Anyone stopped smoking?

I quit a year ago last month. 20 a day habit, for fourteen years. I haven't smoked a fag since. I have smoked a handful of spliffs though. I don't feel compelled to start puffing 20 a day again although sometimes I could murder a ciggie.

Obviously my lung capacity is vastly improved. So in answer to the op the differences I notice are cardiovascular. That and I no longer stop mid ride for a snout!

Its a good thing, for sure.

BringMeMyFix
Having said all that, I still think people have a right to smoke fags.

i don't really agree with this, to be honest. Or rather, i think they should have the right, as they still in fact do, but that the government should ban the sale of tobacco completely, in much the same way that you can't buy cyanide capsules in the local shop either.

i just don't see the point - it benefits no one, kills thousands a week, and people just moan on about their rights. Unbelievable.

when i was a smoker i used to wish the government would ban it, too, to remove the choice.

uh, ban alcohol at the same time? whole lotta deaths from drinking. govt isn't here to stop me hurting myself, but to stop me hurting others. to remove the choice? find religion and you can stop taking responsibilty for ALL your actions. ;)

xedge fuh lifex

hassanr xhardline fuh lifex

fixed

edgers= good

hardline= anti choice Mormon pricks who deserve to leave their teath on the floor.

when i quit the ciggys i flet a lot better, and stronger, will never go back

hassanr uh, ban alcohol at the same time? whole lotta deaths from drinking. govt isn't here to stop me hurting myself, but to stop me hurting others. to remove the choice? find religion and you can stop taking responsibilty for ALL your actions. ;)

mm, but there's just no damn point to it. we can go over and over the clever human rights arguments, but at the end of the day no-one's arguing to have the right to ingest other highly carcinogenic chemicals, are they. it's silly and pointless and dangerous and we should all acknowledge that and grow up.

i fully agree that smoking is very bad for you. but i enjoy smoking. it makes me happy. and cool.

Glad someone started this-only smoke 'good' smokes amercian spirit-but would like to know what giving up would give me par from getting cold outside a pub-think the sprint into stokey would come better without..Anything to get round those bendy mother F*ckers 73 buses....

Smoking is for suckers! Quit just before Christmas, found the Withdrawals the hardest thing to deal with but it was worth it. Think the combination of generally riding more and the pub ban has helped me personally in a big way.
Had a couple of puffs on muna's snout the other night which reminded me of why I've done so - So Noooo going back!

I'am a Non- Smoker! Yeah yo! lol

Eat loads of ruddy chocolate now tho...

Yep, pub ban is a huge blessing

Yeah, I agree re the pub ban. It's actually easier in a pub than at home, because one of my housemates still smokes.
Thanks for all the input everyone!

i have been smoke free since new years day.....probably the only resolution i have managed to hold up more than 3 days.

but worked out what i would spend a week and ive saved about £280.

I have felt a change in my breathing when doing tough climbs (much less tight chest and wheesy breathing)
i should imagine it takes a good while to clear 5 years worth of smoking.

@Flatlandism
i never had a sweet tooth when smoking, now that ive stopped im snacking on that shit all the time

if you saw 3 of your grandparents die from emphasemia and lung cancer caused by a lifetime of smoking you wouldn't touch cigarettes.
i do smoke the odd montechristo no2 or partagas series D number4 now and again (about 2 a year) but don't inhale :-)

[quote]MrSmith if you saw 3 of your grandparents die from emphasemia and lung cancer caused by a lifetime of smoking you wouldn't touch cigarettes.[quote]

Seen a couple go due to lung cancer - not nice.

Then again, seen plenty live long, and die in a fairly mellow fashion; and have seen puritanical ascetics die of horrible diseases without any of the fun beforehand. It's a lottery.

Like I said before, people want to think about other evils like environmental pollution (automotive, industrial, chemically based fixtures and fitting), cholesterol, food additives, crops and livestock and associated pesticides/growth hormones etc, stress levels, work-life balance, lack of exercise, alcohol abuse, blah blah blah.

but when you see somebody take a puff of a cigarette and then a wheeze on an oxygen mask it makes you realize how addictive nicotine is. yes it's a lottery but i don't fancy the odds for smoking.
i'll stick to being addicted to cycling red wine and internet porn.

yeehaarrr!! beat yourself to death :p

^Blindness before death.

I gave up smoking when I was born I used to go round braking my mums cigarettes /packets when i was little,
I've never had a puff of tobacco yet.
I have other addictions to make up for it though no doubt

I quit for 5 years, and I missed it. Mostly because I was used to smoking and riding. Lighting up when I got to the top of a hill, before I got on the bike, whilst waiting at the lights, and even after winning a race at Eastway.

The big improvement is that you have more oxygen in your blood. I can't say that I noticed that my lungs seemed to get bigger, prob cos they don't get better, they just don't get any worse.

I definitely prefer riding and not smoking.

MrSmith but when you see somebody take a puff of a cigarette and then a wheeze on an oxygen mask it makes you realize how addictive nicotine is.

I can look out my office window right now and lined up outside UCLH on Euston Road are usually people on drips in wheelchairs in pyjamas puffing away even in the middle of winter. It's quite the motivation to stay off them.

Hey! That was me!

I quit for 5 weeks (and counting!!) - definitely one of the best things you can do.. thou the odd fag with a pint is a must. Sense of smell and taste are back, thou I sometimes regret that (cf. blue smog from black cabs)...

''I quit for 5 weeks .. thou the odd fag with a pint is a must.'' You haven't really quit then have you?

haven't smoked for just over a year and as was mentioned by bringmemyfix, recovery time has improved dramatically. now even the slightest smell of smoke on my clothes i notice when i'm at home.

still think (not crave) about the coffee and after meal cig, but that's about it. keep it up, brett. it's a good decision in the long run.