No - tried to in high school but fortunately I never developed a taste for it. DH, who I met in college, smoked. It drove me nuts for about twelve years until he finally quit around age 30.

I bet there's a correlation between smokers and age. - the younger members here will be less likely to have ever smoked.

I started smoking in high school - part of my rebellion. Even though both of my parents smoked they were adamant that none of their 4 kids smoke and my older siblings had all tried and gotten in trouble! Didn't stop me. But my smoking was limited to where there would be shock value (around adults who might be horrified!) or socially with my 'rebel' friends! I never smoked alone. My boyfriend sr. year was a non smoker so I stopped. Fast forward to college, jr. year and I started smoking socially - again - until I began dating a non-smoker. When I stopped that time it was for keeps.

Yes. I started socially when I was about 14. When I was 17 and away at college I started smoking more - about a pack a day.

I think I quit once for about 6 months when I was around 30. When I was 38 I decided I wanted to try for a baby. I quit then. It has been almost 5 years (and two kids, I am so lucky since I started trying so late) . DH quit with me. He smoked even more than I did. We both still miss it. Maybe it hasn't been long enough. We agreed if one slips the other will. I think it keeps us in check. :)

I'm old and never smoked. My parents never smoked though, and I never felt peer pressure to do so. I sure suffered through a lot of second hand smoke everywhere else though. We older people can remember when you could smoke virtually anywhere, even elevators and hospitals, busses, offices conference rooms, etc.

I smoked cigarettes in high school in the 1960's - I came from a smoking household, so it seemed natural. Smoked until the early 1970's when the gov't warnings about the dangers were being publicized in ads on TV and on the packages. Scared me silly and I quit. It was hard, but every day after the 1st was easier and I just vowed to never put a cigarette in my mouth again. My husband agreed to quit, too, but I found out a couple of years later that he still smoked at work. My sniffer hadn't healed completely yet from what smoking had done to it, so I didn't smell it on him. Now I can smell it if I'm driving behind a car with a smoker in it!

We built a new home in 1974 and he agreed to not smoke inside. After a year or so of having to go out in the cold and rain to smoke, he finally quit, too. I am so thankful we did. My mom died from COPD and I wouldn't wish that end of life or death on anyone. I guess we never think it will be us, but it will be.

No, thank goodness! Our grandfather, who was dying from lung cancer, came to live with us for about a year when I was young. So, from an early age I've always associated cigarettes with smelly smoke (Grandpa smoked in his room, out on the porch and in our yard), his nonstop coughing and bad smokers breath, his smelly smoky clothes . . . and then him dying in a very sad way. As a result, I had no desire to ever start.
Lynn

Both my parents smoked, and I started around 16, on and off (to be cool) then full time around 18 till I became pregnant with DD1. I was 21, so stopped until after DD2 was born, then started up again when my marriage started falling apart (he smoked the whole time). When i found out I was pregnant with DS, I quit again, but only till he was a couple months old, then I started up again. I'd quit here and there, but would pick up until after my DH (current) who was also a smoker, quit. He dared me to quit, so i did, right then and there-and it's been almost 23 years since I've smoked.

For the first few years, it was easy-until I had a beer. Never failed, drink a beer-craved a cigarette. I did have ONE cave in, after our final softball game, we all went out for pizza & beer and we were really having a lot of beer-so I picked up one from a teammate and smoked a couple that night-but the next day my mouth still tasted like an ashtray, despite multiple brushing, and i never picked it up again.

My DS smokes-makes me SO ANGRY, and his sisters nag him constantly to stop. I think he's cut way back and is on the verge of quitting for good. Hope so!

Nope..only a few joints now and then and one other thing I mention below .

I was an opera singer from an early age so never was interested. My Mom smoked cigarettes and I remember her saying that when she quit the last and most difficult one to give up was the one with her morning coffee . She stopped in the late 50's when she joined AA. Dad always smoked cigars..the nice big fat El Productos ! He didn't quit when he joined AA with Momma.At one time he smoked a box a day...if you remember back to when they had the rectangular wooden and then cardboard cigar boxes. That was a lot of cigars. I loved them and still do. I have been known to smoke a lovely expensive cigar in the past :) He stopped when he had heart surgery at 80. He stopped his cigars in one day...built a new home and bought himself a new Lincoln Town Car...he lived till he was 92 !

Most AA folks smoke ..as well as people trying to get off of drugs. Gives you something to do with your hands and calms you down .

DH smoked Benson and Hedges Gold cigarettes when we met in 1970. I loved the smell and never worried about him smoking. Later he took up pipes which I loved too. He stopped all and the started again when we lived in Holland as everyone over there smoked at that time...late 80's. DD then asked him to stop in the 90's and he did. Then started again when DIL and DS1 lived with us as she smoked but he stopped again and so did she. So there you go. She used Chantrix and it worked perfectly for her. c

No - I was totally turned off by cigarettes. My dad grew up on a tobacco farm, smoked from a very young age, and died of lung cancer. Not sure when my mom started, but I imagine in her teens or 20s. She smoked throughout her two pregnancies, but back in the day, that was the norm.

Growing up, I found the second-hand smoke unbearable, especially during long car rides. I also grew up with frequent ear infections throughout the 60s/70s, and always wondered if it was tied to living in a smoke-filled house. My brother smoked, but quit in his 30s or 40s.

No I didn't. I'm 60 and in my generation I think you did it to be cool. I was too much of a nerd to ever be considered cool. My parents didn't smoke but that didn't stop 4 out of 6 kids from smoking. None of them smoke anymore and none of the next generation (there are 11 of them) have ever smoked.

Been smoke free for six years and could not be happier. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and it was the first time I ever tried. I kinda miss it but when I smell cigarettes it reminds me to never smoke again. For anyone wanting to quit "Quit Keeper" is a great tool to have.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quit Keeper

Both my parents smoked and I started at 13 smoked till I was a heavy smoker till 23. Happy to report both parents quit when my kids were babies. Smoke free since Jan 1 1987. Now to convince my son to quit..................................silly boy

One evening way back in '61 when I was 6, I was watching TV with my family. A cigarette commercial came on. My mom asked me, "Are you going to smoke when you grow up?"
"Yeah!" I said, "It looks like fun!"
"No!!!" my mom replied. "They cause cancer and heart attacks, and you'll die young!"

And that did the trick. I have never smoked a cigarette.

My mom drummed into me from an early age: don't smoke, don't run around, stay in school, go to college to get a good job, marry a doctor. I did all but the latter.

Never, ever, had a cigarette in my mouth. My parents were heavy smokers. My mom had asthma and emphyzema and died from lung cancer. I used to lie in bed and listen to her cough. I stayed awake at night, worrying that she couldn't stop coughing and then when she did I would get up to see if she had died from coughing so hard. It did terrible things to my sense of security. I hated how my clothes smelled, especially when we moved from Maryland where we didn't have air conditioning in the house and had to keep the fans and windows open. Our small house in Florida had air conditioning and it kept all the smell in. After I married and when we came home, I kept all our clothes in the car and only brought in what we needed to change into. All laundry was done before it ever came back into my apartment.

Back in the 60's when I worked for a major airline manufacturer; they used to send the airplanes to the airline company with company people onboard. One guy told me that they made a routine stop somewhere between to refuel and check the aircraft out. He saw a lot of "oil" leaking or draining under the aircraft and asked about it. He was told it was from cigarette smoke pulled from the cabin during flight. He threw his last pack of smokes into the garbage and never smoked again.

No, never. Not to offend anyone, but it is a deterent to me to smell a smoker's breath - and as mentioned by someone else, I hate the way the smell lingers in your hair, clothing, etc.

My parents smoked for a few years. I believe both quit before I was born - I cannot ever remember seeing either of them smoke. My grandmother smoked for years - like 40 or 50 years - she started when she was about 16 or so. She mostly smoked on her deck or opened a window and leaned out it LOL. Still her walls (paint) would yellow over time. She got bronchitis and never wanted another cigerette. Could not tolerate the taste. She turned 96 last month and has thankfully never had any issues from smoking.

NEVER.

NOT EVEN CLOSE.

I barely remember my DF smoking...mid-60's...I was ~5. Dr. told him to quit, and he did. That was that! Mom never did...would've aggravated her tendency towards asthma at the time.
Smokers/smoking bugged me A LOT growing up. I usually got headaches, & hated the smell. Made a vow to myself in HS I'd never even date a Woman who smoked...too much hassle & argument potential.
It's just such an IDIOTIC addiction....kills not only the user, but can seriously harm loved-ones too.

I could go on with my anti-smoking rant...but I'd start sounding like Hitler. I'll just let it lie at the "Abject hatred" level.

Faron

No, I have never smoked! Unfortunately, I have had a lifetime of second-hand smoke exposure home and smoky bars.

Very few of my friends smoked, so it just wasn't something we did.

I have a professional contact who just died of lung cancer as a nonsmoker. Seriously, I am pretty worried about my lifetime exposure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Toni Yancey story

I played around with cigarettes right after high school but never got hooked, thank God. My XH smoked so I inhaled plenty of his second hand smoke, I am afraid. Now he is in his late 60's and on dialysis. Not sure if the smoking contributed to this, but it surely could not have helped.

My father also smoked most of his life. He had a heart attack and later a stroke. His second wife chain smoked and died of COPD at age 55.

No cigarettes for me, thanks. I even hold my breath when walking past a smoker on the street.

ded, yes, smoking causes hypertension which is one of the leading causes of kidney disease. My oldest niece is a Registered Dietician at a dialysis center, and almost all her patients had hypertension, diabetes, or both.

That's interesting, gscience. As mean as it sounds, I am hoping that is the case and it is not genetic, since he is my sons' father. I do feel sorry for the guy, but I can't tell you how many times I talked to him about quitting. Everyone in his family smoked like a chimney. His father dropped dead of a heart attack at 46, another genetic worry when it comes to my kids.

No, never! My parents never smoked and neither does anyone in my extended family, nor any of our friends. My grandfather smoked a pipe and died of lung cancer. DH has never smoked either. He says that listening to his parents coughing every morning made him a resolute non smoker.

I'm 63 and I;ve never, ever, smoked. Married to a life-long non-smoker. Cigarettes are not allowed in our house (or farm as they can transmit tobacco mosaic virus to our crops).

I loathe cigarette smoking. Was thrilled when in the mid/early '80s smoking was banned in restuarants and then all workplaces in NY state.

Once dated (semi-seriously) a man who smoked, but broke it off because I realized that he would never quit and I could never live with the smoking. Nowadays I won't even go to homes where smoking is going to happen, nor ride in cars with active smoking. (And prefer not to even get in cars where smoking has occurred.)

My grandmother who never smoked a cigarette either died of lung cancer (possibly radon exposure or second-hand risk). My non-smoking husband had a serious heart attack (he grew up with smokers), but my late father who did smoke for many years (though I didn't live many of them with him, thankfully, as I was in boarding school) did not die from lung disease or cancer. Go figure!

Even without the disease risk, it's still gross to me.

L.

My parents smoked & although I accepted it (what could I do?), I never liked it. My Dad died of COPD...horrible illness. He had tried to quit when he got diagnosed with emphysema, & in fact did quit, but started up again fairly soon. Made me very sad.

So, I never smoked, nor does my DH or our kids or their spouses, for which I am very grateful!! Our DS chewed tobacco for a bit in high school....talk about disgusting!! I can't even picture him doing it now (he's 40).

Out of four kids, only one took up smoking & I think it wasn't unit her 40's or so....not sure if she's still doing it now that she's in her mid 70's.

Tried smoking in college but did not stick with it. Both parents smoked my whole childhood. I remember going on vacation and gagging because they were smoking in the car with the windows barely cracked. I remember always having to wait after dinner before doing anything else for them to have their cig break. They eventually quit but my brother started, at a young age. He used to give me a ride to school and smoke the whole way. I remember working on my hair all morning to arrive at high school with it smelling like an ash tray. MIL died of lung cancer and constant smoking so given all this, thankfully my kids are not at all interested in trying them.

I smoked for 26 years starting when I was 12. Just one of the ways I could rebel that I 'thought' was safe. My DF smoked but had quit about the time I started. Since it's been over 30 years since I had a cigarette I'm probably statistically out of danger from the effects. It was cool back in those days but by the time I quit it was not as much. I now can't stand the smell and don't know why anyone would do so when the risks are so well known and tragic. Sure it's not easy to quit but it is possible.

Only one of my kids smoked but fortunately has now quit. Two of them tried mj occasionally as teens but have since grown up and don't anymore.