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Old 27th December 2017, 16:41   #1591
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Wow! I'm going to be a senior citizen by the time I've recovered then . I'd rather look at it this way - am focusing on how much further damage I stopped from happening.
Very true, every cigarette you DIDN'T smoke is a plus for your lungs.

It's been well over a decade since I quit so the benefits of quitting and timeline for recovery should have been updated. And yes, it has. Here's a sobering article by a site Medical News Today:

What Happens After you Quit Smoking: A Timeline

Here's another timeline: Benefits of quitting smoking

In a nutshell: It can take a very long time, 1-2 decades of abstention to be at the same level of risk of lung or pancreatic cancer as a non-smoker. Ergo, the earlier one quits the better.

I quote from that site:

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Life expectancy for smokers is at least 10 years shorter than that of non-smokers. Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%.

Quitting while you're younger will reduce your health risks more, but quitting at any age can give back years of life that would be lost by continuing to smoke.
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Sorry to hear about your aunt. I think all of us smokers (ex included) should go and get our lungs checked. If something is there, better to catch it early than too late.
Thanks for the condolences GTO. Having seen a living example of how one suffers due to lung cancer caused by 2nd hand smoke I feel even more strongly than before about quitting smoking.

I go for a thorough full body med exam every 2 years on an average which includes a chest xray, and several other tests including a treadmill based heart stress test. This was recommended by my paternal uncle/chacha who's a retired Army surgeon. Well, so far so good and fingers crossed.

Doctors recommend men/women who are 40 and above should consider a regular health checkup. And it is especially so in case one has a history of diabetes, heart ailments, cancer etc in the family. At least once in 2-3 years from your 40s to mid 50s and annually thereafter. This frequency applies to non-smokers.

Smokers who at higher risk of developing health problems would be advised to consult their doctors for advice.

The idea, as you rightly pointed out, is to spot problems as early as possible. Checkups are an investment in ones own health.

Last edited by R2D2 : 27th December 2017 at 16:58. Reason: added quotes
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Old 27th December 2017, 19:26   #1592
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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Wow! I'm going to be a senior citizen by the time I've recovered then .
I gave up just before my 40th birthday. I was quite shocked to be told by a doc that I was probably now just a year or two after recovering!
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I'd rather look at it this way - am focusing on how much further damage I stopped from happening.
Remembering that is a great way of not starting again
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Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%.
Phew! Made it by about three weeks!
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Old 29th December 2017, 12:31   #1593
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

One thing for sure guys - it's easier to quit than to control smoking at 4 - 5 cigarettes a day (and always thinking of the next one).

A week up and feeling good. This is my first attempt at quitting in decades and it's been very easy IMHO. Another noticeable change is a major increase in appetite!

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Originally Posted by R2D2 View Post
It's been well over a decade since I quit so the benefits of quitting and timeline for recovery should have been updated. And yes, it has. Here's a sobering article by a site Medical News Today
Thanks for sharing those articles!

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The idea, as you rightly pointed out, is to spot problems as early as possible. Checkups are an investment in ones own health.
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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
Remembering that is a great way of not starting again
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Old 29th December 2017, 13:13   #1594
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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One thing for sure guys - it's easier to quit than to control smoking at 4 - 5 cigarettes a day (and always thinking of the next one).
Am very very happy to see you make what I strongly believe is the most important step towards improving your health.

Quitting Smoking is in my honest opinion a million times more beneficial than any diet or exercise regimen.

I also agree with your statement. A full quit is way better than any rationing.
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Old 29th December 2017, 13:15   #1595
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

Make it a +1 on this thread.

I have smoked for over 15 years now, and my count was 5-6 cigarettes a day.

My quitting this time has happened accidentally. I generally keep a packet or two hidden below the spare tire in my car while going on road trips. On a recent trip, I could not buy and keep the hidden stash before starting.

Now, the places we were visiting were isolated (for initial 5-6 days), so had no chances of buying later as well. I never smoke in front of my wife / kid ever, although wife knows about my habit.

When we came back to civilization, I had totally forgotten about going out for smoke. I returned home day before and its been close to 2 weeks now since I have smoked.

Feels so good ! Although, I do have a few cravings during the day, especially after meals, I try to find something good to do like talking to an old friend over the phone. The test will also be a little tough on 2-Jan when I rejoin office.

PS: I was actually looking for the assembly line area for starting the travelogue about the road trip, and saw this thread !
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Old 29th December 2017, 13:25   #1596
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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...Lady Nick can still creep up and seduce you after several years of quitting...
So yes, in a nutshell please be on guard even years after quitting. Nicotine is an insidious addiction.
You said it man. Started smoking in college in '98, was up to a pack a day on weekdays and 2 packs a day during weekends by 2003. Quit cold turkey in 2005. Intense cravings for 3 months, stopped going out with my friends for that duration since they all smoked back then. Lesser cravings for a ciggie remained for the first year or so. Then subsided. Then after a year of no urges, I remember one road trip to Pondicherry from Bangalore in 2008. We had driven through the night, stopped just outside Pondi near some green paddy fields. The morning sun was up, the light beautiful. Was with some good friends and the girl I was seeing then. Everything was perfect. Out of the blue, I felt the overwhelming urge for a cigarette. If anyone had one on them at that time, I'm 100% sure I would have started smoking again. Fortunately, no one did which was really lucky, as all the others were still smokers then. Feeling subsided in an hour or so.

Happy to say, no urges since. Been smoke-free for 12 years this September last. Smartest and best thing I ever did.
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Old 29th December 2017, 14:03   #1597
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

Well done, guys!

The actual physical addiction level varies from person to person. For me, although I certainly had withdrawal symptoms and cravings (helped a lot by patches in my case: they took much of the pain out of the process) the most difficult thing of all was making that decision. Once I knew I was going to be a non-smoker, I was able to get on and become one. Previous "decisions" were just not serious, and didn't last a day.

Cutting down? Even one a day and you're still a smoker. Have a friend who's been talking about giving up for 30 years. She can't break through that one or two to zero. And usually the story is "I will, but just now it's a bad time..." for thirty years...
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Old 29th December 2017, 15:31   #1598
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

Another thing I remember from my smoking days and I remember that it took me a while to figure it out. But it might be a bit of an eye-opener to smoker dads.

While I smoked, I always used to prefer one brand, Wills Navy Cut. All my other buddies at college or at work used to smoke Gold Flake. The Flake was a better cigarette in every way, but I stubbornly stuck to Wills. It took me a couple of years after quitting to realize why. My dad used to smoke Wills. The funny thing is that he had quit looong before I even started smoking. But somehow sub-consciously that brand preference was imprinted.

So, even if you don't smoke in front of your kids...

Last edited by am1m : 29th December 2017 at 15:32.
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Old 29th December 2017, 17:44   #1599
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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A week up and feeling good. This is my first attempt at quitting in decades and it's been very easy IMHO. Another noticeable change is a major increase in appetite!
Great going! I quit cold turkey as well, years ago. Instead of smoking I got addicted to eating potatoes (in different forms). Perhaps it was the generic availability in different countries where work took me, but it was my safety-net-comfort-food that replaced smoking.
Be it thick cut chips with vinegar and mayo or classic french fries with ketchup or mashed potatoes with gravy or the good old wada pavs. Maybe the cholestorol was not good for the heart, but now studies prove what I always suspected: it is not cholestorol that hurts you; it is sugar! To cut a long story short, I find it better to be fat than to be a smoker. Maybe we need a thread to help bhpians reduce potato consumption

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Originally Posted by am1m View Post
While I smoked, I always used to prefer one brand, Wills Navy Cut. All my other buddies at college or at work used to smoke Gold Flake. The Flake was a better cigarette in every way...
Aah, the good old Wills vs Gold Flake debate.
The Flake was not better, no it wasn't.
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Old 29th December 2017, 18:59   #1600
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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So, even if you don't smoke in front of your kids...
... or family, you have such a high threshold for being aware of the smell of tobacco, that you, as a smoker, are not aware that you and your clothes stink of the stuff.

Plainly, I was getting ready to be a smoker at an early age, and long before I actually started in my very late teens. I loved the smell of the tobacco tins my dad kept for storing screws and nails and stuff. I think I still do like the smell. But I have hated the smell of the smoke since I stopped my short period of getting a quick illicit hit from secondary smoking, and started deeply resenting those who impose this stuff on others.... Like I had been doing just a few months before!

It's an eyeopener: how inconsiderate we were to others when we smoked.

It's also true that us ex-smokers easily become super intolerant. But I have an excuse: tobacco smoke actually hurts my lungs now. Actually, most smoke does, even incense sticks, it's the wood: some none-stick incense is OK. It does not make a difference if I like the smell.
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Old 30th December 2017, 01:25   #1601
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

I joined Team BHP in Feb 2010 and quit smoking June the same year. I have written about my personal relationship with cigarettes many times on this thread.

I can honestly say that seeing GTO post on this thread- after years of gentle nagging and hearing that disappointing “No man, I will never quit my Marlboro!”- is one of the mostly deeply satisfying feelings I have experienced in a while. More satisfying than the first deep puff on a cool, rainy night...but let’s not go there!

Rush- you made the right choice bro. But do remember that it is a choice you will need to keep making. Consciously, day after day, as long as you draw breath. Of course it will get easier as time goes by but like Thad is always warning us, the demon is never too far away.

Like you say, if we could limit ourselves to a handful of cigarettes a week, things would be just peachy. But in my case at least I know that one cig would become five and then 10 in no time. Also you don’t want to be a light smoker and then find out you have cancer somewhere down the line! That would be just too much irony.

Anyway I wish you much luck staying healthy and fit for a long time to come. This is one decision you will not regret!
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Old 30th December 2017, 20:32   #1602
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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I can honestly say that seeing GTO post on this thread- after years of gentle nagging and hearing that disappointing “No man, I will never quit my Marlboro!”- is one of the mostly deeply satisfying feelings I have experienced in a while.
It's a great way to make your [non-smoking] friends feel good!

And telling people helps. Because then one has to feel stupid if they see we started again. Unless, of course, one becomes a serial giver-uper, in which case friends just give up on us.
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Old 31st December 2017, 09:57   #1603
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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Originally Posted by bblost View Post
Am very very happy to see you make what I strongly believe is the most important step towards improving your health.
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Originally Posted by noopster View Post
I can honestly say that seeing GTO post on this thread- after years of gentle nagging and hearing that disappointing “No man, I will never quit my Marlboro!”- is one of the mostly deeply satisfying feelings I have experienced in a while. More satisfying than the first deep puff on a cool, rainy night...but let’s not go there!
That is so sweet - thank you!

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Originally Posted by Maddy3008 View Post
Make it a +1 on this thread.
Congratulations.

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PS: I was actually looking for the assembly line area for starting the travelogue about the road trip, and saw this thread !


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Originally Posted by am1m View Post
Happy to say, no urges since. Been smoke-free for 12 years this September last. Smartest and best thing I ever did.


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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
The actual physical addiction level varies from person to person.
Yeah, that's what I found weird. It's been extremely easy to quit. After a few mild cravings in the first couple of days, I have almost none now.

See this pic taken last night. The pack has moved from the driver's cupholder (me) to the left passenger's (my brother). He smoked one last night and I didn't even crave for a puff.
Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking-20171230-22.12.59.jpg

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Even one a day and you're still a smoker. Have a friend who's been talking about giving up for 30 years. She can't break through that one or two to zero.
Like my brother. He smokes either 1 or 0 everyday. Never 2. I've never told him to quit because it's so low, and he's kept it at that level since years.

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Originally Posted by selfdrive View Post
Instead of smoking I got addicted to eating potatoes (in different forms). Maybe we need a thread to help bhpians reduce potato consumption
Hahahaha.

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
... or family, you have such a high threshold for being aware of the smell of tobacco, that you, as a smoker, are not aware that you and your clothes stink of the stuff.
Frankly, I love the smell. Have always liked it, even as a kid when Dad used to smoke.
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Old 31st December 2017, 10:29   #1604
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

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Frankly, I love the smell. Have always liked it, even as a kid when Dad used to smoke.
This will change.

I loved the smell of nicotine. In fact I used to take a deep breath of the first unlit cigarette every day.
Smoke never troubled me. I loved its warmth.

A few weeks after quitting this began to change. While I can tolerate someone smoking near me, I have a tough time being comfortable.
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Old 31st December 2017, 16:46   #1605
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Re: Help smoking Team-BHP members quit smoking

I still like the smell of tobacco!

Have a similar thing with coffee: the smell is wonderful, makes my mouth water, and I know that it tastes even better... but, in ways that I find hard to exactly explain, it does not suit my body.

I was very surprised, at an open-air event where they were burning neem leaves to repel mosquitors, to find the first smoke that does not hurt my lungs! It works, too!
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