How old were you and why did you start smoking?

[Exsmo]

I saw a closed post with this title and thought it a good one to renew. Amazing how young many of us were. I was 15. Thought i was fat and was just going to smoke til i lost some weight. I remember getting huffy when someone mentioned addiction bc i was never going to be addicted. Ha! Here we are 35 years later. Never made it past 5 days quit after that. Still didnt realize jow addicted i was til this quit. How about you?

[Itsabouttime 1 Year Smoke Free]

Great question!

I actually smoked my 1st ever cigarette at 12. My best friend had gotten a hold of it and we tried it. It was disgusting and that should have been the end of that.

At I think I was 16 or 17 when I really started smoking a lot because the guy I liked smoked. 🤦🏽‍♀️

I wish I'd never started but I'm on 21 days now and that feels great!

[Hidden]

I was 15 also but only dabbled in it until I left college. We lived in the country so I boarded at school & it was fun to seek away for a ciggy.

[watchinangga 9 Months Smoke Free]

Nice question.

I started smoking when I was 20. I used to be in a band and all of my bandmates were smoking. While we are in the band room waiting for our turn to perform, everyone is smoking and I was inhaling the second hand smoke which was more dangerous than if I smoke the cigs myself. One day, when our band was hanging out in the beach and everyone was fucked up, I was the only person left standing, I decided to try some cigarettes that were left in the table. I finished about 5 cigs that time but I didn't know how to smoke yet so I was just puffing it very lightly. Until I was so curious about how to do it the right way, i practiced with Marlboro reds, no idea it was strong. I was puking and promised myself wont do it again. Funny how I promised myself not to do it again. Took me 16 years later to quit smoking.

[Nozmo Valued Contributor]

I suspect I'm unusual in that I didn’t “properly” start until I was in my mid thirties. I can’t even pinpoint the age as it came on so gradually. Like watchinangga it was being in a particular band that kicked it off for me. I could take or leave smoking and could go for days without having a cigarette. It slowly progressed however from smoking at gigs, rehearsals and in the pub to ending up on twenty a day!

[watchinangga 9 Months Smoke Free in reply to Nozmo]

I remember before I could still control myself from smoking because I was a singer and I needed my voice and I also had to dance on stage. I need a lot of air to survive one night of performance. If we had a gig coming on weekends, I would already stop smoking on a Wednesday, but after gigs, i would always look forward to have my cigarettes without worrying if I would lose my voice.

As the years passed by, my smoking habits became worse because my boss was also a smoker and we were allowed to smoke in the office. I tried to scare myself by collecting all the cigarette packs I smoked. As it was piling up, it didn't really scare the hell out of me. Only 16 years later when I felt I already lost my voice, when I couldn't sing anymore and couldn't reach high notes and when I couldn't sleep at night because I was coughing non stop and my chest was in pain. We all have those moments that make us realize this is the time to quit.

[Nozmo Valued Contributor in reply to watchinangga]

I can completely identify with that! Smoking has wrecked my voice; can’t get anywhere near as high as I used to and have no falsetto left to speak of. Too late to get that back but at least I can try to stop anything else going wrong. Thankfully I never had to dance on stage. NOBODY would want to see that 😀

[watchinangga 9 Months Smoke Free in reply to Nozmo]

Wow, you must be a good singer. I'm sure you have your signature moves on stage which is still considered as dancing :)))

[Nozmo Valued Contributor in reply to watchinangga]

No!...I'm alright...I can hold a tune...but a considerably lower tune than I used to be able to hold! If it keeps on like this I'll end up like Johnny Cash (which isn't too bad come to think of it)

[JulReal 2 Years Smoke Free]

I was 16 years old when I started...I would put a fan in my bedroom window and blow the smoke out...as though I thought my parents wouldn't smell it. (dumb kid) When I was a young child they both smoked and I drew pictures of them dead in a casket to get them to stop smoking....I don't recall when my mother quit, but it was before I started for sure and my dad smoked a pipe until I was WELL into adulthood. I should have taken my own advice and not started smoking. All of my friends were doing it, so...I followed along. 40 years later, I have finally quit!!! March 13 is going to be a year and I'm looking forward to that milestone!!!

[Exsmo in reply to JulReal]

Wow you reminded me of things i did as a child . I had the quit smoking/smoking stinks stickers all over. Loved those candy cigarettes they used to sell though. How odd we ever started! The media sure made it look good back then. Glad at least that has changed for kids!

[Hercu Valued Contributor]

I was 18...Fresh out of school and into the trenches to fight a senseless border war...but of course "Big Boys" smoke, (12 volts Gunston plain)...and I never stopped or tried to stop for a bit more than 38 years...! Amazingly Stupid !!!!

[Exsmo in reply to Hercu]

Well you sure are making up for it now. Helping all of us by pointing out best steps to take to quit. You are one reason i made it to 4mos tomorrow. Thanks for all arvice.

[Hercu Valued Contributor in reply to Exsmo]

Thank you Exmo.......

“We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.”

Rick Warren

[Exsmo in reply to Hercu]

Ah yes, a purpose driven life. I joined a church near my house recovery group for "hurt habits and hangups" when i decided to quit. They have us do a life inventory 😳. That statement could not have come at a better time. This quit has brought up a lot from the past. Funny how that happened & then i see the in inventory thing. Makes me wonder if this happens to everyone in their quits?

Great quote. Though Rick Warren is a favored author i had forgotten. I needed the reminding.

[Jared01 Valued Contributor]

I started smoking when I was 13 - never tried to stop until 2 years ago when I turned 40

[Exsmo in reply to Jared01]

Am very proud of you for.. is it 1 or 2 years? Will be so happy to have made it a year or even 6 months.

[taurean7 2 Years Smoke Free]

Both my parents smoked and I can still remember as a small child how much I detested the smell of it.

At age 16 however I really wanted to fit in with the crowd and so many people smoked then. It's hard to believable now but that was life in the late 60's. You could smoke anywhere.... at dances, pubs, work, in restaurants, at the movies, on planes. I worked in a hospital and we smoked in the ward office! I watched that change over the years, it was no longer sociable to smoke and was getting expensive.

I tried numerous times and ways to quit. Hypnotherapy..don't tell me I don't want a cig because I do!! Accupuncture... i pulled and tugged so hard on that thing they put in my eat I pulled it out. Patches .... the most expensive bandaids I ever bought. Nicotine gum.... great for when you're somewhere you can't have a smoke.

I watched my daughter quit on her 3rd attempt with Champix 5 years ago, but I still hung onto my cigs. It took a health scare last year for me to wisen up and ask my GP for help.

After 38 years of living my life around smoking, with the help of Champix and the support of everyone here, I will be 1 year quit on March 1st. Still can't quite believe it!!! Never going back!

[taurean7 2 Years Smoke Free in reply to taurean7]

Sorry, can't count. Who am I kidding, 48 years not 38!!

[Exsmo in reply to taurean7]

That s amazing Taureen. So close to 1 yr! Keep it up and remember the complacency craves that may happen. They always shock me even though i keep reading it. I have faith you'll make & surpass that. Any advice for those of us further from that mark than you?

[taurean7 2 Years Smoke Free in reply to Exsmo]

Thanks Exsmo. Huge congrats to you on 4 months ? today/tomorrow ? You're doing just amazing!!!

Each day that I don't smoke was/is a victory day for me. After all these years I'm finally winning! I'm really still doing it 'one bite at a time' (how do you eat an elephant).

It does get easier with time. The craves fade and the body recovers. The urge for a cig still flares up with a glass of wine, it probably always will, but I also know that one puff and I'd be completely hooked again, so I enjoy my wine and toast my win.

I loved those candy cigs too!!

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free]

I really hated smoking, the smell of it, both my parents smoked and my older brother and younger sister (11 )

I started at 13 years of age, smoked for 20 years, then stopped for about a year after reading Allen Carr's book, started again thinking I could be a social smoker, then stopped after 30 years when I too turned 40.

I still remember my first cigarette - it was from a pack of 10 Carroll's (very strong) and bought them after school (1st year in secondary school), shockingly they were sold to us, lit up in a supermarket car park and puked my guts up every time I smoked for the rest of the evening but still didn't stop me, thought it was so cool to smoke and be in with the gang and impress the boys, must not have inhaled properly for a few months as when I did, got a huge fright as cut the throat of me but still I continued.....

[Nozmo Valued Contributor in reply to RoisinO1]

Crazy isn’t it? I wonder if anyone actually LIKES the taste and experience of that first cigarette. I can’t imagine so... I thought it was bloody awful.

[Exsmo in reply to RoisinO1]

I didnt like it either,& wasnt inhaling. A girl who had been my nemesis since kindergarten made fun of me til i did it right. Why oh why did i care what she thought! Its good to remember our starts. Helps me realize we had to work to BECOME addicts! Thats a strange realization.

[Hidden]

I started at 15. My boyfriend smoked and I started having an occasional cig then...... So is now 40 years later. Did quit for 6 years when having my 2 children. Shows how that addiction is never far away. Once addicted always prey to it. Keep our chins up!

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free in reply to Hidden]

You still going ok Hidden - 1 month on Thursday ?

[Hidden in reply to RoisinO1]

No I slipped 2 days ago and had one. None since, restart.

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free in reply to Hidden]

Ah sorry to read, learn from this fall and stay close to us - post when you have a couple of days under your belt again and will reset your badge

[Exsmo in reply to Hidden]

Good on you for restarting your quit Shirleyhunter. Proud of your admitting it and quitting again. Perhaps thinking of all the whys around beginning and now reversing those thoughts may help. Am rooting for your success

[Atta1 3 Months Smoke Free Valued Contributor]

I was 15, me and my friend used to go halves and buy 10 benson.

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free in reply to Atta1]

We used to buy singles awell for 10p

[Exsmo in reply to RoisinO1]

We didnt have the small sizes. All was 20 in a pack for $1. Kids at school smoked in the bathroom & made fun of the ones who didnt.

[Jwk1962 1 Year Smoke Free]

Boy that's a long time ago. I was probably 10 or 11 years old.. the older guy's did it... wasn't difficult finding them as both parents smoked. 21 days tomorrow. Ya Hoooooo

[Exsmo in reply to Jwk1962]

Huge well done on 21 days!! Smoked 35 years before I quit so i get it. You are doing fantastic! Keep up the great work

[Hidden]

I was 16 and my new friend was a smoker she was very stylish and I loved her personality ..Provably at that time I just wanted to look cool too ..Not knowing I was going to get addicted I learned to smoke .I had lots of fun with her but nowadays I wished I made better choices ..Now that I don’t smoke I can start all over again because with every day there is alway a new opportunity 💕

[Exsmo in reply to Hidden]

Aw Karina i wish id made a better choice too. You are so positive with "now...can start all over". That's a brilliant way of thinking. May adopt it too. Not as far along in my quit as you and may finally be coming out of the doldrums. Thanks for that pick me up thought.

[Hidden in reply to Exsmo]

Also let me add to my post . Now that we quit , we are getting back part of our personality we left behind .

Since cigarrets are a type of doping so we didn’t fully learn to deal with every day stress on our own and even the happy moments we celebrated with a cigarret so now we are facing reality in a much different way .. and why not ! Hey we are teenagers again ! Let’s feel younger again lol 😉

[Exsmo]

Wow. That's deep. Getting back what we left behind. I think you should make that a post of its own. That has many layers that may need to be or will involuntary be explored as we continue our quit journey. Am feeling far from teenage except for the awkwardness of relearning how to deal with stresses lol. Hey that is whay teenage is all about. Again wow. You are very perceptive. I hope you start a new thread with that post. Would be interesting and inspire hope for people. Id like to see others reaction to it also. Thank you for it.

[CocoaXChange Valued Contributor]

I was 15 and so happy I made the varsity baseball team. We were shagging flies and a teammate gave me a cigarette. But I didn't smoke much until I started working. At school it was at parties or out drinking. But work brought the cigarette break concept to the afternoon, then morning, then anytime.

[Exsmo in reply to CocoaXChange]

Ah CocoaXChange those small moments adding up to years. Am amazed & proud we quit!

[dylan65 1 Year Smoke Free]

I stopped smoking for two days now, I started smoking when I was Sixteen I am now 66. I have smoked for 50 years and I thought that was enough.

I want to go on a cruise in December this year so by not smoking I can afford it, cigarettes are now £8 a packet so I can save a lot of money.

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free in reply to dylan65]

Huge welcome to our community dylan65 and congratulations on 2 days smoke free! Well done! Have you a stop smoking app that monitors your progress, money saved etc,,, it is a good motivator?

Are you going cold turkey or using an aid to help you? I stopped cold turkey over 2 years ago and with the money I saved in the first year paid for a 4 star city break for my hubby's 40th

Read up as much as you can here on other peoples journeys and the pinned posts, we look forward to reading your progress posts when you get a chance....

[Exsmo in reply to dylan65]

Great work on 2 days dylan65 !. 1 more and nicotine should mostly be out of your system. Your body will crave a bit worse so be prepared . May sound strange but ice cold water really helped me through. Just kept sipping. Great advice was we distort the timing of our craves. They actually only last 2-5 minutes. Distract for that time watch a clock too. Its minimal when youre actually paying attention its length. You CAN DO this. I smoked 35 years & never thought i could quit. Stay close here These people have helped me through the last 4months.

[dylan65 1 Year Smoke Free]

Hi, Exsmo its now five days, Yes I am going cold turkey as I don`t want to perlong the agony with help. I have read that after four days that the nicotine has left the body.

I have had the craves for 2-4 minutes a couple of time a day, but they are getting less as time goes by. I will keep you informed of my progress.

[Exsmo in reply to dylan65]

dylan65 you ARE doing fantastic! Great work! Hope that helps put those old craves into perspective keeping track of how long they are. It did for me. How are you feeling today?

[dylan65 1 Year Smoke Free]

I started smoking when I was 16 and smoked ever since that makes it 50 years.

I must say its not easy to not smoke but the health benefits after just four days are really good. Also I have saved £32 thats a lot of money.

I am going on a cruise in December and not smoking will pay for it!!

[Exsmo in reply to dylan65]

Am just a few years behind you with 35 years. Thats wonderful you are feeling benefits already! I used chantix and didnt see any benefit that early. Thought it was my length of smoking. Did notice other coldturkey quits did seem to get energy back quicker come to think of it. Thanks for keeping us posted on your progress!