Smoking

[Jakob]

Recently I've given up two vices and have found myself hooked on tobacco yet again. I've probably stopped and started 5 times over the past 5 years. Was hoping some huddlers could tell me some smoking horror stories or stories about quitting to make me want to quit again. 

 

 

Shits costly and harmful..

[CatalystNX]

Try the electronic ones? I hear they help people quit.

[KSpan]

I worked for years with lungs from smokers, the actual lung tissue. They are indeed black, crispy, and smelly. Even when isolating proteins, the final suspension of just proteins and fresh solution is still black and smells like smoke and tar because it does... not... go... away. I have some old cellphone pics somewhere that I'll see if I can fish up.

[KendrickPanther]

My grandfather is 77 and smoked most of his life. So did my Grandma. She died several years ago.

 

My grandpa survived several surgeries, they removed an artery from his abdomen after accidentally puncturing it in surgery. Now half his intestines have died. He's 77 years old and won't leave the house because he can't control his bowel movements. His wife is dead and he is alone. He spends his days looking at the clock. at 12:30pm my cousin gets off work and brings him cigarettes. If she's late or doesn't have time to bring him cigarettes he stares at the clock until 5:30pm, that's when my Aunt gets off work.

 

I think the obvious question is why doesn't he just buy them in bulk so he never runs out. If he had a carton in the house, he'd smoke them all one after the other.

 

I visit him when I can but I live 400 miles away. When I get home I take my clothes to the washer machine and they stink of cigarettes. 

 

In contrast my grandparents on the other side manage their health meticulously. They travel the world. From South America to Russia. They go to the gym every day and do as they please.

 

Edit: By the way, when I was a kid my grandparents would watch me often. I had pretty bad asthma as a child and while I can't say it was caused by second hand smoke, I can say it got better when I moved away from them.

[Doyle]

What are the two vices you recently gave up?  They might not be as bad for you as smoking.

[KSpan]

What are the two vices you recently gave up? They might not be as bad for you as smoking.

Drinking and ugly pajama pants would be my guess.

[Doyle]

Drinking and ugly pajama pants would be my guess.

 

Pajama pants aren't for everyone but Jakob lives a certain lifestyle that makes them appropriate.  He kind of reminds me of The Dude. 

[Jakob]

Drinking and ugly pajama pants would be my guess.

I really do need to upgrade my pajama selection.

[Jakob]

What are the two vices you recently gave up? They might not be as bad for you as smoking.

One is drinking and the other one is... Well.. Worse than drinking.

[Kettle]

Get a vape

[The Saltman]

I've been off and on tobacco for years. Switch to a vape.

[thefuzz]

Go get a job.

[PandaPancake]

Mmmm degenerate gambling

[mr beauxjangles]

Horror story? Are you sure?

 

I watched my father die a slow painful death over the course of 15 months following diagnosis with inoperable stage four lung cancer. He made it much longer than many expected but he didn't have the energy to even enjoy his family and friends' company for the last six months of his life. He ate a diet of nothing but ginger snaps and key lime pie for the final two months because he couldn't find anything else that he could even get near his mouth without making him gag. Unfortunately he didn't die directly from his cancer. One morning he must have mustered enough strength to think he could drive my stepmother's car down the road a half mile to fill up her gas tank and get her some flowers. He loved taking care of her and it was so hard for him to be taken care of instead; he just wanted to do her a favor that morning. On his way back from the gas station, something happened - he crashed the car head on into a tree going at least 55 miles per hour. To this day we do not if it was an accident (did he pass out at the wheel?) or if he was trying to commit suicide. Sadly, he survived the car crash and spent his final 72 hours in absolute agony with a shattered pelvis, broken femur, and compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in the most awfully depressing room at WakeMed, this on top of not being able to breath because you have tumors that cover both lungs and have fully engulfed your heart in the process.We knew that he didn't have the strength to recover from the injuries. There were no options. We ultimately decided to send him for hip replacement surgery, knowing full well that there was little to no chance he would be able to come off a ventilator once they put him on it for the surgery. Two days after the surgery we had to take him off the ventilator. I watched him take his last gasping breath.

 

I didn't write all that for pity - absolutely not. I am at peace with everything that happened. I wrote it only because you asked for a horror story. And let me tell you, it can be horrific. I am also not trying to throw stones. I smoked from age 16 to 27. Been smoke free for five years. You can do it.