Leonard Nimoy has chronic lung disease

[Broomstick]

@Dogzilla

This is why I don’t quit. My understanding is your risk of lung cancer doesn’t decrease if you ever smoked. Obviously, the risk of COPD doesn’t decrease either. I’ve already smoked for years; the damage is done. What’s the point of quitting now?

Well… it’s an anecdote… but my dad smoked 1-2 packs a day for seventy years. He finally quit a couple years back and since then his lung function has improved significantly and he stopped getting pneumonia every winter. As a bonus, his senses of smell and taste have improved a great deal and he enjoys food more.

So even if you’ve smoked for decades quitting can make your present situation better even if it may or may not extend your lifespan.

[KarlGauss]

@DonLogan

Sloan Kettering used to have a predictive tool on their web site that said the risk of a 55 year old man getting lung cancer in the next 10 years was as follows:
Never Smoked: 2%
Smoked a pack a day for 35 years: 3%
They’ve changed the tool so now it only shows how useful screening is (or isn’t).

UTexas MD Anderson Center has a tool, for the same 55 year old male pack a day smoker, the results are:
Given your set of risk factors

current smoker
smoking 20 cigarettes per day for 35 years

your risk of lung cancer is 1.87 higher compared to a man of similar age without any risk factors. This risk is considered Low Risk.

The figures given for the relative risk of lung cancer for a current smoker versus a non-smoker seem awfully low. I must ask - cite?

[DonLogan]

@KarlGauss

The figures given for the relative risk of lung cancer for a current smoker versus a non-smoker seem awfully low. I must ask - cite?

Sloan Kettering:
http://nomograms.mskcc.org/Lung/Screening.aspx
The old tool used to assess the risk of lung cancer in the next 10 years if continuing to smoke (that’s the 3% vs 2% number I mentioned). The new tool calculates how many will be diagnosed and die in the next 6 years (1.04%)

UTexas MD Anderson:

Department of Epidemiology

[rocking_chair]

@Dogzilla

This is why I don’t quit. My understanding is your risk of lung cancer doesn’t decrease if you ever smoked. Obviously, the risk of COPD doesn’t decrease either. I’ve already smoked for years; the damage is done. What’s the point of quitting now? I will still probably die from one of these horrible lung diseases. The takeaway here is: Don’t even start. Sure, it’s great to quit, but it’s even better to have never smoked at all. ETA: I don’t have any family or children or anyone depending on me or who would even miss me all that much. Single, no partner, live 1000 miles away from family. I really don’t think my absence would be noticed by more than a couple people.

we have more than a few people here on the sdmb, so i believe your last statement to be incorrect. you would be missed by many people all over the world.

[JacksMom]

I made a commitment to try to give up cigarettes at least once a year. I tried everything under the sun, including Chantix (which triggered a mild psychosis but was quite effective).

I finally succeeded in 2011, using a combination of ecigs and nicotine gum, and avoiding triggers (coffee, alcohol, sitting in the porch gabbing on the phone, etc).

I feel that quitting at 44 means my risk factors will be greatly improved by the time I reach my 60s. As an added benefit, the yearly bronchitis has been nothing more than a mild cold since I quit.

I am grateful every day that I was able to quit, but I also miss it every day. I once had a patient, over 30 years smoke free, tell me that he still thought about smoking every day. I believe him.

[j666]

@Dogzilla

Yes, and I found them profoundly unsatisfying. I don’t know what it is about them, but it’s just not the same and doesn’t seem to feed the addiction demon in the same way. I’d “smoke” an ecig and still want to go smoke a cigarette. I think I’d rather just quit than adopt the cig equivalent of methadone.

Ecigs did not work for me, either. Nothing did, really, until an combination of circumstances added up to what I knew would be my last best chance to quit. I haven’t had a cigarette in over a year.

@Lemur866

But also, Leonard Nimoy is 82 years old. People up and die from every little thing at that age. An 82 year old guy who needs a wheelchair at the airport hasn’t exactly been cut down in his prime.

@nevadaexile

Hopefully, he can still live long and prosper.

I think he’s managed that.

[Sampiro]

I quit smoking two years ago, and while I have enjoyed easier breathing (especially when exercising and hiking), my favorite physical advantage is not having to do “phlegm smoke”. I actually haven’t had a cold since quitting smoking- I used to have at least a couple per year- but when I hated myself the most was when I was congested and evicting green phlegm and I KNEW that smoking a cigarette was going to hurt and make me cough harder and not even be satisfying, but I did it anyway because I couldn’t not do it. Now I don’t have to.
I also enjoy being able to sit through a long movie, an airplane trip, a meeting or lecture, etc., without being absolutely miserable and having to run out the second it was over to grab a smoke. And I enjoy not having to go through that “it’s midnight and raining and I just realized I only have one cigarette left… gotta go to the store” crap. And for me, the money adds up more than you might expect.
So, even if I get lung cancer down the line, at least there’s some other stuff I didn’t have to deal with.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@j666

…I think he’s managed that.

Indeed. I hope he has a long, healthy life still ahead of him before he departs for the Undiscovered Country.