Smoking

chilievans

I smoke and i`m finding it difficult to give up. i stop for a month and just find myself falling back into it. Just wondering if any of you out there smoke and how much does it affect your riding?

pooliedave

bit late this post just joined the forum i smoked until i was diagnosed with cancer last year which spread to my lungs scared the shit out of me packed in smoking straight away finished my chemo towards end of last year am in remission now and back riding although i am not fully fit yet i feel a hundred times better than i did when i smoked if you pack in smoking you will be surprised how better you feel and how much money you will save

pooliedave

bit late this post just joined the forum i smoked until i was diagnosed with cancer last year which spread to my lungs scared the shit out of me packed in smoking straight away finished my chemo towards end of last year am in remission now and back riding although i am not fully fit yet i feel a hundred times better than i did when i smoked if you pack in smoking you will be surprised how better you feel and how much money you will save

jmeadows

good luck poolie, lost my superfit dad last july to cancer, and wife had breast cancer at 29, its a terrible thing the c word, i guess you just gota take the positives out of it, if you get the chance

endurojcb

It does affect your riding, but as mentioned above, it affects your health more!

I smoked for 14 years and gave up in Jan 06. That was the best thing I ever did.

All my friends still smoke, but I just think to myself how much money they're wasting (and more to the point, how bad they smell). You don;t notice it when you smoke, but you STINK!! I bought my 07 Specialized Enduro with the money I put in a tin every day that I would have spent on fags. £5 a day into that tin and I had a gorgeous new bike in a little over a year! Why not try it yourself???



This is what helped me give up! [url=Ihttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Stop-Smoking/dp/0140277633]Ihttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs-Ea ... 0140277633[/url]

But you've got to really WANT to give up in your head and your heart!

Pippen33

smokers are the scum of the earth, no offence.

ratty2k

Carefull!

I packed in very nearly 12 months ago.... not found it difficult at all- but I do think that mindset is the biggest thing. I've tried and failed before to pack in, but this time its the right thing to do...
One thing I found (much the same as th poster with the new bike) is to keep track of money saved....
I've posted this on other forums and in another link on here....

Silkquit have a counter..... tells you haow much saved in cash, how many days off the fags, extension of life in days etc....
Not the be all and end all, but can give a wee bit of motivation when it starts to flag a little.
The other thing I did, was to buy one of those "powerball" gyro thingies.... just gives your hands something to do- I found a big hurdle was overcome this way because when smoking, your hands are busy.

The web site: http://www.silkquit.org/stop-smoking/default.aspx

The counter: http://www.silkquit.org/stop-smoking/quit-meter.aspx

Good luck!

cunning-stunt

Pippen33 wrote:

smokers are the scum of the earth, no offence.

Now,I know I shouldn't,but I take offence at that comment.

Why exactly are smokers the 'scum of the Earth'?
How does it hurt you exactly?

Do you drink alcohol (are you even old enough?) or smoke weed/do other drugs? There's plenty of people would stereotype you as swiftly as you've denounced anyone who smokes.

As a non smoker I assume,you are not qualified to comment unless constructively.

OwenCB

I gave up smoking about 6 months ago, and it's saved me a fortune already, think I was spending around £40 a week, I actually tried acupuncture to do it which cost me £150 and it was brilliant, I never felt (and still don't) any cravings and though my weight crept up, it's now on the drop again (still I've been doing a lot of running), and I've noticed a lot of things other than my bank balance improving.
I can't say how much it affected my riding because I'm new to it, but it improved my endurance on the rugby pitch no end.
Good luck on giving up though (if you decide to do it)

baccaman21

I used to smoke years ago - and I noticed the financial impact immediately upon stopping.

Just because a pack of 20 cost 3.50 (lord knows how much they are now) I always realistically spent best part of a tenner everytime on a pack... why? how? well it's like this, you need some fags... you got no cash, you go down teh cashpoint, you take out a tenner (or twenty) you go to the shop, you buy 1 pack (in the misguided notion that if you LIMIT yourself you'll smoke less) then the rest of the money just evaporates... on other stuff... coffee mainly...

A bit of advice...

if you DO insist on continuing to smoke... Switch to handrolled cigarettes.

the reason for this is as follows;

1. You can regulate the amount you smoke.
2. It's cheaper
3. It's actually better for you... (I know that soudns crazy but so long as you're using filter tips it's true) Rolling tobacco compared to regular cigarette tobbaco has less added pollutants, they add stuff to it to make them burn constantly - whereas rollies (unless you're adept at making them) do go out... but that's a GOOD Thing.
4. If you want to give up, then rollies also help - ween yourself off tobacco, using less and less, thinner and thinner cigarettes... and then have normal regular one... something like a Marlboro Red, or Camel Full strength... not only will they taste Foul, they'll feel HUGE in you hand and mouth and if you're like me, you'll suddenly realise How ridiculous it is...

I often see smokers these days and think how ridiculous they look. (a typical ex-smoker)

One other tip:
- have a child...

KonaMike

My wife used to smoke until she had a health scare which luckily turned out to be unrelated but it made us both realise that health is too important to gamble with by smoking.Since she quit she feels much fitter,doesnt smell,my car doesnt smell,my house doesnt smell,we save the £40 a month,she doesnt breath like a 60 year old when shes sleeping anymore and her teeth are white again !

TheBoyBilly

I packed the fags in 3 years ago. It was getting to the stage when I'd be nearly finished a cigarette and couldn't remember lighting it up! A real chain-smoker in other words. I feel much, much better for it now both in health and finances. But I can understand why folk find it difficult to stop, and I hate "holier than though" types that deride them.
Scum of the Earth? There are far more dangerous people out there, or do you live in a cave?

endurojcb

Scum of the earth is a little harsh I think.

I found this piece of info useful for giving up smoking. I wanted to see if I noticed the differences. I've got 13 years to go and counting until I know what it feels like to be at the same risk of coronary heart disease as a non-smoker!

Within 20 minutes your blood pressure and pulse returns to normal.
Within 20 hours carbon monoxide clears from your body. Oxygen levels rise and you have more energy.
Within 3 days your breathing becomes easier as your bronchial tubes begin to relax.
Within a few weeks your fingers lose their yellow stains and your skin looks better.
Within 3 months your circulation is improved.
Within 3-9 months your lungs are clear of most of the mucus and tar that has accumulated over the years. You feel fitter and free of coughs and wheezing.
Within a year your risk of a heart attack has fallen to about half that of a smoker.
Within 15 years your risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a non-smoker.

Oh, and did you know that 83% of smokers regret having started smoking and would NOT smoke if they had their time again.

I was one of those 83%, so I did something about it! Every ex-smoker loves to preach about giving up. Smokers hate us preching because deep down they know we're right that it's better to quit. It takes a lot of mental strength to quit smoking, much like it take a lot of mental strength to climb to the top of that huge hill on your bike without stopping, even though your legs feel like they're going to explode! GOD I LOVE THAT FEELING!!!!

cee

I stopped on the 7th January this year.

I used the silkquit meter and lots of chewing gum.

to date, the silkquit meter says that in 2months and 4 days, I have saved £225, not smoked 903 cigs and recovered more than 3days of my life when I would previously have spent it smoking..

Also, the list of within 20 minutes etc was a real eye opener....I look out for those as well!

It all soon adds up... but to be honest, I don't actually seem to have the extra money!

Good Luck.....

oh...and people who make stupid (you said no offence, but clearly offence was intended :roll: ), unnecessary (the OP is trying to stop smoking ), sweeping generalisations (now we know that all cyclists are hippy, environmentalists don't we ), are the scum of the earth!

Panter

I gave up with Zyban (prescription drug) in July '06, best thing I ever did.

I can't recommend Zyban highly enough, have a google on it and see what you think.

When I finaly gave up, my heart still wasn't in it but it still happened anyway, all thanks to the Zyban (can you tell i'm a bit of a fan )


There can be some side effects to it, vivid dreams, dry mouth etc but compared to the side effects of smoking (long painfull death etc) they're irrelevant.

best of luck,

Chris

Incidentally, you can still smoke and be fit but, TBH, whats the point?
You'll never have your full lung capacity, you stink, you'll die younger and its expensive. Sadly, as a smoker though, these things never sink in and believe me I know as a heavy smoker for 15 odd Years with loads of half-hearted quitting attempts before giving up.

Dobbs

OK, first post! (hello everybody)

Having just read this thread, I've ordered Allan Carrs stop smoking book and added silkquit to my favorites. I've tried willpower, gum and zyban but just resigned myself to the fact that "one day I'll do it". Now I'll try . Properly.
Anyway thanks for the thread and advice.

Regards
Dobbs.

keith

I quit last September. Just as i started college training to be an Outdoor Instructor. The best and most obvious difference of quitting is feeling better all the time - getting up, sleeping, staying focused and so on. the worst thing about it is that i used to really like looking at the stars and having a cigarette. I have the occasional Cigar. but i wont take it up again as i love the way i feel, improvement in skin colour, i don't STINK, and so on. I was so surprised to be able to smell how bad smokers do actually smell after a cigarette. Please quit you will not regret it.

And the Allen Carr book? FANTASTIC.

Anonymous

I quit last year, and did really well. Unfortunately, towards the end of the year, I caught shingles, and ended up being more or less housebound for ages with npo energy no drive no nothing. Depression set in, and I started smoking again
a fortnight ago, I decided to quit again, and get back on the bike. At the moment I'm still cutting down, rather than stopping (I've had about 20 ciggies in the last fortnight and they taste worse each time).

But, the difference in riding when you stop smoking is incredible! it's like having a turbo or nitrous fitted . I suppose if your body used to ride with the limited oxygen of smoker's lungs, its like high-altitude training!

Agoogy

I've smoked for about 16 years and gave up on Jan 1st.... pretty much a 5-10 a day habit... in the late 90's I started rowing, 4 men and the cox stuff... during training my lungs burned like crazy as I opened up parts that had been clogged up...really hurt!
The rowing scene started to get a bit 'involved' so I left the sport....

recently with my 35 year old diabetic wife (also a smoker) receiving a kidney/pancreas transplant, a stroke and a heart attack we both stopped. She with patches, me cold turkey. I've stopped before and knew I'd feel better, and so it does.

I quite liked the mantra never give up giving up.... one day you'll see or read or feel something and that'll be your 'reason' to stop, the root for your will power.

My wife and new daughter were mine.

My cycling now actually feels better too, as if the excercise is making me fitter as opposed to simply combating the smoking and neither getting worse or better, if that makes sense.