re: Who is smoking cigarettes in 2020?

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I smoked my last cigarette December 14, 2019
I am currently 25 pounds heavier & am beginning to think I felt much better health wise & mentally when I was smoking

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I quit like 5 years ago. It’s a tough thing to stop. I also gained around that much weight.

Take the G off your ID please.

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decrease one’s quality of life

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Know how I know you don’t smoke?

Smoking is disgusting and is destroying your body.

I dip Copenhagen

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fricking Easter candy is kicking my arse

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Yeah gold bricks and jelly beans kicking my arse too

not going to judge someone who smokes cigarettes on an occasional/social basis, but anyone who smokes cigarettes on a daily basis just lacks self control and has a lazy arse mindset. straight up.

fully support their right to do so. they can smoke all they want. it's their right.

but to sit here and say that in 2020 you "need" a cigarette? no you don't. stop being trashy and lazy.

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Spending $2500/year to decrease one’s quality of life and life expectancy is beyond pitiful

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One could say the same about alcohol.

I will preface this by saying, in life my biggest regret is ever picking up a cigarette in the first place. Not kidding. This will be a long post, but I’ll try to give some clarity to those that lack the perspective of a smoker through no fault of their own. Good for them that they never started. No sarcasm there. 10000% serious.

I am, but I’m taking this coronavirus opportunity to quit. Down to 1 cig a day now. Just plodding along one foot forward.

People don’t understand if they haven’t ever smoked. It is SO fricking hard to quit if you aren’t bought in. You can’t be 98% ready. You’ll fail and go back...eventually.

At about 23-24, I was at 100% because of health issues. Migraines, drinking, smoking just ripped up my stomach. And I couldn’t do it anymore. So it was easy to get to 100%. I was quite literally destroying my body.

I was still at 100% at 25 with two years quitting under my belt. I didn’t think about them. I didn’t want them. Life was good. And then I had my first panic attack out of nowhere. I’d had no mental health issues before, so this was quite a shock to the system. I was waking up every day with anticipatory anxiety that was eventually turning into either a full fledged attack or a bunch of mini ones throughout the day. Not knowing what I was dealing with, I went to my GP for help. He scripted me 25 mg of Prozac and like .25 mg Ativan. Those who have dealt with panic attacks would laugh at the notion that those meds would do jack shite. After about a month of no relief, I started grasping at anything that would numb the panic. I was holding on for dear life. Daily attacks. For 2 months. It was the most challenging time in my life. Self help books to help me understand what I was going through. NyQuil. Other OTC sleep aids. And yes, cigarettes. And we were off to the races again. Eventually I went to a psych and I haven’t had a panic attack in 7 years now (I’m 33).

I haven’t found that 100% again in my life like I did that first time because I quit drinking as well. The alcohol was turning into an almost instant migraine AND would cancel out the 100mg Zoloft which had killed my panic attacks. So rule out the physical drain. I also never really ramped back up to that pack/day level, mostly staying in the 5-10 range.

Fast forward to present day. This whole thing sucks for all of us. It’s isolating. It’s miserable and stressful.

So I’m going for broke. If it’s gonna suck, I’m determined to be one of those few people that come out the other side of this drastically improved against all odds. I’m exercising, stretching, lifting, and getting into shape 1-2 hours a day. I’m eating healthier and giving my body all the fuel it needs to sustain, and my body is becoming a needy little bitch again nutrition wise. I’ve gained 15 pounds in a couple months and shed the little skinny kid fat I had on my body to boot. With the help of the Juul, I’m down to 1 cig a day, and even that is becoming less important by the day. And yes, technically the Juul is still smoking, but it is MUCH preferable to putting hundreds of chemicals into my body daily. People don’t realize, it’s not the nicotine. It’s all the other shite. We don’t really know the long term effects of vaping. But I know that it doesn’t affect my fitness hardly at all. It’s just the one chemical instead of hundreds, and it’s not the chemical that gives cancer etc. Going from cigs -> Juul is infinitely harder than going from Juul -> nothing.

In short, if you know someone who smokes, you may feel the desire to tell them what they are doing is fricking stupid (you are right, it is fricking stupid btw). I am telling you that approach does not help. It just pisses people off. If you want to help them, be SUPPORTIVE of any attempts they may ever make to quit. ENCOURAGE them. It helps. Trust me. All positive energy. They need it. This shite is hard.

To those that smoke and want to quit or think they want to quit, I’d highly suggest trying to go for it right now. Fighting misery with more misery seems like a daunting task, but this is as ideal time as any. What’s the difference between being miserable at a 7/10 and being miserable at a 9/10? That was my initial rationale. Use that to your advantage. Now it’s just become a point of pride. A challenge in a stupid time period to try to challenge yourself. And it’s working. I’m feeling fulfillment and a purpose through all this crap. I WILL be one of those people that come out the other side of this virus and am a much healthier person because of it.

In short, if you smoke, grab a Juul and fricking go for it. Don’t try to beat the monster all at once. Don’t take too much on. Only what you can handle. Baby steps are ok. Even if you go from a pack to 4. You’ve done something. Just don’t go back. 4 is more than enough in a day.

I know it’s a nasty habit. I know people don’t like to be around it. But those people who never picked one up will never understand the demon a smoker faces for the rest of their lives. Give love and support to those who you see try. The negativity will never help.

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In short

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Liar