Do you smoke?

I bought a packet of 10 Woodbines for 4/6 when I was about 16. I shared it with friends on a coach trip and then decided that I couldn't afford that sort of money, and never bought anymore.
I was also rather put off by my grandmother. In the 1950s they had a TV, a company car, and a daily woman. This meant that they were quite posh and she was always very smartly dressed. However she also smoked and was rarely seen without a fag hanging on her bottom lip, which ruined the whole effect. This actually had more effect on me that living with my chain smoking father.

Mt161 and chocolatelovinggran
I do believe that a discarded cigarette stub started the Kings Cross fire.
Smoking is rarer in public now because its legally required to be so when you do smell smoke on other people's clothes it's more noticeable.
I think and hope regular smokers are more considerate of others when in groups, now but if you smoke in your own home ? ....your gaff.... your rules.
The handbasket I'm going to hell in contains red wine, gin and tonic and chocolate......
Anyone watched"Madmen" ? smoking and its effects underpins the whole story. They all smoke like chimneys. It's quite shocking.

I gave them up on 1st august 1997. I sometimes bring a sleeve of them back from holiday for my sister as she still smokes and she is now a pensioner on not very much money .

yes i do but i use filters you can buy on ebay pulls most of the nic and tars just had by petscan lungs are clear cigs here are 3-10 depending on the kind since i cant drink,weed or body wont let me get high,,,,,stoke will do it to you and no it was not caused by smoking or drinking so the only vice i have except cigs

I grew up around smokers. It was enough of a deterrent for me, but having children and grandchildren really made me happy I never picked up the habit. Smokers are generally unaware of what others smell on them. No amount of washing would have been good enough for my babies. The residual smoke left on clothing is awful for children.

I never smoked cigarettes but I did smoke decent cigars occasionally in my 20s. After age 75 I started smoking good Havana cigars but only 1 or 2 a week and sometimes not at all. I've not been addicted for which I have no explanation (and I'm not deceiving myself on that point).

It's a hobby I can well afford and age 79 it doesn't bother me.

After my father died (I was 13) the GP advised my mother to start smoking to help her nerves. That was 1960. She did buy a pack but never took to it.

I was a smoker from 19 until last January (I'm 78), when I spent two nights in hospital with pneumonia. Having spent 48 hours not smoking, I thought I should probably continue not smoking. Now I'm hooked on a vape but at least I don't spend my time trying to figure out how I can have my next fag. That was the one thing that used to irritate me, looking to find the nearest exit and an excuse to go outside. Staying in a hotel was a nightmare, sneaking out last thing and first thing in the morning for a smoke. And I have absolutely no longing for cigarettes.

Reminds me of good advice given to a late teen about to go to university “keep away from drugs because you might like them.”

I had an elderly neighbour who was an Army lorry driver during the war. Most soldiers smoked and cigs were precious.

When he was learning to drive Army lorries the instructor asked for his cigarettes. He was puzzled but handed them over. The instructor then placed the packet under the front wheel of the lorry and said he was going to learn how to do a hill start without rolling backwards. He learned very quickly!

My late parents told me that many people started smoking during the Second World War.

Labradora my MIL was advised to take up smoking during WW2 when her DH was MPD. It was her GP who advised her as it would calm her nerves. She smoked for about 12 years then stopped.

I used to, gave up about 30+ years ago. No idea why I started, except that all my friends did - I think partly because I always felt socially nervous and it helped me with my nerves. No peer pressure involved. Parents never smoked, but GPs that we lived with did and 2 out of 4 brothers did. Parents hated it. Took three attempts to give up. DH has never smoked so I never smoked in the house or around him.

I understand why people hate people around them smelling of smoke, though - heavy perfumes make me really nauseous and breathless so I avoid anyone smelling too 'perfumy'. I'm another one who doesn't understand why so many people drink alcohol, too, especially spirits. I don't refuse if I'm offered one to celebrate something but it rarely gets drunk. I nearly dropped through the floor when we went to the pub for a meal at the weekend and DH's pint was almost £10! Just as well he only drinks about 5 pints a year!!

Remember Saturday night with clean hair and best clothes to go out dancing or pub ing, only to wake up to smell of smoke hanging on hair and clothes Sunday morning.
When we held parties, I used to put cigarettes out with the drinks for guests to help themselves.

I smoked occasionally at parties when at university. I smoked my penultimate cigarette when I was about 23.

I say penultimate, because my PiL were smokers and when i was about 27, they had been staying with us for the weekend and DH went to take them home, they were non-drivers

Anyway once they were gone, I was clearing up and found a cigarette packet with one cigarette in it and I thought, when I have finished I will sit down have a cup of a tea and smoke that cigarette - well I tried to, not having smoked for nearly 5 years, it tasted absolutely disgusting, I took a couple of puffs, stubbed it out and threw it away. I haven't smoked since, nor even been tempted to smoke.

I have never smoked an detest it. Both my parents smoke and both had heart attacks which killed them.
My husband smoked but gave up the day I met him. If he hadn’t given up I wouldn’t have gone out with him as I can’t stand stinky breath, hair or clothes.
I gave a lift to a colleague once who was a smoker, and my car stank for days 🤮 She didn’t smoke in the car, it was just from her.
She once moaned that she couldn’t afford to buy a property, unlike the rest of us in the team, only rent. We quickly calculated that she had spent £170K smoking, which would have bought her a decent flat at that time.

I've never smoked. When I was in 6th form, my friends smoked and they told me not to bother starting because it was so difficult to give up. One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received.

silverlining48

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.

Quite believe it! I used to volunteer in a charity shop and we used to have to bin items that smelled of smoke as customers complained if the shop smelled of cigarettes.

It penetrates everything. We used to get framed pictures in and they would be covered in a yellow film of nicotine. Those we could at least clean the glass and then stand outside at the back of the shop for a few hours. Same with lamp bases, lamp shades, ornaments etc.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 .

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.

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.

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.