# Smokers: Any Regrets? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 25, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507 "2003-08-25T13:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/1 "2003-08-25T13:45:42Z")
I was endeavoring to convince my brother-in-law that it was a good idea to give up smoking while he was still young (early 20’s) and hadn’t been smoking for too long. And my main selling point was that after all the arguments are said and done, I have never met a smoker above the age of 25 who did not regret that he had started the habit, and did not wish he could stop. So stop now, before it gets harder. But that’s just my own experience. So my question goes out to all the long-time smokers out there. Do you regret that you ever started? Wish that you could stop? Or are there people who think it is worth it and a good idea? ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/2 "2003-08-25T13:51:00Z")
Been smoking for five years now, and I _do_ enjoy it. But if I could stop without any hassle (like nail-biting, weight-gaining, ballistic-going etc.), I would - if only for financial reasons. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/3 "2003-08-25T13:58:55Z")
I’ve been smoking for about 9 years. No regrets so far. ---
**Author:** ![toque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9e8a1a/32.png) [@toque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toque)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/4 "2003-08-25T14:02:43Z")
I regret the addiction. I quit for three months and the desire never released its’ hold on me. While I really enjoy smoking sometimes, usually it’s just habit and chemical dependency. I have pretty balanced self-destructive/healthy yin-yang, but I wish I could effortlessly bike 20 miles, or play soccer all afternoon, and smoking makes these activities less enjoyable. A cigarette with a cup of coffee in the morning is sublime, and smoking while drinking and playing pool is _de rigeur_, and part of me still loves pissing off self-righteous wheatgrass drinking types, but I wish I could limit my smoking to just these occasions. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/5 "2003-08-25T14:10:46Z")
I regret it. I hate the fact that I’m short of breath after exertion (my stamina’s fine, but I can’t do sprints of any kind). It costs me a fortune and does me no good at all. I hate the fact that the addiction is stronger than hunger. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/6 "2003-08-25T20:18:42Z")
I love it and promised myself al long time ago that I’ll quit either by 40 or when I start hacking up phlegm in the morning … whichever comes 1st. ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/7 "2003-08-25T20:30:43Z")
Regrets? Nothing but. I’ve quit for as long as four years and started again. There’s nothing in my experience that can come close in terms of addiction. I hate being a slave to a stupid, ugly, foul-smelling weed that will only contribute to an early death. That said, I recently quit again. It’s been six weeks. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/8 "2003-08-25T20:50:21Z")
Congratulations on quitting, **Godfrey Daniels**. I wish I’d never seen a f\*cking cigarette. I’m in pretty good health (for now), but I _hate_ being hooked. ---
**Author:** ![Arcana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@Arcana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcana)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/9 "2003-08-25T21:42:12Z")
You may not get many responses simply becauses a lot of long-term smokers are dead. Then there are those who will insist that they have no regrets even as they are being hooked up to that final respirator. Good riddance. ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/10 "2003-08-25T23:03:31Z")
A friend’s doctor said anything less than 10 cigarettes a day doesn’t increase one’s risk of anything by all that much. That’s about how many I smoke a day (unless I’m getting my drink on, as the kids say), and I have been for about ten years. I do which that I wanted to quit, but I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Apoptosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Apoptosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apoptosis)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/11 "2003-08-25T23:21:39Z")
Hey **TaxGuy** , > [@](#): > > A friend’s doctor said anything less than 10 cigarettes a day doesn’t increase one’s risk of anything by all that much. Then it must be true, right? Sounds like your “friend’s doctor” has done a lot of research in this field. Not only is the statement by your “friend’s doctor” ridiculous, it is also demonstrably false. Smoking 9 cigarettes a day dramatically increases one’s risk of emitting an odor reminiscent of ashtrays. -Apoptosis ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/12 "2003-08-25T23:33:06Z")
I hate it. I continue to quit and start again. I started at 13 and I’ll be 30 two weeks from today. If I could go back to 1986 and shake my 13 year old self I would, if only to try to keep myself from making the mistake I made. I’m taking a phys ed class this semester and it sucks - swimming and the moist air and chlorine on top of the smokers lungs makes it harder than it should be. I’m quitting again soon (have a date set and everything). One of these days, I will succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/13 "2003-08-25T23:45:40Z")
I hated it when I smoked. I hated it when it killed my father. I hated it when it killed my stepfather. I hate it now when it’s killing a woman friend who is only 2 years older than me and looks 15 years older than me. I celebrate daily the fact that I gave up the foul, stinking, death-dealing, carcinogenic, toxic, polluting habit over 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/14 "2003-08-25T23:58:37Z")
No regrets whatsoever. I roll my own (Drum tobacco) so I probably smoke less than the average smoker. Actually, the only real regret I have is not being able to kick the ass of the smug Gestapo that has made smoking forbidden in all bars. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Bee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Larry\_Bee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Bee)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/15 "2003-08-26T00:10:44Z")
The worst thing I ever did in my life was start smoking. The second worst thing I ever did was to go back on them after five years off them.:smack: I can’t see _any_ advantage smoking. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/16 "2003-08-26T00:14:13Z")
I have been smoking for 25 years and I have no regrets at all. If I stopped enjoying it I would quit. I am an adult and I do not like being told how to live my life! unclviny ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/17 "2003-08-26T00:16:18Z")
LOVE nicotine. Lovelovelove. LOVE. Smoking? Not so much. I recently weaned myself from 2+ packs to 4 cigarettes and back up to about half a pack a day. I doubt I’ll ever give it up. Let me tell ya - when you’re down to six or eight cigarettes a day you can catch one hell of a buzz off of 'em. LOVE nicotine. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/18 "2003-08-26T00:16:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arcana \* > \*\*You may not get many responses simply becauses a lot of long-term smokers are dead. Then there are those who will insist that they have no regrets even as they are being hooked up to that final respirator. Good riddance. \*\* Posts like this make me want to stand next to you and blow cigarette smoke in your face. I can’t stand the anger directed at smokers. I don’t understand it. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/19 "2003-08-26T00:25:07Z")
Does your brother-in-law have children? Does he want them? They will regret going to school every day smelling like cigarettes. They will regret inhaling the secondhand smoke – or they will regret that daddy has to stop what he’s going and go outside every few hours. They will regret having to listen to those juicy morning coughs. There’s a good chance they’ll regret starting smoking themselves, too. ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507/20 "2003-08-26T00:35:50Z")
Imagine someone who gets off on puking on or around people. They do it in part because they enjoy the rush that vomiting gives them, and in part because they just love to piss off the anti-vomiting Gestapo. It’s dirty, leaving detritus everywhere, and the reek of it makes other people ill. Pretty much the same thing. Cigarette smoke makes many people physically ill, and being trapped in an enclosed area (e.g. an elevater) with someone who smokes is horrible, and I am sick of the drifts of cigarette butts in public places from self-absorbed/lazy people who believe the world is their ashtray. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-any-regrets/197507.md?page=2)