long time smoker - Smoking Cessation Message Board

SHARON1952 · 02-15-2008, 07:06 PM

i have smoked for 42 years is there anyone else who smoked that long and quit felt any better for stoping i was just wondering if i am doing the right thing i am stopped but have a realy bad cough and gunk coming up could anyone tell me of any experience of stoping some people say it can be worse for your health to stop after such a long time so i am a bit confused about this

petlover1003 · 02-16-2008, 09:14 AM

Sharon,
I too have smoked for 42 years, starting at 16 when it was "cool". Luckily, I have never had any cough or obvious effects from all my years of smoking BUT I know internally there must be some and it will only get worse.
Today is my Day 7 without a cigarette. It's been the toughest week of my life but I'm hoping from here forward it gets easier or maybe I should say I hope it gets "less difficult" as I know it will never be easy.
I can't imagine anyone saying it better to just keep smoking as it's harder on you to quit. Well maybe if you're in your 90's and really old!! By that point I guess you've earned the right to keep smoking if you chose!

SHARON1952 · 02-16-2008, 03:26 PM

thank you for the reply i had not smoked from feb 6th but i slipped today again i am sick of myself and will stop tomorrow again i have been on and of since last year are you using any nrt also let me know how you are doing

bevann26 · 02-17-2008, 07:11 AM

sharon....i also have smoked for 42 yrs. i have quit so many times i lost count over the yrs. my longest quit was 4 mos(patch) and 4 mos(cold turkey). over the last 2 mos. i have quit a few day, a wk etc. just playing around with it using the lozenges this time.
now i have anoth quit day...tomorrow. my hubby refuses to quit so that is my hardest thing, of having cigs in the house.
i really need to quit for my health, i already have copd.
anyway, i hope to keep coming on here and posting.
you can, and i can, be stronger than the nicodemon!
best of luck to you........bevann

tmtabfree · 02-17-2008, 07:33 AM

I am a 28 yr smoker. quit a few days and re-start. The sad part is i watched my father smoke untill he couldnt draw on a cig. no more. So he quit, and died a year later of lung cancer. The reason I am posting this is that right after he quit he started coughing up "gunk" and other signs that you are having. His doctor said it was normal for long time smokers to do this, it was his lungs "peeling" away the bad stuff that was stuck to them. So anyway good luck on your journey, it is worth it in the long run. BTW i have a quit date of 2moro!! My small kids have begged me to quit for the last year and i sure dont want them to go thru the same stuff i went thru with my father.