Smoking & air consumption

Maybe this isn't totally dive related, but i'm posting it here anyway!

So, I've been smoking cigarettes for a number of years and I finally quit last sunday (yay for me!!!) :D:D:D:D:D

Today I went for a dive as I haven't been for a couple of weeks and my air consumption wasn't as much as it used to be - we were under for 39 mins (due to an issue with another diver, so had to come up earlier than the normal 45 mins) - my starting psi was 3000 and my ending psi was 1500...
before it would have been around the 900psi mark....

all i can say is WOW!!!

It makes me more glad when seeing stuff like this that quitting the cigarettes is a good thing....


Just thought i'd share my minor triumph with you guys :cool:

Way to go Lottie, congratulations on quitting, stick with it:D

smurf

You go girl!

Congrats! Just think of all the money you will save to spend on scuba gear now! :)

Congratulations!

I noticed the difference in gas consumption when I quit five years ago. You'll be a happier and healthier person all around, stick with it.

Thanks for the support guys.

Snake - I think I'll need to wait for a while before spending any money on scuba gear (like getting a bcd and reg) - need to get that job sorted out first !!

Great job Lottie! I quit smoking ciggs. about 6 years ago. I still cheat once in a while (when at concerts with friends and such), and I must say it was a VERY difficult thing to do. Mad props chickey. I am surprised you noticed a difference so soon, it was most likely due to other things, but over time your air consumption will definately improve because you quit smoking.

I always find it strange when after a dive you see a few divers hanging out downwind to get their NicFix. It makes me wonder how serious they really are about their diving, but then again I remember how difficult it was to quit.

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Originally Posted by acelockco

It makes me wonder how serious they really are about their diving, but then again I remember how difficult it was to quit.

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In my case, it took a little diving scare to get me to quit. I was a pretty new wreck diver and I was pulling the hook on the Oregon (130 fsw) after a dive of around 40 minutes. As luck had it, the current was pulling the dive boat right down the keel of the wreck. After humping the grapnel and chain over 300 feet of wreckage, I dropped it in the sand and took a quick look at my gas supply before starting my ascent. Suffice it to say it was quite a bit less than half and I had enough of a deco obligation for it to concern me. Everything went fine but I got up on the boat and crumpled up my smokes, and never had another.

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Originally Posted by BillGraham

Everything went fine but I got up on the boat and crumpled up my smokes, and never had another.

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Wow! amazing story. Until I posted this, i didn't realise there were so many peeps on here that quit - it's nice to know there are other people that quit and if you guys can do it...then so can i.

Ace - i think i noticed the air consumption alot quicker as i was more relaxed in the dive, buoyancy was great, wasn't yoyoing around as much and wasn't using my arms as much either..so i think it was an amalgam (sp?) of alot of other factors..but i think quitting the smokes probably helped as well.

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Originally Posted by lottie

, i didn't realise there were so many peeps on here that quit - it's nice to know there are other people that quit and if you guys can do it...then so can i.

..but i think quitting the smokes probably helped as well.

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There are so many of us because it makes a huge difference in our health AND our air consumption. So of course divers are going to have a large group that quit.

AND YOU CAN DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad to hear you are having success. Stick with it. I am just quitting also and man it's tough. Been smoking 30 yrs, although tried to make up for it by being extra active, hiking ( high altidtude), running, Soccer, Hockey. Good luck and looking forward to more bottom time LOL

Conrad - congrats on just quitting. It's hard some days and other days, I dont miss it at all...its just at particular times or tasks that I do that i feel for a ciggie - I just get out some carrots and chew on them!!! I think i'm eating more carrots than i smoked ciggies ROFL

I'm so glad to hear that you've quit. It is hard, today (and that's more than 20 years later) if I hear a phone ring like the one I had in my office my Pavlovian juices start to flow and I want a butt, even though I find the smell and taste repulsive). The best advice I can give you is to break any old habits that you associated with smoking. A lot of the desire to smoke, after the first few days, is operant conditioning. If you can substitute new activities of ways of doing things or surroundings it will be a big help.

We're all pulling for you.

If your going to smoke, please smoke a Philip-Morris product! It is the best preforming stock in the world for the last 10 years! They also signed a contract with China to build a number of factories! Caching! :rolleyes: :D :)

Papa - this thread is about stopping smoking plus, I don't think we get Phillip Morris products in the Caribbean :)

Thal - it's amazing what can trigger old memories - The only old habits I have which make me feel as though I want a ciggie is sitting at my computer. But I wouldn't wanna change that to stop the urge as it'd mean not being able to talk with you guys.....but if I had more money, less time on the PC and more time in the water...hmmmmmm :cool:

Well, I have never been a smoker like all of you who've posted before me, but I too, have used scuba as a way of stopping a bad, disgusting habit of mine.

Hello, my name is Steven and I'm a fingernail biter. I mean, I was. I used to bite so far down that my nail beds would burn in tap water, let alone saltwater. So, I stopped many times like smokers do. The easiest thing to do is to quit... it's not starting back up that's the hard part.

I stopped for almost 2 years one time when my wife and I became pregnant because I knew that a picture would be taken with my baby's hand curled around one of my fingers, and who wants to look at it the way it was. That was powerful motivation. Only lasted so long.

Now I stopped for good (3 years and counting) because of the burning sensation during and after a dive (or surfing, etc) It was horribly distracting. So I stopped.

Now I am a proud carrier of 10 fingernails that I need to trim very often. It used to be easier to use my mouth than finding a nail clipper, but hey, small sacrifice.

FYI: I never bit my nails at work in the hospital due to fear of disease, but soon as I cleaned up and got in the car, it was time to feast! It's been a long famine, and I'm glad.

Lottie and the others, keep up the good work. Hang in, it's tough.

Any other hard habits others have stopped? Tell us. We're here for you.

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Originally Posted by lottie

Thal - it's amazing what can trigger old memories - The only old habits I have which make me feel as though I want a ciggie is sitting at my computer. But I wouldn't wanna change that to stop the urge as it'd mean not being able to talk with you guys.....but if I had more money, less time on the PC and more time in the water...hmmmmmm :cool:

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Substitute a new habit, when you turn on your confuser have a small bite of your favorite food, or a lollypop or ... ? It really helps.

yeah but Thal..my favourite food is chocolate and i've already put on half a stone...tried lollipops before and had to have two cavities filled in (plus people at working saying numerous innuendos)....

Now where did I put those carrots............ ;)

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Originally Posted by lottie

Papa - this thread is about stopping smoking plus, I don't think we get Phillip Morris products in the Caribbean :)

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:rolleyes: I know it is hard! I lost my best friend to the dam things! Stopped for smokes on his way to the hospital for his 5th and final heart attack at 49! His attitude was "Everything in life will finally kill you"! It is surly not PC to yellow your teeth and blacken your lungs, but we all do things that aren't good for us!

Good luck, they say the more you try the better your chance of stopping!

OK, here's a bit of science for you or a bit of a shaggy dog story, depending on how you look at it.

I am a smoker and I am trying to quit (yet again and, why is it so any divers seem to be smokers?). I took myself down to see the doc and got some interesting info. Carbon monoxide is absorbed into the blood when you smoke. This is similar to nitrogen build up when we dive. As a persons smokes through the day then more CO gets absorbed thus reducing the blood's capacity of other gases to be absorbed - i.e. O2. When a smoker goes to sleep at night then the CO dissipates - just like nitrogen. Conclusion - smoking reduces your ability to absorb O2 because it is already full of CO.

Just to give you non-smokers something to think about... if you live in a congested city like London where there are more cars than we can fit on the road at any one time, sometimes you might feel a bit grouchy, can't concentrate, have a headache etc. This is not because you are not healthy or not getting enough sleep but that you are absorbing a lot of CO from the pollution in the atmosphere thus reducing your O2 level in the blood stream.

OK, now I opened a can of worms and I am sure as eggs is eggs that someone will correct my assumptions here (after all I am but a humble IT nerd and no doctor) but I wanted to give folks something to think about and give the non-smoker something to relate to as well. :)

bye for now.

Thanks for that bit of information Socco, very informative too.

Don't give up trying to give up.

I know some diving smokers who have phenomenal SAC rates. I always figured that it was because they were already used to functioning with part of a lung and that remaining part had to become more efficient in order to support the body. I also wondered how much better their SAC rates would be if they finally managed to quit....

Please keep trying to quit. My grandpa has quit for over 25+ years had some medical imaging done last year that showed his lungs full of tar and severely scarred! The doctors were amazed that he is doing so well healthwise and have directly contributed that to his quitting. He is turning 90 this year :)