if I wanted to smoke I couldn't do it...

I don't however bang on to other people constantly about the dangers of smoking, it is their choice (though I'm glad the ability to choose to smoke in places where it can harm the health of non smokers has been taken away). The only thing that pisses me off is people going to all the effort of giving up, or trying to give up, convincing themselves how disgusting it all is (quite rightly) to then as soon as they have a bad day at work or something, they reach for the fags! A couple of my best mates have done this several times... Someone else said it above, there are only smokers and non-smokers in the world... There is no inbetween, cos one fag will just lead to more...

Ex Drum (gotta be Gold though) smoker here.

My tipping point has been reached over the last year or so (had a successful 9 month stint on the wagon a couple of years ago) when I realised I was the last person in my circle of friends that smoked. Felt a bit hypocritical extolling the virtues of cycling, running and rowing and then nipping out for a roll-up.

Never going to be a preachy ****er about it, but listening to binners and Effinchafing whining on is as sad as the preaching that provokes it.

Erm.... yet still smoke?! Don't get it. Sorry.

Yeah? So what? It's my [i]choice[/i]. I enjoy a nice juicy ciggie. Same way as I enjoy a good poo, or a bacon butty, or a pint. What I really don't enjoy, is people going on and on about how unhealthy it is. I know it's unhealthy.

See, on each packet of cigs, there's a very prominent health warning, reminding me of my own stupidity every time I get the packet from me pocket. What makes you think you banging on is going to have any effect when the warnings and images of diseased lungs etc don't?

Mountain biking is dangerous. Breathing in car fumes is dangerous. Autoerotic Asphyxiation is dangerous.

Do you hear me banging on at you not to do those things? No. So, leave me and Binners be, please. Just let us kill ourselves in peace and quiet. It's all we ask.

Autoerotic asphyxiation? Blimey, never would have thought of that as an argument 😳

Just making a contribution that's all 🙄 s'cuse me for breathing (no smoke polluted air obv.)

I'm one of those annoying (to "proper smokers") social smokers who might have one on after a few pints if others are and one is offered. "funny smelling smoke", only with friends but I've cut back a lot as it was making me feel too drained all the time.

imagine if there was a "STW Funny Smelling Smoke Ride"...

the race to the cafe would be hilarious

I would be well up for this 😆

Just making a contribution that's all s'cuse me for breathing

Yeah, but d'you think we haven't heard it all before? Sorry, don't mean to jump down your throat, and I know you're ultimately just showing concern, so I don't want to sound all ungrateful, but it just gets annoying once you've heard it a million times...

For what it's worth, I'm reasonably fit and healthy, and go swimming as well as biking. I have healthy lungs, low blood pressure, a good strong heart and am probbly a fair bit healthier than quite a lot of people my age who don't smoke.

So, surely I'm entitled to poison myself a bit?

And no, I don't want to give up. 😡