I don't smoke, but remeber why I tried to smoke...

curiosity.

I had a bad reaction, but my friends that had a good reaction picked it up as a habit. I think its an easy "get high" that eases the senses.

I need to start a sugar addiction thread....

It was a different time when i started to smoke. Not like now, when it's almost not done. I was going out a lot and it was more like part of the deal.

I think i can honstely say, it was the worst decision in my life to start smoking and i'm the king of bad decisions!

Did you first try as a child or an adult?

Most smokers I know start smoking in their tween years.

I also have never been a smoker, but for me the hypothetical appeal lies in the meditative qualities -- the breath control required to take a slow drag, but not choke; the tingle of holding a cloud in your mouth; and the captivating dance of smoke lifting through the air and slowly fading invisible.

Quite relaxing stuff. But the "it reeks, will turn my teeth brown, and will ultimately kill me in about 3 or 4 different ways" part has always foiled the temptation for me.

[Edited 3/2/11 7:31am]

robertlove said:

It was a different time when i started to smoke. Not like now, when it's almost not done. I was going out a lot and it was more like part of the deal.

I think i can honstely say, it was the worst decision in my life to start smoking and i'm the king of bad decisions!

Have you been able to quit yet?

ParanoidAndroid said:

Inspired by another thread.. Tell me, why did you start smoking? I don't understand how could anyone put that stinky thing in their mouth.

I was young. Everyone was doing it. My friends did it.

It "looked cool", and was sort of a right-of-passage.

I tried it literally two times when I was about 18. Made me gag, feel sick, and it tasted terrible to me. I'm glad I didn't enjoy it as I've got enough other stuff wrong with me that I don't need smoking added to the mix!

My 15 year old nephew and all his friends smoke, which makes me sad. They post pictures on Facebook all the time of themselves smoking. Unfortunately, teens these days still seem to think a cigarette makes them look cooler and more sophisticated.

I'm always conscious of the effects so i try and thwart by skipping days, taking vitamins, eating baking soda, drinking gallons of orange juice.....i'll be dead in probably a year or two...........

...at least i got to see what my kids look like...smh.

I started when I was 17 for the same reason everyone else did...peer pressure. That was a few months before I graduated high school in 1985 and by that fall, it was an addition and I've been smoking ever since.

I started smoking when i was 11; not sure why though.

I gave up for 3 years when I was 19 quite easily just because. Started smoking again when I was 23. Gave up again for 3 years when I was 29, cause I thought I didn't want to a 30 year old smoker. Started again when I was 32 and have continued to smoke for the last 7 years and may give up again if I feel like but.....

I like smoking! I find it easy to give it up for long periods of time but until I actually no longer enjoy it I can't see me giving up for good.

I started when I was 18. My parents smoked my whole life. I hated it. But then I started smokin' herb with my pals from school and they all smoked. I was one of the first nonsmokers in the group to convert to smoking primarily because I was one of the oldest (read: some were 17, some were 18 in my group at the time) and I was often cigarette gopher.

I actually quite liked smoking the first couple years. Driving was great, that was my favorite time to smoke. It was almost as if the cig helped me focus on driving, but I wouldn't put any weight behind that idea. I also dated a bartender for a while and he smoked like a chimney, as did the guy before him.

When I began with my current, he did not mind the smoking so much, but I was mortally embarrassed. I became hypersensitive to the scent and the taste. I felt a bit of shame about it.

robertlove said:

It was a different time when i started to smoke. Not like now, when it's almost not done. I was going out a lot and it was more like part of the deal.

I think i can honstely say, it was the worst decision in my life to start smoking and i'm the king of bad decisions!

I remember when there wasn't an age limit, no warning labels, no horrible photos on packets, when most sporting events were sponsored by tobacco companies, when it was the 'norm' to smoke.

I started when I was 12 and have tried several times and methods to quit but to no avail. I think economics will stop me, it costs $18.70 a pack and my government will keep increasing the price til we all stop.

i seriously want to try that water vapor cigarillo thingy..if i can do through my day very busily, i only need on for the car.....

hey children!!!... .. ..

RhondaJoyDiva said:

robertlove said:

It was a different time when i started to smoke. Not like now, when it's almost not done. I was going out a lot and it was more like part of the deal.

I think i can honstely say, it was the worst decision in my life to start smoking and i'm the king of bad decisions!

I remember when there wasn't an age limit, no warning labels, no horrible photos on packets, when most sporting events were sponsored by tobacco companies, when it was the 'norm' to smoke.

I started when I was 12 and have tried several times and methods to quit but to no avail. I think economics will stop me, it costs $18.70 a pack and my government will keep increasing the price til we all stop.

Going up on the price ain't going to stop nobody. All it does is piss smokers off.

Going up on the price only makes people convert (or try to convert) to a generic brand rather than a premium brand. If they ever went up so high that people couldn't afford them, then people would start stealing because, after all, smoking is an addiction.

BklynBabe said:

I don't think I would steal, but I have eyed stray butts before when I was broke. I never touched one, but the fact it even crossed my mind lets me know it's an unnaturl addiction. I have gone in the garbage for my own butts too. Scary!

I've gone in my garbage looking for my own butts too.

I've seen folks picking up butts off the ground, taking the tobacco out of them, and rolling them up in cigarette paper looking like they were smoking a joint. That wouldn't work for me though because I'm a menthol smoker.

and really i didnt ..start smoking, it was forced upon me...

I only smoked ciggies on occasion for about a two year duration.

I smoked greenery from the time I was about 14 until May 2009.

I had no problem quitting and I don't plan on smoking anything ever again.

when I started smoking in Germany it was because EVERYONE smoked (or so it seemed). After work, the 5 or 6 people who I managed and I would get together for beers in a smokey 'kneipe' and after a few rounds you smoked...

stopped as soon as I moved back to California too...

I started around 13. My mom smoked and I remember watching her. She was very beautiful and glamorous and she looked so glamorous (different image today) smoking. But it wasn't just because I saw her do it. I then started with peers on school breaks and such. Then as I got older it got tied into having a cigarette with your cocktail and that sort of thing.

I quit about 6 years ago.
Ron quit about 8 months ago.

John, whats with the sexy "im your man" avatar... .....

Well, I've started when I was about... 14, I guess. I didn't care if it was cool (I still don't) and I never wanted to impress anybody. The whole thing started because of my older sister who was starting to smoke then.

It was more like an adventure, very exciting to steal her some cigs and go to some places faaar away from home just to smoke it with my 2 friends Yeah, that was a great time

At first I was smoking one cigarette a week, then it was 2, 4, 6, 10.... And that's how it all started...

I've been trying to quit since I started, really. But now I know I won't finnish that, because I love to smoke

Of course I know it's a bad thing, the smell is horrible, teeth getting more shitty every day etc...

But I guess I won't quit until I get pregnant By this time I will be smoking and ther's nothing I can do about it.

paintedlady said:

I don't smoke, but remeber why I tried to smoke...

curiosity.

I had a bad reaction, but my friends that had a good reaction picked it up as a habit. I think its an easy "get high" that eases the senses.

I need to start a sugar addiction thread....

I'd be in that thread.

johnart said:

I started around 13. My mom smoked and I remember watching her. She was very beautiful and glamorous and she looked so glamorous (different image today) smoking. But it wasn't just because I saw her do it. I then started with peers on school breaks and such. Then as I got older it got tied into having a cigarette with your cocktail and that sort of thing.

I quit about 6 years ago.
Ron quit about 8 months ago.

myfavorite said:

John, whats with the sexy "im your man" avatar... .....

smoked since i was 12

here we have hand rolling tobacco , many people smoke that

it's called 'shag'

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[Edited 3/3/11 10:02am]

Started about 20 mostly as a joke when I drank "look at me, I'm smoking! It's soo dangerous!!!"

then eventually I bought a pack...

for me - it was the peer industry of Rock N Roll. We drank Jack, smoked cigarettes and stayed up all night long - city after city after city. Touring can get monotonous and bad habits repetitious. Like they say Rock N Roll is a nice place to visit but you don't want to live there. I smoked with some very famous people LOL. I used to steal their lighters too.

Congrats to everyone that has quit. I am 15 months smoke-free.

[Edited 3/4/11 14:00pm]