Diving after smoking cessation

[dmaziuk]

I want to ask you, how long does it take to cleanse the lungs and restore them a bit before I start my classes?

You can start after zero days and 00:00:00 hours. When you start noticing improvement is lung function depends... if you exercise regularly: 3 to 6 months.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

Smoking in general is a bad idea but it shouldn't disturb your diving unless you have some issues related to it.

I smoke sometimes 2 minutes before hitting the water, its perfectly fine. you can even cough your brains out if you need to, regulator will work just fine.

Some people say smokers have better air consumption (as absurd as that may sounds) because your brain is used to getting less oxygen because of the cigarettes, so you use up less air on the dive. I'm not sure if that's 100% true, i don't think there's a way to test this.

 

[Rred]

Sherry-
Your lung capacity and condition and recovery all have pretty much nothing to do with diving. If you can breath well enough to swim or jog, you can dive. It may take you five more years to fully recover your lung capacity but that's got nothing to do with whether you can learn to dive and start diving now.
And now I've got to run off to the patent office...I'm going to file a patent on a regulator with a built-in vaping cartridge, so divers CAN "smoke" while underwater. Thanks for the idea, I figure to make a million by the end of next year and the sky's the limit!

 

[GreggS]

I quit smoking many years before I started diving so I can't really give you a time frame on how long it will be. But I do know, as others have said, that you can start telling a noticable difference rather quickly.

I just want to offer you congratulations and encouragment in quitting smoking. After 3 months you are not out of thee woods yet but be strong. If you truly want to stay quit, you can. Don't cave in and just take it one day at a time. If you're anything like me, it won't be long until you can't stand to be around anyone smoking.

 

[Alucard483]

I have a trip planned with diving as one of the main activities. The trip is in September and I have decided to quit and get myself into scuba using it as a tangible goal to help myself along the way. As it has been pointed out already, smoking is not exactly a hard line deal-breaker like some medical conditions are and that alot of divers smoke. If I planned on making only shallow dives I would not be worried at all, but some of the dives I would EVENTUALLY like to be able to make are at depths of as deep as 106m requiring a tech cert. Obviously smoking is bad and I really DO intend on quitting but if I fail, would smoking REALLY stand in my way of reaching a tech cert and that magical 100m depth? I'm not looking to set any world records and most of the wrecks I want to see are even shallower at about the 60-70m range, with the deepest wreck resting at 106m. I really want to do this but I don't want to be walking myself into a certain death either.

 

[Nemrod]

The OP does not reveal his age, how much smoking and over what amount of time and any other health issues. The best thing is to see a doctor and discuss with him/her the quitting smoking and the desire to scuba dive. A little exercise, cycling, swimming, walking, jogging, whatever that can get the cardio system working will quickly provide benefits for life and for scuba diving.

Good luck and welcome to diving.

James

 

[happy-diver]

As it has been pointed out already, smoking is not exactly a hard line deal-breaker like some medical conditions are

Until you get the hard line deal-breaker, like some medical condition caused by smoking
which can creep up and then affect everything in the last few years of your miserable life

during which you will probably give up anyway

 

[NothingClever]

Congratulations on quitting.

I recommend you get on with your lessons as celebration and consummation that you’ve turned over a new leaf.

 

[James79]

First, congratulations on quitting! I know how hard that can be (smoked for 20 years, quit 6 years ago).
As some of the others here, I learned to dive while still a smoker (albeit in good condition) with no issues... The diving (and life in general) just got better when I quit!

Respectfully,

James

 

[ginti]

I have a trip planned with diving as one of the main activities. The trip is in September and I have decided to quit and get myself into scuba using it as a tangible goal to help myself along the way. As it has been pointed out already, smoking is not exactly a hard line deal-breaker like some medical conditions are and that alot of divers smoke. If I planned on making only shallow dives I would not be worried at all, but some of the dives I would EVENTUALLY like to be able to make are at depths of as deep as 106m requiring a tech cert. Obviously smoking is bad and I really DO intend on quitting but if I fail, would smoking REALLY stand in my way of reaching a tech cert and that magical 100m depth? I'm not looking to set any world records and most of the wrecks I want to see are even shallower at about the 60-70m range, with the deepest wreck resting at 106m. I really want to do this but I don't want to be walking myself into a certain death either.

Hi @Alucard483, I think you should ask a doctor how bad it is for you.

Anyway, a couple of things may help you:
- Pulmonary efficiency drastically decreases with depth; I believe that low efficiency increases a lot the level of CO2 in your bloodstream, and CO2 is really very bad (but, not being a doctor, I am not sure 100%). If you smoke, the efficiency of your respiratory gas exchanges decreases, even more, bringing extra problems. Science is not very developed in this regard, but there is some knowledge about it, I think @Dr Simon Mitchell has extensive knowledge about this subject.
- Smoking is so bad that at least one technical agency doesn't accept smokers.

While on the 106m depth route, you will face many obstacles way bigger than the cigarettes. Since (I believe that) science cannot give any definitive answer to this issue, and since there are so many harder obstacles in your way, I would quit if I were you - but this is just my humble opinion.

Whatever you will decide, good luck!