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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To enjoy smoking?

130 replies

Boyred8 · 09/03/2020 09:28

I've been trying to quit for a while and I have come to the realisation that I actually just enjoy smoking a lot. It gives me a break from the chaos. Anyone else felt the same way?

OP posts:
BrightYellowDaffodil · 09/03/2020 10:34

YANBU, I bloody love a cigarette.

I only smoke occasionally and - fortunately! - despite periods in my life where I’ve been a regular smoker, it’s always been something I can take or leave. But it’s still something I enjoy - the ritual of rolling up, the smell of a freshly opened packet of tobacco, that first drag particularly if it’s accompanied by good company and a glass of something agreeable...

mencken · 09/03/2020 10:39

up to you, it is legal and taxed - better than being a scum illegal drug user.

you do smell horrible though so please stand a long way downwind, and remember there is no magic curtain just inside a doorway. Turd-burners that stand just outside and wave the thing around are revolting. SMOKE it - keep inhaling, don't just hold it.

WeAllHaveWings · 09/03/2020 10:42

YANBU to enjoy it, it is addictive.

You won't enjoy it so much in the future when the health implications kick in.

SuburbanFraggle · 09/03/2020 10:43

www.whyquit.com

LastTrainEast · 09/03/2020 10:43

Not smoked for about 15 years, but when I'm concentrating I'll still sometimes reach for the packet. The physical addiction is long gone I suppose, but I loved smoking and I miss it.

If I heard the world was ending I'd get a carton of cigarettes and a big stick (in case anyone wanted to object to me smoking :) )

That being said I stopped not because of statistical warnings about long term health, but because I found I needed a rest after walking up a flight of stairs. There's nothing vague or uncertain about those effects.
So I don't recommend anyone start and take on that addiction, the damage to your health and the huge cost.

EmeraldShamrock · 09/03/2020 10:44

It is only calming as you are relieving the nicotine pang that causes the irritation.
Allen Carr reader here too.

vodkaredbullgirl · 09/03/2020 10:45

Smoker here, lighting one up now.

SerenDippitty · 09/03/2020 10:48

I’m not a smoker, tried it once and didn’t like it, so didn’t do it again. But I’m curious - does any one actually enjoy their first cigarette? I have heard not, and if so why keep on with it?

superisha · 09/03/2020 10:48

Course it's not unreasonable to enjoy it. Also not unreasonable for other people to thoroughly not enjoy you smoking, your company whilst you are smoking or after you have been smoking, which for me would make smoking very unenjoyable!

It's generally anti social now rather than the other way round and I keep away from people that I can tell have been smoking as they reek.

BearimyJeremy · 09/03/2020 10:49

I don't smoke any more, haven't for 15 years and won't again. I remember that feeling of taking a break, and I would have said I enjoyed doing it too. In reality and honestly I don't miss anything about it, and in fact it's more convenient not to have to keep popping out for that "break" - not being judgy - just to say don't worry that you'll be giving up something precious if you do stop!

It's like when I take a break from the booze and so don't have to have that niggly thought about whether I've got any wine in, or when I will get the chance to pick some up etc. It's one less thing to think about!

LastTrainEast · 09/03/2020 10:49

"Turd-burners that stand just outside and wave the thing around are revolting." the oh so smug non-smokers said we should smoke outside. Next time think ahead when making demands that might backfire on you.

Oh and wash a bit more thoroughly/often. When I got my sense of smell back I was surprised to learn that many people don't bother any more.

TwinsTrollsAndHunz · 09/03/2020 10:49

scum illegal drug user

Nice

People very rarely start using drugs for no reason. Addiction doesn’t come from nothing and there are lots of factors that feed into it. It can make people do terrible things but labelling people as ‘scum’ is unhelpful and dehumanising.

puds11 · 09/03/2020 10:49

Urgh I loved smoking. I smoke in dreams now.

But I love life and my children more.

FrancisCrawford · 09/03/2020 10:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Potatobug · 09/03/2020 10:57

How does smoking give you a break from the “chaos”?
Smoking, just like alcohol and drugs is escapism. Because instead of dealing with the shit/boredom/reality/whatever in your life, you touch these substances and delude yourself that your shit doesn’t exist. But then the substance subsides, and you need it again to give you the illusion, and there you are, you are addicted and your shit still exists.

JillAmanda · 09/03/2020 10:57

Ex smoker here. Smoking kills and makes you smell disgusting. I'm so glad i stopped. I don't miss it (99.9% of the time) and I'd never start again.

However..... that 0.00001% of the time especially on the rare occasions I drink alcohol..... yeah I miss it then. I used to bloody love it.

Rosebel · 09/03/2020 10:59

I always wondered if I'd grow up addicted to cigarettes as I breathed them in second hand for about 20 years. Luckily I didn't.
I never used to have strong feelings either way about smoking, just thought if you enjoy it that's up to you but now I have an asthmatic daughter I hate it. Also how can anyone afford it?

Oxo01 · 09/03/2020 11:00

I am a smoker have been for many years, I do enjoy it when smoking but I know it's habit for me,
I do notice the nasty smell, I keep saying I'll try to quit but not took the plunge.
My partner gave up 6 years ago just stopped and never went back to it.

TabbyMumz · 09/03/2020 11:01

I even hate the way people call it a "ciggie" as if it's cute. Its not cute, it's disgusting.

CardsforKittens · 09/03/2020 11:02

Smoking is cool and sexy. YANBU.

(I gave up a few years ago and I still miss it, but my mum had lung cancer from smoking, and that wasn’t cool at all.)

TroysMammy · 09/03/2020 11:04

My Uncle died of throat cancer aged 43 caused by smoking. It wasn't the cancer that killed him, he haemorrhaged from the tracheostomy he had during his treatment.

Enjoy your fag.

ThisSistineWontScreamAtItself · 09/03/2020 11:06

I think it's fine to acknowledge you enjoy it. I was addicted to a class A drug. It felt great when I did it. My life around me crumbled but I'll never say it didn't feel great at the time.

But to give up you need to want the other bits of your life more than the moment(s) of enjoyment provided by something that will damage your health and that of people around you.

I could never touch the substance I was addicted to again, it would make me feel sick and be to the detriment of everything I've worked for.

But I guess until your enjoyment of resisting it is better than your enjoyment of you doing it, it's very tough.

I'm weird because despite my addiction I've never even tried a cigarette because of the cancer connection. A ridiculous thing to draw the line at considering what I was doing!

Crispyturtle · 09/03/2020 11:08

I enjoyed smoking for exactly the same reason as you, I only gave up when I had DD. Always thought I’d probably start again at some point.

But I’m currently in hospital opposite a women who’s smoked all her life and now has COPD. Watching her struggle for breath, and knowing if she gets COVID-19 she WILL die, I’ll never smoke again. Not worth it.

Delbelleber · 09/03/2020 11:10

I did enjoy smoking but since giving up for my pregnancy I feel soooo much better from not smoking!

ClientQueen · 09/03/2020 11:21

I enjoyed it then I didn't. Was on 30 a day and quit straight away with an e cig. Still happily using the e cig, I have the v v odd cig, maybe one every 6 months but then go back to my e cig