Did you notice an improvement in anything when you quit smoking?

[Rick Lee]

I sure as hell have not. Today marks three months since my last smoke, did it cold turkey, no meds, no cheating. I still jones greatly when I walk past a smoker and get whiff of it. If anything, my sense of taste has gotten worse, especially when sitting or eating something cold. I'm still doing a pretty hefty cardio workout, as I always have, but it hasn't gotten any easier. My skin doesn't look any different, I've always had near perfect teeth. I don't feel any better at all, though I never felt bad when I smoked. I never get sick. I just quit because I want to stick around with my wife for as long as I can. If it weren't for her, I couldn't think of a reason not to smoke.

[Geronimo '74]

I sure have.
Where do I start...

I breathe easier, I do not get sick as quick, I sleep better, my food tasts better, I gained ten pounds (which I lost and then gained in musclemass again because I'm going to the gym 4 times a week) , I run ten miles wich I could never do five years ago, my teeth are whiter... Do I need to continue?
Because I stopped smoking, I am more aware of my overall health and lifestyle.
I used to smoke a packet a day.
Quiting was the best thing I did in thirty years, seriously!!! For me, it was a world of change, although you might not feel these changes as clearly as I do, it is a good thing you quit!!

And don't get me started about the changes when I quit smoking pot....

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by BLEW911

Looking for an excuse to start up? If you resent having to quit it wont last anyway.
I smoked for 30 years and it did it's damage. No one is immune, it just takes longer to kill some people than others.

I agree completely.
I have friends telling me that they had there lungs X-rayed and they came out spotless, clean like brand new....
Yeah, keep believing that my friend, tar has a tendency to disolve into thin air, some people have special lungs... kid yourself, why don't you...

[m21sniper]

No. All quitting smoking did for me was cause me to gain weight. :-/

I don't feel any better, i don't have any more stamina when running, etc. I don't feel like i looked any more rested or less fatigued or younger either. My energy levels certainly did not improve.

I quit in 2005 the day after the superbowl.

[WilsonTC]

Tracheotomy's & emphysema are cool!

[Rick Lee]

No, I know it was the right thing to do and have no intention of picking up the habit again. I hope I can stay strong. The ultimate tribunal will be the next time I travel to Europe or Asia, where smoking is so much more accepted and ubiquitous. But I never ever noticed the slightest ill effect from smoking. I ran seven marathons as a smoker. My last chest x-ray came back spotless. The radiologist asked me why I had wanted one in the first place. I wish there were more of a reward for the hardship of quitting than just thinking that it's healthier for me. Sure would suck to die of something else tomorrow, when I could have enjoyed smoking these last three months.

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

. My last chest x-ray came back spotless. .

I don't understand, where does the tar go to????? That must show up on the Xray, not???

[Rick V]

Just like everything else, some peoples bodies will clear themselves out where others will not. It sounds like in Rick's case his lungs could clean themselves out better than most. I quit for about 5 years and started back when I wanted to run amok with a meat cleaver all the time. I will quit again. But like others have said, I didn't feel any better after a few years of not smoking.

[pwd72s]

Maybe it's the age you quit? I was a pack + camel straights smoker. I quit in my early 50's, got tired of hacking up krud. Yeah, I'd say my breathing and lungs have improved.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Maybe it's the age you quit? I was a pack + camel straights smoker. I quit in my early 50's, got tired of hacking up krud. Yeah, I'd say my breathing and lungs have improved.

(edit) But...nobody lives forever, and the years saved by not smoking are the later years...so, your choice.

[David]

I smell better

And I'm not spitting phlegm balls in the shower drain in the morning.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Rick V

Just like everything else, some peoples bodies will clear themselves out where others will not. It sounds like in Rick's case his lungs could clean themselves out better than most. I quit for about 5 years and started back when I wanted to run amok with a meat cleaver all the time. I will quit again. But like others have said, I didn't feel any better after a few years of not smoking.

I've never once felt an urge to start back up. I can put a lit cigarette in my mouth and not be even slightly tempted to inhale.

I thought quitting was childishly easy.

[Rick Lee]

I was never that heavy a smoker. I always smoked ultra lights of whatever brand I liked at the time and never a whole pack on the craziest day. But I really did savor every single cigarette and I really miss it.

[m21sniper]

At one point i smoked 2 packs a day.

[Rick Lee]

I can't even imagine smoking that much. I just love to have one during a break from a long motorcycle ride, with a drink at night, morning coffee, after a meal and a few in between. It's gonna be so hard to go back to China where every single man smokes and you can smoke while standing on line at the bank, in an elevator, anywhere, and my favorite brand is about $.50 a pack.

[Oh Haha]

I could breathe much better. I'm not kidding. I never had much lung capacity so when I quit I coud take a deep breath without coughing.





Shhhhhh........I saw a "good" cigarette on the ground last week(must have fallen out of a pack) and thought about picking it up and smoking it.


Then my better judgement kicked in and said"What the he!! are you thinking? A cigarette? Off of the ground?!!!

I chuckled at how stupid I felt.

Honestly, that is the first time since I quit that have even wanted one. Even with all of the stress and anxiety over the past 6 months I didn't have any cravings.

[tomphot]

Maybe the improvement will come by living a longer life.

My Dad died at 61 from lung cancer having been a smoker his whole life. I wish he had stopped smoking at a young age.

[livi]

Well done, Rick!

Adding another 5-10 Porsche driving years is not a bad thing.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

But I never ever noticed the slightest ill effect from smoking. I ran seven marathons as a smoker. My last chest x-ray came back spotless.

Perhaps you didn't inhale? Like that other great American.

My energy level, stamina, sleep, appetite have all improved dramatically since I quit. No comparison really.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

(edit) But...nobody lives forever, and the years saved by not smoking are the later years...so, your choice.

Usually the case but sometimes people die of heart attacks or cancer caused by smoking fairly young. My aunt died of lung cancer @ 47 and it's not a good way to go. One of the many great things that smoking does is increase your risk of stroke exponentially, those can be WAY worse than dying. Imagine being so crippled that you could not even shoot yourself if you wanted, begging someone else to do it for you. I've seen this happen up close.

I started smoking ~1 year ago after 5 years off, (moron), now I can't quit. At least not at the moment. It's a gnarly addiction for 99% of smokers, 1% seem to be able to quit effortlessly. Others can't quit even when they have to stick it in a hole in their neck. The bottom line is that if you want oxygen tanks and operating tables in your future, smoke away. That's reality. I'm fully aware of this. The nature of addiction is that it will kill you while telling you that everything is fine, nothing to see, move along, etc... I get mad at this addiction and how much it's cost me in $$ and years off my life. It is extremely typical for smokers to die ugly deaths in their 50s or 60s while their non-smoking friends are healthy as horses and loving life for another 20 years.