How long did you smoke cigarettes and when did you quit?

Glenn's Take

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May 20, 2012
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I smoked for about 10 years. I had a cigarette or 2 in high school but started about 2 years after. It's funny the way I mark these things but I smoked my last cigarette on the Wednesday 2 days after we lost the 97 championship game to Arizona. I remember feeling like complete crap watching the game and then 2 days later I was at work and said I feel so bad I told them going home. I drove myself to Baptist East and smoked my last cigarette on the way there. I stayed for 3 days with Asthmatic Bronchitis. Haven't had one since. I quit once before for almost a year and picked them up again before that. To me the hardest part of quitting was while I was driving. I used to chain smoke while driving.
 

thabigbluenation

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Jul 19, 2012
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smoked for about ten years as well. throughout my 20's. quit when i was 30, cold turkey as well. haven't smoked for 7 years now. not once. don't miss it at all. never chewed tobacco either. heard that is a ***** to quit, and quitting smoking was no easy task. first week was a breeze, the next 2 months was horrible.

and yes, the term vaping itself is toolish.
 

We-Todd-Did

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May 2, 2007
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never chewed tobacco either. heard that is a ***** to quit
It is. It is as much of an addiction as smoking. I quit 3 years ago because it was a factor in causing an arrhythmia. I dipped off and on, 90% on, for nearly 20 years. I understand how addictive it is and am still amazed at how powerful a chemical compound in a damned weed can be. I'm ok with it now except the occasional time driving and during long movies. I really don't know why movies bring it on still.

I'll admit that it pains me deeply to see young people use tobacco now. I know adults have freedoms to do as they please but they probably haven't seen someone they love die from it. It absolutely hastened the deaths of my grandparents and father. I once dated a nurse in the VA system who said that tobacco killed more vets that the enemy did.

I wish a blight woild wipe it off the face of the earth.
 

BlueBloodNDaVille

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Apr 14, 2003
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Quit about 5 and a years ago, started over in the gulf in '91. Tried several times with different aids before cold turkey finally did the trick.
 

WildcatfaninOhio

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May 22, 2002
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Started near the beginning of my senior year of HS, which would make it 1976. Quit cold turkey in 1988. Started again for some dumbass reason around 1995. Quit cold turkey again around 2003. Wouldn't smoke one now for a million dollars.
 

dgtatu01

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Sep 21, 2005
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Started in 96 in the first semester of my junior year of high school. Quit on New Years Day 2009 cold turkey.
 

KentuckyStout

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Sep 13, 2009
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I never started, so I never had to go through the pain of quitting. Grew up around smokers and had to help raise tobacco as a kid.

Having never smoked, I'm so sensitive I can smell it a mile away. Can't be anywhere near someone who is smoking.
 

jedwar

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Dec 30, 2002
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I've smoked full time for about 7 years. Still at it. I've quit cold turkey a few times but started back up. Quit 7 weeks last fall. To me the physical cravings are nothing. The mental triggers kill me.
 

Catfan in Tn.

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Mar 10, 2005
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Smoked for 15 years and quit in 1998. Used the patch for a couple of days and that was it. Wife passed away last year as a result of smoking. Never could convince her she needed to quit, she had to do that herself and she just never wanted to or could.
 

420grover

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Mar 26, 2006
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Started around age 14, just turned 41. Quitting is easy, I've done it many times. I just have a bad habit of starting back up. Lol. I know it's terrible for my health, but I actually enjoy smoking. If weed ever becomes legal, maybe I'll quit smoking cigarettes.
 

TransyCat09

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Feb 3, 2009
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Smoked for 6 years, quit cold turkey two years ago. Sometimes a whiff of fresh smoke still smells really damn good, but I don't have many actual cravings.

Drinking and eating a big meal are definitely triggers, though
 
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MegaBlue05

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Mar 8, 2014
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Started at 14, quit at 34. I'm 35 now.

Unfortunately, I'm a vaping tool.

It's the only thing that could get me off the cigs. I tried patches, gum, chantix and cold turkey to no avial. (Seriously, eff chantix. That ish turned me into a psychopath for the two months I was on it)

Luckily, I only feel a craving for nicotine after meals, sex or being drunk. I can maintain fine without nicotine in most situations, so my vaping habit is way cheaper and my blood pressure is down and my lung capacity is improving.
 

Shadow1671

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Dec 11, 2002
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I smoked from age 16 to age 34. Decided to quit when my ex wife and I separated and subsequently divorced. She started smoking when we split so I decided to quit just to spite her because she always wanted me to quit. Quit smoking and switched to an electronic cigarette for about 3 months, then just quit it.

Sometimes all it takes is the proper motivation. :)
 

Xception

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Apr 17, 2007
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Smoked Marlboro reds for 21 years , quit in 2009 with chantix . Won't smoke again , can't stand to be around cigarette smoke now .
 

starchief

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Feb 18, 2005
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Started in about the sixth grade. Quit at age 19. 25 cents a pack was just a big waste of money I concluded.
 

ukfan606

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Oct 27, 2007
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Didn't smoke but dipped Skoal for about 20 years. Quit cold turkey about 6 years ago. That stuff has a grip on you still crave it today but luckily so far have resisted the urge.
 

Lexie's Dad

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Jan 12, 2003
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Smoked on and off when I was 15 or so (working with older kids) and in full force when I was 16 and driving. Quit 8 years ago with Chantix when I was 37. I had quit once before when I was about 25 and sick with mono, but that's because I was too sick to smoke and decided to keep on not smoking when I was better. All of my friends still smoked and drinking with them and hanging out with them while they smoked doomed me. Sincerely wanting to stop is more than half the battle.

I've tried to get my wife to quit, but she doesn't want to quit. Smallest bit of stress sends her back to smokes. I'll give her credit for cutting back at least. I really worry, but you married guys now how that goes, you have to show the right amount of concern without being a pain.
 

Crushgroove

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Oct 11, 2014
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Smoked from age 18 until age 38. I am 41 now. Quit cold turkey initially, didn't miss the smoke so much but needed something to do with my hands, so I picked up vaping after about a month. That lasted a few months until I got thrush, then I put that down, too.

I agree with those above. When you get ready, you'll just quit. For me, after day 3 or 4, it was no longer a nicotine issue as much as it was just a hand/oral fixation thing.
 

Crushgroove

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Oct 11, 2014
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I actually enjoy smoking.

We ALL do/did, man.

In my case, I started having auto immune issues and IBS trouble. So, I changed my diet and started juicing. Did 2, 2-week juice fasts 2-weeks apart, then settled into a routine of replacing breakfast and lunch with raw juice and just having a smart dinner while using Ensure to fill the gaps. Dropped 50+ lbs in only a few months by just walking and very moderate exercise. My skin, eyes, hair, finger and toenails improved markedly in no time. Then it dawned on me that I was putting so much effort into cleansing my system with juice, and it was working, only to continuing to poison myself with smoke. Started researching and watching all the videos...

The one thing I did not know and the one piece of info I read that eventually ended it for me was the fact that benzopyrene destroys, eventually completely, the body's ability to inhibit free radicals from progressing into tumor growth and also the body's ability to stop/reverse tumor growth... allover the body. I quit the next day after reading that.
 

JDHoss

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Jan 1, 2003
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I wish I had a time lapse video of my dad's life from the time he was about 40 until he died at 69 to show anyone who is just starting to smoke, or thinking about it. They would see him go from a robust man who could outlast me in wading streams and rivers when we'd go fishing to a man who at 55, couldn't go anywhere with oxygen. He was a three pack a day man. Had his first heart attack at 50 and quit cold turkey for a month, then started back and never looked back. The last 5 years of his life were spent with him rarely ever leaving the house. He died at 69, weighing 130 lbs, and as his Dr. said, the heart of a 100 year old man.
 

JDHoss

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Jan 1, 2003
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Smoked for 15 years and quit in 1998. Used the patch for a couple of days and that was it. Wife passed away last year as a result of smoking. Never could convince her she needed to quit, she had to do that herself and she just never wanted to or could.

Sorry to hear that. We tried everything possible to get my dad to stop. He was a Marine Corp. veteran who survived combat in the Pacific (including at Iwo Jima) with the Japanese, but never could beat RJ Reynolds.
 

JDHoss

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Jan 1, 2003
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Started at 14, quit at 34. I'm 35 now.

Unfortunately, I'm a vaping tool.

It's the only thing that could get me off the cigs. I tried patches, gum, chantix and cold turkey to no avial. (Seriously, eff chantix. That ish turned me into a psychopath for the two months I was on it)

Luckily, I only feel a craving for nicotine after meals, sex or being drunk. I can maintain fine without nicotine in most situations, so my vaping habit is way cheaper and my blood pressure is down and my lung capacity is improving.

I was having lunch with a coworker one day, and after we finished, he said he'd give anything for a cigarette. I said I didn't know he smoked. He told me that he hadn't in 15 years, but that sometimes after a meal, the urge to have one drove him crazy. He had rotator cuff surgery a few years before, and became addicted to pain killers to a point to where he had to go into rehab. He said that getting off the pain killers was a breeze compared to quitting smoking.
 

domino79

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Feb 2, 2008
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Smoked cigarettes off and on for damn near twenty years. Never been addicted. Once the pull gets too great, I just withdraw.

The most I smoked would have been about a pack a day, Kamels. Just never been addicted. Smoked during down times, but always regretted it.
 

rodgerblue

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Mar 14, 2005
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Smoked for about 15 years. Was smoking about two packs a day when I quit which was 28 years ago. I remember when cigarettes were 30 cents a pack.
 
Jan 28, 2007
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Two questions:

1) If you and the girl you're with are smokers, is it just assumed you'll smoke after sex?
2) Doesn't your room smell like an ashtray?
 

Ukbrassowtipin

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Aug 12, 2011
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Hate smoking. My dad used to smoke but quit cold turkey when I was young. My grandmother smoked like a train though. She got lung cancer a year ago, beat it, and quit. I don't know how anyone can afford to smoke them anyway.
 

theoledog

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Nov 21, 2008
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12 years pretty regular... quit in 84-85... Went back to them for short periods of less than a year a couple times but haven't had one in 10 years.
I'm not anti-tobacco.... Some people can quit others don't or can't it seems...
 

UKGrad93

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Jun 20, 2007
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I wish I had a time lapse video of my dad's life from the time he was about 40 until he died at 69 to show anyone who is just starting to smoke, or thinking about it. They would see him go from a robust man who could outlast me in wading streams and rivers when we'd go fishing to a man who at 55, couldn't go anywhere with oxygen. He was a three pack a day man. Had his first heart attack at 50 and quit cold turkey for a month, then started back and never looked back. The last 5 years of his life were spent with him rarely ever leaving the house. He died at 69, weighing 130 lbs, and as his Dr. said, the heart of a 100 year old man.
Sounds similar to my dad. When I was a kid & he was in his 30s & 40s, he was athletic, could work all day, & do anything. By his late 50s/early 60s he was broken down. He ended up losing both his legs & living in a nursing home before he died at age 65.

Even if you could show videos of this stuff, it wouldn't have much effect IMO. Most people start smoking in their teens & 20s. The brain isn't developed enough to have a long term outlook at that age. I feel lucky that I never picked up the habit. My younger brother smokes/vapes. I hope he can kick it before its too late.
 

fvanhoose

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Dec 1, 2007
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I smoked for about 10 years. I had a cigarette or 2 in high school but started about 2 years after. It's funny the way I mark these things but I smoked my last cigarette on the Wednesday 2 days after we lost the 97 championship game to Arizona. I remember feeling like complete crap watching the game and then 2 days later I was at work and said I feel so bad I told them going home. I drove myself to Baptist East and smoked my last cigarette on the way there. I stayed for 3 days with Asthmatic Bronchitis. Haven't had one since. I quit once before for almost a year and picked them up again before that. To me the hardest part of quitting was while I was driving. I used to chain smoke while driving.

Started when I was eleven (when I could get them). That would have been in the 1965 time frame. Stopped in Feb 1999, Makes it about 34 years.
 

Orange Soda King

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Jan 3, 2014
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Never done it before. However, I might have the amazing opportunity to go to Cuba in March (yes, Cuba). If it does work out, I will try one cigar, as well as the rum.