This is a survey for smokers -- including those smokers who are not yet ready to quit -- to learn more about their perspective.
For those of you that were previous smokers and have been successful at quitting, tell me about your story of quitting and how you feel now that you have quit.
THANKS!:heartbeat
1. How long have you been a smoker?
2. How often and how much to you generally smoke cigarettes?
3. What is your reasoning for smoking?
4. Do you find any advantages to smoking? (Give examples)
5. Do you find any disadvantages to smoking? (Give examples)
6. Are you comfortable enough to smoke around non-smokers? Why or why not?
7. Have you ever attempted to quit smoking? (If yes, what steps did you take?)
8. What is the longest time you have gone without cigarettes since you started smoking?
9. Do you think you will quit smoking? Why or why not?
10. Are you aware of programs or services that will help you quit?
this is a survey for smokers -- including those smokers who are not yet ready to quit -- to learn more about their perspective.
for those of you that were previous smokers and have been successful at quitting, tell me about your story of quitting and how you feel now that you have quit.
thanks!:heartbeat
1. how long have you been a smoker? 5 years, and then before that a couple of years in high school
2. how often and how much to you generally smoke cigarettes? a pack a day
3. what is your reasoning for smoking? i started in high school, met my exhusband who demanded i quit or he wouldn't date me, so i quit. after i got divorced i started again (after having been a non smoker for 6 years. it was a really immature and irrational act of newly found freedom and independence (he was controlling and domineering)
4. do you find any advantages to smoking? (give examples) gives me something to do when i'm bored. its social (with other smokers and my so) and theres something about having a cigarette with my coffee or a drink.
5. do you find any disadvantages to smoking? (give examples) i stink like smoke, i'm embarrassed about it because i know better, i always feel like i'm probably bothering non smokers, its expensive, and its incredibly bad for me. also, i know it will make me wrinkly and my teeth yellow.
6. are you comfortable enough to smoke around non-smokers? why or why not? no, not unless i know that they don't mind. i feel like smokers are typically looked down on. secondhand smoke tends to be very bothersome to most non smokers, and its also unhealthy.
7. have you ever attempted to quit smoking? (if yes, what steps did you take?) yes, quit for 6 years. i just stopped cold turkey.
8. what is the longest time you have gone without cigarettes since you started smoking? besides the six years, probably 14 hours or so.
9. do you think you will quit smoking? why or why not? yes. we are planning a pregnancy. also, i've been wanting to quit for a while now, and have been trying to get so on board. we are quitting nov.1.
10. are you aware of programs or services that will help you quit? yes, but i quit before cold turkey, and know i can do it with out too much difficulty. its more the habit to break and get used to things like not having one with my coffee, or after meals, or when driving.
2. how often and how much to you generally smoke cigarettes?
anywhere from a pack to two packs a day.
3. what is your reasoning for smoking?
had a 22 yr old boyfriend that smoked, and all his friends smoked, and my mom smoked... so i thought why not.
4. do you find any advantages to smoking? (give examples)
relieved stress and boredom, actually took my breaks at work
5. do you find any disadvantages to smoking? (give examples)
exactly what everyone else said!
6. are you comfortable enough to smoke around non-smokers? why or why not?
i smoked around other smokers, or people who i knew didn't mind. didn't smoke around people who were non-smokers.
7. have you ever attempted to quit smoking? (if yes, what steps did you take?)
i had tried many things, cold turkey, hypnosis, patches, gum, etc. nothing worked until i used chantix successfully.
8. what is the longest time you have gone without cigarettes since you started smoking? i quit smoking for one of my pregnancies and smoke thru the other one (my lowest birth wait baby was when i quit!). i have been quit now for a few days shy of a year! oct. 21st is my one year anniversary!
9. do you think you will quit smoking? why or why not? i think i will finally stay quit this time, because it was what "i" wanted, not what someone tried to force me to do. also, my mom passed away from cancer (unknown primary, but likely lung cancer). i'd like to be there when my daughters have kids!
10. are you aware of programs or services that will help you quit? i was and the chantix website was wonderful. i didn't do so well with quitplan, etc. i guess i just had to be ready.
2. How often and how much to you generally smoke cigarettes?
Up until a year ago it was average 3 packs a week. Recently I just smoke one or two cigs a week if that. But put me in a crowd and I can smoke a whole pack. I do not feel addicted. But just like drinking it can be soothing when I feel nervous in a crowd.
3. What is your reasoning for smoking?
Family smoked heavly
4. Do you find any advantages to smoking? (Give examples)
Reduces anxiety in a crowd. I do not drink so I guess this replaces it.
5. Do you find any disadvantages to smoking?
All the obvious reasons. I have no respiratory issues though.
6. Are you comfortable enough to smoke around non-smokers? Why or why not? Yes if it is the right person. All depends on the company.
7. Have you ever attempted to quit smoking? (If yes, what steps did you take?)
Not really. I do not smoke at work and do not like to step outside to smoke with my kids inside. So I just slowed to snails pace. I usually do not buy any and when I do smoke one it is my hubby's.
8. What is the longest time you have gone without cigarettes since you started smoking? I would say about 2 months
9. Do you think you will quit smoking? Why or why not? I do not know. I never really "jones" for one. It is usually a social thing for me since I grew up with smokers. It is my PRN vice.
10. Are you aware of programs or services that will help you quit? Yes
I smoked for 9 years, but quit when I got married. I loved it! Smoking rules! It is a diet aid, a social function, and a psychological and physical addiction all wrapped up in a menthol-flavored package!
When I was in the Air Force, the only folks who got to go outside and take breaks on our watch were the puffers...so...we puffed!
When I met my future wife (NOT a puffer) I promised I would quit when we got married (a good a reason as any). I quit 15 years ago. NOT EASY, but worth every bit of hell. Guess what? I IMMEDIATELY gained 30 pounds due to my sedentary lifestyle. I replaced cigs with FOOD!! (all of a sudden I had an appetite again, and food certainly tasted better).
I am finally (again...15 YEARS LATER) shedding the last bit of post-puffing overindulgence...thanks in part to cycling and triathlon.
Now I am watching my stepmother and dad move to a single-level condo because she has empyhsema and only 21% lung capacity and can't walk up stairs anymore. She is not the typical "evil stepmom" and it hurts to watch her struggle while her oxygen machine purrs in the corner.
Quit for your kids, parents, or loved ones. Quit because it is a filthy, disgusting habit. Quit because you KNOW it is bad for you.
I am still surprised when I see medical professionals of ANY KIND polluting the only body they have...!!!
They say "reformed smokers" are the worst for condemning the habit...maybe so...I can't even stand the smell on someone's clothes...
2. How often and how much to you generally smoke cigarettes?
A pack a day. Spread over about 10-12 sessions a day.
3. What is your reasoning for smoking?
Um, it makes me feel better... It's a drug. It works...
4. Do you find any advantages to smoking? (Give examples)
It's a known fact :) that when a large group of strangers get together the smokers are the first to meet new friends. The fact of being a fellow smoker is one of the biggest ice breakers in existence.
5. Do you find any disadvantages to smoking? (Give examples)
Keeping the 'smoke' smell away, while possible, takes much time and effort. IT also makes 'enemies' as fast as friends. Some people won't associate or date a smoker.
6. Are you comfortable enough to smoke around non-smokers? Why or why not?
Yes, it's a cigarette. If they won't like me because I smoke to hades with them. Of course, I usually smoke a distance away from my friends and other non smokers.
7. Have you ever attempted to quit smoking? (If yes, what steps did you take?)
5 or 6 times. Tried cold turkey, aptches and gum. You cant quite if you really don't want too.
8. What is the longest time you have gone without cigarettes since you started smoking?
2 months... Basic Training.
9. Do you think you will quit smoking? Why or why not?
Maybe. If I can will myself to want to.
10. Are you aware of programs or services that will help you quit?
Who isn't. Nowadays, in some circles, smoking is like having leprosy.
As far as it killing me and knowing it. ROFL. EVERYTHING kills you. Over a long enough time frame the survivability rate is 0% for everyone.
You only live once, if everyone is SO religious, why are they AFRAID of death, dying at 90 is the same as 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30 or 20. It sucks no matter how long you lived. You still won't want to die AND when you are finally dead you won't care. :)
Why go through all the drama, crying, fighting and other useless activities. Live your life. The reason you do all the fun stuff young is so that you have time to do it before you can't anymore. Whatever makes you feel good do it. Enjoy your life. It's too short by half anyways.
The light that shines twice as fast burns half as long...
thats amazing! also...november 15th is the american smokeout day! everyone should pass on the word! they want people to quit smoking for a day and then will help them formulate a plan to quit for good! (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/smokeout.asp)
i quit two years ago in my first semester of nursing school. i had the flu, chest congestion and just didn't feel like smoking. heck, it just hurt to breath. i smoked for about 25 yrs, 1/2 - 1 pack per day......i tried many many times to quit but couldn't get past that dreaded third day. during my flu illness, i was sick in bed for over three days, ....the 4th day, i started feeling well and never wanted a cigarette again. no withdrawals, nothing! whether it be for psychological reasons... getting over that 3rd day worked for me!
shortly after i stopped smoking, my blood pressure went up. i had always had bp around 120/70s, but after i quit, it was running 140/100s. i checked my bp several times during a two month period and it stayed high. i also gained close to 30 pounds after i quit. well, instead of seeing a doctor for my high bp, i decided to choose exercise over medication. i have since kept my bp under control with diet and exercise and ususually have a bp around 120/70. my heart rate has dropped considerably as well.
cigarettes stink !!!! i can say that i love the shampoo smell i have to my hair now. i absolutely hate walking by someone in the store that reeks of cigs. i hate going to restaurants that allow smoking. i think it should be banned in all restaurants. as a matter of fact, i use to see people give me dirty looks when i smoked inside a restaurant. i just hope i quit soon enough to not be one of those people in the hospital suffering from copd, trach, etc.
1. How long have you been a smoker?I quit 5/27/08 after smoking for about 14 years.
2. How often and how much to you generally smoke cigarettes? I smoked at least a pack each day, more often two.
3. What is your reasoning for smoking? I found it to be a pleasant distraction - giving me an eight minute delay to calm down in stressful situations.
4. Do you find any advantages to smoking? (Give examples) Given I smoked my entire adult life, I tied the physiological effect of satisfying the nicotine craving to a feeling of relaxation and focus. Lots of us did and do. Overall, I felt more productive and energetic.
5. Do you find any disadvantages to smoking? (Give examples) Sure, but the common ones, (cost, smell, the growing smoking bans, higher health premiums, so on), were not enough to make me quit. I always did dislike the smell, so much so that I didn't smoke inside or in the car.
6. Are you comfortable enough to smoke around non-smokers? Why or why not? I remember being an uncomfortable little one in a family of smokers, so I avoided smoking around non-smokers when possible. If anything, I usually smoked outside and never in others' homes or cars unless they too were smokers who were comfortable doing so.
7. Have you ever attempted to quit smoking? (If yes, what steps did you take?)
I quit this past May, cold turkey. Things went surprisingly well until day 12 or so, when I feared for my sanity and the well-being of my coworkers. *chuckles.
8. What is the longest time you have gone without cigarettes since you started smoking?
This has been the longest time - quit 5/27 and not a puff since.
9. Do you think you will quit smoking? Why or why not?
I quit and plan to stay quit. Honestly, I was most tired of being constantly put out in any given situation due to being a smoker: the comments, the lectures, the smoking bans, the 'non-smoking' workplace regulations, the rise in health care premiums, the badgering from family, so on.
10. Are you aware of programs or services that will help you quit?
I always was, but I wasn't interested in quitting for the longest time. Quitnet is great and so is the 'Easy' e-book. Perhaps I'm one of those 'all or nothing' types, but nothing would have worked until I said I was ready to quit on my own.
Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.
1. How long have you been a smoker? On and off, but mostly on since age 18
2. How often and how much to you generally smoke cigarettes? Smoke three before getting ready for work in the morning. None until quitting time, then probably one pack just in the evening.
3. What is your reasoning for smoking? No reasoning, I'm just addicted and can't overcome the difficulty of this addiction by not smoking.
4. Do you find any advantages to smoking? (Give examples) Since we are outsiders in society, kind of an instant bond with fellow smokers.
5. Do you find any disadvantages to smoking? (Give examples) Financial, health, being smelly.....
6. Are you comfortable enough to smoke around non-smokers? Why or why not? Absolutely not.
7. Have you ever attempted to quit smoking? (If yes, what steps did you take?) Not really. When it's time for a cigarette my body goes into such a craving mode I haven't been able not to smoke that first one.
8. What is the longest time you have gone without cigarettes since you started smoking? During pregnancy.
9. Do you think you will quit smoking? Why or why not? Honestly I don't know. My father died of lung cancer at a young age and I still can't stop.
10. Are you aware of programs or services that will help you quit? Of course.
I smoked for nearly 25 years. I quit smoking on Valentines Day,2007, as a gift to my wife and my grandchildren.
I loved smoking, and miss it badly, but I finally got to the point that I was more concerned about what the smoke/chemicals were doing to my wife and the g-kids than I was about smoking because I liked it.
When that first grandbaby was born, and I had to say "I can't hold her right now...I just smoked, and I smell like a cigarette.", it was the first day of my considering quitting smoking.
Man, I wanted to hold that baby.
It's the best thing I've ever done, but as I said...I loved smoking, and still miss it.
I quit with a combination of will power, Wellbutrin, patches, and nicotine gum.
beachbum3
341 Posts
looking forward to being smoke free!