Any smokers Out There?

Tait, MSN, RN · Feb 15, 2009

I smoked for 10 years, have been quit for four years.

It wasn't the "lung cancer" scare tactic that got me to quit smoking, it was the:

Diabetes

Heart Disease

Emphysema

MI's

Open heart surgeries

Chest tubes

My grandfathers esophogeal cancer coupled with liver failure.

It isn't about the "smoking" for me, but the lifestyle of not caring for myself. There are a myriad of things we do in this life that hurt and destroy us, I chose to take one of those options out in an attempt to better my overall being. Now if dieting was as easy as quitting smoking. >.

I feel that smoking gave me a very good perspective for my patients, and I have counseled many of them on cessation. Often they look at me like "pfft what do you know, you have probably never smoked" to which I simply reply "I started on Newports because the menthol was supposed to taste good, but wound up smoking Camel Lights because my father always had."

My father quit after 30 years and hasn't looked back, and I am thankful because it really made him look at other aspects of his health as well. Now he isn't perfect and he still eats his bacon and eggs, but he also works in oatmeal, activity and doctor appts (despite being self-employed and not having health insurance).

Everyone has their own path, but the advice I always give my patients is:

1. Do it for yourself, no one else.

2. Even one cigarette can ruin it. Lighting up one, lights up all the neural pathways of addiction over again and puts you back at square one. (I had mightmares for years on this one. I would wake up in anger from dreams where I had decided to have just one cigarette.)

3. Yes you will die someday, but as others have stated here, you can die many different ways dependant on your lifestyle.

Now I don't think the OP intended this to be a Smokers vs Non-Smokers face off, but lets face it, each of us has lost someone in our lives to the effects of smoking. Wether it be the classic scare of lung CA or some of the rippled effects from lifestyle choices.

Tait

Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN · Feb 15, 2009

just curious to see how many of you guys are smokers? i've (very) recently stopped after about 12 or 13 years of filling my body with the many impurities cigarettes have to offer and it was just for mine and my girlfriends health. BUT i've expereinced first hand over the last eight years people dying horrible deaths due to smoking related diseases and it never put me off, and still never realy did - it was just that i was out of puff climbing the stairs and thought " thats not right!!". so, how many of you guys are the same?????? still smoking / recently stopped / stopped since nursing??

I did the same thing. I just got sick of running out of air. I quit in 1995 and still just love being smokefree. The horrible deaths I saw from emphysema or lung cancer never bothered me. I had a 2ppd. and used patches. The hardest thing I had to do was find something to keep my hands and mouth busy. I chewed on needle caps and coffee stirrers. Now I wish I could get the DH to quit.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Feb 15, 2009

I "quit the habit" after a good 8+ years of trying to quit.

I'll be honest - it wasn't the "health scare" or the whole "I can't tell people not to smoke if I still smoke" etc.

It's a little 'quirky' - but those who know me best understand it perfectly.

To wit - I'm not 'comfortable' with anything that subverts my free will. To be a 'slave' to anything is a disconcerting thought/experience to me. The day I realized that I'd become a "compulsive smoker", unable to get through certain times of the day without a smoke was the day I told myself "it's time to let go".

THAT... and the "self-realization" that the longer I put this off, the harder it will eventually get to kick the habit.

It was a struggle - but I managed to "quit the habit". Cold Turkey.

NOW,

Some of you might consider this "hypocritical" *shrug* but I say "I quit the habit" - not "quit smoking".

Example: One of my best friends got engaged last year. This was a person I hadn't seen in years. At a party to celebrate the event, he offered a cigar. It wasn't a cheap, rip off. It was a nice, Colombian cigar.

I didn't refuse. I enjoyed a good smoke.

If he hadn't offered, I wouldn't have sought it ought and lit up. And chances are, if he'd offered a cigarette; I'd have passed. But good cigars and good pipe tobacco are things I enjoy.

I don't smoke out of habit anymore. To me, the 'habit' was deadlier than the act itself.

But I'd be lying if I said that I "quit smoking for good and for ever".

I won't sugar coat it -- it is SELFISH to smoke. You put others at risk for health issues, but you also put your family at risk of losing you to something very, very easily preventable.
Before you get upset over the "selfish" remark there, ask yourself why something like reading that would make you upset! Guilt? Denial?

Not upset. No guilt nor denial.

However, an expression does come to mind:

"It's "selfish" if you smoke? Well, in your opinion".

Also, as an ex-smoker myself; I find it a mite difficult to go around judging other smokers as "selfish" or "ignorant" or "misguided" or whatever. I offer support to those seeking to kick the habit. I commiserate with and encourage those who're still fighting to kick the habit.

And to those who show no inkling of quitting - I suggest they try and keep trying at every opportunity.(my brother being first on the list!). And if they still refuse, I modify my behavior accordingly (e.g.: I might tolerate them smoking around me, but not around kids etc.)

That's just me and I'll just leave it at that :)

cheers,

Roy (gets into fire retardant suit built with ceramic plates capable of withstanding molten iron )

HonestRN · Feb 15, 2009

In reference to enjoying the ride on your way to getting lung cancer--I am sorry but that is really ignorant.

Not really. Pick your poison, you are going to die anyway whether it be by car accident, food poisoning (think peanutbutter products), drugs (think vioxx etc), diabetes, cancer, old age, whatever. It's going to happen and if you want to enjoy a habit so be it.

When Dana Reeves found out she had lung cancer after NOT smoking she stated she wished she had smoked if she was going to die from lung cancer. I can relate to that.

Tait, MSN, RN · Feb 15, 2009

Not really. Pick your poison, you are going to die anyway whether it be by car accident, food poisoning (think peanutbutter products), drugs (think vioxx etc), diabetes, cancer, old age, whatever. It's going to happen and if you want to enjoy a habit so be it.
When Dana Reeves found out she had lung cancer after NOT smoking she stated she wished she had smoked if she was going to die from lung cancer. I can relate to that.

I prefer to give myself the best chance, to survive the best way, for the most amount of time. If my time ends because of something out of my control, at least I can die understanding that I didn't do it intentionally to myself.

Tait

JB2007, ASN, RN · Feb 15, 2009

I quit about 5 months ago. I quit because I do not like to be addicted to anything. Several of my family members where addicted to drugs and alcohol and I have seen how this has ruined their lives in so many ways. I do not want to be that out of control about anything in my life. The day I realized that I had to have a cigaette or else, is the day that I decided enough is enough.

I do not try and tell others that they have to quit. I do not feel that I have the right to tell other people how to live their lives if they are not hurting anyone but themselves.

HonestRN · Feb 15, 2009

I smoked for 10 years, have been quit for four years.
It wasn't the "lung cancer" scare tactic that got me to quit smoking, it was the:
Diabetes
Heart Disease
Emphysema
MI's
Open heart surgeries
Chest tubes
My grandfathers esophogeal cancer coupled with liver failure.
It isn't about the "smoking" for me, but the lifestyle of not caring for myself. There are a myriad of things we do in this life that hurt and destroy us, I chose to take one of those options out in an attempt to better my overall being. Now if dieting was as easy as quitting smoking. >.
I found dieting to be as easy as quitting smoking. It's all about choices.
The thing that keeps me at a healthy weight is not the clothes but the health risks:
diabetes
cancer
bone and joint issues
heart disease and MI's
high blood pressure
stroke
high cholesterol
liver and gallbladder disease
sleep apnea and other respiratory issues
fertility issues
self esteem issues
body image disturbance issues
In spite of smoking I maintain an active, reasonably healthy lifestyle. I eat well, exercise, don't drink alcohol. I keep up with my kids when hiking and biking. No huffing or puffing here. Bashing smoking is just the politically correct thing however being overweight or obese is just as preventable and unhealthy as smoking and I see a heck of a lot more overweight/obese nurses than I do smokers. And nobody dares to bash them for their weight and the health issues they are incurring.
Let the flaming begin...

leslie :-D · Feb 15, 2009

Bashing smoking is just the politically correct thing however being overweight or obese is just as preventable and unhealthy as smoking and I see a heck of a lot more overweight/obese nurses than I do smokers. And nobody dares to bash them for their weight and the health issues they are incurring.
while you seemingly make valid points, i'm pretty sure many, MANY obese people would disagree with you.
that discrimination and condemnation are a pervasive part of their everyday lives.
leslie

FLmomof5 · Feb 15, 2009

Trust me....discrimination an OVERT CONSTANT condemnation is definitely part of a smoker's life.

flightnurse2b, LPN · Feb 15, 2009

I started smoking when I was 10 years old, I was 10 foot tall and bulletproof, oh, all the cool kids were smoking. If I knew then what I know now, I would never have started.
I am glad some people find it easy to quit, it isn't easy for me.

i started around the same age as you.. i wanted to keep my hunger at bay at first, just having a couple... but then i turned into a full blown addict. i tried to quit unsuccessfully so many times. i thought i would never be able to kick the habit.

i did not ever find it easy to quit. i quit in the middle of nursing school too, to make matters more difficult. my doctors found a suspicious lesion on my lungs during a CT scan, i underwent bronchoscopy with bx, which turned out to thankfully only be scar tissue from *suprise!* smoking with asthma for so many years. my doctor told me i would be oxygen dependant at the age of 40 if i didn't quit. i had to.

for that first month or so, i was the incredible hulk. i was mean, nasty, hungry, anxious and insatiable.

i have gone through recovery for drug addiction and an eating disorder--- and quitting smoking, was by far, mentally the most difficult.

now, i feel amazing. i can breathe. i can run. i can eat food and enjoy it. my hair smells good. my teeth aren't brown. i don't wake up in the morning and take that big wheezy breath and cough up that big brown glob of tar anymore.

you need to truly want it, set your date, and don't look back. do whatever it takes. if someone would have told me that i would have successfully quit a year ago, i would have laughed at them. it can be done. i promise you.

Ruthiegal · Feb 15, 2009

Still smoking, I never give up on quitting. 18 attempts and still believe at some point it will be for good.

That's the key "never stop quitting". Also get some help, support programs, nicotine replacements, medications short term. I quit with Nicoderm patches several years ago. I also helped to administer a telephonic stop smoking program where I work. You can do it just never give up, and chew on those straws or coffee stir sticks. :up:

1stloveistobeanurse · Feb 15, 2009

I am a nursing student and was a prior smoker well over 11 years now. I made several attempts to stop smoking and the first time I was carrying my son I did stop for a year and went back then I was carrying my daughter 13 years later (yes my kids are 13 yrs apart) I stopped again and this time forever.

What I notice is this time it really wasnt hard for me to stop in fact I really did not tried to stop, I just one day went to smoke a cig and discovered that I no longer was attracted to the taste, then the next thing I knew a day later at the most I could stand the smell, and since then - now 11 years later I feel the same way.