I've gone 150 Days....

[kibbitz]

Congrats to you guys who managed to quit. Dad quit around 50. Wished it was earlier, but well, I'll take what I can get. Hope you'll never find a reason to take a pull ever.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

I have never smoked. I never had the compulsion to even try it, probably because my mothers smoking made me cough a great a deal. But I have some idea how hard it is to quit smoking from having watched people try and fail, and from the stories of friends of mine who did quit.

I do have two questions though. Why did you start smoking to begin with? And at which point did you realize you were addicted? (As far as I know, lots of people experiment with smoking in their retarded phase between 7th and 10th grade, but plenty quit).

Aside from 2nd hand smoke making me cough to a stunning degree, I figure there are a few key reasons I never even bothered with the whole mess.

1) Social Apathy. I put no value in the opinons of strangers, and dont typically get the urge to meet new people. This means that I do not care at all if I am considered cool, or popular.
2) I am a cheap bastard, and prefered to spend the money on other things.
3) None of my friends smoked.

I figure that most people who end up becoming smokers (or any use of any recreational drug, legal or otherwise) do so for social reasons. While my own social tendencies made my high school experience fairly unpleasant, it did have the side effect of keeping me out of trouble.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[Jdvn1]

Just wanted to toss in my congrats too. I like this sort of thing.

 

[Kanegrundar]

I have never smoked. I never had the compulsion to even try it, probably because my mothers smoking made me cough a great a deal. But I have some idea how hard it is to quit smoking from having watched people try and fail, and from the stories of friends of mine who did quit.

I do have two questions though. Why did you start smoking to begin with? And at which point did you realize you were addicted? (As far as I know, lots of people experiment with smoking in their retarded phase between 7th and 10th grade, but plenty quit).

Aside from 2nd hand smoke making me cough to a stunning degree, I figure there are a few key reasons I never even bothered with the whole mess.

1) Social Apathy. I put no value in the opinons of strangers, and dont typically get the urge to meet new people. This means that I do not care at all if I am considered cool, or popular.
2) I am a cheap bastard, and prefered to spend the money on other things.
3) None of my friends smoked.

I figure that most people who end up becoming smokers (or any use of any recreational drug, legal or otherwise) do so for social reasons. While my own social tendencies made my high school experience fairly unpleasant, it did have the side effect of keeping me out of trouble.

END COMMUNICATION

You may be right in some cases, but that's not how all people start. I started with cigars around the time I was 17. It wasn't out of any desire to be cool or anything like that. My grandpa smoked Dutchmasters. I always loved that smell, so I started with that and gradually moved to cigarettes. It's a nasty habit, yes, but it's also been a stress relief for me as well. I'm sure I'm addicted, but I've noticed that I have no trouble at all quitting. It's just I haven't found anything that works as well to relieve the stress I feel at times (like now with wedding plans and all the BS that goes along with it is ramping up big time). Once I find something that will calm me as well, I'll quit for good and never look back.

For me your 3 points are off the mark.

1. Socially I did fine. High School was ok for me. Only 1 of my friends smoked, so there wasn't any peer pressure. I wasn't in the least bit concerned about looking cool or being one of the gang. I always did whatever I thought was fun even if my friends weren't totally interested. (Playing D&D for one.)

2. I'm a cheap bastard as well (just ask my fiancee), but I will spend money on things I enjoy.

3. Like I said above only 1 of my friends smoked, but so did my dad, grandpa (who doesn't anymore), my uncle, and one of my great uncles (who also doesn't anymore). That likely played a small part, but I never liked cigarettes (which is what my dad and his bother smoked) until I was well into college. I always preferred (and still do) cigars and pipes.

:shrug: Each to their own, IMO. I'm respectful of those around me, so all I ask is that people respect my wishes as well. Even if they aren't the best.