Is smoking really that big of a deal?

Question

Ok. Hi. Yeah. I'm 15, and I've been smoking since I was about 12 or 13. My friends and I used to sneak into the bushes by my old place and smoke. Except they didnt inhale, I did. (How wasteful!) My question is: Is smoking that big of a deal? Is it really that bad for you? My dad smoked 3 packs a day until he was 60 and still lived to be 75...That seems like the average age to die. Right?

Answer 1

I am 31, been smoking since i was 16. I am telling u, quit now before it is too late. U r going to regret it, believe me u will. To be honest, I love smoking, it is an imprtant part of my life, I really enjoy it but it is not worth it. I feel the difference, my health is not the same, I cant run, cant play any sports, i cough and I am in my early 30's!!

Listen, smoking is like russian roullette, but instead of 1 bullet and 5 empty slots, it is more like 4 bullets. Yes, u can live till u r 80 or 90, but the odds are against u and anyway, i do not think it is about how long u live, it is more about the quality of life and believe me u lose a lot of quality when u some.

Quit before it is too late, I wish I had.

Answer 2

I think everyone is hitting the wrong points. FIrst, you can't really deal with older relatives. Lung cancer is genetic and there is a possibility you can smoke till 100 ( if you don't get emphasema first) BUT..cigarettes have been changing over time (the junk they put in them) and the cigs of today are very different from what your grandfather smoked or your father. Its cheaper to put more harmful things into the cigarettes.

Biggest thing you should be conerned about is your age. Your lungs are still developing until 18 - 21 (again depends on your genetics...got this figure from my dad who is a doctor). Basically you are doing irrepairable damage. The extent depends on how much you smoke. The age for purchasing smokes does have some scientific basis behind it. If i was you, i would quit until atleast you are older.

Now if its a BIG DEAL. I personally smoke 2 packs a day, and i can relate to what you are saying. My family is really big, both mother and father have 6 siblings and each of them having 4-7 children. Just about every male smokes and of my older relatives, only 2 have died before age 90 and they were from non smoking related things. Again though, cigs have changed.

Second hand smoke, i personally think its BS. I mean they say its worse for you, but if you look at the frequency its really not that bad. Lets jsut say, hypothetical, no scientific data behind this....on a scale of 1-10. Lets say smoking directly is a 4 and second hand smoke is a 10 (per cigarette). Well at the end of the day, the smoker is up to about 80 (1 pack) and a non smoker is only really at 10-20. Because they are not constantly around that second hand smoke. This is also not taking into account that the smoker himself is also inhaling the second hand smoke.
So...10* 20 + 4 * 20 = 280. Ok so these are only example numbers with no real basis, but still 280 vs 20 and 280 after 20 + years is what gives you lung cancer.

So is smoking that big of a deal, i'd say under 18 yes, over 18, have to deal with the situation and have an endgame planned. There is no way you can deny that cigarettes most likely will lead to health concerns.
People tell me i should work out instead of smoking to deal with stress. If i did that, i would have dropped out of college already and be on the worlds strongest man. I sleep 3 hours a night on average and smoking works for me. I plan to quite after i graduate. Easy said than done, but its a plan

Answer 3

Okay, I'll tell you about what I have observed.

Beauty concerns: It will not make your nails yellow (unless you paint them and then immediately smoke a cigarette..then it will). It causes some extra wrinkles, but it isn't the same for everyone..it depends on your skin. It doesn't make your teeth black, but it doesn't make them white either....your teeth look much better if you do not smoke.

Health concerns: Your dad lived until he was 75....did he die healthy though or did he have all sorts of problems? Everyone that I know that have smoked has died a most painful death. My aunt died at 50 from lung cancer and my papaw died at 70 but hadn't been able to walk or even stand up for 10 years because he could not breathe. He died a slow and painful death...it was pitiful.

ahhh, and also the majority of the population does not smoke. So, to the non-smokers smoking is a huge turn off. Nobody really wants to be around it..unless they are use to it, but it is unlikely a non-smoker would be use to it because they usually do not stay around it.

Answer 4

it's only one of the biggest things you can do to improve the quality and health of your life. Also, the sooner you start smoking and the longer you smoke the harder it will be to quit. There is also the financial aspect of it, spending large amounts of your cash for cigarrettes that will shorten your life isn't a really good idea. The fact that some people can live nearly their full life span even as smokers doesn't mean that you'll be one of them, and your health will suffer regardless (reduced lung capacity, etc).

Plus, you'll be less attractive to the opposite sex, I personally find smoking to be a big turn off, especially as the person and everything they own will smell like cigarette smoke, you'll age faster and teeth will turn yellow. And if your boyfriend smokes, he'll likely to get erectile dysfunction. Smoking is a big deal and your better off without it.

Answer 5

1. Smoking happens to be legal. 2. If you treated any other minority the way you treat smokers you'd have a civil war on your hands. 3. Banning smoking has nothing to do with health, it has to do with revenue. If they really believed the rhetoric they would ban it altogether. But they would have to raise your taxes because, like fuel, the Government makes more profit on the tax than the companies do for producing it. It's just liberal PC horsehockey. chas (ex-smoker after 40 years.)

Answer 6

Well, I have asthma and not only are you harming your lungs and throat and tongue, you are killing everyone around you! My uncle smokes about a pack a day and he has 2 types of cancer, caused by smoking. My dad smokes and it causes my asthma to go berzerk! My friends grandparents smoked around her mom and now she has lung cancer, but never even thouched a ciggarette, and doctors say she has nicotine build up in her lungs from breathing in all the harmful fumes when she was growing up. Be smart and stop smoking!!! My other uncle used to smoke regularly and he died at the age of 52, God rest his soul... :-( ...Please, have consideration for everyone around you and yourself! Stop smoking, cold turkey is the best way!

Answer 7

My grandfather smoked a pack a day until my mother was born and he had two heartattacks and died a very painful death. Yes. It is bad for you. Maybe if your dad hadnt smoked, he would have lived longer and you'd still have a dad.

Answer 8

Yup, my grandfather, a lifetime smoker, lived to 80. But my dad is dying from cancer right now--most likely from cigarette smoke. He's 63, and it is very painful for him. Do you want to die peacefully, or in pain hallucinating from morphine? Quit now before it gets any harder to, for your own sake.

Answer 9

Do you really want to have horrible breath, yellow teeth, and lung cancer? I hope to God your answer is no to the above question. If it's 'no' then you just answered your original question. Smoking is bad. Learn about it. Quit.

Answer 10

yes,its a HUGE deal!if you don't smoke you will live until at least 90.i am very disappointed becausee my mom smokes and its sad.you could die just becaus you smoked