Any smokers here?

[PTmowerMech]

I've been smoking since I was about 18. I've heard the risks my whole life. So I've got them down.

But I swore I'd quit when smokes got to $5 per pack. When my brand got to there, I switched to a cheaper brand. But couldn't stand them. They stank and burned up like a fuse and they made me cough too much. It looked like my smoking days were over. And I wasn't looking forward to it. I enjoy smoking cigs. Regardless of how "accepted" they are now a days.
Anywho, my step dad told me to start rolling my own and that he'd been doing it for a while now.
My last experience with RYO (roll your own) cigs was they were worse than the cheap cigs. But his advice included buying a few small 6 or 8oz bags of tobacco, of different brands, including "Good Stuff," which is what he used.
So I bought the machine, and a few bags of tobacco and a couple of cartons of 100mm tubes (with the filters already on them). From the cheapest to the most expensive the tobacco shop had.
After a few packs of one brand, I was starting to wonder why the hell I haven't been doing this for the last 30 years. It was awesome.
The machine I bought rolled a perfect cigarette almost every time. So I stepped up to an electric one.

Long story short, with the online tobacco store I get my stuff from, I'm spending about $1 a pack. And I'm smoking a better cigarette, that doesn't have all the flavoring, hydrators and preservatives as packed cigarettes have.
Obviously, it's not a "cancer free" cig. But if you enjoy smoking, but can't stand the $6 per pack, it's the ONLY way to go.
I have my machine set up in a tray, with a box to hold the tobacco I'm about to roll. The tubes in their box and another empty tube box where I put my rolled cigs.
Sit in front of the TV and start rolling. I can roll a pack in about 7 or 8 minutes. By the time a movie is over, I've rolled a lot of cigs.

 

[7394]

I quit smoking cigs over 20+ years ago. & I did it kinda like you described, by buying cheaper ones. I refereed to them as "Floor sweepings"..

I would light one up & it was terrible, so after a puff or 2 I put it out. Later I would repeat the same insanity. One day it just hit me I was only smoking about 1 nasty cig a day, although I lit it numerous times.

And with that revelation. I just threw out my cheap smokes & never looked back. I don't miss them one bit. Add up the money that went up in smoke. For some that could be a fancy new truck. That's what I'm talking about.

But to each his own, I ain't no preacher.

 

[ILENGINE]

Never smokes but did chew from when I was about 18 until 46. Got up on Valentines day in 2014 sick and couldn't hold anything down which forced me to go cold turkey. And 4 months later ended up in the ER after collapsing on the kitchen floor. Spent two days in the hospital doing cardiac testing which came back OK, but the whole affair left me very weak (two hours of shop time would leave me physically exhausted) for about 8 months, and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to even continuing working.

 

[7394]

Yeowww, Glad you made it thru.

 

[ILENGINE]

Yeowww, Glad you made it thru.

Took my at the time 79 year old mother that used a walker to get around to Aldi to go grocery shopping and I had to sit down and rest before we got done.

 

[PTmowerMech]

I tried chew, snuff, patches, gum, candy and just about everything to quit smoking. That was many years ago. And vaping a few years ago. But after I'd do one of those things, I still had the urge to lite up.
So I realized that I'm not going to force myself to quit, until I really wanted to quit.
I haven't tried quitting since.
Now that my cigs are back to $1 per pack, I can actually enjoy smoking again. Instead of thinking about all the money it costs to smoke.

Every time I walk up to a counter at a convenient store and see the cig prices, I just smile.

 

[Red Good]

Lifer here

 

[7394]

Took my at the time 79 year old mother that used a walker to get around to Aldi to go grocery shopping and I had to sit down and rest before we got done.

It takes what it takes, God Bless your Mom. I could envision that & relate to it. Seems to have worked for ya.

As a kid my Mom never gave up on me, she used to tell me, she would rather but a pretty dress, than buy those nasty stinking cigs.
Much later after I had not touched a cig for years, I told my Mom, she was right.& Thanked her for her support.

 

[tom3]

I remember as a kid I always thought a cigarette smelled good, especially on a hot day. Started at 19 in the Army, good beer, hot cup of coffee and a smoke, that's good living. Hell to quit but after 6 or 7 years of it I finally made it. And that first cig. of the day made me about throw up anyway.

Still, smell a cigarette and I want one.

 

[PTmowerMech]

I remember as a kid I always thought a cigarette smelled good, especially on a hot day. Started at 19 in the Army, good beer, hot cup of coffee and a smoke, that's good living. Hell to quit but after 6 or 7 years of it I finally made it. And that first cig. of the day made me about throw up anyway.

Still, smell a cigarette and I want one.

Ever seen "The Big Sleep," with Humphrey Bogart? The old man, Mr. Rutledge says "It's a shame when a man has to indulge his vices by proxy."
The first cup that comes out of the pot (not just the first from a full pot) is the strongest best tasting. Couple that with a good strong cigarette, and you got the makings of a good morning.