Ex Smokers

[Lioness]

I see many of you have given up on the smokes. My question is why?
Is it because they are so expensive or has the world wide anti-smoking campaign worked or is it because we are limited to where we can smoke now-a-days, or is it a health issue.
Come on guys, spill the beans.
I would also like to know how much weight you all pilled on when you stopped.

 

[Gromit]

I haven't quit and I've still piled on the weight. Lioness, us smokers are now the pariahs of society. Funny how being drunk in public, driving while drunk and killing a few innocent motorists is still "ok" but hey, don't smoke in public please.

I've never heard of a person having one cigarette too many and going home and beating the cr*p out of his wife and children, but I have heard of "extenuating circumstances" justifying this cowardly act because the perpetrator had "one drink too many and therefor his judgement was impaired and he wasn't in control of his faculties."

Grrrrrr! I wish they'd apply the same stringent laws to drinking as they do to smoking but the revenue on alcohol tax is worth too much.

 

[FarsideMichael]

[quote author=Gromit link=topic=936.msg5789#msg5789 date=1217917550]
I haven't quit and I've still piled on the weight. Lioness, us smokers are now the pariahs of society. Funny how being drunk in public, driving while drunk and killing a few innocent motorists is still "ok" but hey, don't smoke in public please.

I've never heard of a person having one cigarette too many and going home and beating the cr*p out of his wife and children, but I have heard of "extenuating circumstances" justifying this cowardly act because the perpetrator had "one drink too many and therefor his judgement was impaired and he wasn't in control of his faculties."

Grrrrrr! I wish they'd apply the same stringent laws to drinking as they do to smoking but the revenue on alcohol tax is worth too much.
[/quote]

Gromit that is an old argument that doesn't apply. It's like saying that so many people die in car accidents but they still allow drive through orders at KFC :y114:

Unfortunately smoking is just not cool anymore and also incedently happens to be bad for our health and those around us. And yes I will sleep in the kennel tonight

 

[RAFIKI]

I hate cigarette smoke.Not only do I hate it ,I am allergic to it .
After a RAT weekend it takes me about a week to get rid of my headache ,swolen eyes and blocked nose .

Both smoking and drinking in excess is madness and I would like the laws on both to be far more strict

At the risk of being banned from Triumph ,let me give you an example.

On a Saturday I go to the bike shop and you wonderful friends come to the shop and smoke and drink .some drink far to much and are over the legal limit and then get on your bikes and ride home .Madness .I get in my car with a splitting headache from the smoke and run the risk of being taken out by someone that has been drinking !.This is all at around lunchtime on a Saturday.

I have seen people drink 6+ beers and then drive .This is not right and it puts innocent people at risk.

Sorry all ,I have just realised that life is short and we need to look after ourselves

 

[Speedy]

Isn't it strange this smoking thing, being an ex-addict myself I became involved in a drug rehabilitation ministry a few years ago and have seen people recovering from some increadibly serious addictions - including myself. The sad/frustrating part is that we all struggle to quit smoking. It suuucks man! And smoking has become increadibly uncool, besides the health issues it causes - I've been trying to quit for 3 years already, tried all the methods on the market and still struggling - it's pathetic! :tongue:
You wnnt to talk about weight gain, you gotta se some of these addicts - EISH man, they finaly learn to eat properly after years of hardly eating and, boy, do they make up for it.

 

[Lioness]

Hay Rafiki we like to share everything with you - including our smoke. You have to love our whole package not just the nice bits and anyway we don't complain when you eat too much. :kiss:

Maybe us smokers should fine us a nice "smoker only" dealership seeing as our dealer moans about his BEST customers stinking him out and giving him a headache.

Just joking Cuppies - I'm sure you prefer the smoke smell to the cup cakes :y24: :y24: :y24:

 

[Lioness]

Speedy I have also been involved in many peoples addictions (at clinics and elsewhere) and also find it really strange that addicts seem to be able to recover from their various drug or alcohol addictions easier than giving up smoking. I wonder why that is?

 

[gumpt1oo]

I gave up the smokes 8yrs ago. I was frightened into stopping!
At the age of 39 I was lying on a hospital bed wired up to an ECG machine, with the consultant telling me 'there will have to be some serious lifestyle changes'! h:
I was a fairly heavy drinker as well. This was the kick up the rear that I needed.
I have not smoked since that day! Although I still fancy one when I smell the smoke!
Believe it or not, I gave up the booze as well. And after 9 months on Beta-blockers bought some trainers and started running. Since then I have run 12 marathon's and 21 half marathon's. As for weight, I never gained any when I stopped, but I think that was mainly due to the extra exercise I was getting!

 

[Lioness]

Wow gumpt thats fantastic. My hubby stopped drinking 24 years ago and has stopped smoking for 10 days. I can only applaud the both of you :y115:

 

[DaveM]

Ok at the risk of all you smokers hating me here we go. I was smoking 80+ a day for a number of years. I was also hitting back the alcohol at a good rate. One day I was in the car riding out of a parking lot puffing away like normal. I looked at this and thought boy this is stupid. Tossed the smoke out the window the packet along with it and that was that.

My biggest problem was not craving a smoke but the reflex of reaching for one when I did certain things. I never had withdrawal or weight gain nothing. The one day I was a smoker the next day not. I stopped for 15 years and only started again out of boredom when I was spending a lot of time in hotels. I have stopped for weeks on end between this with no ill effects at all.

The alcohol the same thing I woke up the one day and just stopped no problem. I now will probably consume in the amount of around a six pack a year if that.

So the whole story is in your mind if you really want it you will do it :y115:

 

[devo]

I was a smoker for 38 years,and always enjoyed them, though to be honest I often wondered why I carried on smoking when I knew how much they were affecting my health.ie, the good old morning cough, sometimes I would be doubled over and be seeing stars, the coughing was so intense.
Wot finally convinced me to stop, was when I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma (cancer of the Lymph nodes ) last year.Even though the cancer was not smoking related, it totally pricked my conscience to be smoking while everyone around me was fighting so hard to rid me of the cancer.
As for weight gain, yes, I have piled on about 12 or 14 kilos and am now in the process of trying to cut that back.
So for all you non smokers out there, stay that way.All you ex smokers, congratulations, and for all you smokers, keep enjoying them, but dont let them rule your life,youll know when its time to give them the biff, and then it will be easy.
:y18:

 

[CarlS]

[quote author=DaveM link=topic=936.msg5804#msg5804 date=1217924653]
Ok at the risk of all you smokers hating me here we go. I was smoking 80+ a day for a number of years. I was also hitting back the alcohol at a good rate. One day I was in the car riding out of a parking lot puffing away like normal. I looked at this and thought boy this is stupid. Tossed the smoke out the window the packet along with it and that was that.
[/quote]

Litterbug! :y114:

 

[DaveM]

I actually thought about that after I posted it

 

[dazco]

Speedy I have also been involved in many peoples addictions (at clinics and elsewhere) and also find it really strange that addicts seem to be able to recover from their various drug or alcohol addictions easier than giving up smoking. I wonder why that is?

It's said that cigs are harder to quit then heroin ! I tried for years and knew i really should because my breathing became somewhat labored at times. I finally did it a year and 1/2 ago. One of the last things my mother said to me before she left this world was "you really should think about quitting". I decided to do it for her. The damage is done tho, i can tell. I don't really crave them much anymore except at certain times, especially as someone said when i smell smoke. But my cravings aren't near as strong as my realization that my lungs could not take smoking for long anymore i'm sure. I suppose when i know it's my time, assuming i have any warning at all, i may go out and buy a pack and smoke myself into the next world or whatever awaits. I might have lived much longer had i never smoked, but i have to say that the many years i did i loved it ! It was something that you could always look forward to. And it was to me at least very enjoyable most of the time. I'm not sure, but knowing what i know not i'd probably smoke again if i had it to do over. I think it may well be worth a shorter lifespan, especially considering the part it cuts off may not be all that desirable a time of life anyways.

 

[DaveM]

[quote author=dazco link=topic=936.msg5902#msg5902 date=1217947677]
It's said that cigs are harder to quit then heroin !
[/quote]

I have heard this before, I consider myself very lucky that I could just stop the way I did

 

[Dilligaf]

To us non-smokers nothing smells worse then a cigarette. It smells like chemicals to me not something to crave. Now an old oil burning motorbike, that smells good.

 

[CarlS]

Actually I don't mind the smell of fresh tobacco smoke. It is the stale smoke I cannot stand. I quit smoking 42 years ago.

 

[DaveM]

Funny we don’t smoke in the house at all because of the stale smell it leaves

 

[Nodster]

Ireland has always been a heavy smoking nation, but it was the first european country to ban smoking from the workplace and basically anywhere indoors (nicely written legislation to 'protect the working environment') - it's strangely odd that nearly all the Pubs are now empty most nights! Off Licence sales have gone up three fold (so have the number of off sales shops!) and we hear of pubs closing at the rate of one a day!


As the father often said 'giving up smoking is easy...I've done it loads of times!'

 

[dazco]

I find the idea of no smoking in pubs insane ! They did it here several years ago too and I think it's just stupid. here at least i'd say the majority of people who go to bars to drink also smoke. And bars have always been a place where people smoke and drink. It's thier only and last place to do that and i think it should be left to the bar owner. It's just wrong IMO. The bars lost a lot of business and many went out of business. being a bar musician for many years, i saw what it did. And it just killed the bar scene for us. I ended up quitting that life anyways because i had issues with my hands that rendered me almost useless as a musician about that same time anyways, so i lucked out in that regard. but it really destroyed the bar scene. It may not be a particularly healthy way to live, but it' should be left up to the people. It's this kind of govt policing thats ruining this once free country i live in. Funny how much better life was here many years ago when smoking was allowed everywhere and the phrase "politically correct" was not yet coined because it didn't exist. Sometimes you just have to realize nothing is perfect and that you have to take the bad with the good because to try and make it all good you destroy something far more important. Unfortunately the world hasn't yet realized that and probably won't until we all "live" in plastic bubbles. Sorry..rant over. (but not forgotten)