Should I quit smoking? And why? -
I am 22 years old, I have been smoking since I was 12. I smoke around 1 1/2 packs per day. I will be leaving for college in 4 months, the college is 100% smoke free on the entire campus, I will have to walk off campus in order to smoke. Tell me what you think. Also, any ideas on what helps you quit would be great! Thanks!
Being a first time father, activities that I had not partaken in were starting to be brought to my attention. Not in a good 7 years had I ever engaged in any type of playing, besides light football or softball throwing.
It became very apparent as my son grew to have over 20 pounds that it was not that hard to keep him in a backpack to carry him around. The pains that would occur when I attempted to pick him up and toss him around, much to his excitement, signaled that a change was needed, very soon.
Being a young man, I earned my first monies by mowing grass, up to 6 yards a week, which was always preceded and followed by my 100 house paper route. Through so many years, it was easy to do, stamina was built up, so there was no major exertion going on.
Now here I was, 26, but losing my breath just simply trying to play with my son. I would be sore, but never really seeming to have any real gains from this type of activity. I recalled the previous year, for the first time in many years, I had a lawn to mow. Sickness to my stomach, profuse sweating, gasping for air, I had to do small patches at a time.
Even with all the exertion and the over-exertion at that, I would promptly enjoy a smoke. I had attempted many years before to work out at a gym. Things went very bad, as I was very sick, headaches, throwing up. Once again, when I was able to breathe, I enjoyed a smoke.
I wanted to stop, but only once did I quit for about a month, only to start again during a period of stress. No gum, patch or spray was used, just cold turkey.
Finally, I had enough. Seeing a friend who has a father who practices ear, nose and throat medicine, I got the normal lecture that had failed before. Then my friend who is now a cariologist made this statement:
-It-s not fair to say that everyone who smokes gets cancer of some type. It is more truthful to say that of people who have lung cancer, most are smokers.-
Wow, that statement hit me really hard. My grandmother, who died of a blood clot due to having partial lung removals from smoking, had not even deterred me up to this point.
The circumstances were right; I had heard what I needed to digest. My motivations were many to quit, and I was already slowing down my smoking. Switching to an ultra light wasn-t the right thing - you drag differently to get more. From what I read and was told, you may get cancer deeper in the lungs by doing that.
So I quit using a patch cut in half, secured with medical tape(21 mg, or roughly 10 mg) and 2 mg gum when I needed that extra little bit. The first three days were harder, but I resisted having -just one-. My demeanor was not that of a raging bull. I wanted to quit - I had resolve to quit. There was no one but ME to blame for starting to smoke in the first place.
Only about 12 days after stopping smoking did I try to mow the lawn for the first time. I had no idea it was that impaired by smoking. I just kept mowing, not even with a self-propelled mower. I didn-t have to stop at all; my breathing wasn-t fast and furious. It was controlled, even and most of all, it felt great!
So, here I am today, on my first full month of not a single breakdown. I have no one tracking me, it-s only for the internal congrats of stopping, fully knowing that every week I get stronger.
I felt that I should let others know the gains I have seen, that possibly it will help you decide to stop for good, or shore up your resolve by letting you know what I felt.
* I deal with problems now instead of smoking them out. For the first two weeks, I did feel a bit -blonde-, but that is gone now.
* I can my mow my entire lawn plus more and not totally sap my strength.
* My lungs continue to feel more -spring-, elastic and clear every single day.
* I get to sleep faster, but also have better quality sleep.
* I can taste more flavor in food.
* I could smell a fire in my home now.
* I know from across the room that a diaper does in fact need to be changed.
* I save almost an hour or more a day that I would normally spend just -relaxing- by doing nothing helpful.
* I can have sexual relations without feeling like I am having a heart attack. Too many improvements to list here, but if you are a guy, some of the changes will surprise you.
* My breath smells better, or maybe I am compelled to brush my teeth now that I can taste and smell bad breath.
* I am saving $20 per week right now.
* All of my muscles are getting harder, more tone to them. I feel stronger, almost like I am 18 again.
* I can sing better, more clear, without rasping.
* Everything is staying white now.
* I still drink coffee, but I feel like I enjoy it more now.
* The heartburn that I was having no longer exists.
* I have 21 less things to think about per day, sometimes that was even 42 things to think about.
* I now know that you are less likely to land that new job if you smoke. * Nonsmokers know if you smoke even before you talk. They can smell it.
* My son was coughing up junk for a week when I put an end to smoking in the house. I-m still coughing, but he-s done with it. He only endured second hand smoke for a year. Funny, I can tell for sure, no doubt, he was affected.
* I care more about those around me - I value life more in all walks.
* I set an example for son, my niece, and even a friend who has smoked for 15 years, who will quit just due to me doing it. More important, my wife will finally quit.
* My house plants no longer drip brown, or have brown spots when I spray water on them.
* I can tell when a cat of ours has snuck somewhere and -messed- on the floor.
* My favorite other children, the cats and dog are lowering their cancer risks right now too.
* Are these reasons enough for me to quit? Only 8 reasons really matter:
* April: my wife
* Ethan: my son
* Frick: Our oldest cat
* Thomas: My most amazing cat
* Ms. Phrat: The troublemaker
* Tigger: The skittish one
* Bear: The only dog
* Me
I can only say one more thing that I have learned or thought of, and it may help you or someone you know.
The most oft heard reason to keep smoking:
-I like to smoke.-
My response:
-My grandmother still like smoking when she died at 62 from lung cancer complications.-
Best of luck, but you don-t need it. You are the only one who can quit for yourself.
~High~
I had written this in my E-Personal Diary.
certainly you should stop smoking not just for you but also for those around you.
to quit use a nicotine replacement patch or gum or both, you can get these prescribed
do not cut down gradually but stop in one go. find other things to do with your hands as this absence will probably hit as hard as the withdrawal itself.
tell all your mates you are quitting and get their support, if they smoke ask them to not smoke around you at least for the first six months.
take up something else you would enjoy and put the money you save from quitting toward that.
see quitting as part of your quest for health and longevity not the entire thing.
my mother died at 42 from smoking related cancer and it was painful and undignified, i have developed asthma as a direct result of growing up in a smoke filled house so yes quit
You should stop smoking now! Did you know that smoking shortens a smoker-s life by as much as 13 years? This is due to the various diseases that is associated with smoking; topping the list is lung cancer. Smoking also makes your aging process a lot faster than the normal rate. You can have wrinkles and lines on your face. You-re just 22, you would not like to look like you-re 40! So stop now and live longer!
Well, let-s ignore the health benefits of quitting, because you-re probably already aware of that. Having an addiction allows something else to control you, and nicotine is extremely addictive.
Personally, yes, I think it-s worthwhile to quit smoking. You-ll have more money to spend on other bad habits, too.
quit now, you have damaged ur lungs too much, and increased ur chances of geting lung and throat cancer, you have decreased ur sperm count, reduced ur white blood cells and left ur self more vulnerable to diseases.
Since nicotine is addictive willpower alone will not help u quit, u need to see ur doctor to discuss options, u need to quit before its too late
you know it-s bad for you ... so I am not going to take that path ... how much is a packet of smokes ? times that by the number of packets you smoke a week .. then times that amount by 52 ( ie weeks in the year) and then times THAT figure by ten ... now that doesn-t allow for the rising cost of cigarettes ... BUT it will give you a rough idea on how much money you could have saved if you didn-t smoke it away ...
SO .. what would you like to buy with that ...
Ok well I-m surprised the current prices of cigarettes haven-t persuaded you already. Maybe the having to walk off campus everytime you want to light up will.
makes you get relaxed, and sometimes happy or more interested on your health?
both sound fancy to me
Yep. Will improve your health dramatically.
I am a 61 year old mother and grandmother who has COPD --Chronic
Obstructive Pulminary Disease--which shortens life and makes breathing very difficult.I smoked when I was young but not a whole lot.
Not near like you do. If you could have this disease (which I pray you never do) for even one day you would see the harm in smoking even one cigarette.I ask you--would you sit down and drink a glass of
-embalming fluid- ? Well check the ingredients in your cigarettes.....they have embalming fluid in them along with alot of other nasty junk you would never feed into your body orally yet you are inhaling it everytime you take a puff of smoke.This crap is going directly into your Lungs and staying there and building up there to
eventually kill you! Is this not a good enough reason to quit smoking?
Well, if not, then WAKE UP! Realize that you are also doing that same harm or even worse to everyone you love who are around you! Do you want to harm your loved ones and friends? Think of others even if you don-t think of yourself! It sounds like you have an excellent place to stay to stop smoking to me--a 100 % smoke free college.You didn-t say if this is a christian college or not but it does sound like it possibly is--if so you can get alot of help from there also.Above all, pray and ask the Dear Lord to help you to stop smoking. He loves you and He cares about you more than anyone else ever will and He created your body and cares what happens to it and only He can really give you the strength to say -NO- and mean it. I know because of so much personal experience through the past 50+ years of knowing Him and never being let down by Him even one time.You might think he let me down by my having COPD but -no-, He didn-t tell me to be so STUPID and hurt the body He gave me--I did it..but He is the ONE who is giving me the strength to live each day with it.Each day I wake up to see my loved ones and watch my precious grandsons play and live their lives I have Him to thank for it! I PRAY THAT YOU WILL STOP NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!! I have two sons who smoke and I am also praying for them. They do not smoke around mom but they are still carrying a certain amount into our home which I do not like. I am praying for them both and trying to encourage each of them.One of them has two little sons who are being exposed to this nasty stuff.
I had smoke in my home growing up as a kid and the Drs. say that second hand smoke can do as much or even more harm as first hand
smoke can.You will be in my prayers! I do pray that you having to walk off of campus to smoke might help you stop.Add up all of the money you spend on smokes and then think of something else you have always really wanted to have and if you stop smoking you-ll be shocked at how much other needs and wants you can have. You have already made the most essential step of all--you want to stop..that is #1.I wish you the very best!!!