The Dangers of Smoking

Well done.

I'd say two a day isn't a big habit....I thought cigars weren't inhaled...but what do I know, I don't smoke!
Anyhow, well done...I've seen plenty of people with emphysema...not a pretty site, I used to work on respiratory instrumentation.

My Dad quit cigarettes when the price wet up one budget day...he was fed up with paying the tax...but he's a stubborn Scot.
I don't think the reason matters, but it does need some motivation.
Big Sis gave up when my Brother died unexpectedly a few months back.
Put aside the money you would have spent and have a nice treat...
Del

Winston Churchill was a heavy cigar smoker and a heavy drinker; yet he lived to a ripe old age. I have always looked up to him as a role model. Could it be the Anglo-Saxon genes that gives you longevity?

Hi!,

" it is easy go give up smoking and i have left it many times" - Anon

It is said that Churchill used to maintain an image of a chain smoker. He used to put off the Cigar the moment he enters the private chambers and used to light it again when he exits from there.

Ragotham.

GENES ,A BIGGEST FACTOR TO ACCEPT YOUR STRONG WILL POWER AND YOUR STRONG CENTRALIZED DESIRES OF ANY KIND.MIND AND BRAIN(BODY) PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO REVERSE OR ACCELERATE THE RATE OF REACTION OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS EITHER IN POSITIVE OR IN NEGATIVE DIRECTION BECAUSE ALL CHEMICALS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH GENE/WILL POWER/DESIRES.TO DAY YOU CAN SEE A DIFFERENT CLOTH COLORS OF YOUR OLD FATHER /PRIMARY SCHOOLTEACHER/ IF YOU GO REVERSE 50 OR MORE YEARS BACK IN YOUR MEMORY.

PLEASE NOTE THAT NUMBER OF NON SMOKERS ARE ALSO PATIENTS OF SIMILAR DECEASES .HENCE PLEASE DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE DECEASES .YOUR LIFE STYLE SHOULD BE GOOD AND IMPRESSIVE FOR OTHER AND YOUNGER.

ALTHOUGH NON SMOKING IS A GOOD HABIT.YOU DID THE BEST FOR YOUR LONGER GOOD LIFE. ARUN SHUKLA INDIA

Tobacco is not addictive. Cigars are not addictive. The nicotine in tobacco including cigars is indeed addictive. If you were not taking in much nicotine, or if your body chemistry was such that nicotine did not have much effect on you then you were easily able to quit.

I went from heavily addicted to chewing tobacco, to being heavily addicted to nicotine gum, to finally quitting as I managed to get my daily dose of nicotine down to a low enough level.

I suspect that you never took in much nicotine.

I've not had a cigarette for almost 25 years, but I am still addicted. I can often catch a whiff of smoke and instantly want that "hit". Nicotine is very powerful. It's so powerful that I still refer to myself as a recovering smoker rather than an ex-smoker.

Good for you!

Having been a cigarette smoker for thirty or so years I can attest to the fact that quiting results in withdrawal symptoms.

If I wanted to smoke anymore than I was smoking when I quit I would have had to get up earlier or go to bed later. I tried cigars and wound up chain smoking them. I went through the usual quiting for good at least a thousand times, when I got to the point that breathing was difficult I quit cold turkey. The only thing that I did different in the end (quit in 1986) was to realize that if I were going to truly quit then I had to know that I was not ever going to have another cigarette unless I intended to buy a dump truck full.

I am glad for you that you were able to walk away from the habit with no problems. I am assuming that you rarely inhaled smoke other than the self generated second hand smoke. Hopefully there was no damage to your lungs.

As mentioned before nicotine is the addictive agent, the smoke is what damages your lungs and causes cancer, emphysema etc.

When we were growing up the practice of smoking was socially acceptable and glorified by advertising. I am glad that is over with.

Good for you!

_{I'm still hooked.}

There are a large amount of people in China who are taking cigarettes. There are many different brands of cigarettes in China, even a small city may have its own brands. The price of cigarettes differentiate from RMB3-4 per bale(20pieces) to hundred or thousand RMB. And cigarettes in China have long become a culture. It's good for people to know new friends by sending just a piece of cigarette. It's also a status symbol of a person who takes the cigarettes, as people can judge his status by the price of the cigarettes he takes.

There are also many young people in China somking. I started to take cigarettes from 21 years old, so I have taken cigarettes from almost 7 years. It's really a bad thing. I don't know how bad my lung have been now. Now the price of cigarettes in China is growing up, and some new regulations have been made, say, it's forbidden to smoke in many more public places, etc. I think now it's the best time to quit it.

By the way, I don't like women to smoke. Whatever it's a sexual prejudice or anything else!

Is there any good tips on how to effectively quit smoking for a person like me? Is it good to chew many chewing gum?

Wait for more comments!

Ani-Luo

I smoked for 35+ years.

The most important factor in quitting is actually wanting to quit.

different methods work for different people.

I went through several weeks where I smoked 25-30 cigarettes a day for 4 days & none for the other 3 days. I finally just stopped. I haven't had a smoke in 6 months.

I had quit 15 years ago for 2 years...

you gotta want it....

I started smoking cigarettes 50 years ago aged 14, I stopped smoking on march the 18th this year and have not once craved a smoke since!

Spencer.

May I know why you stopped smoking this year?

No offense, just want to know more about the different reasons that people quit. For the sake of some beautiful gals, wife or children, or the health of yourself, etc. ?

B/Rgds.

Ani-Luo

$ & I was tired of breathing funny. I also spend significant amounts of time in non smoking environments

You are lucky. I have not had a smoke for 12 years and still crave it every now and again. Stopped dreaming that I had started again only a few years ago.

Regardless of anything else said on this forum nicotine is one of the single most addictive drugs on earth. Is it addictive to everyone - No. Alcohol is not addictive to most people but it certainly is to alcoholics. And I mean physically addictive.

It took open heart surgery to give me the willpower to come off the nicotine and believe me the withdrawal symptom are PHYSICAL.

Ronsetto - well done. Even one smoke is too much.

That is very strange. If you are not addicted, then how are you able to keep up the habit for the last 50 years?

Great stopping . Get you one of those Sleep APNAE(spelling) machine.

It is like a Turbo charger for the lungs. Provides a postive 5 lbs of filtered air for each breath. Soon all that junk from the cigars will break loose and come out you have the lungs of a 30 year old. You can catch the wife then.

For the record.
Lungs do not regenerate themselves, that's the problem.
If you stop smoking you can't reverse the damage, however further degeneration will only proceed at the same rate as it would in a non smoker.
However, getting all the thick mucus out doubtless helps.
That is one of the ironies of smoking, whith some lung disease, the first cigarette of the day is actually useful, as it irritates the lungs and helps to loosen/expectorate the mucus....it's the subsequent 39 that do the damage

Del

I think power-user otha is correct; may be you were not inhaling in to your lungs. Congratulations for quitting! I am a smoker of cigarettes for last 34 year and now I smoke 20 per day. Cigars are very cheaper in India than cigarettes but I never switched as a regular habit though I smoke for fun some times. I have tried twice to quit unsuccessfully and end up doubling the quantity. I have stayed many hours without smoking while travelling or spending hours in the company of non-smokers with out any difficulty or urge to smoke; but I am not daring to try to quit smoking; I am 51yr old now keeping very good health. Any advice?

The nicotne here in the USA is added to washed tobacco. The nicotne is imported from Columbia and Brazil in liquid form. That is what got the tobacco companys in trouble here. Adding a fixed amount to a cigrettee makes it a controled drug delivery device.

The guy selling the liquid nicotne ran a full page ad in the New York Times saying :"You can now control exactly how much nicotne your customer receives with our Liquid Nicotne", since Cigarettee companys were buying it he thought it was legal to make them that way here. It was not.

Natual tobacco has various levels of the drug and it is used as a poision and insect killer for farm crops. Harmful to honey bees too.

In India poor people and villagers smoke cigar made out of raw tobacco leaves (Rs.1.00 to 2.00 US$ 0.02 to 0.04). Cheaper than this is called Beedi which also made of some leaves. A packet of 20 beedi's cost as one cigar.

farmers here rolled their own for years it was greed that made them deadly here

My smoker friend says "Quiting smoking is is very easy. I have done it many time"

I agree...........I quit at least 20 times a day!

I was a hopeless addict at 200/day cigarettes. I have also smoked whatever form tobacco was available in. Whenever I nicked myself during shaving, my blood used to smell of nicotine.

Quit cold turkey 42 years back. Never smoked again. Nor did I have any withdrawal symptoms.

Fear was the key. TThe American Philosopher William James's essay on Habits helped a lot in the decision to quit cold.

Bioramani

Leaving aside sleeping time, one every 5 minutes! You should have gone for Guinness book of world records.

Now, probably your blood has sufficient to continue for another few years, thus no withdrawal symptoms!

Withdrawal symptoms is probably state of mind and not the physical one. Some expert should comment. Many people here are habituated to tea. They feel sick, get headache if tea is not available at specific time. I also consume tea as and when have to with no limit as such. But I never feel sick if tea is not available for days.

I used to drink 30/ 40 cups of coffee/ tea a day for more than 15 years. I have stopped 10 years back after I read in Reader's Digest that avoiding coffee/ tea after 3:00 PM helps good sleep. Yes, that really worked good. Now I take 2 or 3 cups and if do missed there is no effect on me. I get good sound sleep within 20 Mts spending in bed. Also avoiding last minute cigarette before going to bed helps in getting good sound sleep.

Not being a smoker I have to ask how is it possible to smoke 200 a day?

To all,

Is it addictive and harmfull to take 2-3 cigarettes /day ?

Is there any procedure/ medicine to clear effect of cigarettes on our lungs/body?

to quitt cigarettes i have tried chewing LAWANG [ india] and it worked very well.

But still after some time , started smoking again.

pl. comment

Read#21

The breathing machine they give people with sleeping problems , it provides about 5lbs of postive filter air pressure like TORBO CHARGER for the lungs is how I see it.

After you use a few times and not smoking all the junk in your lungs begins to break loose and come out. I rub a small amount of the medicated stem vaporizer in the humidifer box then set back or even sleep with it on. When i get up and stated moving I could feel that stuff comming loose.

I am an ex smoker of about 7 years vintage. I was telling my doctor I was smoking 60 per day and like all smokers I was lying. I gave up when I realised cigarrettes are not addictive. I ddin't light up on waking, I had a fag with the first coffee (I am english so fag means cigarrette) so I had done 8 hours without a cigarrette and wasn't desperate, so I decided to leave a long gap before the next one. That's about seven years and I am waiting for the withdrawal symptom.

I still bite my fingernails and nobody has ever claimed fingernails are addictive, so I intend to sue the anti smoking lobby for all the cigarrettes i smoked under the impression I was addicted, an impression promoted by the anti smoking lobby.

Cigar nicotine is absorbed through the lining of the mouth, ditto pipe nicotine, I believe, rather than the lungs which is why you don't need to inhale them.

Simon

Gave up alcohol almost a year ago, still waiting for the withdrawal symptoms there. And I did like a drink

I think about quitting at least once a week...

It seems to consume vast amounts of my time these days due to the non-smokers demanding that we smokers are reduced to "smoking areas" in the work place, airports and the like.

I really do wonder how muck of the second hand smoke stuff is simply over exaggerated hype?

I remember a a child, most homes and offices were so thick with tobacco smoke that the air was grey. That was certainly the case in my grandparents home and they lived to a ripe old age with no breathing trouble.

I never smoked at work. But one day I was laying out a design with a CEO of a Customer when I heard him and our CEO talking about how much time the smokers spend going and comming outside for their DRUG HABIT. One said he had people taking 10 min breaks every 30 mins to go smoke, good people but so much time wasted just smoking.

I thought well they are thinking to. But you can not see the thoughts people have just the smoke and the smell I guess.

So glad I quit or I would be looking up thgu 6 ft of dirt by now.

every addiction, compulsion enslaves you, and believe me, the sense of freedom after you quit compensates you tenfold. I know it.

Nicotine is very addictive, but some peoples brains are just more prone to addiction than others.

You did it right. I've found the easy way to stop is to develop a hatred towards it. You'll want it like an unloyal ex-wife! Expensive programs and products are BS.

You asked for a comment, this is what I think after reading other comments, without offence to anyone.

I quit smoking 35 years ago. In my opinion all you need is a willpower.

You guys out there who say " I cannot stop" are not tackling the problem the right way.

The so called addition to nicotine is 90% psychological. If you can convince yourself that you are destroying your lungs and those of others around you (very often loved ones) it will make your decision easier.

Is it possible that you do not have any self respect and allow yourself to be a SLAVE of tobacco. When you discover that you lungs have been reduced to the thickness of wallpaper it is too late.

My father in law was effected with emphysema due to heavy smoking. When he was admitted in the hospital almost in coma the doctors could not understand how he was still alive. Well he survived for another five years but we got him a 20 litre tank of oxygen EVERY day for five years. He was such a great guy that he deserved to live another five years. When you are helpless and can only watch a person die, especially if he is a loved one, it effects you very deeply.

How many of you guys will have the fortune of being cared for ? would you like to end your life like that ? Did you ever have the experience of being suffocated for lack of oxygen ? It is a terrible sensation.

If you continue to smoke you should consider yourself a suicide fan or maybe a kamikaze so you can kill others too.

These words might seem hard but this is exactly what we do when we smoke. If this helps one man stop smoking I've achieved my scope.

Angelo

GA - You and Garthh have it dead on!

The only thing that works is "you have to really want to quit forever"; all else is a waste of time. The nicotine is gone from your system in about 2 weeks, but the psychological effects could last forever (1 year- 90% cured, 5 years - 99.9%). You should try to change your routines which normally include smoking, and maybe even change your diet, so you don't replace one addiction with another.

I quit 27 years ago after 15 years of about a pack a day and I still have a slight urge to light up when someone first lights one. I have to keep reminding myself to trust how my lungs and eyes first reacted to smoke to maintain my commitment to stay off smoking. Unlike some annoying quitters, being in the presence of a smoker for a short time does not seem bother me much even though I try to avoid second hand smoke as much as possible.

Good Luck and Best Wishes for all who "want" to quit!

I restarted after a rough patch [son died] where I was drinking...

Changing your routines does help the reduce the cravings.

I also agree a wiff of the 1st puff is the worst trigger.

Be careful! I too quit cigars with no problem but now, 18 years later, (I quit because I didn't want my new born daughter to grow up with a dad that smoked.) I find myself really wanting a stogie or two!

There are many addictions, I have a brother addicted to skeet shooting. Yes addicted, he will go to and beyond the point of depriving his family of food, clothing, decent housing etc. just to buy ammo or pay for a few more rounds of skeet or go to a competition. Good luck with your addiction, we have had no luck with his...

That is not a chemical addiction, it is a psychological obsession. It is certainly bad, but a different form of help is needed for that one, usually involving either a psychiatrist or just a gool ol' fashioned @$$ whooping to straighten up and take care of his family! Sometimes you really do have to beat some sense into people and pain is a harsh mistress.

Thank you all for your comments. I still like the smell of a fine cigar and would probably smoke one if someone gave me one, but I don't "crave" a smoke. I don't know if there is a difference in nicotine level between a fine hand-rolled cigar and the el-cheapo floor sweepings variety (White Owl, Phillies, Muriel, etc). I used to smoke the imported variety until cost forced me to quit. Do you know some cigars can cost up to $35 a-piece?

It is interesting to note that all the replies were from ex-smokers or those who want to quit. My wife smokes, but no one is allowed to smoke inside our house. Since I live in a smoke free house; being in a public place where smoking is permitted; I can feel the difference and find it hard to tolerate. Even when I'm outdoors, a whiff of smoke offends my senses. I have a friend who is a chain smoker. I used to visit to his home, but now I can't tolerate the foul air in his home. I'm sure he doesn't realize how foul the air is in his house. I don't visit him anymore. We communicate by phone or E-mail despite he lives only 15 miles away.

Did you inhale the smoke into your lungs? It seems as though some cigar smokers do not inhale. Not that I have studied the topic but I think this would have a large impact on if a person developed a chemical dependency.

Generally cigar smokers don't inhale "deeply", but some inhalation is always present.

I have the same experience in the past. I smoked cigarettes for ten years until I finally decided to quit. That was when I was 30 years old. Just like you, I just quit and my reason too is cost. No withdrawal symtoms happened. But one thing that I did during the following days and weeks was to make sure that I do not have a lighter with me. No lighter, no way to smoke. Nowadays, I feel irritated just to smell second hand smoke.

I have smoked everything under the sun and I have quit them all but ciggarettes. They are the most addictive thing out there. Just because it is so common for people to smoke them. But props to you for quitting!

Congratulations Ronseto, well done.

I smoked cigarettes, cigars and a pipe for 19 years and one day I was so crook with the 'flu that I didn't smoke for 3 days. Bingo, I became a non-smoker and even managed to ignore a full carton that was on the kitchen mantlepiece. I was also pissed off about the excise etc. that the various governments in Australia add to the price of a smoke.

Thirteen years later I was in hospital for a month and went without grog. After 3 weeks, I decided to give this up too. Mainly because it was renal toxic and I only have one kidney left. I was also sick of paying the government excise on this too. Haven't had a drink for8 years.

The point is, if your addiction is "habitual" as against "chemical", breaking the habit is down to your resolve.

I think the danger in cigarettes is all the additives that are included to alter the taste, make the tobacco burn faster and even while sitting in an astray. Notice how a pipe or a cigar will go out if you're not smoking it? Cigarettes also have compounds that increase the effectiveness of the nicotine "hit".

I also remember talking to an old Sicilian lady who told me that her community grew their own tobacco, smoked quite heavily, but had no tobacco related health issues UNTIL Big Tobacco started flooding the place with cheap ready-mades. Then they had their first case of lung cancer. Decide for yourself.

So, apart from your assumption re cigars, your habit was most likely just that, a habit and your strength of mind and resolve made quitting easy for you.

Regards,

Royce

Good for you. Well done

After going thru this forum, following I can conjecture.

1. For me ,even if I have stopped for 3 years, twice , but smoking one confidently there after , I came back to 10 ciggarettes a day in just seven days time. Failed many times.

2. I only smoke in office and never at home. More smoking ,if with friends and drinking at bar. So atleast 16 hrs gap is there.

3.I use C PAP machine at 12mm pressure for snoring.Sleep apnea . It seems now it is better for the lungs now. I am 62 years old.

4.Passive inhaling at Smoke rooms are absolute dangergous.

5 I attened 2/3 days office now for 2/3 hours and I just smoke 4/5 of these then. May be greedy ,but surely I feel the urge.

I think at this age Why miss such a wonderful feeling of holding a ciggerette as a Man, so I have not been able to leave it altogether. And I will not be !!

AFTER READING ALL THE DISCUSSIONS, I AM TIRED.

I REALLY NEED A CUP OF TEA WITH CIGARETTE

Ok now heres another "twist" on the discussion.

Do you all feel that the government should be free to make these sweeping bans on smoking???

As everyone always tries to mimic the US (like keeping up with the Joneses), I just seen on the news here in South Mexico that a BAR/Restaurant has been closed indefinitely by the local government due to allowing there patrons to have a smoke with there drink.

I personally think there should be some middle ground at the very least. Possibly the owner of the establishment should have the option to list his (or her) place as EITHER smoking or non-smoking clearly for all to see outside the establishment...

I wonder which one would do the better business?

Here in California, indoor smoking bans have been in place for 20+ years.

Many bars & restaurants have installed semi enclosed patios areas where smoking is allowed. Of course a whole industry popped up to construct canvas stretched over metal tubing rooms. There are other construction methods. Evaporative coolers for the summer & space heaters for the winter. Not exactly energy efficient.

I worked in a factory right after the ban was enacted. Most of management smoked. A smokers breakroom was constructed, complete with separate ventilation system.

I've been on both sides, there are good things & bad about indoor smoking bans.

Smokers were certainly more productive before the ban. A couple of years ago 3 of us had our own gig, it was great to fabricate & smoke at the same time. We basically only stopped for lunch... When I worked for a company, I would volunteer for tasks that would take me outside so I could smoke.

Being a non smoker I don't really like being in closed room with a bunch of smokers.

I'm not one of those holyier than thou, walks around with a squirt gun ex smokers

I just try to avoid the triggers....

My husband and I recently purchased our first home, which was occupied by a smoker for a good 20+ years. I've spent the last 2 weeks scrubbing the walls and ceilings of every room to get rid of the nicotine stains and odor. I seriously think that if every smoker out there had to spend as much time cleaning this crud off of walls, they would be so disgusted that this is the same stuff coating their lungs that they would quit.

I have been married to a smoker for 38 years. I have stopped doing most things that will aid her in her habit. 2 out of 3 of my children hate the habit. One has started. I have had too many arguments over my wife smoking. 38 years of "I'll stop when I'm ready." I feel that I don't push her hard enough to stop, but the fights are hard on me. Any suggestions out there?

You are trying to argue with a 6 year old!

She doesn't want to & you can't make her.

Sigh. I hate it, too, and I smoke. As many other posters have stated, the smoker has to be motivated enough to want to quit. I know it's disgusting, I know this is one of the worst things I can do to myself, but I am in charge of starting and stopping. I just don't have the will to do it. Not now. When? I don't know.

I've received plenty of grief, pleadings, lectures, etc., from concerned friends and former smokers. I've tried over-the-counter aids, quitting cold turkey, tapering down, hypnosis (was afraid I was gonna come out of there clucking like a chicken)...

The closest I've come to quitting was with a prescription for Chantix. I lasted 6 weeks.

I go to the gym, I gobble vitamins, I eat mostly vegetarian meals. And all of this is for naught because I am hooked.

You would think that

you'd be wrong

You're trying to apply logic to illogical habit...

I don't believe there is such a thing addiction, dependency yes...

Having been in both worlds...

There is some physical discomfort involved in quitting, having to ignore the triggers is harder. When I smoked I knew it was a bad idea & bad for my health. No amount of education would change my mind.

Garthh you are so right, it is a habit. And breaking a habit is really hard. look at chewing finger nails. Our Prime Minister does it, and is permanently criticised for it, nobody suggests there is any level of addiction, or dependency, this is just a habit. So if our prime Minister can't break a habit, what chance have the rest of us got. Interestingly I am an ex chain smoker, and an ex heavy drinker and I gave up both without any physical symptoms, and actually not many mental ones besides the fact I am clearly off my trolley because I am an inventor, and everyone knows "if it's such a good idea, someone would have thought of it already."

Simon

S

"if it's such a good idea, someone would have thought of it already."

That statement is almost quite true. I have access to the complete library of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics from 1873 up to the present. I'm slowly going through them and finding many things that were invented a long time ago that appear today as the "latest and Greatest". Improvements may have been made, but the basics were there. There are a lot of interesting inventions and stories pertaining to the U.K. Check out the following two links.

http://books.google.com/books?id=ESgDAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=2&atm_aiy=1870#all_issues_anchor

http://books.google.com/books?id=v98DAAAAMBAJ

"I have been a smoker for over 50 years. I smoke only cigars and some pipe tobacco. I never smoked cigarettes. I have been told that cigars and pipe tobacco is just as harmful as cigarettes. Last January, I quit cold turkey all tobacco. The reason I quit was actually a matter of cost. A good cigar is quite expensive. When I quit, I had no withdrawal symptoms what so ever. I know that people who quit cigarettes have withdrawal symptoms, but I went from a two-a-day cigar smoker to zero with no desire to smoke. I conclude that cigars are not addictive and that is why I was able to quit. Can anyone comment on this?"

An addition to the OT: I also drank for the same amount of time I spent smoking. I started out with beer, then wine, then hard liquor. I went through many "drunk" sessions. I was drinking sometimes as much as a fifth a day. Finally, I quit cold turkey at the same time I quit smoking. I quit because one, I was concerned that I might be an alcoholic and two, drinking costs a lot of money. Again I felt no withdrawal, no desire to have a drink. My wife smokes and drinks, but it doesn't generate any desire in me. On occasion, I will drink a Guinness beer with my son, but that is very rare. Again I must conclude, I'm not an alcoholic either. I'm not from the planet Krypton.

your data set is too small for such a conclusion

http://www.badscience.net/

Started at 20 and stopped at 46. (19 years ago) But actually a light smoker - 5 to 10 cigarettes a day.

I believe the paper in cigarettes does the most harm. They say it produces more tar.

Cigars were nice but I never really got into smoking pipe.

Good for you! when I was 25 I bought a used white pickup truck with a brown interior. Imagine my shock when I cleaned the interior and found it to be White! (I am not kidding! That's when I realized he was a smoker.)

I am 52yrs old now and I do not and have never smoked, and between realizing that was what smokers carry in their windpipes and lungs, and my beloved mother-in-law dying of lung cancer covinced me to NOT START!