I had my last cigarette. I used to burn up to 3 packs of Camel Filters per day.

It was tough to quit but so worth it.

Any other former cigarette smokers? How long has it been?

I smoked two packs of Camel straights a day for 20+ years. My wife became pregnant; interestingly, in the winter of 92. She told me "I don't want smoke around my baby before or after it's born, quit now or I'm leaving." I quit. I still enjoy a dip or a cigar now and again, but no more half-hourly cigs.
Sad to say, that baby is now a boy of almost 20 and he is an occasional smoker. He thinks I don't know. It's a serious black mark on his otherwise excellent good judgement record.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

I didn't smoke nearly that long or nearly that much, but I gave it up just about this time of year in 1971. I gave up the pretty significant amount of Jim Beam that I was pouring down my gullet at the same time. The only better decision that I've ever made in my life was deciding to marry my lovely bride a little over 39 years ago.

I must admit that when I see someone smoking today, after all the evidence in front of us regarding the ill effects of it, I see such a person as a little less intelligent than they would appear otherwise.

I went to a doctor that I had never seen before for my flight physical a few months ago. We visited a little before he took my blood pressure and then listened to my heart. Right after he put his stethoscope on the first spot he looked up all of a sudden and said "you're a healthy fellow aren't you?" I said well, I've lived a clean and active life since I got out of the Army. He then said "well, it's really paying off for you now." It was reassuring to hear.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

I quit 8 years ago, if I wasn't drinking it would be two packs a week, but when alcohol was involved ashtrays would fill up really fast. Still after 8 years I find it hard not to bump a smoke when I'm drinking with friends who smoke.

Quitting is all about changing habits, when I quit I started exercising like a mofo; swimming 4 to 5 times a week, running, hiking. I didn't tell anyone so there wouldn't be any pressure if I failed and didn't drink or go out for six months.

The best thing about not smoking was how much it improved sex.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Yes, exercise was a huge part of it for me. I quit 45 days before getting out of the Army. During that time all I did was charge of quarters every other night. That meant I was off during the day every day. My girlfriend ran the local municipal swimming pool. I went there every day and spent much of the day.

The first day I got in the Olympic size pool and swam to the other end. I thought it would take a tow truck to get me out. The next day it was a little easier and after about 30 days I could swim laps until I was just sick and tired of swimming. I blew all that crap out of my lungs and worked the alcohol out of my system.

I had been drinking enough that if I even looked at a candy bar or other sweets it would sometimes make me sick. I started having sweets sometimes after all that.

The fact that I was excited about getting out of the Army and starting a new chapter of my life made it mentally easier to do I think.

I would highly recommend exercise as part of the effort to quit smoking or drinking.

I was only 22 when I went through all that. This means I had very few years of the habits to break, and since I was young it made the exercise easier. I fully realize that had to be much easier for me than it was for people who were older with a longer history of the habit.

I would encourage anyone of any age to give up these habits. It's tough work, but the result is a really Improved quality of life. Very best of luck to anyone who tries and congrats to those who have accomplished it.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

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Congrats link, that's something to be damn proud of! To the others as well, takes balls to confront those sorts of things - kudos.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

I quit smoking in the summer of 1991 doing my aircraft mechanics exams in the air force. I figured if I could stop at a stressful time I had no excuse to start again...

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

July 1991for me. Went to a gastroenterologist for "stomach burning."
He told me to quit smoking and drinking caffiene. Worst night & couple of days in my life till that point. Headaches like you wouldn't belive. After a couple of rounds of medication trial & error, he suggested I should have a stress test.
Had the stress test at 8:00 am August 30, 1991 in my cardiologist's office, my first day as his patient.. I was admitted to Delaware Medical Center at 7:00 pm that night. (Friday of Labor Day weekend). I had quintuple bypass surgery @ 9:00 in the morning Sept. 3, 1991.

Mom & Dad both were lifelong Camel non filtered smokers. Dad died with severe emphysema, a couple of years after he quit smoking in 1992. Mom switched to Carleton for the last few years of her life. She died of lung cancer in 1998.

My ex-wife told me after my operation that if I could have seen how bad I looked after the surgery, I'd never smoke again.

I tell my family if they could have seen mom in the hospital her last night, they would never smoke either.

I don't smoke and never have, but I do consume a cigar now and then if I have to.

At one point in my life I had to attend some pretty swanky affairs in case someone needed a technical question answered. It was considered an insult to the host if you refused what they offered.

So I quickly informed them I only smoked Cuban cigars and that normally shut them down. Then they started getting their hands on some, so I would smoke them if they had them. I must admit the ones I smoked were not all that bad, but it was not something I chose to spend any money on.

Which I guess makes me a Moocher, but then I have been called worse.

I never got hooked so I never had any trouble quitting.

Tough times.

All in all I think it is best not to be smoking anymore. When I first came to Holland about ten years ago smoking was rife. Everyone smoked - you could still smoke in the trains and restaurants. It was pretty grim. It was a bit like the 1980s. New EU laws came in and it is much nicer in a way but you can smell more piss and sweat than you used to!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I'm glad to hear this. I spent a LOT of my time in Europe in the early 2000's and people smoked everywhere. It was like the US in the fifties and sixties. I don't like the idea of those kind of laws, but I expect that it makes it much more pleasant to be in public.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

Well you know how selfish people can get. When I first moved here people would be upset if I said they couldn't smoke in my house or my car! Times have changed.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I think that maybe your being preoccupied with your test preparation might have helped with the process.

Congrats on quitting though, regardless of what might have been involved.

__________________
2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

I was probably the grumpiest bugger who ever took those exams!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Bad habits at 22 aren't really habits. They're indulgences. I hereby decree that a habit must be at least 10 years in duration.

I smoked pot on a daily basis for 20 years -- mostly home-grown, since I'm too cheap to buy the good stuff. I scaled way back about 20 years ago when my garden plot became unavailable. I also smoked cigs on and off, up to a pack a day, until 1997. In the last decade of that habit I found that the more potent cigarette I smoked, the fewer I wanted. For a lot of people, smoking is an oral fixation. A co-worker of mine smoked "low tar" Carletons heavily and died of lung cancer in 2004.

As a good Wisconsinite, I also like a drink. I'm sipping a Bogle Zinfandel at the moment. I try to aim for two drinks a day or their equivalent, although I can be bad fairly regularly.

A recent blood pressure test had me in the upper 120s over about 85. I can live with that at 60. I'm active, but I know I'm a lot closer to the end of life than the beginning. And that's .. OK. Sorta.

Einstein put it well: "The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat."