The benefits of stopping smoking

[Sergeant Pluck]

Were you a cyclist when you gave up the cigs?

Did you notice an improvement?

In what other ways did life improve?

I'm particularly keen to read the thoughts of those fortunate enough to have been in fairly good working order when they stopped.

I'd like this to be a positive thread; any anti-smoker comments might fit best in the "Stop smoking: when?" thread, although there is a wealth of useful and thoughtful posts within.

[delthebike]

Yes, it was my daily transport for a year or so before I quit properly the first time.
Absolutely an improvement. It was gradual to begin with but as the pipes cleared things became easier. Faster, further and stronger, I also trained with weights.
Saved a much bigger deposit for a mortgage. Appetite, taste and smell came back. 

[Greenbank]

Were you a cyclist when you gave up the cigs?

Utility cyclist, hadn't started this long distance silliness when I stopped.

Did you notice an improvement?

In cycling; not really, but for many of the same reasons as the Peak Flow thread. Pootling/bimbling just doesn't require massive lung capacity or high peak flow.

But I noticed an amazing improvement in high effort activities such as running and football. Friends commented that I was getting faster each and every week a few months after giving up.

Hill climbing or TT-ing would have improved but I wasn't doing much of that back when I stopped.

In what other ways did life improve?

I stopped smelling.
I stopped coughing and having occasional wheezy days.
I stopped weakening and staining my teeth.
I was ~£40 a week better off.
I became less stressed (after a while).
I stopped waking up in the morning feeling drowsy and spending the first 2 hours of the day half asleep.
I've stopped feeling like I need 10 hours sleep every night.
It coincided with me getting fit and so I generally felt much much better. How much of this is due to stopping smoking and how much is due to getting fit is unknown.

I'm particularly keen to read the thoughts of those fortunate enough to have been in fairly good working order when they stopped.

Yup.

[delthebike]

The biggest thing you'll notice will probably be the excess money you've magically acquired and not so much the cycling benefits, since you already seem to me to be a pretty good rider already.

[Deano]

I have been an ex-smoker for six months - having first tried to quit two years before that.

I've always cycled - I think cycling longer distances was one of the spurs to quit, though.

My sense of smell and taste returning is marvellous - I can taste beer for the first time

I don't cough my guts up at the top of every bank on my bike any more, I don't have a persistent cough any more.

And my days don't revolve around smoking - I used to count the time at work until the next smoking break, and smoke in the house just because I could.  Ridiculous behaviour.  Now I'm free.  I can catch trains and enjoy the journey, or go out with non-smokers without having to worry about when and where I could smoke.  Things are better.

[fred the great]

The benefits are quite obvious but in my case smoking eventually caused the narrowing of the arteries and pain when I raised  my left arm. It was a case of stop  or else. I decided I wanted to live longer

I was a pensioner at that time and rode for about one hour each day. Combined with suitable medicine my health has improved considerably.

And yes the money I saved bought me a nice new bike

[Chris S]

Benefits. Where to begin?

Money.
No more cough, though in fairness I didn't have much in the first place.
No more slavery to the habit. This is a biggie for me - I just LOVE being free of that compulsion. When I see Mrs S out on the patio in the pouring rain smoking despite being full of cold, my heart goes out to her - but at the same time I want to jump for joy because I know I am free of that.
Money. I pay enough bleedin' tax already - without handing over another wedge, on money I've already paid tax on  .
No more brown taste in the mouth, first thing in the morning. I don't know how else to describe it!
Awake in the morning as soon as I open my eyes.
Ability to take a decent breath. The whole chest seemed to become much freer after stopping.
Skin. My skin looks much better - none of that greyish, corpsy tinge you get sometimes as a smoker.
No more stink.
Gums. My dentist thinks I'm a hero - my gums have gone about 30 years back in time.
No more phlegmy wads that suddenly appear in the throat from nowhere. Lung cookies we called them.
The whites of my eyes became properly white, rather than tinged with pink, when I stopped.

There's more I'm sure.

[Sergeant Pluck]

This is good, all good.

ChrisS, your comment about an end to the slavery to the habit - that's precisely what I am fed up with. I like smoking. But I no longer want to feel that I have to.

[LEE]

OK, if smoking is so bad for you then explain this.

Do you think that Doctors would do it if it was bad for them?  Huh?  Well?  Do Yah?

[Palinurus]

Don't know if my cycling improved since most of it was transport back then but I've taken up time-trialling and I probably wouldn't've done as a smoker just because wearing a skinsuit and smoking doesn't feel right.

One thing: I never, I mean never, get colds and 'flu anymore. Before I'd get sick 2-3 times a year.

I still miss having a contemplative cig. like when I'm sitting on a rock by the coast looking out at the setting sun or similar. Don't miss any of the other ones tho'.

[Chris S]

One thing: I never, I mean never, get colds and 'flu anymore. Before I'd get sick 2-3 times a year.

I'd go along with that. I've had two colds since I stopped over six years ago.

[Pancho]

I suppose I'd better get round to giving up again. Not fun. A whole world of miserableness.

[Marmitegeoff]

All of the above. I gave up 27 years ago and it was the second best thing I have ever done.  (I am married and my wife may read this  )

But above all the improvement in the sense of taste and smell,  but above that  the extra energy all day and not feeling like death in the morning.

I now do more phisical work in a day than smokers 20 years my junior. 

Geoff

[numbnuts]

So you don’t get emphysema like I have

[Chris S]

So you don’t get emphysema like I have

Indeed.

Another sufferer of emphysema once told me how I could tell what it's like to have it. "It's easy" he said "Put a straw in your mouth. You are only allowed to breath through the straw. Now see how much of your normal life you can do."

It was a real eye opener, and certainly spurred me on to stop smoking.

[numbnuts]

Another sufferer of emphysema once told me how I could tell what it's like to have it. "It's easy" he said "Put a straw in your mouth. You are only allowed to breath through the straw. Now see how much of your normal life you can do."

I don’t know how much longer I will be able to ride my bike for, I seem to be getting so slow going up inclines and as for hills I refuse to get off and push so I just spin at 3 – 4 mph and get to the top totally exhausted, now I look back at my life and think “why the fuck did I smoke in the first place”
oh yeah I remember “it was to be big in front of my mates”
……not so big now are we!!!!

[Basil]

I'll give you one benefit that I noticed that is unfortunately short lived.

The body of a smoker has to produce many more red blood cells in order to capture enough oxygen.  This is because the red blood cells also capture carbon monoxide instead of just oxygen, so many more red blood cells are needed to process enough oxygen.
This I assume is why smokers have higher blood pressures.

Anyway, two days after stopping smoking last time, I really noticed the power I suddenly seemed to have up hill.  No CO but still massive ammounts of red blood cells and oxygen being delivered to muscules in huge quantities.

Red blood cell count obviously soon drops as well.

Probably not the best blood doping technique.   

[CathH]

I think I've said this before on here or Elsewhere but the four best things that I've noticed are:

1.  The day passes now in a long, unbroken ribbon.  I never really noticed when I was smoking, but my life really was a series of intervals between one cigarette and another.  My life has now taken on a completely different rhythm, a much more natural one.  I now notice things like my energy rising and falling as the day progresses.  I can concentrate, uninterrupted, for hours at a time.  Thirst is what usually drives me to attend to my bodily needs now!

2.  My skin has hydrated.  I really didn't notice quite how grey and dry and wizned I had become.  My skin feels, well, plush and dewy and soft.  A lot of fine lines have smoothed out in my face.  It's better than the effects of the best, most expensive face creams.  No need for botox!

3.  Breathing is so enjoyable.  I had been a smoker for so long (25 odd years) that I had totally forgotten the pleasure of taking a deep breath of cool, fragrant summer air, feeling it hit the bottom of my lungs and holding it..... holding it..... and then letting it out with a sigh.  Cool fresh air is better than drinking clear cool water.  This is one source of sensation that disappears so gradually when you begin smoking that you forget about it I think.

4.  MONEY!!!  Giving up smoking is soley responsible for my cycling renaissance.  I do not feel guilty at all whenever I want to purchase a piece of kit because, having been a 40-per-day smoker, I will really have to go some to spend what I am saving. 

I know that it's going to be hard for you Sarge, but believe me, although you feel that you will never be able to enjoy a meal, or a sunset, or an afternoon in the garden ever again, it's not true.  Once you break the psychological hold, life will become so much more enjoyable and you will never look back.  It's those people who have never broken that hold and who look back in nostalgic regret at their smoking years that I am really sorry for - what a nightmare; constant longing.  It doesn't have to be like that.

[alan]

I have a garage full of various types of bikes & accessories financed by the  money not spent on coffin nails

I don't stink anymore.
I can  now taste food
I can now smell food,coffee,flowers ,hair,leather & so many other things
I can run,cycle,swim further than I have been able to for 30 years.(I'm not fast but I have endurance)
My self respect & confidence have improved because I am no longer a drug addict
I have the energy to play with my grand-daughters.
I need less sleep.
I feel "sharper" between the ears.

[Sergeant Pluck]

I never really noticed when I was smoking, but my life really was a series of intervals between one cigarette and another

How did you prepare for the change? How did you deal with those times when you normally would have a cigarette?

Personally I fire one up first thing in the morning.

[Chris S]

I never really noticed when I was smoking, but my life really was a series of intervals between one cigarette and another

How did you prepare for the change? How did you deal with those times when you normally would have a cigarette?

Personally I fire one up first thing in the morning.

I found distraction worked well. At the time I'd light up in the morning - I'd often jump in the car and drive over to the nearest swimming pool for a swim. Swimming is not something I ever associated with smoking (for obvious reasons).

Other non-smoking related distractions:

Take a shower
Go for a run
Ride your bike
Eat

Distraction and denial are brilliant tools to use against those junkie thoughts.

[Blade]

Mrs Blade and I gave up smoking 28 years ago, or at least she did. when I've had a few drinks and am with friends that smoke, I may get a whiff of that lovely warm sweet tasting smoke that I enjoyed so much. Four times now I've begged a smoke from a friend......and found it tasted like s**t :sick:That's enough aversion therapy to last me another 6 or 7 years.

Benifits

Money, we spent the money that we saved, on paying more off on the mortgage. Meant we could move on to something bigger sooner.

House, car and clothes don't smell of smoke any more.

No nasty coughing fit when smoking the first one of the day.

Don't seem to get out of breath too much when doing anything strenuous.

No more fag burns on my clothes.

[Mr Larrington]

I suppose I'd better get round to giving up again. Not fun. A whole world of miserableness.

What Pancho said.  I shall be the one chewing the carpet.

(Goes for fag break)

[Rapples]

How did you prepare for the change? How did you deal with those times when you normally would have a cigarette?

Personally I fire one up first thing in the morning.

The first step is DON'T fire one up First thing in the morning, see how long you last.

Tomorrow try and do better, and so on.

When you can get to lunchtime without one throw away the packet

[goatpebble]

Cath, bloody hell, that about sums it up. There is a romantic notion, the sheer seduction of the cigarette.

I have the first edition of Richard Klein's 'Cigarettes are Sublime'. It is an extraordinary book, and I recommend it to anyone who smokes.

The myths and magic of smoking. This is the cigarette at it's most impossible limit of its claim to both our lowest and highest needs. The transitory moments when the cigarette seems to suspend time and emotion, and the smoker sits very still, when everything else just slides sideways.

Richard Klein gave up smoking after writing this book. For me, there is the wonderful prospect of irony, the romance of film and art, and then the crass notion of Allen Carr.

That we might understand ourselves by looking at at art and literature, because others have had to explore, and sometimes with the wounds to show that we might not find what we expect...

edit: this post is a starting point to the the destruction of a myth. The smoker might still be held in the romantic notion, but telling a story, however enticing, might still be a truth that might allow an escape.