I started smoking when I was 16 and an exchange student in Germany. It didnt seem to effect my training a ton, but It deffinitely effected it. It effected my health, everything really. I only quit 3 months ago but I know im done. Its easier to do cardio....my lungs dont hurt when I wake up....I havent got a cold since I quit ( I used to get sick a lot ) ..... and some of my vocal range has come back!!!! can hit some of those high notes again hee hee
I quit when I was about 20. I still have the occasional relapse, especially if I'm drunk or hurt. I don't believe you ever fully kick a habit like that.
Never have, never will. Unless you count all that disgusting second hand smoke around. I'm so glad about all the new anti-smoking laws that are going through these days.
Guilty... I started smoking in my very early teens ... use to 'chisel' a cig from my mom's pack occassionally then it became a big habit of more than 10 years! At age 26 when I received the call from the lab that I was pregnant .... I flushed my remaining pack down the toilet! ... would you believe tho' I like to smoke an occasional cigar (those flavoured ones!)
I smoked for years, and I still look young (12-15 one member placed me at, I'm 23!) Isn't it meant to age your skin? I have friends who smoked less and for shorter times than I did, and its affected their skin. Just a random related thought...
smoking I put down I never smoked, not 100% true. I took one drag from a friend once. It caused me to cough, hack, and gag. He told me I had to get used to it. I told him that anything that under normal circumstances makes me cough, hack, and gag, I don't want to get used to.
For some reason KC, I could see you with a cigar....thats in a nice way too. Anyway, nope, never smoked, both my parents did and it grossed me out then and still does. Kissed a girl once who smoked, never do that again either....yech. And jeez, I feel bad enough most of the time w/o smoking, let a lone how I'd feel if I did smoke.
Nope, never even tempted to try. I remember the long car trips as a kid sandwiched with my four brothers and sisters in a backseat that should have only held three and my dad smoking like a chimney in the front. We could hardly breathe in that car :cry: . And remember, Winnipeg in winter - no chance of an open window!
Started at 15, quit at 37. Hard quitting, but because my wife quit with me it was easier. Tried quitting before, but the ex-wife was not supportive, so I used that as an excuse to start up again. Used it as an excuse, but you don't really need one. It's an addiction, so anything will "justify" it. Glad I quit, lungs feel mcuh better for it. My sense of smell hasn't returned, but you know, sometimes that can be a blessing (especially when changing nappies).
Ugh, I'm a smoker . I plan on quiting after I visit my family in ct this summer. I have been smoking from 14-22 . It no longer effects my training since I pushed so hard (I don't run out of breath like I used too).
I agree with Omicron. I don't mind people smoking, it's there life, but the second hand smoke is terrible and i keep well away from it when possible.
Never have, seriously doubt I ever will. The smell of it turns me off, and I don't like the idea of having an adiction.
Yeah, I smoked from the age of 15, and have just quit (again) at 28. What's made it interesting this time, though, is the constant yawning and occasional heart palpitations (yes, I have been to the doctor, and he says that it is probably the nicotine withdrawal). Tell you what though - when you're sat quietly at ome and start feeling these skipped beats in your pulse, it certainly makes you want to stay off the ciggies.
I think smoking is a sad, sad thing and I sincerely hope I NEVER get hooked. I've seen too many people suffer the health consequences of smoking and/or go through hell trying to quit - and it seems to me like you can never say you've quit - you're always still quitting, no matter how long it is since your last cigarette. Not to mention the cost, the smell, the social implications... and why the hell would you *want* to 'get used' to the taste? One of my friends for whom I have more respect for than most people I know, is even more anti-smoking than me. He's going through a really tough time at the moment, though, and has taken up smoking. Coming from him, it's just so self destructive it makes me want to cry.
I have never smoked and I don't plan to start. http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13299&highlight=smoking
I hate the smell of second-hand smoke but I love to smoke with alcohol; in fact I can't enjoy the taste of booze without the combined taste of tobacco. This was very annoying when I gave up smoking (16-23) so I just accepted myself as a social smoker until I give up alcohol... Haha. To mitigate, I roll my own cigarettes very thin, so thin that folks laugh at them and ask if I ever went to prison. It's simply just enough tobacco so that I don't taste the paper. I've never felt anything like coughs or bad lungs from smoking and my cardiovascular ability is pretty fine. Of course, it would be better without the smoking but I have given up far worse. Rgds, David
I avoided smoking all through high school but got into it in the Army... hey, only smokers got to take breaks! I smoked all through college and while I was in Korea. I promised my wife that after we got married I would quit... and I did it "cold turkey" in 2001, after about 10 years of a pack a day habit. Smoking began to affect my training, especially a bit of shortness of breath. Also the cost is pretty high and the very real dangers of cancer aren't pretty. I'm glad I quit but will not make the mistake of trying to smoke occasionally... I know that would put me right back to doing it.