Does anybody ever 'quit' smoking thesedays?

Giving up is now just part of the rhetoric of smoking. If somebody's trying to give up, you ask them how long has it been, they'll say, i dunno, "a week", you'll say "good effort!". Both of you know that they're gonna start again. "Good effort!" means: that's an impressive display of endurance, i'll give you til next weekend.

Seems that most smokers are perpetually trying to quit. Basically, if you are a smoker, and you are not trying to quit, then you have issues. You either have self-destructive tendencies or a case of complete denial.

Of course, actually quitting can be quite difficult.

Are they, though? The few smokers I know, none of them are actively considering quitting...

i thought the whole point of smoking is that you are constantly trying to quit, which gives you an excuse to whinge unreasonably about everything and blame it on "oh excuse my temper i'm quitting smoking"

it's PMS for people who aren't currently suffering from PMS.

"Are they, though? The few smokers I know, none of them are actively considering quitting... "

Maybe you're right. It seems split between die-hard smokers, and the always-trying-to-quit smokers. Most smokers I know fall into the second category, but that might be due to my age (mid twenties).

Now there's a thing. Maybe by the time you get to thirtyplus, you either have stopped smoking, never did it, or are going to carry on (maybe less than you did)...

...and by the time you're in your thirties you have to pick a definite strength of cigarettes:

it has to be Bensons, Silk Cut Ultra or Menthol. No MOR lights.

I quit on NYD. But us Allen Carr stoppers don't quit, as we are not giving anything up but are instead gaining much - DYS!

I've always been a seasonal smoker, kind of take-it-or-leave-it, smoke 'em if I got 'em, don't care if I don't. It drives my smoking friends nuts, because they are always in the midst of some struggle with it. I'm not in any denial about it- it might kill me some day, but so will SOMETHING, so in moderation I've never seen it as a bigger risk than anything else.

People who talk about quitting smoking are trying to generate a little extra attention. It's so boring, and reflects such a half-assed, lazy approach to life. Your're TRYING to quit- brilliant. Now how about trying to actually accomplish something other than overcoming your own self-indulgences?

I'm with you js - for reasons I can't fathom, I'm a smoker not hooked on smokes. I almost never smoke in the daytime, ie never at work (maybe sometimes weekend afternoons). I mostly smoke socially when drinking or with a drink after work. I can go thru half a pack a day, but then go a day and a half with nothing (like today for eg).

People at work for a long time assumed I was a nonsmoker cuz they never saw me out front dying of cold puffing away. Why the hell would I want to smoke standing up out in the cold with nothing to drink? Plus it makes me too dizzy to work.

I have a very odd approach to smoking. I only took it up at 30, I only smoke nights, I skip whole days,and dont crave them, yet I can do a pack in a hit if I really feel like it. I dont get it.

Smoking, truely a habit of the finest aristocrats. On a vessel however, crass and vulgar.

True enough, Trayce. We lead parallel lives on this front. I too am primarily a nocturnal smoker and it always surprises co-workers when they see me out at night with a smoke. All of April I smoked less than a pack of cigarettes, but I went to Coachella and smoked two packs in three days, so there it is. I think the night/cold weather thing is relevant, too. For whatever reason, smoking in the sun on warm days doesn't feel quite right to me, but at night or in the dead of winter, it feels kind of nice, especially with a little somethin' somethin' in me....