# Hey quitters - would you start again if terminally ill? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440 "2021-03-22T15:39:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/1 "2021-03-22T15:39:40Z")
For those of you who have successfully quit alcohol, tobacco, drug habits. And maybe folk who have been curious but never started. If you were reliably informed that you had a terminal illness, and would not live longer than 6 months, would you resume your old habit, or would you experiment with new vices? I doubt I’d smoke cigs (35 yrs) again, but I’d likely have a drink (15 yrs) and at least occasional weed (10 yrs.). ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/2 "2021-03-22T15:53:37Z")
I’d definitely overindulge my sweet tooth - ice cream, pastries, pudding, candy. Maybe I’d get tired of it, maybe not. But it would be a change not to watch everything I ate. And while I haven’t quit all of these things, I do limit my vices, so that limit would be gone if the doc said I was terminal. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/3 "2021-03-22T16:00:45Z")
I always say that if I were diagnosed with something terminal, I’d get me some Cheetos and cigarettes. But truthfully, I don’t have the urge to smoke anymore. Oooh, I know! Cheetos and Reese’s cups! Definitely. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/4 "2021-03-22T16:57:50Z")
I sometimes joke that when I retire, maybe I’ll become an alcoholic (OK, it’s not that funny - the point is, I like a drink, but have never had a drinking problem). So I have thought about this. But in all seriousness, I like to think that if I was given a terminal diagnosis, I’d want to make the most of whatever time I had, and I’m not convinced being in a mind-altered state is that, for me. I was never a smoker, so not likely to start that - maybe the odd cigar without worrying about it. As for alcohol, I think I’d want whatever treatment maximised the quality and quantity of life I had, and I can’t imagine booze helping. If that wasn’t an issue, I guess I’d get blitzed once or twice - but I think mostly I’d want to be seeing people and doing stuff for as long as I could. Heroin’s a no-go for me as I couldn’t inject. Maybe I’d finally try cocaine, just to see what it’s like. But I wouldn’t want my loved ones’ last memory of me as a junkie. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/5 "2021-03-22T17:06:21Z")
Well, I’m not a quitter. Having a terminal diagnosis I’d probably increase my cannabis and alcohol consumption. I’ve somehow managed to avoid heroin all my life, so I’d need to break down and get some. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/6 "2021-03-22T17:08:40Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Well, I’m not a quitter. 😃 I shoulda expected as much from you! ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/7 "2021-03-22T17:26:42Z")
Man, that’s kinda a hard one. The only real vice I’ve quite (1 year, 2 months ago) is smoking. If my doctor said “Hey, you’ve got terminal lung cancer and there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it. You’ll be dead in 6 months” I can’t see any reason why I’d NOT go buy a pack of smokes and enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/8 "2021-03-22T17:36:06Z")
Yes, I’d start smoking like a chimney again. If I can be sure I’ll only be paying the ridiculous price for cigarettes for just 6 months then fine, I’ll waste 4 grand to smoke for 6 months. I never quit drinking but I won’t be doing it in moderation any more. I might be so busy smoking cigarettes and drinking I won’t have time to smoke weed. Hmm, can you do all three in the same place in Colorado or anywhere else? If so then I’m doing that. And I want my blankie back too. That might have been the hardest thing to give up. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/9 "2021-03-22T18:03:18Z")
No, but I’d consider trying all the ones I haven’t tried before. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/10 "2021-03-22T18:24:44Z")
For about ten years after I quit smoking, I would fantasize exactly that. After ten or fifteen years, I would regard smoking with disgust and, no I would not take it up again. Assuming whatever I had left my appetite intact, I would indulge my very sweet tooth and eat a pint of ice cream, a large chunk of chocolate cake and whatever I could stuff into my gaping maw. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/11 "2021-03-22T19:33:51Z")
It’s been 42 years since I’ve smoked, but instead of reaching for a cigaret, I think I’d reach for a cheesecake and a pint of ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/12 "2021-03-22T19:41:32Z")
A few years back I put myself on the rather odd diet of not allowing myself to buy junkfood. Chips, candy, cookies, ice cream - I can eat them at parties and accept them as gifts and such, but in daily life I am sadly bereft. Give me a terminal diagnosis, or any other vaguely reasonable justification, and that self-imposed rule is going straight out the window - junkfood will become a significant percentage of my daily food intake and I will enjoy every minute of it. I won’t dabble in drugs or alcohol, though. Haven’t ever tried them, and why would I bother when I have a sugar/fat addiction to scratch? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/13 "2021-03-22T19:50:20Z")
No, because no matter how reliable the reports of my imminent death, they may be greatly exaggerated. I work with a lot of people with terminal illnesses. Many don’t die on schedule. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/14 "2021-03-22T19:53:37Z")
I would not have to start again, but I would increase the rate for alcohol, cigarettes, dope… and as we are at it: does anybody know where magic mushrooms grow near Berlin?\* \*I hope I don’t need the answer soon and the mods recognise this is not a question that expects an honest answer so I hope I did not run afoul any rules regarding drug trafficking. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/15 "2021-03-22T19:57:53Z")
> [@susan](#): > > No, because no matter how reliable the reports of my imminent death, they may be greatly exaggerated. I work with a lot of people with terminal illnesses. Many don’t die on schedule. I’ll _make_ myself die on schedule, in the most sugar and fat encrusted way possible. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/16 "2021-03-24T01:40:53Z")
Only if the diagnosis was really hopeless. Then, yes, probably. But OTOH I’d want to be sober enough to enjoy my last months with my loved ones. As a teenager I knew a guy with a life-limiting disease (an extremely rare form of hereditary leprosy) who smoked and drank quite a bit and probably would have done more if he’d had the opportunity. Couldn’t blame him. I lost contact with him after a while, but his twin brother died at the age of 21. The chances of him living long enough to get cancer or anything similar were pretty much zero. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/17 "2021-03-24T17:54:06Z")
I’d drink like a fish if I only had six months. among other things. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/18 "2021-03-25T04:46:16Z")
Until recent years, you could have moved to England and gotten some in a Brompton’s Cocktail. [Brompton cocktail - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brompton_cocktail#:~:text=Brompton%20cocktail%2C%20sometimes%20called%20Brompton,pain%20suppressant%20dosed%20for%20prophylaxis). I just heard a “Moth” broadcast last weekend from a therapist who talked about an identity-disguised former client who, when she found out her cancer was terminal, decided to start smoking again. The cravings had never gone away, and in her case, why not? That almost made sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/19 "2021-03-25T05:31:58Z")
I was a very light smoker. About 2 packs a month. And I haven’t done that for just shy of 30 years. But looking the Grim Reaper right in the eye? Yeah I’d buy a couple cartons of Lucky Strikes and some Camels. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440/20 "2021-03-25T08:12:31Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > f you were reliably informed that you had a terminal illness, and would not live longer than 6 months, would you resume your old habit, or would you experiment with new vices? Neither. I quit smoking because I was an idiot to even start and I stopped being an idiot. I never really _liked_ it. And there are no new vices I find even remotely attractive compared to how I would want to spend my last 6 months - doing things I already like doing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-quitters-would-you-start-again-if-terminally-ill/938440.md?page=2)