# Smokers: What do you do when you're sick? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2002, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378 "2002-12-22T14:07:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.A.Nemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@Mr.A.Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.A.Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/1 "2002-12-22T14:07:28Z")
I’m a smoker. I rarely get sick, but this weekend I’ve been hit with something – lethargy, stuffy head and a relentless, hacking cough. So naturally, the last thing in the world I desire is a cigarette but at the same time I realize that if I don’t, my sickness misery is going to be compounded by those delightful nic fits. I’m not a heavy smoker, so yesterday I managed to get by on a single cigarette, the same today. But I can’t imagine how a heavy smoker would cope. My friend is a pack-a-day girl and she absolutely twitches when she can’t get her fix. So smokers, how do you cope? ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/2 "2002-12-22T14:19:55Z")
Skoal, long cut striaght. ---
**Author:** ![Stinkum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Stinkum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stinkum)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/3 "2002-12-22T16:35:59Z")
I had pneumonia once and still managed to smoke just enough to quell the nicotine twitches – didn’t inhale as deeply, and put it out after a few drags. Then I ate lots of eucalyptus and peppermint (menthol) cough drops, which seemed to prolong the effects. Don’t know if this would work for you, tho’. Sorry you’re sick. ---
**Author:** ![fizgig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@fizgig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizgig)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/4 "2002-12-22T17:24:52Z")
When I used to smoke (and concurrently, got a lot of colds, go figure) I’d suck on a Hall’s Mentholyptus while smoking. Ah yes, so refreshing. ---
**Author:** ![Reuben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@Reuben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reuben)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/5 "2002-12-22T17:42:35Z")
Last time I got sick, I quit cold turkey. Eleven months ago, following weeks and weeks of the worst cough I’ve ever known anyone to have. All that time off work, unable even to sleep because of the constant relentless coughing. In my state of utter misery I was nonetheless 90% sure I’d fully recover, and it was only then that I truly realised just how much worse my life would be if I had some non-trivial possibly fatal disease such as cancer or emphysema. Just as ill, probably even worse, but without the prospect of recovery. Of course I’d always known what the long-term effects of smoking can be - there’s warnings on every packet - but it was only then that I _really understood_ instead of just knowing in some abstract and superficial it-won’t-happen-to-me kind of way. I saw my future and I was scared. Oddly enough I had no trouble quitting whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/6 "2002-12-22T19:03:33Z")
I just got over something - I still smoked. If I would have quit because I was sick, I would have quit for good. If I could quit easily, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/7 "2002-12-23T04:33:57Z")
Oh please, you wimps. I smoked while sick, I smoked after oral surgery (tough but not impossible). For a while, I had a two-pack-a-day-plus habit, and you can’t just drop something like that for the common cold. Or pneumonia. Or anything. I did quit, but it was a bitch and I had to be at my peak physically and mentally or I never would have made it ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/8 "2002-12-23T04:55:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EJsGirl \* > **Oh please, you wimps. I smoked while sick, I smoked after oral surgery (tough but not impossible).** Yup, that’s how a true smoker handles it. Unfortunately, I know. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/9 "2002-12-23T04:59:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh please, you wimps. I smoked while sick, I smoked after oral surgery (tough but not impossible). Hell, I smoked right after the oral surgeon yanked _every_ tooth out of my mouth. They warned me about fifty times not to smoke, but I ignored them. Nicotine is far more powerful than common sense. ---
**Author:** ![soulburnz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@soulburnz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulburnz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/10 "2002-12-23T06:50:55Z")
I smoked with my jaw wired shut. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Try nicotine gum… ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/11 "2002-12-23T07:52:11Z")
The last time I had some flu-like thing, last year, I quit cold turkey for four days…but it wasn’t because I wanted to. It was because I literally couldn’t. The smell/taste made me want to puke. Like licking an ashtray. I couldn’t even inhale a single drag. I was fine til I went back to work…midway through my shift, somebody pissed me off and I went to the back dock and had a cig. _shrug_ I’d like to quit. I really would. But the cough always goes away and the cigarettes remain. Okay, now I’m seriously depressed–should I make this _rolls eyes_ one of my resolutions this year? Or is there no freaking way I’ll keep it? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/12 "2002-12-23T12:28:44Z")
Listen to yourselves…_I’ve smoked when I got home from oral surgery…oh oh, I smoked when I was AT the doctors…etc…etc…_ Well try smoking on your way home from being told you have splindle cell pleomorphic carcinoma coupled with early stage emphasema and will need to be put on oxygen so you don’t die in your sleep from some horrible blockage assiciated with the cigarrette you just put out before you go to bed? [sub]please just let us know if they have straighdope in heaven?[/sub] **angry hat off** sorry I’m an ex-smoker who just lost a good friend to a dibilitating lung carcinoma. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/13 "2002-12-23T17:11:14Z")
I smoked with a punctured lung and three busted ribs! Now THAT’S dedication (or stupidity!). ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/14 "2002-12-23T17:27:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*I smoked with a punctured lung and three busted ribs! Now THAT’S dedication (or stupidity!). \*\* That’s being hooked thru the bag! ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/15 "2002-12-23T17:41:51Z")
QTM-- That was uncalled for. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/16 "2002-12-23T18:15:12Z")
speaking as a past nicotine addict, I consider it a fact, not a personal attack. Addiction is not a moral weakness, or a stupidity. It’s an incredibly powerful hook. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_of\_Graymatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/74df32/32.png) [@Baron\_of\_Graymatter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_of_Graymatter)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/17 "2002-12-23T18:24:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > \*\*Listen to yourselves…_I’ve smoked when I got home from oral surgery…oh oh, I smoked when I was AT the doctors…etc…etc…_ > > Well try smoking on your way home from being told you have splindle cell pleomorphic carcinoma coupled with early stage emphasema and will need to be put on oxygen so you don’t die in your sleep from some horrible blockage assiciated with the cigarrette you just put out before you go to bed? > > sorry I’m an ex-smoker who just lost a good friend to a dibilitating lung carcinoma. \*\* Sounds like I’m gonna croak anyway, so why not fire up a Lucky and enjoy? ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/18 "2002-12-23T19:20:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Reuben \* > \*\* > Of course I’d always known what the long-term effects of smoking can be - there’s warnings on every packet - but it was only then that I _really understood_ instead of just knowing in some abstract and superficial it-won’t-happen-to-me kind of way. I saw my future and I was scared. > \*\* As a pack-a-day smoker who was just diagnosed with asthma, I can relate. I was diagnosed last week, at age 33. Never been asthmatic in my life. Now, the effects of 13 years of smoking have been brought into sharp focus for me. Note, as a “new” asthmatic, I am still smoking. (Although I’ve learned to smoke first, THEN hit the inhaler to let the Albuterol do its job.) However, I am smoking probably half a pack a day or less and anticipate being able to put the damn things sooner rather than later. I’m giving myself one year to be completely smoke-free, knowing I’ll have to try about 10 more times before I finally give up the coffin nails for good. At least now I know why I hack and cough so much more than my other smoker friends who smoke more than I do. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/19 "2002-12-23T19:38:47Z")
I timed my quitting smoking with having my wisdom teeth out. I figured I would be drugged up and uncomfortable anyway, so I may as well kill two birds with one stone. That was about a year ago! So far, so good. When I was a smoker, and got sick, I would use Kodiac or Skoal bandits. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378/20 "2002-12-23T20:09:36Z")
I don’t smoke tobacco, but in the few situations where my respiratory system was in such distress that I couldn’t smoke my ‘whacky tabaccy’ I just went without. I have to be REALLY sick, though, and often when I have a cough or other respiratory distress smoking a small amount of marijuana really helps, seems to dry you out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-what-do-you-do-when-youre-sick/144378.md?page=2)