The thing about smoking.

"My citroen won't start" (lucasboechat)
08/22/2017 at 18:53 • Filed to: I know its bad for you

Now, I write this merely as an opinion piece. I applaud those who have stopped smoking and those who are trying to stop. But as a smoker I feel I must tell you this.

It gives you time to think.

Smoking allows you to space out for a while, be it in social or work settings, a pause to smoke is a reason to focus on yourself for a couple of minutes, to think about your breathing and to be distracted by the smoke and the warmth.

For those 5 or so minutes you can clear your head, calm whatever anxiety ails your mind, 5 minutes of not looking at facebook or your phone, 5 minutes to hear the rain or the cars on the street, 5 minutes to muffle and escape the annoying voices of those around you and just be with yourself for a while.

I’ve tried to quit once, but this is what keeps me here, this 5 minute breaks. I’ve come to realise that in this point in life I really need them, these homeopathic doses of peace of mind are -in my mind- more beneficial than not having some black soot in this mortal and therefore temporary lungs of mine.

[WN]: I know this probably doesn’t sit well with some, I know some of you probably suffered a great deal from family members who smoked and I am in no way trying to water any of that down, I cannot possibly fathom what you went through. I’m just trying to explain myself, and to some extent all of us. I am deeply sorry if this brought bad memories in any way.

DISCUSSION (39)

ttyymmnn > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 18:56

Smoking also gives you bladder cancer. My grandfather was a two-pack-a-day Salem smoker and he died of bladder cancer. My mother smoked for many years, but quit about 15 years ago. She now has bladder cancer. Smokers are three times more likely to get bladder cancer than non-smokers . So there’s that. I can’t preach too much; I smoke cigars. But my bladder doesn’t have to process all that tar and other nasty chemicals.

CaptDale - is secretly British > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 18:59

Dude, I feel you there. It has gotten to the point I only smoke when I drink or really really need a break from life.

jimz > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:00

I can do that w/o needing a cancer cock.

sorry, no. I saw what it did to my dad after 50 years of smoking, and I’m forever glad I never started. It’s a filthy, stinky habit.

and don’t get me started on people at work who seem to be perpetually on a “smoke break.”

My citroen won't start > ttyymmnn
08/22/2017 at 19:07

I don’t disagree with any of that, I know how bad it is. I’m just trying to explain why some of us do it.

Wacko > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:07

I smoked for 20 years

Finally quit about 3 years ago

Yes it was hard, but don’t miss it at all.

My citroen won't start > jimz
08/22/2017 at 19:08

Sure, I’m not trying to advocate smoking as a good habit, I’m fully aware of how bad it is and not trying to mask that. I’m just trying to explain why me or some of us do it.

SVTyler > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:08

I (a non-smoker) work at a restaurant full of smokers so I’m always envious of those little breaks they get to take between rushes, it must be amazing to just go chill out for a few minutes. Still kind of a funny double-standard, though.

Non-smoker: “Hey boss, is it cool if I go outside for like five minutes, just to clear my head and think?”

Boss: “lolfuckno, get back to work”

Smoker: “Hey boss, just going to go inhale through this cancer stick for a bit, brb”

Boss: “... Don’t take too long”

E92M3 > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:10

What warmth? I remember going outside at work to smoke when it was 10 degrees out. Shivering like crazy, for that nicotine dose. It’s also about the ONLY time I look at my phone.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:12

There are times when I really miss smoking. It was a socially acceptable way to get out of the office and chill for a few. There would always be a certain bit of guilt if I did the same thing without a cigarette. I don’t think I even took my smokes home, leaving them in the office. The talent agency I worked at was a meat grinder, but I didn’t feel nearly the same stress once I left the office. While it was great money, it wrecked the best relationship I ever had and basically made a mess of my life, which meant more smoke breaks - a vicious cycle. It was one of those jobs where I was actually happy to be laid off.

My paternal grandmother was a tough old broad, smoking her unfiltered Chesterfields right up until the very end. When the inevitable lung cancer became too much for her she went out to a field near her home with a revolver and took care of the problem with a single shot - no fucking around.

Jayhawk Jake > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:12

That justification sounds really stupid. ‘Five minutes of calm is more valuable than something I know is really really bad for me’

Why not go chew on a carrot for 5 minutes or something instead?

ttyymmnn > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:18

There was a comedian named Jonathan Miller who was waiting for an appearance on the Dick Cavett show. Cavett walked past as Miller was smoking a cigarette and said, “You know, Jonathan, those things will kill you.” Miller exhaled a puff of smoke and said, “Yes, I know, but I’m fairly certain this particular one won’t.”

DFW's cars, Ferrari Dave’s thoughts on cars. > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:21

I hate to even comment, but as someone who smoked and struggles with having one when I drink still, I doagree on the time to think part. BUT there is coffee, meditation, listening to music in a cafe while shipping tea, etc. Lots of other things do that too, and are less risky. And I’m not even a risk adverse guy.

DFW's cars, Ferrari Dave’s thoughts on cars. > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/22/2017 at 19:23

that’s a good point.

My citroen won't start > Jayhawk Jake
08/22/2017 at 19:31

Well most of it comes from the effect nicotine has on your receptors and how it affects blood flow and pressure. A carrot won’t have the same effect.

I never said it was a good justification, I know it’s probably one of the worst ones.

nermal > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:35

No. The 5 minute breaks aren’t the reason why you keep smoking.

The reason why you keep smoking is that you are addicted to nicotine, and smoking is your preferred nicotine consumption method. The 5 minute breaks are something that you use to justify your nicotine addition. Just like you like the way it tastes, or they go great with a drink, or help you relax, or help you take stress away, or make you look cool, or your friends do it, or you can quit any time you want. Any of the benefits you mention are merely justifying your addiction to yourself, and not actual benefits.

YOU don’t need the breaks or the cigarettes. Your nicotine addition does need them, however.

The reason why you were unable to quit smoking previously is that you tried to quit smoking, when what you really needed to do was break your nicotine addiction.

Source: Been quit 5+ yrs after smoking for 10+ and attempting to quit multiple times.

My citroen won't start > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/22/2017 at 19:35

Same here, I’m not a “2-pack a day” kind of person, but sometimes I just need a release valve from life

TheRealBicycleBuck > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:36

I understand where you are coming from. But I have to jump on the bandwagon here. My grandfather, a lifetime smoker, died young from leukemia. It took two years. My grandmother, also a smoker, died of cancer too. The last ten years of her life were rough. My other grandfather stopped smoking after he had a massive stroke in his 50s. He lived another 20 years, dependent on others for his care.

The other thing you should know is that you stink. We have one smoker in our office and he stinks up the place every time in returns from his smoke break. There are other smokers in the building and you can always tell when they’ve been in the elevator.

It’s not just about how long you live, it’s about the quality of life. Taking a five minute stroll or doing five minutes of meditation will do the same for clearing your mind as taking a smoke.

Best of luck to you.

CaptDale - is secretly British > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:42

I am not even a pack a week most of the time. But that release valve is just so nice.

JeepJeremy > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 19:46

It’s a mind altering experience. I smoked casually from age 18 to 30. Never considered myself a “smoker” because I never relied on the drugs to help me through the day.

But man....there’s be some mornings where a Camel Wide and a cup of coffee would take me on a journey through time and space.

Smoking is awesome

My citroen won't start > Wacko
08/22/2017 at 19:54

I applaud you for that. I imagine it wasn’t easy.

My citroen won't start > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/22/2017 at 19:56

It is a vicious cycle. When did you quit?

(Also, that is a dark story, I apologize if this post brought any bad memories. But I must mention that if I ever face the same situation, I’ll probably do the same)

My citroen won't start > E92M3
08/22/2017 at 19:57

I mean, it gives you a warm feeling, much like smoking any other tobacco by-product. Smoking in the cold is one of my favorite experiences.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 20:18

I haven’t been a regular smoker since about 2002 or so. I will occasionally bum one here and there, but in the last 15 years I’ve probably purchased less than a dozen packs. These days the only smoking I do is when I have a cigar and a glass of bourbon whilst enjoying some jazz out on the patio. My doctor wants me to quit that, and I can’t blame her, but given how little this happens, maybe 3 or four times a year, I don’t feel too guilty about it.

Yeah, that story about my grandmother was a tad dark, but it’s OK. She was really the black sheep in the family, isolating herself after the divorce from my grandfather. She was a rather nasty person, and I still can’t forget the arguments with my mother the day she came to visit after my father died. There’s a restaurant near LAX that I like that my mother won’t go anywhere near because of the memories of that one argument in 1975; obviously, when my parents were in town (I lived next to LAX for 21 years) we would always find somewhere else to eat, usually a Thai joint we’d been going to since 1 March 1978 (I remember the exact date because Continental Airlines had a pretty serious crash at LAX that day, just around the corner from where we were dining, and I remember watching the coverage at the restaurant).

I remember awful tales of things she would do, like sending my dad a bill for the towels he took when he moved to go to college. Really? Her own son? Even her mother was wary of her, going as far as to set up a trust that she had no control over, which gave her $400/month. That was a decent amount of money in the early ‘70s when it was set up, but by the late ‘80s it wasn’t much. My aunt, sister and I, as beneficiaries of the trust, were petitioned by the court for an increase, and we agreed to give her 75% of the interest from the trust. All of our communications with her were through lawyers, and I think we all preferred it that way.

jimz > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 20:21

You do it because you’re addicted. Period.

My citroen won't start > jimz
08/22/2017 at 20:22

We all are in some ways. I just picked a more cancery and smoky poison.

Wacko > Wacko
08/22/2017 at 20:43

I took the patches and smoked a half of a flavoured cigarette per day for about 3-4 months. Untill I didn’t crave smoking.

I used to love smoking, I use to light up the second I got I my car. Smoke when I wake up, smoke before going to bed.

LastFirstMI is my name > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 20:43

The rest of us need to take “eargarette” breaks; all the mindfulness without the early death :)

Kinja'd!!!

jimz > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 21:08

no, we aren’t. what a lame attempt at justification.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 21:17

I had a science teacher years ago who was an ex-smoker. He would routinely wonder around with a stick of chalk between his fingers...even occasionally stick it between his lips if he was working with his hands. Even had it with him during the coffee break...super relaxed dude.

I stopped cigarettes 15 years ago. Still have plenty of time to think. And so much more coin to spend on other stuff.

My father stopped smoking 10 years ago (after 60 years of smoking). They haven’t killed him and he has no sign of cancer but the quality of life he doesn’t have due to the emphysema he does have is just stupid. He could persist for another decade barely being able to move under his own steam (he still doesn’t need supplemental oxygen, except to sleep). That’s no fun...

Imports only > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 21:29

I’m still quite young but I don’t smoke the same way your generation did. I smoked with vapes. I do it 5 times a week and i know friends that can’t survive an hour without it. I sometimes want to quit but idk if I can. I would never touch a cigarette tho.

Your boy, BJR > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 21:41

No offense, but this has to be one of the top 3 douchiest posts in oppo history.

David Baker > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 22:03

A lot of judgmental people here. If someone enjoys mountain biking, sky diving or marathon running are you going to lecture them on the dangers? I smoke, I know it’s a horrible addictive habit but I completely agree with Citroen. I have anxiety and at this stage the crunch is very helpful. As with most things in life, if you don’t like it, don’t do it.

My citroen won't start > Your boy, BJR
08/22/2017 at 23:25

Hey, breaking new barriers on a daily basis.

My citroen won't start > Imports only
08/22/2017 at 23:27

I’m 26, I think most of my generation are millennials.

E92M3 > My citroen won't start
08/22/2017 at 23:43

Not me. One building I worked at still had one working legacy heater in a designated smoking area (located in the parking deck). There would be 10-20 people huddled around that thing in the winter.

What I enjoyed the most was the comradery. Sort of a fraternity of a dying breed (literally). I got to know a lot of coworkers on a personal level, that otherwise I would of never had the chance.

My mother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer a little over a year ago, and I still can’t kick this F-ing habit.

ttyymmnn > My citroen won't start
08/23/2017 at 00:06

Oh, I totally understand. That’s why I smoke cigars. I sit in the garage and work on my aviation history posts. It’s very relaxing. I also enjoy a smoke (or two) on long car trips. It’s just that my smokes take 50 minutes instead of 5.

Birddog > My citroen won't start
08/23/2017 at 02:44

I won’t preach. Well, maybe a little..

I’m 42 and smoked since around 13. I’ve been clean for just under 2 years now. My lungs are fucked. Two flights of stairs and I need a break. A two mile hike with the Dog and I need a nap. It did help focus but those brief moments weren’t worth it.

Quit.

Imports only > My citroen won't start
08/23/2017 at 14:37

Oh I thought you were old

6691 zapS > My citroen won't start
08/24/2017 at 05:10

My Dad did it. Quit when he was 40. He will die of COPD.(born 1939). I can hear him breath. Only started 3 years ago.