any smoking roadgeeks?

[allniter89]

I smoked cigarettes for 30 yrs before quitting in 2001 and yes I did inhale

[realjd]

Never cigarettes but I do enjoy a cigar every few weeks. And no, I don't inhale!

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Are we talking about smoke or are we talking about smoke? 

(I have never partaken of either.)

[Takumi]

I smoke every now and then. I tried "the last option" a few times, but it wasn't for me.

[Sanctimoniously]

I smoked for a little while in high school, but I haven't really since. I also smoked cigars a few times while I was on deployment.

[J N Winkler]

I have never smoked habitually, though I did try an Egyptian water pipe a long time ago.  I also don't approve of smoke as a delivery mechanism for any other drug.  I dislike secondhand smoke in general, although I find that of high-quality cigar or pipe tobacco easier to tolerate than cigarette smoke in general (the more expensive the tobacco is, the easier it is to tolerate).

Both parents smoked for thirty years before they quit (father smoked pipes and occasionally small cigars, while mother smoked half a pack of cigarettes a day).  I never liked the secondhand smoke, which guaranteed that every time I had a cold when I was a child, it was bad enough to keep me out of school for at least one day.  One cold developed into bronchitis and took me out of school for three weeks.

My paternal grandfather died at age 59 from lung cancer as a result of being a heavy smoker of virtually every type of smokable tobacco product, whereas no other grandparent died at an age younger than 84, so I have not been tempted in the slightest to start smoking.

[agentsteel53]

I have the occasional cigar or green product.  maybe 1-2 times a year for each.

[corco]

I smoke cigarettes very occasionally- once every few months or so my body says "Hey, a cigarette sounds good" and then I smoke one or two and I'm good for several more months. I'll also typically smoke if I'm drinking and one is offered to me. I probably smoke a pack every 9 months or so.

I'll smoke a cigar on a special occasion.

I enjoy the green stuff a couple times a year- I never keep any on hand but usually if I'm around other people smoking and I don't have to do anything the next day I'll do it- with even a couple good hits my brain is fairly useless the next day, particularly if I've been drinking too.

[vdeane]

Never smoked, and don't really understand the attraction.  Don't really like second hand smoke either since I've read it's even more dangerous than actual smoking.

[hbelkins]

Yes, I'm a Tony Stewart fan! 

I've never smoked anything. Never taken even the first puff of a cigarette, and for sure never smoked any wacky backy. I don't see the attraction of sucking hot gases into your lungs.

I don't mind the smell of cigar smoke, but pipe smoke is too sweet, cigarette smoke is just nasty, and marijuana smoke gives me a headache.

[formulanone]

Smoked cigs very infrequently at a bar/concert/club (maybe 3-4 packs in a lifetime) and green once in a blue moon. No smoking in over 15 years, can't stand any of it, and I miss none of it.

[realjd]

I don't see the attraction of sucking hot gases into your lungs.

I'm with you there. That's why I stick with cigars, usually with a good whiskey.

[triplemultiplex]

I have always considered smoking to be disgusting.  And cigarettes in particular have the world's most terrible stench coming from them; like a paper mill is on fire.  I would rather live next to a dairy farm than a smoker.

When bars in Wisconsin when smoke free a couple years ago, I was ecstatic.  Now I can go have a drink and not smell like a goddamn ashtray.  If people want to kill their lungs, that's there business, but it becomes my business when their vice starts directly affecting me.

[Duke87]

I find the smell of tobacco to be vile, regardless of form. I have never used it and cannot see why anyone would. Seems about as appealing as inhaling sewage to me.

[allniter89]

I totally agree with the opinions on 2nd hand smoke. I never realized how the stink stays on your clothes and hair. My dad smoked at least a pack a day (Camel non-filter yet) for as long as I can remember, he died at 50 yrs old and yet I smoked for 21 years before I quit=stupid.
Some damage has been done to my respiratory system, luckily(?) only extreme exertion brings a episode. Oh well, it is what it is we all have to live with our decisions.

[mgk920]

I have always considered smoking to be disgusting.  And cigarettes in particular have the world's most terrible stench coming from them; like a paper mill is on fire.  I would rather live next to a dairy farm than a smoker.

When bars in Wisconsin when smoke free a couple years ago, I was ecstatic.  Now I can go have a drink and not smell like a goddamn ashtray.  If people want to kill their lungs, that's there business, but it becomes my business when their vice starts directly affecting me.

I feel much the same way, although I don't consider myself to be an anti-smoking zealot.  I will also never knowingly go out with a female who is addicted to tobacco (it's my #1 fatal disqualifier).

And no, I have never figured out the attractiveness to it, either.

I also had a heavy-smoking cousin who died a few years ago at age 43 from lung cancer.

Mike

[KEK Inc.]

I have asthma, so no.

[cu2010]

Never started. Have no intentions of ever doing so.

Especially considering that, at four dollars and thirty-five cents a pack, the cigarette taxes in my state are ridiculous...and, thus, it would get expensive fast.

[KEVIN_224]

I've never touched a single cigarette in my life. My mother, twin brother and younger sister don't smoke either. My maternal grandfather died in 1992 as a result of emphysema and other smoking-related ailments. He was born in 1921, started smoking in the late 1930s and quite cold turkey in 1968. The damage was already done, sad to say. 

[Special K]

I'll smoke a celebratory cigar about once every 2 years.

I don't have a lot to celebrate, apparently.

[kphoger]

I'm really amazed at how many people answered 'no'.  It seems most people I ask have smoked at least once–although I must admit the subject doesn't come up all that often.

I've never smoked at all.  As I like to say, I've never put any burning thing in my mouth.  Off and on, I've considered buying a pipe, but my wife would never really go for that anyway.  I enjoy the smell of pipe smoke, I'm on the fence about the smell of weed smoke, I mildly dislike the smell of cigar smoke, and I dislike the smell of cigarette smoke.  However, unlike most nonsmokers I know, I don't totally hate to be around others smoking.  I'm not sure how much I believe in the dangers of casual second-hand smoke, though I don't doubt a bit the dangers of habitual second-hand smoke.

The worst for me is how it saturates all your fabrics with that nasty Old Smoke Smell.  My wife's stepmom chain smokes, and it's gotten to the point that we don't stay the night there anymore.  Even though she sometimes quits while we're there, the smell still permeates everything we own, especially pillows and blankets.

[Alex]

I'm really amazed at how many people answered 'no'.  It seems most people I ask have smoked at least once–although I must admit the subject doesn't come up all that often.

That is because there is no option for smoked once or rarely. I may smoke a cigarette once in a given year.

[J N Winkler]

I've never smoked at all.  As I like to say, I've never put any burning thing in my mouth.  Off and on, I've considered buying a pipe, but my wife would never really go for that anyway.  I enjoy the smell of pipe smoke, I'm on the fence about the smell of weed smoke, I mildly dislike the smell of cigar smoke, and I dislike the smell of cigarette smoke.  However, unlike most nonsmokers I know, I don't totally hate to be around others smoking.  I'm not sure how much I believe in the dangers of casual second-hand smoke, though I don't doubt a bit the dangers of habitual second-hand smoke.

Context is also a factor.  I don't like smoke of any kind, even pipe smoke, in my personal living space.  I am especially intolerant of smoke when I am awake and trying to go to sleep.  When I am at rest in a semipublic shared space with the freedom to leave at any time, I find I can tolerate pretty much everything from pipe smoke all the way down to cigarette smoke (including cannabis smoke) for short periods, as long as the atmosphere isn't too smoky.  On the other hand, I hate having to breathe smoke when I am engaged in any kind of physical exertion.  It really annoys me to be walking down the street with a smoker upwind, cigarette going in his or her fingers, and also walking in the same direction, so that it takes ages for me to overtake him or her and start breathing fresh air again.

About cannabis smoke I have a huge reservation--I don't want to breathe it, even at second hand, if I am about to board a flight to the US or any other country that has strict drug interdiction policies.  My one personal experience of a cannabis high was nothing special--it was more a "whatever, don't give a fuck" attitude--but the somatic effects persisted for a surprisingly long time; for example, it took me about a day to get over feeling high, and it then took a further six days for my sweat to smart smelling normal again.  I think many cannabis "stoners" get singled out for secondary inspection or worse because they don't realize how glaringly obvious these signs of recent drug use are to trained immigration and customs officers.

In the US anyone suspected of bringing in drugs can expect at minimum a frisk or patdown, which can then progress to a full body cavity search and X-ray examination with the approval of the director of the port (and a court order if the arriving passenger refuses consent).  I also wouldn't take bets on Customs not having the authority to take samples for drug testing.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/gg00038.pdf

If I were visiting Amsterdam, for instance, I would not like to go to Schiphol and then board a direct flight to the US without first taking care to stay in cannabis-free lodging and to avoid coffee shops.  And the US is mild compared to some other countries--Midnight Express, anyone?

The worst for me is how it saturates all your fabrics with that nasty Old Smoke Smell.  My wife's stepmom chain smokes, and it's gotten to the point that we don't stay the night there anymore.  Even though she sometimes quits while we're there, the smell still permeates everything we own, especially pillows and blankets.

The smoke can permeate many kinds of commercial merchandise too.  I visited Spain several years before a nationwide ban on smoking in public enclosed spaces was introduced in 2005.  Previous to the ban there was essentially no restriction on smoking in Spain--you could smoke in the workplace, in airports, in hospitals, in overnight accommodation (no requirement to provide non-smoking rooms), etc.  I went to a small bookshop run by the Ministerio de Fomento at the south end of the Nuevos Ministerios building in Madrid to purchase some books related to traffic signing.  I walked out of there with a print copy of the direction sign design manual (Norma 8.1-IC) and a headache, since both clerks chain-smoked.  Fresh air disposed of my headache right away, but it took years before my copy of Norma 8.1-IC stopped smelling of cigarette smoke.

[empirestate]

Before smoking bans were invented in the U.S., I never particularly noticed the level of smokiness in restaurants and bars. Now that indoor smoking is all but forbidden nationwide, it's immediately and acutely noticeable when you encounter that rare establishment where it's still permitted (or the one scofflaw who lights up where it's not allowed). Besides my just being accustomed to non-smoking premises, I also wonder if it's because smokers congregate more densely in those places because it is still allowed.

Perhaps for a similar reason, I perceive outdoor smoking as being more prevalent, since that's where everyone needs to go to do it these days (and parks and plazas are off-limits too). Here in NYC, there's no escaping outdoor smoke with the crowds, and I do feel for those smokers who wish they could find a quiet, out-of-the way place to do it, but there's not enough sidewalk in the city for anyone to find a couple square feet of private space.

[kphoger]

Before smoking bans were invented in the U.S., I never particularly noticed the level of smokiness in restaurants and bars. Now that indoor smoking is all but forbidden nationwide, it's immediately and acutely noticeable when you encounter that rare establishment where it's still permitted (or the one scofflaw who lights up where it's not allowed). Besides my just being accustomed to non-smoking premises, I also wonder if it's because smokers congregate more densely in those places because it is still allowed.

Perhaps for a similar reason, I perceive outdoor smoking as being more prevalent, since that's where everyone needs to go to do it these days (and parks and plazas are off-limits too). Here in NYC, there's no escaping outdoor smoke with the crowds, and I do feel for those smokers who wish they could find a quiet, out-of-the way place to do it, but there's not enough sidewalk in the city for anyone to find a couple square feet of private space.

You should read Stephen King's short story, The Ten O-Clock People.