Do you smoke?

lovingit

I can't believe I am the only smoker on gransnet.
Yes it is a filthy habit that is expensive and smelly and damaging to health but it,s my choice.
I am 74 on no medication apart from hrt,low blood pressure I walk 4/5 miles a day with my dog and swim 20 lengths 4/5 times a week as well as mucking out my friends horse twice a week.
I don,t smoke a lot maybe 6/7 a day but ladies I do enjoy it and have no intentions to stop.

That’s up to you lovingit. Your house your rules

Joanna Lumley smokes. Just saying.

I have never smoked , why would I want to breath in burning paper and plant matter. I can remember some family and friends smoking when I was a child but none of our friends or family do now.
We have just had lunch at a seafront restaurant and had to move inside due to the waft of cigarette smoke putting. Us off our food. What a stink.

Labradora

One of my chores when I was an (older) child living with my parents, was to clean out the grate of the coke fire. So a pan full of hot ashes with the acrid smell going up the nose and down the throat.
I attribute the fact that I have never smoked to this chore because smoking cigarettes, when I tried as a teenager, gave me the same unpleasant sensation. Other people's smoking has never bothered me much.
My late parents told me that many people started smoking during the Second World War. My parents only ever smoked lightly and stopped completely in their late forties.
I'm glad I never started because it's obviously the most awful struggle to stop.
A smoke fug in the office and in pubs was completely normal in the 70s and possibly 80s ( I can't remember when it all stopped).I can remember London tube carriages with wooden-slatted floors crammed with cigarette butts......
Makes you think......

2008 ish I think. Best thing the government brought in I think.
Staff would spark up whilst I was trying to eat lunch.
Don’t miss the dry cleaning bills either.

Kate1949

Joanna Lumley smokes. Just saying.

There’s another reason I wouldn’t want to spend time with her.

Labradora

One of my chores when I was an (older) child living with my parents, was to clean out the grate of the coke fire. So a pan full of hot ashes with the acrid smell going up the nose and down the throat.
I attribute the fact that I have never smoked to this chore because smoking cigarettes, when I tried as a teenager, gave me the same unpleasant sensation. Other people's smoking has never bothered me much.
My late parents told me that many people started smoking during the Second World War. My parents only ever smoked lightly and stopped completely in their late forties.
I'm glad I never started because it's obviously the most awful struggle to stop.
A smoke fug in the office and in pubs was completely normal in the 70s and possibly 80s ( I can't remember when it all stopped).I can remember London tube carriages with wooden-slatted floors crammed with cigarette butts......
Makes you think......

Didn’t the King’s Cross / Bradford fire start due to discarded butt?

I remember untipped Weights at 11 old pence a pack.
A friend and I used to buy a pack of 5 between us and puff away . I was about 13.
Yes, stupid , but in the 50 s /60s cigarettes were smoked by the vast majority and advertising everywhere claimed they were relaxing, make you happy, look glamorous and elegant….but oh they lied. 🤥

When my first gc was born the other gran had given the parents a carrier bag with a gift for the baby. I was there when it was opened, it was in two different carrier bags, then a lot of wrapping paper, then another sealed plastic bag which had the gift inside … so despite4 or 5 layers of wrapping when the clothing item was taken out, it absolutely stank of smoke.
It was foul, all the more so because the baby was present.
The gran didn’t even notice the smell, but the rest of us did. Awkward moment.

lovingit

I can't believe I am the only smoker on gransnet.
Yes it is a filthy habit that is expensive and smelly and damaging to health but it,s my choice.
I am 74 on no medication apart from hrt,low blood pressure I walk 4/5 miles a day with my dog and swim 20 lengths 4/5 times a week as well as mucking out my friends horse twice a week.
I don,t smoke a lot maybe 6/7 a day but ladies I do enjoy it and have no intentions to stop.

Your not I also smoke and yes they are expensive. It is extremely bad for my heath but I am on no medication rarely ill fit as a butchers dog and visit the GP every 15 years or so.
Why do people smoke? Probably because they enjoy it. Why do people drink alcohol doesn’t do you any good but they still do it.
I haven’t drunk alcohol for over 20 years and absolutely hate the smell.

Indeed Mt61: it seems extraordinary today that anyone would have thought that a safe activity in an underground space.
It is an increasingly rare habit, although vaping seems everywhere.

So to those who do or have ever smoked, why did you start?

Because stupid 17 y.o. me thought it made me look more ‘grown up’ ViceVersa. My parents smoked. And when I met Himself 50+ years ago he did too. Most of my friends did.

Once pregnant at 22 y.o. I finally saw sense and just stopped. My mum stopped smoking too but she bought little tins of jelly like capsules called ‘Nicobrevin’.

Vapers however walk around holding onto their vapes and continuously seem to suck on them - they remind me of dummies, but for adults. A few people I know still use them - I thought they were meant to be an aid to stopping - but years later they’re still using them. 🤷‍♀️

I've just got back from visiting my friend of 45 years who's in hospital again.
2 heart attacks last year and now a tumour on her back.
She refused to admit it had anything to do with years of heavy smoking........ until the surgeon told her straight!.

My hubbie smokes 20 a day . It costs us £450 per month . He's been smoking for over 40 years, he has a consistent cough and his health is poor. He refuses to go to the doctors or even discuss trying to give up . Its caused alot of arguments over the years ( we've been married for 15 years) my dad died of lung cancer age 71, he had given up smoking over 20 years before. Its a terrible addiction, best not too start if you can

kircubbin2000

I have never smoked although all the children did at one time. My mum and gran chain smoked and this put me off.
I have just been visited by a relative in her 60s who lives on a minimum wage and some benefits. She could hardly finish her coffee before she was dying for a smoke and had to go into the garden.
When she told me the price of cigarettes now I wondered how she afforded them. Perhaps they help her through a hard life.

She’s probably smoking the hooky ones kept in the back room, cellar, under the counter.
I know a postman who delivers them with the post 😂

FriedGreenTomatoes2

^So to those who do or have ever smoked, why did you start?^

Because stupid 17 y.o. me thought it made me look more ‘grown up’ ViceVersa. My parents smoked. And when I met Himself 50+ years ago he did too. Most of my friends did.

Once pregnant at 22 y.o. I finally saw sense and just stopped. My mum stopped smoking too but she bought little tins of jelly like capsules called ‘Nicobrevin’.

Same here, though I think I was 16. It took a great deal of commitment to overcome that dizzy feeling it first gave me - all in the name of appearing sophisticated!
It took a humongous amount of willpower to quit after about 30 years of heavy smoking..........so glad I did!

Gave up when I was 39.
Got Bladder cancer 20 years later and yes I know I’m not looking for judgement here but I then decided I would become a social smoker.
If I go out I will have one or two and it’s like my way of saying get stuffed to cancer.
I really really enjoy it. I can honestly say I have seen more health issues with alcohol abuse than smokers.

Nicotine is incredibly addictive, more addictive than heroin I believe, but non smokers don’t understand how difficult it is to stop. I was a social smoker because I get nervous in groups of people but also, when I was divorced cigarettes became my friend when I was alone at home every night. The best thing that ever happened was banning smoking in pubs. The minute I walked into a pub I wanted a cigarette because as well as the addiction certain situations trigger the need for a cigarette. There’s also something quite nice about having a cigarette with another smoker. Even when I’d stopped at one time I always used to have one with my mum. At one time I still regarded myself as an occasional smoker until it dawned on me that I’d smoked every evening for two years. Even now, when I find the smell of cigarettes nauseating, I still miss the ritual of opening a packet and lighting up or rolling my own.. Having said that, if I could change one thing about my life it would be to remove the times when I did smoke as my breathing has never got over it. What stopped me completely was the birth of my first grandchild; I was never going to go near him if I had any trace of nicotine on me. Vaping is going to cause it’s own problems in the future as it’s just replacing one addiction with another and it isn’t without health risks.

I used to smoke at university, then in my first job. Everyone did in the 60s.
I gave it up when pregnant and when the DC were small. But then I did the PGCE to become a teacher. First day of first teaching practice, the HoD offered me a cig and that was the start of the rot. I eventually gave it up when I retired at 60. That was 20 years ago. DH and DC were very glad.

My parents both smoked .
I lived amongst smokers .
But as I hurtle into old age my tolerance for cigarette smoke is zero Even I sit next to a smoker on the bus the remnants of their addiction which impregnates their clothes sets off an asthma attack .

Chocolatelovinggran

Indeed Mt61: it seems extraordinary today that anyone would have thought that a safe activity in an underground space.
It is an increasingly rare habit, although vaping seems everywhere.

Yep, kids are skipping the cigs, going straight to vaping

I genuinely don't understand how non-smokers can live with someone who smokes. As I said, thankfully no-one in our family does, but if they did, they wouldn't be allowed in our house. Zero tolerance here.

I gave up several years ago. cold turkey. I miss it every day.

No, never have and find the smell revolting.I do like the scent of cigars which DP sometimes smokes and in the past Dad smoked a pipe, lovely scent and brings back happy memories.

ViceVersa

I could never fathom out why anyone even started smoking in the first place. What makes anyone think it's a good idea to stick something in their gob and set it on fire?
So to those who do or have ever smoked, why did you start?
And don't give me the old 'peer pressure' argument - I've been in rooms full of people smoking or doing all sorts and never felt the need to join them...

I started when I was about 15. My friend and I were out riding our bikes and we found a new pack of 20 Guards fags on the road. She nipped home and got some matches and we went somewhere quiet and smoked until we felt 🤢 sick. I guess we thought it was a laugh.

My parents didn’t smoke but I think hers did. Anyway she went on to become a Senior Nurse and never did manage to quit despite knowing all the dangers. She died last year. I quit 20 years ago thank goodness. It is a terrible addiction.

I feel the same about people who drink alcohol. Why did they ever start? I very rarely drink and it doesn’t bother me at all. I can go on an All inclusive holiday and just have soft drinks, through choice. I don’t “get” drinking alcohol at all.