When did you start smoking?

[Jaded]

I was trying to remember when I first started smoking, I mean really smoking. I believe it was in my late teens/early twenties, I can't remember exactly when to be honest. Isn't it funny that we don't always remember when we started but we most likely will always remember when we stop!

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My quit began One Month, Eighteen Days, 12 Hours and 18 Minutes ago, while extending my life expectancy 6 Days, by avoiding the use of 1733 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $325.59.

[Jaded]

Good job making it 7 days Greg, it is hard to comprehend 7 days without something that has been in your life for so long isn't it? But you know what, that thing that WAS in your life will eventually KILL you..Not a good thing to be in anyones life. The hardest thing for me was changing my mindset, getting past that "I'm depriving myself" feeling. You know that feeling?
So back on the actual subject, I can remember first trying to smoke and getting really dizzy too, if only we knew then what we know now. Do you think we would still have become addicted?! Probably eh, young and dumb!!
Lots of luck to ya Greg, it does get easier with each day!! 😃

[candice-smith]

i started when i was 13. a bunch of my friends were smoking and i wanted to learn how!!! so i was practicing upstairs in my bedroom. i heard someone coming up the steps , it was mom telling me that we was going to the store so i hide the cig. under my mattress. when we got back home a couple of hours later my mattress was on fire! my mom beat my as@! but my dad went and got me a pack and told me that if i was going to smoke em' to do so downstairs! i wish now that my dad instead of being the cool dad would have beat my as@ right along with my mom , and maybe i wouldn't have ever got this habit! 35 years later and still smoking!!! i found this site april 21st, did alot of reading, worked the steps and smoked my last cig. may 23rd at 10 p.m. !! this is my first time that i've ever even tryed to quit. it has been rough at times but i will continue to be smoke free because i love it

[Jaded]

Candace, You are doing a great job!! It is so worth it isn't it?! 😃

[candice-smith]

you got that right!!! the newfound freedom is awesome!!!!!!

[toni6]

I don't remember the date, but I remember the first cigarette that started it all. I'd played around with them as a kid once or twice, but this was it, the defining moment. I was around 14 or 15 and my best friend who smoked said, "Just once, I'd like to see you smoke a cigarette." So I did. Her smoking never bothered me, but I never had a desire to do it either. It wasn't as frowned upon back then as it is today, so I figured 'no big deal' and lit up. Since she smoked, I started. I got involved with drugs somewhat which caused me to smoke even more. I was up to a pack a day by the time I was a junior in high school, andI'd even developed a smoker's hack.

I moved in with who I married when I was almost 18. He hated cigarettes so I quit (seemed like no big deal to quit back then!) for FIVE YEARS!! I had a couple of kids and when my youngest was almost 2, and my marriage was going down the toilet, I started bumming them off my friends. Somehow I got in the habit again and have smoked ever since, except for brief quits.

The longest I've quit since was 7 months, and I cheated a couple of times throughout. THIS time, I don't want to cheat, I don't want to just smoke when I drink, I don't want any exceptions and I REALLY don't want to be addicted anymore!!! My day is coming on Monday the 16th. I'm hoping it's a day I'll remember forever as the first day I never smoked again!

[cynth]

I began smoking at 15 . Was a full blown heavy smoker by 17. Over the years I had bought all the nicotine replacement stuff but it just sat in my drawer and was only used when I had to travel on a long flight. I woke up one morning 2 weeks ago with 3 smokes left in my pack. Decided to smoke them and then not buy any more. Haven't had one since. Over 25 years as a heavy smoker and here I am. Finding it hard but not crazy hard. Not today at least.

Cynth

[Alicatsam]

Hi, Cynth. I did the same, smoked the last one in my last pack at 11am today. I'm pretty sure I'm going to slip up, but I think with enough support from other quitters, I may be able to quit permanently.

[Sandi4]

I like that you asked this question. I can't remember the date but I know I was 12 when I began experimenting. I clearly remember standing in front of the bathroom mirror so that I could see how cool I looked...what an idiot. I actually practiced how to hold my cigarette in what I thought was a sophisticated manner (I can't tell you how thrilled I was when a guy told me how I smoked like a lady...ha!) and how not to squint so I'd still be cute while I was inhaling. I've quit a few times without thinking about it (in college when funds were low and when I had a bad cold) but always went back to it.

At 39 I became pregnant for the first time and quit the minute I got the news. I didn't think I could have children and I was so happy that I didn't want to do anything to hurt my baby. I slipped up once during my 3rd trimester and my daughter began kicking wildly. I immediately threw the cigarette into the toilet and didn't touch another one until after I finished breastfeeding. Then I started again.

My father and friends tell me I'm not a real smoker because a pack has always lasted me 2-3 days and I rarely smoke more than half a cigarette but I'm a smoker non the less. I've decided that June 28th, my daughter's 5th birthday will be my quit day. God blessed me with this angel and I want to live to see all that she will become. One thing I don't want her to become is a smoker so it's time to lead by example.

I'm so grateful for this site and to have the opportunity to communicate with people who are in the struggle with me. I can't wait to look in the bathroom mirror and see how cute I am as a real non-smoker...LOL!

[tammy2]

Hi I'm new. I remember when I took my first drag from a cig., I was like 10 or 11. I was around 17 when I started smoking full time. I'm 43 now and have not smoked for 41 days. I don't think I will ever forget when I started smoking, nor will I ever forget when I stopped. When I started smoking it was the cool thing to do, you know, like not letting your socks show when you were a kid. A lot of my family and friends smoked and when we would party we smoked like fish out of water. That's one thing I have not done since I have stopped smoking, drink that is, because I am a bit scared of the fact I will ask for a cig. So I am doing my best one day at a time. I had a bad day, have been wanting a smoke all day. It's hard to not want a smoke once in a while while others in the house still smoke.
But nevertheless, I'm staying away from those little white monsters. Have a good one. 🙂
Tammy