From a former smoker...

[ErikaRobin]

I am a former smoker.  I smoked for about five years.  When I wanted to get pregnant, I stopped smoking.  I know what a personal thing quitting is and I'd never try to force someone to quit, however, if they are going to smoke, I'd rather not suffer the consequences of their habit.   Former smokers can be more sensitive to smoke than non-smokers.  (Like many children of the 70's and 80's, my parents used to smoke around me all the time - until thankfully, they quit.)

My husband and a few others that I know who still smoke (his parents, his aunt and a friend) seem to think that when they smoke outside, it can't possibly bother me.  WRONG!  They also don't find it wrong to smoke in the car - *now say this in your "dumb husband voice"*: 

"As long as the window is open, the smoke goes right out."  

Wrong again.   Instead, it blows it around the car, spreading the smoke for all to....ahem...enjoy.    The friend of mine opens her window a crack and blows the smoke out...and the wind blows it right back in and onto her two kids in the backseat, both of whom are constantly ill (perpetual colds, ear infections, tubes in their ears and delayed speech problems to name a few).   I suspect that her smoking is contributing to their health and they are only 2 and 3 years of age. 


I've been smoke-free - or should I say "cigarette free" since I still have to endure DH's smoke - for over ten years.   The smell of cigarette smoke continues to make me feel sick to my stomach (a nasty side effect from kicking the habit years ago).  It actually makes me feel like I'm going to throw up when I am near it.   I hope many smokers realize that even those of us who used to have their habit, suffer when we are around their clouds of smoke.   And believe me, when I smoked I was all about smokers' rights! 
If others can smell it, then others are obviously breathing it in.   Seems like a big "duh" to me.   Smokers typically have dulled senses of taste and smell.   They don't realize that you can still smell it on their hair, clothes and hands.   I didn't realize it when I smoked either.

Tip to smokers out there:  A Tic Tac and some body spray don't mask the smell of your smoke.   I always laughed at my husband when he'd go to a job interview, smoking like a chimney in the car on the way there, with the windows UP so he wouldn't look windblown when he got there, and then pop in a Certs, squirt on a bit of cologne and go on his merry way.   Who did he think he was fooling?

Remember this when you're going to the doctor, or on an interview.   They know you're lying if you are asked.  They can smell it.   That is unless they smoke too.

**I know some people will protest, "But I don't smoke near my children".   My mother-in-law prides herself on that, yet every visit she stands outside smoking with all the grandchildren running about her.  She is oblivious to the second hand smoke my kids are getting from her cigarette as well as the bad example she's setting for them. 

Cigarette smoke contains tar.  Tar is sticky.   It clings to you.  Do you change your clothes after you've smoked?  Do you wash your hands and brush your teeth?  Do you immediately take a shower?  Just something to think about.  No one can make someone quit smoking...but a little courtesy for those who have already quit and those who were lucky enough to never start might be nice. 

[Lovelylis]

Apr. 14, 2008 at 11:30 AM as someone "trying" to quit the habit, i have to give u kudos on this one!!  it's been a long two weeks, but so far it has been worth it...and ihave saved a ton of money since i quit!!! i hope that i can continue on my merry way lol!!! and just not eat every thing in site forever!!!! lol!

[BeesFlower]

Apr. 14, 2008 at 11:52 AM I am also in agreement with you on this one:) I am also an ex cig smoker since 1998(and 80lbs overweight now since I've changed additions-oh well) but I hate when people will stand outside the doors of places smoking their cigs by the door so the rest of us have to walk through their cloud to get in. (Granted, I didnt realize when I was a smoker what I was doing when I did this, kind of like how dangerous I was as a kid riding my bike in the street to cars until I started driving). My hubby is even more sensitive to it than I am and we have a new baby that I must push through that! Unfortunately, I dont think it will change though. Thanks for sharing :)

[Moonrush]

Apr. 14, 2008 at 2:04 PM I just recently quit smoking (my New Year's Resolution) and I have never felt better about it.  Like you, my husband still smokes and I have to deal with the smell.  I never realized, until I quit, how terrible the smell is to non-smokers.  It makes me feel awful that my kids smelled that on me for years.  But, I feel better having set a good example for my kids.  When my son tells me, "Mom, your hair smells like flowers.", it makes me very proud of myself.  Hopefully, my husband will catch on one day and decide to quit, too.  I try not to be one of those holier-than-thou non-smokers, but it's hard when I see my kids wrinkle their noses when they're hugging my husband.  Anyhow, kudos to you for staying a non-smoker for all these years!  Maybe one day your husband will find a way to quit, too.

[ErikaRobin]

Apr. 14, 2008 at 2:24 PM Thanks for the comments, ladies.  Moon, I too, hope hubby is able to find the desire to quit...despite the lack of support he'll get from his parents.   

(Original Poster)

[J-M]

Apr. 14, 2008 at 5:13 PM

I quit cold turkey on my 30th birthday.  I had been smoking for 11 years.  I had "experimented" before that starting in the 7th grade.  Both of my parents smoked heavily.  My father quit his 4 pack a day habit when he started coughing on a phone call and had to hang up.  He was 50.  He did the gum.  My mother quit smoking at age 72 (she started at 14) when she had to move into my brother's house to have hers rennovated.  She went cold turkey. 

Every year it gets easier and easier not to smoke and harder and harder to smoke.  Hopefully, the rest of your family will follow suit.