What is a good reason to quit smoking? / LJWorld.com

Asked at Massachusetts Street on November 14, 2007

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“Besides cancer?”

— Caleb McAndrew, child care provider, Lawrence

“It’s expensive. You could use the money to have a lot more fun than smoking.”

— Barbara Meidinger, landscape architect, Lawrence

“It makes you extremely susceptible to allergies and sickness, especially as the seasons change.”

— Frank Powers, cook, Lawrence

“So you can walk up stairs without having to take a rest.”

— Stephanie Shiflett, Kansas University sophomore, Lawrence

Related story: Thursday's the day to be a quitter

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JJE007 5 years, 6 months ago

It causes global worming. Save the worms!

ridinthefence 5 years, 6 months ago

Nasty, nasty habit. Holes in your clothes. That stinky tobacco breath. yuck

BigPrune 5 years, 6 months ago

Unfortunately, it is a chemical addiction, NOT a bad habit. Rehab clinics are necessary.

Crossfire 5 years, 6 months ago

Death and taxes,,,, ....and that smell.

jonas 5 years, 6 months ago

Well I think it's largely because of COUGH cough COUGH hack HACK cough wheeze hack spit pant pant pant anyway I was going to say that Rrrhhhaaaggghh spit cough hack wheeze cough cough.

Never mind.

KS 5 years, 6 months ago

Being able to live and see your grandchildren.

sunshine_noise 5 years, 6 months ago

Causes bad breath and yellow teeth. The cost The burden of having to have a smoke after meals. Fire hazard Just not vogue anymore.

jumpin_catfish 5 years, 6 months ago

Rehab please! Suck it up (pun intended) and just quit.

Stinky nasty smelly breath and teeth. Oh and the cancers. And what KS said about seeing your grandchildren. Oh and the money saved. And not subjecting your family/pets to second hand smoke. And kissing.

That's all for now.

Jackalope 5 years, 6 months ago

because the benevolent liberal despot called the city of larry wants to control

trinity 5 years, 6 months ago

sigh i can see i'm in the minority on today's ots. ah well.

i'm going out for a ciggie, catch ya's later :)

oldvet 5 years, 6 months ago

It will kill you...
Your hair, skin and your clothing stink...
Your breath stinks...
Your apartment/house stinks...
Kissing you is like licking an ashtray...
You can quit by simply throwing away today all the cigarettes you have and gutting it out for the first 5-7 days... thousands and thousands of us who had packs-a-day habits have done just that, no patches, no drugs, no rehab BS, just do it... after that first week you will notice items 2-4 (and maybe 5) in all your friends who smoke....

unelectable 5 years, 6 months ago

When I quit, the best part was my ability to taste, really taste, the foods I eat. And with all the money I'm not spending on smokes I can eat better, tastier foods.

snap_pop_no_crackle 5 years, 6 months ago

One can always use the money saved for liquor & ammo.

geppetto 5 years, 6 months ago

spending all your life with your family and friends

Azure_Attitude 5 years, 6 months ago

Well, tomorrow I am going to make my 4th or 5th attempt at quitting. I've been on Chantix for several days in preparation. Why? To improve my health, physiclly and monitarily. I'm sick and tired of being sick as much as I am. Also, I am sure I can spend that nearly $100 a month on something else.

sgtwolverine 5 years, 6 months ago

Because you're not on fire.

ridinthefence 5 years, 6 months ago

It IS a habit. It may be a chemical additiction but it IS also a habit. I know. I was a habitual smoker. I associated smoking with talking on the phone, riding in the car, after dinner and after... yes. But, once I got a few weeks behind me I got real stubborn and I used the patch!

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years, 6 months ago

To reduce your personal carbon footprint.

mom_of_three 5 years, 6 months ago

Yeah, I have given all those reasons to my husband, and he has quit several times (for a few months) in the past 20 years, but nothing has stuck. Nothing has worked, but I am still trying. I almost wish we lived somewhere really cold, because going outside to smoke would be really harsh.

Gootsie 5 years, 6 months ago

Good luck, A_A. Old Vet's suggestion #6 is very true.

badger 5 years, 6 months ago

I'm with Das Ubermime.

There's only one reason to quit smoking: because you want to for your own reasons. Quitting because you feel pressured, or because society treats you like a pariah, is a lot less likely to bring a successful result than quitting because you believe it's a good idea and you really want to not be a smoker any more.

A friend of mine decided to quit smoking this spring. She's quit several times and always went back because she got stressed, but this time she just up and said, "Yeah, no, done now. I just don't want to be that person any more." She went on Chantix for three weeks, toughing it out through the really weird dream side effects (no, really weird. Weird enough that she ultimately stopped taking it because the dreams were freaking her out) until she thought she could do it with behaviour control. She stopped going all the places, like bars and coffeehouses, where she used to smoke. When she was in the group, we ate at inside tables for a couple months because Austin only allows smoking outside in restaurants. She stopped her morning 'book and coffee' for three months because it was 'book and coffee and cig' before she started her day.

Since then, she's faced just about every stressful situation I can imagine. Work stress, going back to school stress, relationship stress, roommate stress, family stress, and organizational politics. But she hasn't started smoking again. I'm really proud of her, less because I'm glad she's not smoking (it used to be annoying to hang out with her, because she'd step outside mid-conversation for a smoke, and everyone else had to either continue the discussion without her, wait for her to get back, or follow her out) and more because she's really happy to have set and met a series of goals she really wanted.

But none of the community support, Chantix, or behavioural changes would have been nearly as effective if they hadn't all been backed by her fervent desire, not just to quit smoking, but to not be a smoker any more, to completely erase all the habits and tendencies that went with being a smoker.

preebo 5 years, 6 months ago

Hmmmm.

The millions upon millions of deaths directly related to smoking. That's been enough for me to never touch 'em.

Easy_Does_It 5 years, 6 months ago

This OTS reminds me, I've been thinking of taking up smoking for a while now. Need to get started I feel I've been missing something.

Crossfire 5 years, 6 months ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRHvZazd4IM

Gootsie 5 years, 6 months ago

Also, so your kids don't take it up.

sgtwolverine 5 years, 6 months ago

I think this question would have been even more interesting if it had been phrased slightly differently:

"What is not a good reason to quit smoking?"

GretchenJP 5 years, 6 months ago

No good reason to start.

sunflower_sue 5 years, 6 months ago

Because eventually you will have a voice exactly like my Aunt Marilyn's!

H_Lecter 5 years, 6 months ago

I prefer my lungs pink...but broiled and topped with a nice lechon sauce

coolmom 5 years, 6 months ago

resale value on your home, car and kids?

Meatwad 5 years, 6 months ago

Smokers never have any idea how they smell to others.....until they quit, then they can't believe they let themselves go around smelling that way. I feel sorry for smokers who want to quit but have such a hard time. It's very addictive, and it's sad that a chemical has so much control over a human being. It shouldn't be that way. Anyone who wants to quit, more power to ya! :)

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