OK, who smokes?

[Paleface]

I am 50 this year and I smoke. I just got certified and I am trying to quit. Does anyone smoke and still dive? Keith

 

[alewar]

You don't have to quit smoking, perhaps you can adapt one of those electric-cigarettes into your regulator:

The electric cigarette that gives you a nicotine hit and gets round the smoking ban | Mail Online

 

[adurso]

I dove for years as a smoker; I quit a couple of years ago. I am sure you will be inudated shortly with all of the bad things smoking does to diving, along with the risks involved. You will also be bombarded with helpful advice such as "why don't you quit", along with the editorials.

If you want to quit, try Chantix, seems to work for many people

 

[TMHeimer]

I smoke a pipe 3 times daily. Sometimes after a dive. Have had no bad affects.

 

[Sas]

Not any more. Smoked for a long time, from when I was 12 to 19. When I did my lung function test for diving (Jan last year, so I would have been 22) they said I still showed reduced lung capacity as a result. But, that will get better each year I am told.

Yea smoking is bad, blah blah blah, I am sure you know that already (I know I did but still smoked). If you don't really want to quit that won't make a difference. The only way that worked for me is quitting practically cold turkey (i.e. no patches and stuff) but setting days in the future where I would be allowed a cigarette. And setting them quite far apart so it was not really like smoking at all (started off one a day, then one a week, then one a month and then maybe a handful of times a year now). In the past I'd tried to quit saying "I'll never smoke again" but I really love smoking so that was too hard to imagine. This method also works to stop me eating so much junk food.

 

[NoVaScuba]

If you want to quit, talk to your doctor. There's lot's of help available now and few people succeed without help. He can help you figure out what works for you.

 

[SEMO Scuba]

As an incentive to quit smoking you might consider taking the money you will save to treat yourself to a nice dive trip each year. I smoked for 20 years before I quit 15 years ago. None of that pertained to your questions did it?

 

[irishsquid]

I started smoking cigarettes when I was 14. I was up to 2 packs a day when I quit them cold turkey 23yrs later. I haven't smoked a cigarette since (15 yrs). Don't miss them, can't stand the smell of them. Now the disclaimer; I haven't given up my cigars and occasional pipe. I never will. I like and enjoy them. I may have none a day for weeks, to 3 -4 cigars/pipe for a day or so. No particular pattern. I definitely enjoy a cigar the most after a day of diving. I still will not smoke a cigarette though. I don't advocate smoking, but for me, it's a vice that I decided I will enjoy with the utmost pleasure and am willing to accept that risk associated with it. I do work out regularly (Weights and Cardio) and my Dr. doesn't have any issues with my health test results. I may be one of the lucky few!
Do what is right and best for you, as I'm sure you have heard just about everything out there on smoking, and short of new breakthrough discoveries, won't hear anything new or earth-shattering. Just my opinion.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

We have a diver locally who smokes. The last thing he does before sticking a reg in his mouth is take a drag and the first thing he does when he gets back on the boat is light one up. His air consumption is about half or less of mine. If your paying for fills that might be enough of a reason to quit.

I would urge you to dive nitrox if at all possible. Though I know absolutely nothing about how smoking affects off gassing I would suspect that having some additional O2 in the mix would help you greatly. I'm sure someone with a medical background can chime on this.

 

[RJP]

I am 50 this year and I smoke. I just got certified and I am trying to quit. Does anyone smoke and still dive? Keith

No reason NOT to quit overall. Diving is one more good specific reason TO quit.

Good luck!