How Could a “Clever” Smoker Possibly Become Ill?

The Coach's Team ^ | 4/6/17 | Doug Book

[Oldpuppymax]

I started smoking in 1971; bought 3 packs of Camels one day (unfiltered) for a total of 99 cents plus tax.

But now, 46 years later, I no longer use tobacco. You see, seven years ago I switched to Electronic Cigarettes. Just pour in a little nicotine liquid mixed with vegetable oil—your choice of potency—and you’re all set to “vape” away. No lung-threatening, tarry chemicals. No smelly, annoying smoke to attract nasty looks. In fact, the “discharge” from these pricey little, battery-driven machines can be blown around your doctor’s consulting room and neither he nor his staff will be any the wiser.

It was the best of all possible worlds. I could continue to infuse myself at will with my favorite drug and risk no ill effects.

And did I take careless advantage of my discovery? I did not! In fact, to be extra cautious, I stopped inhaling the vapor altogether. Instead, I began drawing in the nicotine-laced smoke, rolling it around in my mouth and spitting it right back out with my next little bit of air. I had invented a thoroughly safe method of smoking—that is, of enjoying nicotine. Damn, I was clever!

Then suddenly, a few weeks ago, I couldn’t breathe. It was very late on a Sunday night and as I walked from my bathroom into my bedroom, I found I couldn’t get any air. Collapsing in a chair I began panting, gasping, sitting doubled over. I remembered a small, Albuterol inhaler I hadn’t used in quite some time, still laying on my night stand. I grabbed it and took 2 or 3 puffs. In a short time I began collecting a bit of oxygen; enough, at least, to be rid of some of the panic which had overtaken me. I’m not too proud to admit that I was scared as Hell.

I spent the rest of the night staring straight ahead, afraid to move lest that awful, complete loss of air should overtake me again. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor of 25 years and underwent a series of chest X-Rays. Getting to my car, walking into Eric’s office and later through the hospital; each was a more difficult and physically demanding task than anything I could remember taking on in decades. Of course, I finally had to ask that I be taken by wheelchair through the endless hospital corridors to X-Ray. I couldn’t walk the distance. I remember the X-Ray tech told me to take a deep breath and hold it as she pressed the button. Christ, if I’d been able to take a deep breath, I wouldn’t have been there. Standing quite still against the X-Ray backdrop, supported by nothing but my legs…and she wanted me to breathe too?

A “large pneumothorax” or collapsed lung. That was the diagnosis. And strangely enough, it was damned good news. For I hadn’t been home 30 minutes from X-Ray when the telephone rang and I read Eric’s name on the receiver. In 25 years he had never called me at home. Not once. I expected him to say, “Sorry Doug, but you have stage 4, lung cancer. With aggressive treatment, you could live a year, maybe more.” Talk about blood running cold. Seeing that name on my phone was the definition.

But my collapsed lung was very treatable. And that's why Eric had called--to recommend, strongly recommend as my friend and doctor that I head to the emergency room right away. A chest tube inserted to help the lung re-inflate, 2 ½ days in the hospital; a follow up visit with the surgeon and I’m still breathing just fine; or at least as well as I have for the past several years. And it all came with a free lesson in medicine and humility. For nicotine is the real culprit in cigarette tobacco, not tar or those other evil chemicals smokers have heard about for years on end. It’s nicotine that’s the real killer. As for my clever decision to switch to Electronic Cigarettes and avoid inhaling—I was kidding myself. I didn’t know. It seemed a damned good idea at the time. But not after talking with half a dozen doctors, each telling me just how dumb I was (in a very pleasant way, of course.)

The lesson is a simple one.

Anyone who smokes is a moron. I’ve seen the pictures of my lungs. So take my word for it. And there is NO way to game the system. There are no safe cigarettes—electronic or otherwise. And there is no safe method of infusing nicotine. Of course, nicotine-free liquid is available for those who wish (for whatever reason) to appear that they are smoking. But I’ll still guarantee that even that won’t be good for you.

So no preaching. Just quit and live longer or continue the intake of nicotine and die sooner. Enjoy.

[Dawgreg]

I do know what you’re going through. This is my second round of quitting and as bad as I feel right now I would love a cig but I’m fighting this with every breath. I’ll pray for you and your success......;)

[Flaming Conservative]

Using nicotine patches or vaping IS a good way to quit smoking, because at some point, the person gets off the patch or vaping. Naturally, they’re still getting nicotine, but there’s an end in sight. Cold turkey is probably the best way to quit, but not everyone can do that. You’re just being argumentative. Don’t accuse me of harming people, when you are the one giving examples of people who have smoked for 80 years or more, and are still healthy. That is the exception, not the rule.

[Wissa]

Using nicotine patches or vaping IS a good way to quit smoking, because at some point, the person gets off the patch or vaping. Naturally, they’re still getting nicotine, but there’s an end in sight.

I quit smoking and replaced it with orally consuming nicotine through nicotine fluid. I have no interest in giving that up. Ever.

In the first place, my body has developed a strong addiction to nicotine over the past 45 years or so of consuming it in pretty high quantities. The stress placed on my body of giving it up would most likely cause quite a bit of harm. (Maybe you should do some research on the effect of stress on health.)

In the second place, I have no more real reason to give up nicotine than I have of giving up drinking tea, where I get my caffeine. I haven't seen anything to indicate that nicotine is any more harmful to my health than caffeine.

[strider44]

You can do it. My dad smoked 2 packs a day for 40 plus years. He cut down gradually over a 2 year period. No programs, gum, patches, etc. Family members and friends dying of cancer sealed the deal for him. He’s 73 and been off cigs for almost 10 years. It helps that he’s a stoic, stubborn Irishman...

[reformedliberal]

Some people have *cysts* or thinned spots on the lung. A relative suffered a collapsed lung at 26 from shoveling snow in subzero temperatures. It was the extremely cold air that did it. He was diagnosed with those *cysts* or whatever they really are.

[FredZarguna]

Argumentative? You made a claim that I was making things up. Your "argument" evaporated in light of the facts, because it is you who are making things up: nicotine has never been implicated by a serious clinical study in the etiology of heart disease. Never.

You accused me of believing in a "conspiracy theory." Nope. I actually have published, peer-reviewed research. All I want is truthful, scientifically founded evidence.

This "article" is a joke, and so is anyone defending it. You don't get a collapsed lung from an e-cig or a patch.

[TigersEye]

This is total BS. He had an Albuterol inhaler which means he probably has asthma. Nicotine is not implicated in asthma or any other ‘reversible obstructive airway disease’ which is what Albuterol is indicated for.

The doctor didn’t tell him nicotine was a cause for his collapsed lung and it would be mighty suspect if he had.

This is nothing but #FakeNews propaganda against the vaping industry. Is this s#1thead related to Susan Rice?

[Fightin Whitey]

Hang in, man.

It's like quitting booze, which I did after a couple decades and more.

Sucks real bad at first but IT GETS BETTER.

The day I knew I was going to make it was the day I realized that I wasn't giving up anything; what I had instead was more freedom to do what I wanted to do.

Didn't have to run to store for booze, didn't have to sneak out to the garage for a few blasts, didn't have to plan ahead on trips or dinners out, didn't have to worry about cops, had more money, slept better, felt WAY better.

Know what? I had never washed a car, as an adult, without being half-lit or more; never mowed the lawn, never golfed, never fished, never made love.

The day came when I realized I got to do ALL those things over, for the FIRST time, 'cause this time I was sober. I got to do them all again!

Smoking is a little different...but you probably have an idea of the time and expense and hassle of the filthy drug.

GOOD LUCK!

[Bob434]

That’s exactly what i was sayin- the real ciggs are what caused hte problem- not the electronic ciggs-

[Bob434]

Well to be fair to ourselves, we started because it was ‘cool’, because we wanted to fit in, and because we thought ‘tough people smoke and don’t care about the consequences- because, well, we’re tough’

Even though I’m suffering, I made my decision to start, and I’ll live with the consequences- I wish i’d been more secure in my own skin to say “Nope- not falling for hte peer pressure crap’ and never started smoking in the first place, but that was not how my life was destined to go- if it were, I’da been a health nut instead- obviously my life didn’t go in that direction-

While smoking was stupid- it did allow us to ‘fit in’ with the ‘in crowds’ back when- Yeah, it was a lousy way to fit in- - I made many friends in that crowd- and don’t regret that- yeah, i coulda made friends in healthy crowds as well had i gone a different route in life, but life is what it is- and that is that

[Bob434]

[[The common dream was that I had forgotten that I quit smoking and managed to smoke an entire pack of cigarettes before suddenly realizing that I just reversed the ten years of effort that it took to quit. ]]

Yup- i still have that dream- I think it’s a repressed fear that we will ‘accidentally forget we quit’ that causes these common dreams like this-

I quit alcohol 20 years ago- that was a tough one to quit too- but I think ciggs was tougher- although i still have dreams abotu drinkin too and still every now and again think ‘I coudl handle it’ — thankfully htough I’m at the point now that I admit i can’t

When i quit ciggs, I was addicted to hydrocodone too that i had taken for years due to muscles problems caused by a health condition- I quit both ciggs and hydro at the same time- it was hell- but fortunately I was not working, so i had the free time to lay in bed for awhile to get me through the roughest part

Every 1/2 hour i had to keep telling myself i was a 1/2 hour closer to beign free fro mthe addiction- 1 hour further from being addicted, 2 hours, 5 hours, 8 hours- and so on- did that for a couple of days- it was the only thing powerful enough to make me realize that i had power over my circumstances- reminding myself that although it was rough, I WAS beating it- I was making progrses- I had to keep my concentration on the fact that as each hour passed, i was that much closer to being free-

Now when i get hte cravings, i can remember back to how much hell i had to go through when quitting- that and hte fact that i couldn’t possibly afford to keep smoking now financially and physically

[William Tell]

Bob434 said: "I quit alcohol 20 years ago "

I quit drinking after hearing about a head-on accident about a mile from my house where a drunk driver killed a family of four. I realized that I was just one careless act away from the type of mess that ends lives.

About a year after that I saw a public service ad featuring a young female school teacher. Six months before making the ad, the teacher was happily vacationing in Hawaii without a care in the world. Two weeks after making the ad she died of lung cancer. The sadness in her voice at how she had screwed up her life was something I decided was simply unacceptable for someone as smart as I am. I never smoked another cigarette after having smoked a pack a day for ten years.

I don't know what others have experienced, but I had the same experience with both drinking and smoking. When I had actually quit it was like throwing a switch inside my brain. I simply decided that from that moment on I was a non-drinker or a non-smoker.

The hardest moment came about six or eight weeks after I quit smoking. External events just seem to pile up and I so longed for that relaxing feeling you get when you light up a cigarette. Somehow the drug helps one to cope with problems. When I made it through that time I was convinced that I had quit for good.

I would advise those trying to quit to first cut down as much as they can. There are both physical and psychological aspects to these addictions. Quitting will be easier if one can reduce the physical aspect first.

[Bob434]

yeah i had tried quitting smoking several times- but always failed- before i discovered that reminding myself every hour that what i had just been htrough was hell, but that i was goign to beat it=- because i wasn’t goign to waste thsoe hours of tryign to quit

once i tried quitting, but stress got me too- i caved back then though- you’re right- ciggs definitely help with stress- The psychological aspect is very very powerful-

[Ditter]

My parents and all their friends were WW2 era people were heavy smokers, but I never smoked at home. I married young and my husband joined the USCC. I soon met people there that smoked so I started smoking too because it seemed normal. It didn't take long until it started to make me have health problems like asthma that I had had when I was living at home. I continued to smoke lightly, never more than a half a pack a day for about 10 years. My breathing became more important that the cigs and I quit in the manner that I explained earlier. After quitting I could not, can not, tolerate any kind of smoke, cigarette or BBQ.

[mbynack]

Years past, your post could have brought the wrath of the FR "smoker posse" that would attack anyone suggesting smoking was foul or harmful.

Smokers are a dying breed.

[Bob434]

i don’t like the smell now either- infact today had to sit next to a smoker- i now have a splitting headache- and was feeling woosey - I’m not an anti-smoker- but I’m finding it makes me physically ill now to even smell it- can’t stand campfire smoke eityher- or woodstove- but i got kinda hypersensitive ot odors like air freshners and perfumes etc too- so somethign might be goign on- i know there’s soem conditions that cause hypersensitivity like that-

[Ditter]

I am in complete agreement with you! I don’t consider myself an anti smoker because I really don’t care what people do. If a restaurant owner or store owner wants smoking in their business, I’ll go somewhere else, not a problem. But I do resent having to breathe their smoke in a public place. Breathing should come before smoking.