Smoking..Healthy or Not?

kylejh

I quit smoking yesterday. So far so good.

I know it is not healthy, but that's not why I stopped. I quit because of the money, plain and simple. Here cigarettes are $10 a pack, and I was a pack a day smoker. I can think of better ways to spend $300 a month.

bradphil87

Smoking is responsible for several diseases, such as cancer, long-term (chronic) respiratory diseases, and heart disease, as well as premature death. Over 440,000 people in the USA and 100,000 in the UK die because of smoking each year. According the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), $92 billion are lost each year from lost productivity resulting from smoking-related deaths.

Of the more than 2.4 million deaths in the USA annually, over 440,000 are caused by smoking.

Smoking is the largest cause of preventable death in the world. Recent studies have found that smokers can undermine the health of non-smokers in some environments.
Smoking causes cancer


no brainer that smoking is bad for you.. and yes you seem healthy now.. w/working out and loosing wt and doing gr8 and biiiiiig time awesome job quitting heroin !! but any addiction of ANY kind really is bad.. and smoking (see above) is a no brainer bad for you /unhealthy habit...

In the next 5 years obesity will take the top spot. But I do agree its not good for you. I smoke currently and plan to quit soon. It's next in my list first was quitting drinking, I've done that. Next was get to a healthy weight range, I'm getting close to that. Last is smoking why last? Because its the hardest out of the 3

iuew

Someone posted on a thread yesterday something to this effect. "Smoking on your way to and from the gym means that you are not healthy."

I am a smoker (about a pack a day). I am 6' tall, weighed in today at 185 lbs. (5 lbs. from my goal). I work a physically demanding job. I lift weights. I play sports. I eat healthy. I drink pretty much just water and protein shakes.

Since I started my new weight lifting routine, I have seen changes in muscle size, strength and stamina. So today, I decided to put myself to a test. After my 90 lifting workout (upper body), I got on a treadmill at the gym and started running at a moderate (6 mph) pace. I told myself I would keep going until I could not go anymore or when I got to 60 minutes. When I got to 60 minutes, I still felt pretty good so I kept going until I got to 10 miles (1:28:53).

For me smoking is not a question of my willpower. I kicked my heroin addiction and cigarettes are not nearly that bad. I simply do not want to quit at this time.

I smoked a cigarette on my way to the gym this morning and the Newport I fired up on the way out tasted like a little piece of heaven.

So what do you think? Am I healthy or not?

you seem to be quite fit right now. it pretty much always catches up to you, though.

if you do ever decide to quit, check out the Allen Carr book. it helped me quit in 2008, and it made quitting (which i was dreading) very easy and simple. good luck, whatever you choose.

PhotographyChick

Well let's see. OP turned his life completely around by kicking not even five months ago. And plans on quitting smoking next year.

I'd say healthy, and will be healthier when he quits cigarettes too. Let's look at the big picture, and realize he's made changes to his life that not many of us here can even come close to understanding.

Health is not a binary metric. Very few things can be measured as healthy/not healthy. It's always a probability game. In this case, there is room for improvement (we *all* have it) but it's definitely trending on the healthy side of things.

^^This. Congrats on your sobriety and good luck to you on one day kicking the cigs too!

cheerforsteelers

Healthy on the outside by being fit, but smoking keeps you unhealthy on the inside. Smoking is not healthy for you or those around you...ever.

cassiepv

Really ?

jolleymomma02

I think you're pretty ignorant if you even have to ask this question. I pray you quit. Good luck.

suzannecunning

good for you - conquer one addiction at a time - slow and steady wins the race

zeebruhgirl

Smoking definitely isn't healthy, but you can be mostly healthy and smoke. Quitting smoking would just help you be healthier.

PlunderBunneh

I'm down to about 1/3 a pack a day, sometimes less, sometimes more. I don't smoke within an hour before I workout (I feel like it's harder to catch my breath when I do). I know it isn't healthy, but it's my vice. I'll quit again sometime, probably soon, and maybe even stick with it this time.
I don't feel like it's fair to go on an all-or-nothing for judging if someone is healthy. My eating habits and my running aren't less healthy because I choose to have a cig here and there. Sure, I'd be healthier overall without the smoking, but my life, ya know?

rml_16

You might be healthy right now, but chances are you will not remain healthy as a direct result of the smoking.

lwagnitz

You can be healthy and have unhealthy habits. Smoking will give you long term ailments like COPD and cancer. Not to mention the toll it takes on your teeth, hair, and skin (premature wrinkles) that a lot of people don't think of. Just because you are healthy now and smoke, doesn't mean five years from now you will be. Health problems from smoking are progressive.

BinaryPulsar

I haven't read the comments. I think that you can be healthy at 27 with a healthy lifestyle and smoking a little, but if you continue to smoke, you will not be healthy further down the road. Congrats on making all these healthy steps so far. Maybe with time you will be able to quit smoking also. It's ok, if you feel you can't do that now, but don't rule it out for the future.

boxkat

I know I'm a little late, but the way I see it, do what you have to do to get by the best you can. At this point, it's pretty indisputable that smoking is unhealthy, but that doesn't mean that a person can't be in good health overall even if they're a smoker. Personally, it tends to make me anxious and screw up my stomach.

I used to smoke regularly, but now I only smoke when I'm with friends who smoke. Last Christmas I stepped outside for a cigarette. My grandfather saw me and came outside to ask how long I've been smoking. I said about three years, and he started laughing. "Well, I smoked for about fifty, so I guess you'll have to catch up before I start to worry." He doesn't have any related complications that I know of.

rextcat

Is this real? It's impossible for anyone to NOT know that smoking is oh so unhealthy. Come on.

i think you missed the point

amymichelle1226

Just because you eat right and workout, does not make you healthy if you are smoking. Smoking is KILLING you, quite literally and very slowly....and nothing about that is healthy. Cancer is not the only health issue that smoking causes.....it causes a large amount of other health problems. You should consider quitting smoking as a part of being healthier, just the same as losing weight. Since you are working out and eating right, you obviously are concerned about your health....include quiting smoking in your journey too. It's simply not worth it, not one bit.

lizziebeth1028

You might be healthy right now, but chances are you will not remain healthy as a direct result of the smoking.

^^^^This!!!! Smoking is unhealthy. You may not feel the physical effects of smoking when you're young.....but as you age it will effect your health. My Dad smoked for years, he died after a long battle with lung cancer...it wasn't pretty, he fought till the end. He regretted not quitting earlier in life.

ChrissyBruner

I smoke too and I know it is not the best for me, but as you and many others have declared, it too keeps me from killing people. So, I puff away :-(

lizziebeth1028

And don't be fooled into thinking you can counteract the lethal effects of smoking by working out and eating healthy

gymmy

I smoke chicken breasts.

MeMyCatsandI

At least you'll look swole when you die of cancer

eh, i plan on dying of liver failure, not cancer.

Congrats on having a goal, I guess!:ohwell:

jogglesngoggles

To be completely honest, it breaks my heart every time I see someone outside the gym smoking!! They've made the decision to be there, but that leash the dang cigarette has on them, follows them even there. Are you healthy? possibly!! could you be healthier if you quit smoking?? Most likely!! Congrats on your success thus far, and I truly hope that you stick to your goal of quitting. The money you will save will be amazing, and the years you may be able to buy back in your life will be even more amazing!! My question, and I apologize if someone already asked this...WHY WAIT??? you say you aren't addicted, you know it's not the best thing for you, so why wait? Why not start today?

jamesey73uk

I think you have done a great job in giving up your heroin addiction and if you can kick heroin why not nicotine?

To assume that you are healthy and a smoker is not a wise thing to say, you clearly keep yourself in shape and are still on the younger side of life so the affects of smoking may not yet be apparent to you!

I have witnessed loss in my family of a brother and sister to heroin and also within the last 12 months my mother due to smoking! I can tell you that smoking was the worst toi watch as my mother battled the addiction and the pain that this evil drug inflicted on her body! My mum died at the age of 64 due to smoking related illnesses, this during a time where they say people are now living longer!

So tackle this addiction for the long term benefits rather than how it makes you feel right now!!

joecollins9385

for all those concerned about the dying of liver failure comment, i have a liver disease which will most likely cause my death something like 20 years from now.

xxpipsxx

From experience ( I look after my 92 yro grandmother who smoked all her life) it may not affect you yet, clearly as you can run for so long (well done you ) but it will most definitely hit you in old age. My grandmother, is healthy in every way apart form her lungs, she is very petite and her bones are strong but she can barely walk upstairs because she runs out of breath, she has so many inhalers, nebulizers, oxygen tanks etc, it's insane and it is all down to her smoking. Well done to you on kicking your other addictions, that is something really commendable, and I would strongly suggest quitting smoking as well. But all said, take your time, you don't want to rush and relapse. Good luck! I am sure you can do it

amymichelle1226

Also, I just want to add that I'm not judging...and I think that's excellent that you were able to quit your other addictions. I just want people to know how extremelyyyyyy important it is to stop smoking sooner rather than later. Good luck to you!

chunkydunk714

You'd be healthier if you stopped smoking!

Well done on beating your past addictions, though.

^^ agree You should be proud of kickin that herion addiction to the curb!!

Also, right now you can be healthy but Im afraid in the long run it will catch up to you. Try to quit if you can. Smoking has no benefits. (trying to get my boyfriend to quit too)

rml_16

for all those concerned about the dying of liver failure comment, i have a liver disease which will most likely cause my death something like 20 years from now.

Well, smoking causes colon cancer, which tends to metastacize (sp?) to the liver. That's what killed my DOCTOR grandmother years after she quit.

Miss_dannii

Clearly it's not healthy... in any way shape or form lol. And I'm a smoker, so no hating or judging here.

californiagirl2012

You are healthier than you were, but not as healthy as you could be by a long shot.

Good job on the progress! I hope you can find a way to kick the smoking, it's soo bad for you. You workouts will be amazing if you quit!!!! (I smoked years ago, so glad I stopped)