I usually smoke one cig a day, after breakfast with my morning coffee (can't wake 'n bake on a regular basis ). The only time I smoke more is when I'm drinking beer with other people (esp. when they also smoke cigs). I rarely feel bad about smoking more cigs a day because it always is an exception. Moderation is key! Smoking half a pack a day would make me feel shitty on a chronical basis (maybe not physically, but certainly just being conscious of it alone would do that)
People get sucked into smoking, usually by peer pressure, the need to fit in and to be cool. And as with all addictions, the addict typically underestimates its power and overestimates their ability to resist it. Starting smoking is a foolish mistake, that's for sure, but everyone does at least a few foolish things, even smart people. Sometimes we survive and recover from our foolish mistakes, other times not.
i know, i wasn't being condescending. it looks stupider now than it did 10 years ago, which is a good thing. the society as a whole has taken a much more negative attitude towards smoking in recent years, and the media, the arts, the filmmakers have also started to propagate it in the negative (you are much more likely to see a positive character in a film to condemn smoking rather than have them smoke). this is all good. there is nothing 'cool' about smoking, and the act gets associated with that image less and less.
It's weird for me now to see movie ads and under the rating one of the reasons a movie gets a specific rating is for smoking. C/S, Rev J
I still smoke cigs, but not as much as I used to. I barely ever smoked more than a pack a day, unless I was tripping... then all bets are off. These days, I smoke an average of 4 cigarettes a day. But I got to that because we (my wife and I) had a kid, so smoking was banned from the house. Also, smoking in the car is banned. I barely have time to go out for a smoke, even if I wanted to. So, now I basically just smoke when I walk the dog, which is about 4 times a day. My wife quit cold turkey when she found out she was pregnant. (That was about 4 years ago now.) Since then, she's had maybe 3 cigarettes... during highly stressful moments or when we've been drinking. When I drink, sometimes I go out for a smoke at the end of the night. But since all my drinking is done at home, I can't smoke while drinking... which is weird. I think I'm going to stop talking about it now. It's making me want a smoke to go with my delicious quadruple ale! (Probably have one before bed tonight... but not definitely.) Also, mixing tobacco and weed is a European thing way more than an American thing. So, there may be a cultural crossover on that between people on this forum.
Between the ages of about 12-15 I smoked cigarettes, it started out as sneaking a few from parents every day. By 13 I could get my own packs and smoked about a pack a day, by 15 I was smoking 1-1.5 packs every day. Then I got terrible bronchitis, I would flip sh*t in school having cravings, my teeth were yellow and disgusting, so I quit cold turkey and never went back to it. I got myself to stop by reminding myself that I smelled awful all the time, my breath stunk, no one wanted to be around me, I was destroying my health. Then I found good ol' weed.
2 years ago vaping helped me break a 40+ year smoking habit. And I loved tobacco, pipes, ciggies, etc. The e-cig took away about 90% of the quitting woes. I still vape some, but it's at zero nicotine. When people find that out, they ask what's the point? The pleasure of it: I didn't start smoking because I wanted nicotine, I started because it tasted good. Same for vaping.
I've smoked a handful of times, mostly out of curiosity. It's interesting how unpleasant the first smoking experience is...lightheadedness, coughing violently, sometimes nausea. What makes people keep trying? I know a lot of people say that smokers start by trying to be "cool" or fit in. Even today? Do any young people really think it's appealing? I can't really imagine a reason for people under 40 to think it was cool, they all knew better. What is the thinking here?
^ Not everyone has the same physical reactions you had. If by this you mean that everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, then yes, everybody knows that. The thing that made it cool was that it was associated with a rebel attitude, and a willingness and ability to do other things forbidden to teenagers, like drink, use drugs, have sex, etc. It was a cultural element that defined the smoking group in contrast to the non-smokers. I don't think that young people today have more sense, as evidenced by the significant numbers using heroine, which everyone also knows is bad for you. It's just that smoking got too damn expensive.
I never really thought it was cool per se, but I first tried it with my best friend then some of our other friends were smokers too so it just ended up being a social thing. That has always been the problem for me, just being around other smokers. I rarely smoke now but when I do it is only when I'm around other smokers. As far as the up and coming generation, my 16 year old nephew once told me smoking was not cool with his generation..then I found out a few months ago he started vaping which eventually led to smoking. Kinda weird, older smokers are using vaporizers to help them quit and younger smokers are picking up cigarettes because they try vaping first.
I just started smoking cigarettes about a year ago. I started late I know and it was a bit embarrassing at first lighting up in front of friends or whoever, they were all so surprised but I don't really care anymore. Smoking helps me deal with stress.
Same, but I smoke Lucky Strikes (yeah the non-filtered ones). Really one or two at the most when I'm drinking is all I need. Wished it would be zero though.
I smoked through college, graduate school, and beyond. I quit in October when I befriended some mid twenties who told me it wasn't cool. For some reason, it's just not cool anymore. I'll vape occasionally with one friend, but I just stopped due to peer pressure from young people.
I switched to vape about a year and a half ago. The day after I found out I was going to be a daddy. One of the best decisions I've ever made. Is it safe? Probably not entirely no. Is it safER than tobacco? Absolutely.
i quit smoking cigs and went to the vapor cig, now im in jeopardy of starting regular cigs again since my battery charger will not screw in the battery for my vapor cig.