Any cigarette smokers here?

So last August my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 59. At the same time I fell ill and have been battling some unknown illness. I'm 42 years old and been smoking since I was 14. In the back of my mind I've been concerned I might have what my mom does. I got a call from the doctor last week that he found something concerning in my chest XRays. He didn't say what but only that I need more detailed tests. In the meantime I quit smoking cold turkey. I haven't had a cigarette in 7 days. The withdraws have been pure hell. I can't focus on anything other then wanting a smoke. Part of me just wants to start smoking again because if I'm a goner what does it matter.

When I was a kid my grandmother smoked. She grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky during the great depression. She smoked her first cigarette when she was 11. She lived to be 80. I never though I could get sick at such a young age. I'm just hoping for the best. I've seen what my mom is going through with radiation and chemo. My mom is cancer free and she still won't quit smoking.

First off I am no doctor so take what I say with a grain of salt, but...

1. You smoke

2. Your mom and grandma smoked. Did they smoke around you as a child?

3. Cancer can affect anyone, but certain hereditary factors can make you more susceptible.

Concerning quitting, look into Chantix. It's a medication that is supposed to help a lot. If you've made it a week, buddy, you might as well keep going. I quit on a whim and haven't looked back.

Cold turkey sucks but it's the best way to go. Most of the people I know failed with nicotine patches.

If you're serious about quitting, just remind yourself withdrawal is basically your hormones adapting to your body being in better health. The lack of focus goes once your system gets used to not having all its adrenaline leeched away every hour. It helps to think of that nervousness as bonus unspent energy which your body isn't used to having - it's a really good time to take up a sport. See, it's an opportunity, not a loss. Heh... you've half talked me into quitting now too.

Glad to hear your mum's clear, but damn... that's some persistence she's got, lol.

I quit years ago but I cheated hardcore. I got strep throat so bad I couldn't even swallow let alone smoke. By the time two weeks had passed and I was better I already purged the addiction out of my system and no longer craved it. I just never lit up after that.

Opa smoked a lot. Always had a cigarette in hand but after dinner and between packs he smoke a cigar. He died of lung cancer.

Dad smokes a pack a day.

I smoke 10 a day. I want to quit but it's hard. Champex tablets worked but they gave me really bad nausea.

Stop smoking if you value you're life that is. Me, I wanna live for as long as I can and it's why I'll never smoke.

I keep trying to quit, patches and gum help a good bit but patches are expensive, I can get gum cheap though. I am smoking currently trying to plan a good time to quit again. When I quit though my blood sugar goes through the roof, even when I watch what I eat, I think it could be from increased cortisol levels due to stress of quitting. I tried quitting a few times and do okay but the frequency of starting again and again I think might have been someway responsible for a rise in my A1C in my last labs so I haven't tried quitting since to see if that can push it in the other direction first.

When I smoked, it was back when I was 17 years old and lasted til I was 19. The reason I started in the first place was because I was trying to prove to my mom that she can quit smoking whenever she wanted to. I marked on the calendar that year when I planned to stop smoking and when that day came, I stopped cold-turkey style. Gotta admit, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The feeling I got after the 1st day from quitting is sort of hard to describe. The hairs on my body felt like they were standing up and my skin had this crawling feeling as if it was craving for something.

Sooo.....I ended up substituting what felt like cravings for chewing gum instead. I used to go through nearly an entire pack of gum a day to relax my nerves. But in the end, it all worked out seeing as I haven't had a cigarette in the past 10 years....

I would highly recommend your family to stop smoking, eat fresh raw fruits and vegetables daily, do daily exercise, etc. If you do healthy stuff, you will be healthy. If you do unhealthy stuff, you will be unhealthy.

No, your x-rays don't necessarily mean you're "a goner." It could have something to do with the cigarette smoke, but not necessarily something that bad.

White blood cells are suppose to destroy cancer cells. Vitamin C, exercise, etc, boosts your white blood cells (immune system), so I'd highly recommend eating healthy and exercising daily. Like I said, doing healthy things makes you healthy.

You can cutback on other less-healthy stuff too, like drinking alcohol or eating too many sweets. Cutting back on this stuff would help your health as well.

I don't think there is such a thing as being 100% healthy (except maybe in Heaven). When it comes to physical bodies, there is only healthier.

Nope, never. I can't get my head around why any young person would start when the risk factors as so well known (not to mention the cost, which is getting quite ridiculous in my country, bordering on unethical). I guess peer pressure is a powerful thing.

You just have to convince yourself the cigarettes are disgusting cause your mind is convinced it needs it and they are good.The #1 best way is to swap habits, like with coffee, gum, or maybe try cigars and just stop inhaling. I mean just having in mouth helps the habit of having it there.

Find something that is a bigger trait, like me, I'm a cheapskate and frugal. If like me, you buy a carton of cigarettes, and then destroy them, or leave at a 7-11, doesn't matter. That way when you go to store for more, you'll say, I'm not paying for another pack after wasting $50. Sounds dumb, but anything helps when trying to stop something.

I never really smoked, but I'm too scared of getting sick to smoke, plus I had asthma so wasn't really an option. I'd love to smoke cigars, but just can't, rooms that have smoke make me choke up, even if someone smoked in a shirt, and I put that shirt on, it'd affect me.

You can also go outside, get hit by a bus and die instantly.

I enjoy smoking in moderation. I have about 6 or 7 cigarettes a day and I guarantee you I’m healthier than most people.

Key word ‘moderation’. Anything in excess can make you less healthy. Anything. Most people with presumably unhealthy vices (eating, drinking, smoking) abuse their pleasures and develop addictions. A personality disorder if you will.

Do you know why smoking is not illegal? You think it would be with all these death scares you see. Because if used responsibly, will do you no harm. Just like drinking.

That's not true. 6-7 cigarettes a day over an extended period of time will certainly do you harm. Also, what many people would consider "moderate" drinking is still pretty harmful too. It all comes down to whether the individual is willing to take that risk, but please don't try and argue that you can smoke "responsibly" and not have it risk your health, because that simply isn't the case.

@PernicioEnigma: This is simply BS and promoted this way because most people cannot handle a responsible amount of smoking - so why even bring it up? Study after study has shown this. I’m not going to argue it’s good for you, but again - in moderation will do little to no harm (assuming you’re not asthmatic or faced with other lung issues).

As for drinking. Well, the French and other European countries drink a lot of red wine and they face less cardiac issues than those of us in North America. They eat a lot of cheese and breads too so how’s this possible?

Again, everything in moderation and you’ll be fine. Yes, even smoking.

How would you define moderation when it comes to smoking? 6-7 cigarettes a day sounds like a lot to me. You say studies show this, could you link me to just one that defines what a "moderate" level of smoking is and its associated risk factors?

@PernicioEnigma: You’re not going to find them on google as they are lobbied heavily by the American Cancer Institute and other anti smoking propagandists of the dangers of starting it. Again, there are so few people that can successfully smoke moderately so it’s not an issue for most studies to be ignored or not published accurately.

Okay, where did you get access to the studies then if they aren't available online?

There are no studies, you're just making shit up, enjoy cancer.

@PernicioEnigma: I can’t forward you an internet link, but about a decade or so ago I saw a rebuttal video on a movie called The Insider which was a fictional account of a real life 60 Minutes investigation on the dangers of smoking.

@GTR12: That’s a pretty ignorant and rude comment considering how many cancers there are that aren’t related to smoking.

Sounds like the standard excuse conspiracy theorist use. They blame the lack of evidence on people in power suppressing the evidence. There's no need to get all defensive though. We can disagree on this, but I fully support your right to smoke, and there are life-long smokers who do live long lives, so I'm not saying smoking always results in an early death, but you aren't helping your chances by smoking - even if it is *only* 6-7 a day...

@PernicioEnigma Well, we’re all experts on the internet on various topics - aren’t we.

@rmiller365: nicotine withdrawal and strep throat at the same time? Damn, that must’ve been hell.

Call me whatever you want, I don't care. Until you prove otherwise with a study and evidence, you're making shit up.

This. I also don't understand how/why people start. Bonkers. One of my friends was reluctant to fly to USA with us a couple years ago because he'd have to go 8 hours with a cigarette. How crappy must life be to do or not do things based on when you can have your next drag.

I have known someone who took Chantix and it worked, but they had a bad life experience and started right back up again. I'm not sure if they could have taken Chantix and quit again.

I stopped smoking cigarettes over 2yrs ago. I got my first ecig and never looked back.

I tried it once when I was 15 & I didnt like it. Then I tried E - Cigs (Vape) and found it was actually worse than regular cigs. Therefore I quit both all together and is now 2 years sober.

@l34052: Ecigs (I'm guessing you mean vaping) is just as bad as cigarettes.

I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. The only time I touched it was holding a cigarette for someone in school.

Would be great if smoking was eradicated from society. Pointless thing to do.

I recommend you and your family stop smoking or you'll die quicker. There's no guarantee you'll live until 80.

Life is unpredictable.

@VFighter

I would disagree, true you still get nicotine but they don't contain any of the other deadly chemicals or tar that tobacco contains.

I feel much healthier vaping than I ever did smoking cigarettes and so does everyone else I know that made the switch.

"Doctors". The term you are looking for is "Doctors".

-Byshop

May I have what you are smoking?

-Byshop

Cigarette it like a beginning to a substance which troll many kid when reaching 18 year old. Not the good habit but better to be nice and a good person. However it not alway the case.

my mum has just suffered a stroke primary cause is due to lifetime of smoking. Shes lost the left hand side of her body for now only slight movements are possible.

Its likely she might regain full mobility but it will take a lot of physio over a few months.

Whats frustrating is she hasn't said she will stop smoking either, despite being aware smoking is the main cause of whats happened to her.

Myself, I've never smoked apart from the odd cigarette when I was younger, even then I dont think I was doing it properly as I wasnt inhaling properly.

I used to smoke but cut down then started vaping. My dad smoke from 16 until he passed at 55 mainly due to smoking it's a terrible habit.

Used to smoke off and on for years. I'm in my non-smoking phase atm. I just got scared when a rasp started to develop in my lungs. Dying of suffocation is one of my fears. So that's why I quit. However, I still smoke pot. So I don't know what to think about that. It's in moderation.

That's ok. According to @Sevenizz you can smoke two packs a week and still be fine because.... logic.

-Byshop

Nope. Never had a cigarette in my life actually. Parents smoked for years though. Both quit around a decade ago or something.