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I was a smoker for almost 20 years and stopped about 10 years ago. Had one in a social gathering a few weeks back and the pack was left with me and since I have snuck in 1 a day over the past day thinking one a day won’t hurt and bought another pack but just threw it out.
Now I feel like I’m drawn and need to stop! I lead a super active lifestyle, morning runs, daily gym and crazy healthy diet and this has happened and I already feel short of breath! How long before I go back to normal?
I smoked for a couple of decades and also quit a couple of decades ago - I quit using a positive hypnosis session (paid for by my employer) and acupuncture (treatment in office, then wearing a clip on the ear). I have never had cravings and I was super addicted.
How long before the caugh and short breaths go away after just 1 a day for two weeks?
A week to a month. Smoking even one a day is introducing smoke into your lungs. What happens to people that are stuck in a burning building? Smoke inhalation. Deliberately smoking is no different. It just takes longer for it to become a big problem leading to COPD and even death.
I smoked about 1 1/2 packs a day for 10 years and quit nearly 30 years ago. I really haven't had cravings for quite some time though when I finally quit cold turkey it was rough for many months.
From a single cigarette a day and less than a full pack all together, I am very surprised you are coughing and short of breath. Are you sure you haven't (coincidentally) gotten some kind of cold or bronchitis in the meantime? Allergies or asthma? At the time you quit were you already short of breath then, after smoking for 20 years?
If you're not otherwise sick and didn't have issues back when you first quit, I'm thinking this is due to some feelings of guilt or something related to "backsliding". Maybe you'll learn more by going to your doctor if this isn't over in another week. Oh - are you terribly out of shape or do you at least walk for 15-20 minutes a day? Only if your fitness is very, very borderline would this reaction make sense.
You were wise to pitch the other pack you bought - I know if I smoked a single cigarette I'd be in trouble and I NEVER want to have to quit again!
I smoked about 1 1/2 packs a day for 10 years and quit nearly 30 years ago. I really haven't had cravings for quite some time though when I finally quit cold turkey it was rough for many months.
From a single cigarette a day and less than a full pack all together, I am very surprised you are coughing and short of breath. Are you sure you haven't (coincidentally) gotten some kind of cold or bronchitis in the meantime? Allergies or asthma? At the time you quit were you already short of breath then, after smoking for 20 years?
If you're not otherwise sick and didn't have issues back when you first quit, I'm thinking this is due to some feelings of guilt or something related to "backsliding". Maybe you'll learn more by going to your doctor if this isn't over in another week. Oh - are you terribly out of shape or do you at least walk for 15-20 minutes a day? Only if your fitness is very, very borderline would this reaction make sense.
You were wise to pitch the other pack you bought - I know if I smoked a single cigarette I'd be in trouble and I NEVER want to have to quit again!
I’m sure it was only a pack over the last couple of weeks and maybe not even that. I run 3-5 miles every morning and am a daily gym goer so keep myself in shape. Just threw me that such a little amount would cause problems so quick so maybe it is something else and I’m just pinning it on the smoking.
A week to a month. Smoking even one a day is introducing smoke into your lungs. What happens to people that are stuck in a burning building? Smoke inhalation. Deliberately smoking is no different. It just takes longer for it to become a big problem leading to COPD and even death.
Sadly, most smokers don't realize this.
Yes! I specifically remember the night that it dawned on me. Jackie Gleason had just died (June 1987) and I heard it on the news. I was sitting in bed, having my pre-bed smoke. I remembered how much Gleason smoked. (He didn't die of lung cancer but had a multitude of problems and I'm sure his heavy smoking contributed.) As I was breathing in the smoke, I thought: "What a dumb thing this is, breathing smoke into my nice pink lungs! Who ever thought of this??". Why that had not dawned on me in the 25 years I had smoked, I have no idea. I quit cold-turkey on October 16, 1987. Went through terrible nicotine withdrawal for weeks. Had no interest in ever picking up another cigarette after going through that.
Just think about breathing smoke into your by-now-again pink lungs, OP.
Smoked one to two packs a day for nine years (1997-2006), quit overnight September 1, 2006 and have never looked back. I can't even stand the smell of cigarettes now. I can smell it on someone's clothes ten feet away, or in passing a smoker on a sidewalk. I want to physically gag. I marvel at people who pick up the habit after years of quitting. My sister quit for nine years and now smokes like a chimney. Even after a breast cancer scare. I say throw them away now before it's too late. The cough will go away in a few weeks. If you need a stimulant that's a little healthier in place, try black coffee.
I tried to take up smoking twice in my life. One was in high school. The cool kids smoked. So I would practice at home on my dad's cigarette butts sitting in the ashtray. Dad was a pharmacist and heavy smoker. I got to where I could french inhale and even puff out circles leaning my head back. I remember sitting in the back seat of a car of friends and showing them my skills. I lasted 2 weeks. I could not stand it.
Second time was in college. I was hooked on McD's and a friend suggested I take up smoking. It would help with the freshman 15 I had just gained. I remember going into the convenience store and buying a pack. I smoked for 2 weeks again and still ate the McD's and realized it did not work. I never smoked again.
My father died of lung cancer. He had quit after many years of smoking when they found a spot on his lung and he stopped for 2 years. Then he took it back up. One morning he passed out and they found out his cancer had returned and metastasized.
I remember my father in the hospital playing games with the staff naming the medication and dosage of the pills he was being given. He was given 6 months to live and he told my brother and I that it meant only a few months. He died 2 months later.
My brother quit cold turkey the day he died and never smoked again. He had been smoking since he was 15.
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