How many smokers??
 

I recently saw that in 1999, according to the ACDE ( American Council on Drug Education), 23% of Americans smoked.

That number honestly surprised me. I would have expected it to be much higher, say 1 in 3 or 1 in 3.5. I also noticed on a recent thread that this was one of the 10 questions asked as an identifier about yourself. I found that pretty interesting as well. So how many of you smoke.

I was a ten pack-year smoker. March 1 will be the third anniversary of my quit date.

I smoked from 16 until 26ish...

i started when smokes were $1.65/pack... quit when they hit $2.50. Now they are like $6 here in the city.

I smoke, I've tried to quit a number of times. Each time I come back to it again. I'm afraid that I won't quit until I don't have a choice.

Ten packs? In a year? That's like...what...4.2 cigarettes a week? I smoke that many on my way to the car in the morning. :D

Seriously, though, I go through probably just under a pack a day.

I smoked from 17 'till 20 or so. I quit cold turkey. One day while walking to class, I decided that my cigarette tasted bad. I put it out and never lit another one. I hadn't planned on quitting. It's been 8 years.

I still smoke a cigar every once in a while.

Never smoked in my life - can't stand the smell.

I quit in 1991.

never smoked. My dad used to smoke 40-60 a day though.

1 pack a day now; used to be 2 - 2 1/2 packs a day until auntphil got her hooks into me 3 years ago...i like to say it's my only vice...

I will quit the day after I die.

(hangs my head) I still, for the shame of it all, smoke. Not ready to quit yet. Eventually maybe.

never smoked, know people who do.. In the end it's just a choice. If someone really wants to quit they will. I will never understand how addicting it is. So it's not right of me to tell people to quit, or tell them its easy, because its not.

I have never smoked or had the urge to. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke.

My girlfriend is trying to quit...she says she'll do so after she finishes this last pack, but I think that's a sign she won't.

Erm, it depends on what we're smoking. :S

i smoke occasionally whenever i get drunk or am riding around with my friends that are smokers. i've never been a "smoker" though, i'll just smoke one every now and then.

Same :)

I do on occasion, if feeling nervous because of a big event or if I just need to relax and mellow out. Even then, I limit myself to 3 in a day, cuz I just don't have the money or desire to smoke more ;)

Hate the way it makes my lungs feel.... I oughtta probably quit the herb along with cigs, or just get a good quality vaporizer...

hmm.

Its been about a year for me since I quit. I was smoking about a half pack a day when I first started, then went to a full pack, then full pack plus, then down to a pack lasting me about a week. I started when I was 14 and quit when I was 26. I just decided that I didnt want one anymore and after I finished the last smoke in a pack I said that was it.

Occasional cigar, no cigs. Half the time I don't inhale the cigar smoke, it's just for the taste.

I don't really smoke, other than the occasional cigar (about once every 3 months)

I hope I never get addicted to nicotine, i'm not much of a willpower person.

Never smoked because Im weak..once I start, and if I like it I might never quit. And of course the obviouse "Its bad for you" stuff, which I believe in entirely. Oddly enough, one year, I had a craving for it, just the "Im bored and could use a smoke". But why start when you dont need to?

40 - 60 CIGS A DAY! wow thats unbelievable... id talk to ur dad about that if i were u

Pack-years is a long-term measurement of smoking volume.

A pack a day for ten years is ten pack-years. Two packs a day for ten years is twenty pack-years.

I smoked roughly a pack a day from ages 16 through 26.

Never smoked. Never will. Sorry, but I just don't understand at all why people do it... cannot stand the smell either.

My father used to smoke. I don't really know when he started, nor can I remember how much he smoked. But he quit maybe 10 years ago? Partially cause of me. I think I was ragging on him to stop smoking, along with my mom... showing him pictures from my book from health class in middle school of healthy lungs versus diseased lungs.

Guess what. If you smoke, you're a smoker. You're very likely addicted at a low level. It's largely a psychological addiction, so certain environments (drinking, riding around) trigger the psychological need.

I've never smoked. Never had many friends who did so the temptation wasn't very great fortunately. I've seen my brother struggle with it and try to quit a number of times. I've talked to a friend who did manage to quit and has no desire to go back to it. I don't have a desire to try it and get stuck. If I want to calm down I can turn so something else less addictive and more healthy, like herbal tea or meditation. I count myself lucky to not have been offered a cig once or tried it once.

Started in high school and smoked most of the way through college. Quit about 10 years ago, haven't really missed it much.

Although occasionally, I will have a re-lapse. Especially when drinking. I smoke a cigar once in a while while golfing too.

I started in high school cuz all the cool kids did. What an idiot. Quiting was really hard, but my dad quit because I started smoking, and someone told me something really horrible so I jsut quit cold turkey. I get cravings now and then but I try not to have any cigs around me. Now I can go to the gym and dance all night no prob.

I smoked 1 1/2 to 3 packs a day for 19 years. Then I pulled my head out and quit. Jan 13, 2000 was my last cig.

I smoke and have for 12 years. I keep making excuses as to when I'm going to quit such as " when I graduate from school" This has yet to work considering I am now getting ready to graduate for the third time. I'm obviously not ready to stop.

Tried it in HS, got my dumb ass busted by my parents. Quit cold turkey. Never will I go back, I just can't stand the smell on a smoker's breath or the odor that emanates from them.

I've never smoked. I've always hated the smell and the look of it so much that I've never even been tempted to try it. If I had a choice I would never come near it.

Same!

My ex use to "sneak" smoking. Whenever he did that and slept in the same room as me, I'd be sick for days. Just not my thing.

Not I

I'd be interested in knowing the age range for that study.

damn, that's gotta be kinda expensive after awhile. i smoke around a pack every 1 to 2 weeks. of course i also share my cigarettes and i tend to smoke double time when i'm smokin somethin other than tobacco or drinkin.

I'm sort of quitting at the moment...
I'm very half-assed about it.

I smoke a pack a week or so.

I started smoking when I was really drunk. Then I'd smoke when I was moderately drunk. Then nicely buzzed. Then after 1-2 beers. Then when I was stressed. And so on..

Lately I've been pretty stressed so I go through about a half pack a day. I consider that pretty heavy.

I always hear about people going through a pack or more a day, and that's incredible to me. There's more cigs in a pack than waking hours in a day unless you're an insomniac. If you work in a public building you have to step outside, and taking a break every hour or more is frowned upon in most work environments. Which means between work and bed time smoke must be pouring out of your friggin' ears! :)

Pretty interesting stuff so far. I was a pack a day from 18 - 23. One day I am driving in the car and I hear someone on the radio describe what emphasyma(sp?) feels like.



Take a full breath and hold it for a couple of seconds.



With that first breath still in your lungs try to take just a normal second breath.



That second breath is what every breath with emphasyma feels like.



I crumpled up my almost full pack of Camels and threw them out the window never to smoke again. I really should try and find out who came up with that example and send them some flowers or something.

never have, never would.

I smoke, but a lot less than i used to. I'm at ~10-15 cigarrettes a day. I've thought about giving it up for years, but aww hell. Maybe when i'm 25 ;)

Started smoking my first year of college...maybe a pack a week then. Now it's more like a pack a day. I quit last year for two weeks, but then made the mistake of going out to a bar with friends that smoked--drinking is a major trigger for me.

I don't want to smoke for the rest of my life, but I don't feel any desire to quit right now (despite knowing what's it's doing to me...) The plan is to quit for good once we start trying to have kids.

Yeah call me an idiot -- never smoked until this past year. Nothing like picking up the habit at 32. Just a reflection of the stress at the time and being surrounded by people who smoke.

Never smoked but I like hanging outside with the people who do. My grandmother dieing of lung cancer was enough to steer me away.

Used to. Quit.
In college I was in an apartment with seven other guys. They all smoked. I was then hooked on cloves and Dunhills for about two years.

I've only recently come to the conclusion that every cig makes you die a little bit faster.

Don't smoke that much if you don't count spliffs lol. Mind you thats what I thought the poll was about at first :D

First, I'd like to extend a congratulations to all who have quit smoking and to all who never picked up the habit.

Been smoke free myself for roughly 14 years. Only smoked 1-2 years.

This is why I don't and never will smoke.

I'm sure the fact that I was a competative swimmer helps... but meh.

Also, my mother smoked for a long time... quit for 10 years... came back to it... and quit just this past x-mas (2003)

I would smoke whenever I got drunk, I finally wised up and quit. The smell is just so bad and it really is addicting. Not to mention it is horrible for you. I know better and lost several relatives to smoking. Occasionally I still want a smoke, but I have and will remain strong.

I smoked from about 18-38 with a two year break in there. Never a heavy smoker. If I started getting up to a pack/day I'd back off a bit. A pack would usually last me about 2 days.

Two weeks ago tomorrow I smoked my last cigarette. Thirteen days, 5 hours and 40 minutes since I quit cold turkey.

It'd been days since I'd had a craving until I started reading this thread.

Bastards.

I've smoked about a half a pack in my entire life. I bought 1 pack in grade 9 and gave 3/4 of it away.

I dont see the point of smoking. It didnt do anything for me physically besides make me smell bad. You dont get drunk or high. Just seems like a colossal waste of money to me. Its throwing your money at an increased chance of heart & lung disease.

i just dont get it...

Used to smoke regularly, quit, now only smoke when my stress levels are absurdly high. Thats just about Monday-Friday.

Same here. It's a completely disgusting habit.

13+ years non-smoker. Hell, yeah, I'm proud!

been smoking for about 11 yrs. been trying to quit for about 10 years.

Been smoking since I was 15....cannot quit, tried many a times..

Two years today since I have smoked tobacco.
Two minutes since I have smoked weed.

I love the taste and smell of a clove cigarette every once in a while, and when i'm drinking. I'll have one in a whole night by itself, or maybe TWO *gasp* if i'm drinking. Not alwasy though, just sometimes.

Of course, then there's the matter of my smoking marijuana... which if i could, would be a few times a week. Not enough to get plowed, just to take the edge off (it kills my anxiety attacks like nothign else, its existence is lifesaving for me).

Don't smoke, never have smoked, and will never date anyone that smokes.

I smoke 7-10/day. Every once in a great while I'll smoke a pack in a day, then I can't touch one for the next two days. They do stink, that's the thing that really makes me want to quit.

I have never even tried smoking, the closest I have come was holding a cigarette for someone while they tied their shoe.

started smoking at 15 quit at 34 ( 3 years ago )


took brain surgery to do it ...but......


Cheers

I've been smoking for a over a year now.

I smoke around a pack a day. For anyone that said they couldn't see how someone could smoke that much in a day, it's easier than it seems. I used to think the same thing, but I don't sleep much, I'm only in class for a few hours a day...it adds up.

Eventually, I'll go back to just my cigars (a couple a week), but for right now, I enjoy my cigarettes. I'd love to be cut back a little bit, but it's rough. I can easily go days or even a week without one, but if I don't have a REASON not to smoke, then I'm smoking.

I honestly enjoy it...the taste, the smell (sometimes), the little nicotine buzz first thing in the morning. Plus, as strange as it sounds, there's a certain comradery among smokers (especially in the middle of the winter, standing in the snow just to smoke a damn cigarette).

yup..........20 year smoker here.......disgusting habit but the fucker has me by the balls.


now pot...........that's a whole other ballgame.

Never smoked, never will. I'm curious to know what it's like, but if it's anything like being around smoke, then it's DEFINATELY not for me.

I never got into cigarettes. I tried them a few times in school and didnt see what the big deal was. Ive been smoking stogies off and on (depending on my finances) since I was 18 and i love em. Maybe its just my body chemistry or something but ive never gotten addicted to them. If i dont have the money i can go months without one and its no big deal. Hell ive got a full humidor right now and i sometimes dont smoke one for a week or 2.

I smoke an occasional clove..... never smoked cigs but smoked other things when I was in HS.

I'm going to have to agree with majik_6 and say that I like smoking. I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and have been pretty regularly since I was 15. I've quit a few times here and there, mostly to show myself that I still could, but right now I have absolutely no desire to stop.

If I want to kill myself then the world should piss off.

*sits back and lights another cigarette

I use the word addiction rather than habit.

I'm a smoker. I've tried to quit several times over the years. It's my worst vice.

i smoke about a pack a week. i'll do that for a couple months, then i'll quite for a couple months, then i'll start again. sometimes having a cigarette relaxes me, which is why i smoke. i don't plan on smoking for much longer though.

Tried smoking when I was younger.. never really got the joy from it so never got addicted or anything.. don't care for smokers now really either

Never smoked, never will.

Both my parent's smoked heavily and had serious health problems.
Grandparents too, 2 dead 2 on the way. :(

Ive tried smoking cigs before, they didn't do anything for me, now i just smoke pot which does alot for me.

I'm 1 year off them after 14 years of 20/30 per day.

Never felt better than I do now :crazy: :hmm:

I feel the same way...I've smoked for about 11-12 years and I have never smoked more than half a pack a day under normal circumstances (I will have a few more if I'm out drinking)

For as long as I have smoked, I think I would feel ill if I tried to smoke 1-2 packs a day.

I quit once for 4 months. One day I just didn't buy another pack. But for some stupid reason I started again.

I used to smoke only when I was drinking. Then....I started smoking all the time, thank you so much girlfriend. Haha.

a cig now and then.. im never gonna smoke too much.. ill do evvery drug in existence before i get super addicted to cigz