My stepfather was a lifelong smoker. He smoked a full pack of Marlboro reds every day, and my mom smoked a full pack of menthols. I calculated out how much they spent yearly on cigarettes alone and it came to over $5000, and that was in the late 90’s; it’s probably much higher these days. Both of them had been smoking since the 70’s.
When I talked to them about quitting, they both said that they enjoyed smoking too much, it’s a stress relief, it’s something to do, etc. They were aware of the health risks, but believed the risks were overblown and that emphysema is an “old person’s” disease.
Last year he was diagnosed with stage 3 emphysema. The man is a dyed-in-the-wool hard-as-nails army vet boomer, and his obstinate machismo made him ignore years of poor health and lung disease symptoms all to finally end up as an old person with an “old person’s” disease. Credit to him though, he did quit cold turkey the day his doctors delivered the diagnosis; the same obstinacy that pushed him to never give up smoking is what pushed him to quit. Me and my family love the hell out of him, and we’re glad that he finally quit, but it’s so aggravating that there are still so many people out there who discount the risks of smoking.
My mom smoked 2 packs a day until at least her mid 40s, after staring at age 10. I have no idea when she stopped because I went almost no contact after moving out at 17.
She appeared in excellent health until a massive stroke at 77. Barely recovered then died of the flu at 80. This is after years of going vegan and walking 10+ miles per day.
Mind you, she was antivax, trending heavily towards anti medicine and anti science. As a former very well regarded biochemist.
It’s because there’s also genetics at play. One person can die young doing everything right and another could be like your stepfather and live just about forever.
Then that gets people think “well how am I different? I’ll be just fine too!”
My stepfather was a lifelong smoker. He smoked a full pack of Marlboro reds every day, and my mom smoked a full pack of menthols. I calculated out how much they spent yearly on cigarettes alone and it came to over $5000, and that was in the late 90’s; it’s probably much higher these days. Both of them had been smoking since the 70’s.
When I talked to them about quitting, they both said that they enjoyed smoking too much, it’s a stress relief, it’s something to do, etc. They were aware of the health risks, but believed the risks were overblown and that emphysema is an “old person’s” disease.
Last year he was diagnosed with stage 3 emphysema. The man is a dyed-in-the-wool hard-as-nails army vet boomer, and his obstinate machismo made him ignore years of poor health and lung disease symptoms all to finally end up as an old person with an “old person’s” disease. Credit to him though, he did quit cold turkey the day his doctors delivered the diagnosis; the same obstinacy that pushed him to never give up smoking is what pushed him to quit. Me and my family love the hell out of him, and we’re glad that he finally quit, but it’s so aggravating that there are still so many people out there who discount the risks of smoking.
Every time sometime says they smoke a pack (if not more) a day, it blows my mind.
That’s twenty cigarettes. I mean Jesus Christ people, like how??
I’ve never been able to make it through a full cigarette before feeling nauseous and putting it out.
I’m aware how tolerance works, but 20 cigarettes every day just seems insane to me.
My mom smoked 2 packs a day until at least her mid 40s, after staring at age 10. I have no idea when she stopped because I went almost no contact after moving out at 17.
She appeared in excellent health until a massive stroke at 77. Barely recovered then died of the flu at 80. This is after years of going vegan and walking 10+ miles per day.
Mind you, she was antivax, trending heavily towards anti medicine and anti science. As a former very well regarded biochemist.
It’s almost an impressive feat… To be able to consistently smoke forty cigarettes per day every day, for decades.
It’s because there’s also genetics at play. One person can die young doing everything right and another could be like your stepfather and live just about forever.
Then that gets people think “well how am I different? I’ll be just fine too!”
deleted by creator
In my country there were ads that showed a smoker who had emphysema as part of an anti-smoking campaign.
They described it like taking a deep breath and then exhaling just a small puff, then inhaling that puff and repeating forever until you die.
Sorry for your stepfathers diagnosis.