I'll second this, but from a different perspective. I work in the ORs of a major hospital, and just about every day we do major facial surgery on a patient with smoking or chewing related cancer. I'm talking about removing the lower jaw (mandible), upper jaw (maxilla), nose, throat, cheek bones, just about everything. I'm not going to freak you out with pictures, but I promise you, if you knew what you were risking, you'd never pick up a cig.

 

I smoked for 23 years. My last cigarette was March 17th, 2007.

5+ years and I still have occasional cravings and dreams about smoking. Had one (a dream, not a cig...) last night, to be honest.
It's a nasty monkey that never really goes away, but shrinks a bit every day you are away from it...

 

Agreed. I was lucky and quit cigarettes about a month after I started. I've lsipped twice since then, once in April and had a drag off one last saturday. I'm a big hookah smoker, haven't in a couple months cuz I don't have time. I smoke cigars though. I really need to stop that.....

 

I have been smoking for over 25 years. quit once for 6 months it still had that hold on me.
when I did quit I had more energy and could breath much easier. while smoking I wake up feeling like a pile of poop.
I plan on quitting again at the end of the year and I will succeed this time!
dont even try smoking.... not worth the financial and physical costs.

 

Great thread, we need more information like this out there.

 

I concur, just don't start.

There's really no point at all.

A friend of mine who's been smoking for about 20 quit last year, he can literally run twice as far now as he could back then and nothing has changed other than the fact he's stopped smoking. His house is also a much nicer place to be.

 

Guys, maybe this should go into the "plebeian" forum too, shouldn't it?

 

Smoked for 15 years, been quit now for 17 years. And I still get the craving once in a while!

 

I watched one of my uncles die of throat/lung/mouth cancer. Litterally. I stood there and watched him take his last few breaths. He had surgery 3 times, but it just came right back. He smoked like a chimney (Cigars, cigarettes, the works.) and he chewed. Never saw him without a wad in his mouth. If he didn't have one, he was either sleeping (He sometimes slept with them) or stuffing another one in. That was the first time I've ever seen my dad actually cry.

One of my grandmothers is a chain smoker. She's about 50, and her troubles are just beginning. It's killing my grandfather. I can hear the grief in his voice when he calls us to tell us she's in bed coughing again.

I'm never coming anywhere close to tobacco. Ever.

Good luck, Austin. I hear tobacco is one of the hardest things to quit....

 

My Dad's Dad died of lung cancer complicated by black lung, yes, he smoked, cigarettes, pipes, and did chewing tobacco in the end. I watched as a very wonderful man faded away to nothing. When he was diagnosed, he weighed over 300 lbs. within a year he was dead and weighed less than 100 lbs. I was not there to see his last moments, but I do not think I would have wanted to be either.

His wife also smoked. My grandmother would tell all my friends who smoked about the day she quit.

On her way to work one day, she stopped to buy a new carton, got back in her car, pulled out a fresh pack, opened it, and pulled out the first cig. As she was about to light up, she looked at it, asked herself why she was doing this, and could not find a good answer. She tossed the lighter, cigarette, and pack right out the window. When she got to work, she gave the remainder 0f the carton to a coworker who smoked, and she has not smoked one since. My grandmother was a stubborn women, and when she made a decision to do something, not even the good Lord could have stopped her. This was over 50 years ago, she has since passed, but not because of smoking; she beat that one.

I am 41, have never started, and don't plan to ever do so.

I should add, I do not condone those who choose to smoke that is their choice; however, I caution anyone who has yet to start, it just isn't worth it in the long run.

 

Im almost 16 and I can say I have never tried smoking Tobacco or weed. In my highschool, most people smoke weed and I have no intention to. They call it "khat" and it is just stupid. I think it is disgusting how many girls smoke, I'd never kiss them. There's this one girl who always posts on Facebook how badly she wants to smoke or drink.

 

I saw videos of my friends smoking...TWIX. That's right folks, twix candy...

 

I stopped for four years at one point. Starting back up was a bad decision in a moment of weakness I should not have done.

Last night was hell. I was angry in a way I think only smokers who can't get a smoke understand.

I went to bed grinding my teeth, but every day gets a little easier.

 

My dad used to smoke for a really long time and he couldn't quit, so for his birthday I got him one of those water vapor electronic cigarettes. It seems to work he hasn't had real cigarette since May.

As for me, I'm never going to smoke, I've tried it once or twice and I hate the feeling and the smell, it most definitely is not worth all the negative effects.

I will smoke MJ once in a blue moon, but it's only if all my friends are doing it together, however I'd never do it during school times, only during the summer and long vacations.

 

I do sometimes have a good cigar, but it rarely exceeds the amount of two per month.
I never craved it, I just like the taste of it.

My mother used to smoke but stopped when she had lung problems. Luckily for her.

 

Im almost 16 and I can say I have never tried smoking Tobacco or weed. In my highschool, most people smoke weed and I have no intention to. They call it "khat" and it is just stupid. I think it is disgusting how many girls smoke, I'd never kiss them. There's this one girl who always posts on Facebook how badly she wants to smoke or drink.

I second this, If I see a girl smoking no matter how hot she is I won't touch it. Smoking has no health benifits except maybe to relieve stress. It destroys your insides. Both my parents smoked but quit a long time ago. Only bad part is my mom is addicted to the nicotine gum and wont stop chewing it.

 

Tobacco and alcohol aren't for me. I've seen the harm they do to one on a physical and mental note. Both even seem pretty disgusting to me. Addiction seems like the worst thing. I do, however, smoke MJ every now and then. It's not as bad as tobacco or alcohol and isn't physically addicting. But that's illegal (for what reason?) so I'll stop at that.

 

I second this, If I see a girl smoking no matter how hot she is I won't touch it. Smoking has no health benifits except maybe to relieve stress. It destroys your insides. Both my parents smoked but quit a long time ago. Only bad part is my mom is addicted to the nicotine gum and wont stop chewing it.

Same with my mom she quit smoking but is now addicted to that gum. My dad on the other hand never smoked cigs but sometimes smokes a cigar(1-2 a year).

 

My friend does on field and some of our moderators do to but I see it as cancer on a stick. Another view of mine is that if your airsofting, you'd imagine you'd want the lung power to be able to run, smoking would just weigh that down, plus I'm a big guy so I don't wanna stress my lungs any more than they have to be . Jk I can run for quite a while dispite my situation.

 

Actually, right after you had a smoke, you breathe easier. The reason is the channels in your lungs are widened.

 

I think its amazing that with all the facts we know about smoking, people still start it. Plus I think it tastes bad.

 

I'm keeping it down to one cigar every 2 weeks, on the field.

 

I think its amazing that with all the facts we know about smoking, people still start it.

People do meth too, people are stupid.

 

I saw videos of my friends smoking...TWIX. That's right folks, twix candy...

How the? Who the? What the? Huh????? Why would anyone waste a perdectly good TWIX... to SMOKE it!?!?!?

I stopped for four years at one point. Starting back up was a bad decision in a moment of weakness I should not have done.

Last night was hell. I was angry in a way I think only smokers who can't get a smoke understand.

I went to bed grinding my teeth, but every day gets a little easier.

If you ever need any help, we'll be here for you.

I think its amazing that with all the facts we know about smoking, people still start it. Plus I think it tastes bad.

The exact reason I will never smoke cigarettes

In all honesty, I don't get people. Just like Jake said, with all the facts we have, why do people continue to smoke, or even start?

 

In all honesty, I don't get people. Just like Jake said, with all the facts we have, why do people continue to smoke, or even start?

They start because of peer pressure and continue because they've become addicted.

Not the case for everybody, but for some people.