How old were you when you had your first cigarette?

[AgentLampshade]

I was 15 when I had my first, then deliberately turned into a smoker just to prove how easy it is to quit (I properly started when I was 17.) It took me 2/3 years to get properly addicted before deciding "nope, that's me done. Enjoy yourselves guys."

I do miss the banter in the smoking area of pubs though.

 

[Artemis923]

I used to abhor smoking.

Then I joined the Navy...now I smoke like a chimney.

 

[Baldry]

16 or 17, in fairness I only did it to see what the fuss was about, personally I prefer smoking my pipe and cigars, they make me look cooler and I just enjoy it, it's peaceful and cheaper since my pipe tobacco can last up to two months.

 

[BrotherRool]

Never tried. I don't know I guess I just don't have much curiousity about stuff? Why should I start, I don't enjoy it now and from what people say you've got to work a little bit before it's enjoyable and then it's hard to stop. I'm very lazy and if there's not a gap in my life I don't really go out of my way to fill it. Plus the UK is super restrictive on public smoking so I don't smell it often enough for the smell not to be unpleasant

 

[RyoScar]

I've never had a cigarette, I can't even stand the smell of the smoke, it's discusting in my opinion.

 

[Casual Shinji]

16 I think, smoked for a few years. I quit for a bit as my girlfriend at the time didn't like it. Then we broke up and I started up again, haven't looked back since.
Love the stuff, on a day like today I need my vices to function. Wake up with a massive hangover after an hour of moaning in bed it's coffee and cigarettes. Perfect

I can't smoke when I'm hungover, mostly because I smoke too much when I'm drinking but I find it really nasty the morning after.

What about when you have cold?

I remember the annoyance of lighting up a cigarette whenever I had a sore throat.

 

[Murais]

22. I've evolved into a stress-smoker since. I'm the kind of person who doesn't smoke at all during the year, but by mid-terms I'm chain-smoking every waking moment of the day.

I call it The French Diet. Because the only graces keeping me awake/nourished during those time periods are bread, coffee, an insatiable loathing for all other forms of life, and nicotine.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

I don't smoke, and think that all you's who do be terrible smokespreaders!

Nah, just kidding. You're all cool in my books. Whatever floats your boats.

 

[Spacewolf]

So, 1000 "thin and healthy" people cost $417,000 (about £257,000) from age 20. Smokers cost $326,000 (about £201,000). In 2011, the population of the UK was 63,100,000. Assuming that the data for the Netherlands is roughly the same as in the UK (although our healthcare systems aren't the same), "thin and healthy" people cost 63,100*£257,000=£16,216,700,000. Smokers cost 63,100*£201,000=£12,683,100,000. £16,216,700,000-£12,683,100,000=£3,533,600,000.

Conclusion: Tax from tobacco does not cover smoking-related illnesses.

P.S.: This was the most complex mathematical problem I have had to solve since I did my GCSEs. There may be one or two errors

Yea you forgot to count that smokers also have standard medical needs

 

[Reaper195]

I think I was...eleven? Maybe twelve? One of the two, it was either just before or just after my twelfth birthday. Didn't have another one until I was fourteen, where I smoked for about three months, then stopped. I also have had two in the last six months.

 

[Mouse One]

Haven't smoked one as of yet, I already have a big fat cuban cigar on occasion.

Really, cubanos? Pricey. Me, I buy my cigars in bulk online. Way cheaper, like two to four bucks a stick. Good ones, too (I generally smoke Partagas or Punch) But cigars are a different experience than cigarettes. You have one with a nice glass of whisky on your porch as the sun sets, just kicking back, enjoying the scent and flavor. Slight nicotine buzz, but nothing that gets you too wired. I'll have three or four a week, rarely more than one at a time. I'll go days without one when I'm on the road without any cravings.

I've probably smoked less than two, maybe three packs of cigarettes in my life. More to be social than anything else. Frankly, I don't see the appeal. The tobacco's cheap, it's gone in a couple of minutes, and I'm just not into deep inhaling to get that nicotine. I mean, if I'm going to indulge in a vice, it's got to be enjoyable.

 

[anthony87]

Why do all the non-smokers see a thread title clearly aimed at people who smoke and then decide to start posting about how they don't smoke?

Anyways, I first tried one when I was around 17. Didn't like it. Don't really give a crap if someone else smokes though.

Now weed on the other hand.....

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

Haven't smoked one as of yet, I already have a big fat cuban cigar on occasion.

Really, cubanos? Pricey. Me, I buy my cigars in bulk online. Way cheaper, like two to four bucks a stick. Good ones, too (I generally smoke Partagas or Punch) But cigars are a different experience than cigarettes. You have one with a nice glass of whisky on your porch as the sun sets, just kicking back, enjoying the scent and flavor. Slight nicotine buzz, but nothing that gets you too wired. I'll have three or four a week, rarely more than one at a time. I'll go days without one when I'm on the road without any cravings.

I've probably smoked less than two, maybe three packs of cigarettes in my life. More to be social than anything else. Frankly, I don't see the appeal. The tobacco's cheap, it's gone in a couple of minutes, and I'm just not into deep inhaling to get that nicotine. I mean, if I'm going to indulge in a vice, it's got to be enjoyable.

Sure one cigar might set me back $30 or more depending on the brand and location of purchase, but since I also only drink high quality whiskey, lookin at a good $120 or higher for a bottle, I tend to enjoy such things only on occassions that call for it, promotions, babies born to friends or close family, marriages, deaths of long standing foes, y'know, stuff like that. Until you've left a burning cigar stub on the grave of a recently deceased enemy... Let's just say, that feeling of relief when an asshole who's done you wrong and hurt your family, gets his before you, it's always nice, and when you combine it with that final touch, leaving the remains of a dying cigar as a final farewell... Ahh...

It's been a long time since I've had a reason to celebrate...

 

[Gitty101]

A lot of non-smokers here... But I'm not one of them. Had my first cigarette about a year ago. I'm on about one or two a day now, depending on what I'm doing at the time.