Comment by 52-6F-62 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by 52-6F-62 | Hacker News Reader

This reflects what my doctor told me several years ago (four and a half?) when I quit.

He didn’t use the word magic. He did say that after four or five years or so my lungs would be in the same condition they would have been if I had never smoked—but only if I quit then. I’d smoked in the vicinity of a pack a day for close to ten years if I were to give it a rough average.

That said, I was very active in my youth, and worked physical jobs and played live music beside any sedentary work I’ve done. I continue to do so as well.

YMMV.

Edit: I thought I should add that I don’t want this to sound like an endorsement of the body’s ability to endure punishment.

If I could go back I wouldn’t pick up regular smoking as I did. And I wouldn’t start again. I return regularly to the feeling of relief that I’m not so bound to it anymore.

I don’t hate it, and I’d have a cigar, and maybe when I’m an old withered man I’ll pick up pipe tobacco. Who knows. For those who can manage it without getting too regular, good for you—life is short. I wouldn’t tempt myself that way again. Anyway, whisky’s a finer poison in my books—and similar cautions apply. ;)

I would also add that quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Just don't start. Some people don't have a problem quitting. I did.

That is why one of my favorite quitting smoking jokes is: "Quitting smoking is easy! I've done it 5 times."

- 7 years without a stoge.

Yep it took me a few tries as well. It didn’t help that at the time I worked with some bitter people who liked to disparage at every turn: “you never quit, you just stop for a while”. That kind of nonsense.

My doctor was a real motivator, and yet never laid a guilt trip.

Ultimately, taking some time off and feeling as terrible as I needed for few days really made a difference. Not everyone can make that time. I will say that after the first week it was mainly habits and the waning cravings but the best part is that:

It gets easier and easier and easier and then you forget you ever did.

Same. I'm almost at 3 years quit, but I've quit for 3 years in the past and then restarted.

>He did say that after four or five years or so my lungs would be in the same condition they would have been if I had never smoked—but only if I quit then.

I hear statements like this repeatedly and always wondered: if given 5-10 years your lungs can really heal themselves so it's like you never smoked, does that mean you can smoke with no health consequences by stopping when you're middle aged? (before there's any real risk of contracting lung cancer)

> does that mean you can smoke with no health consequences by stopping when you're middle aged?

There are many health consequences - lung health is just one

I’m not in my lane here, but I’m guessing there are a number of variables—length of habit, physical history, exercise habits, genetics, so on.

Not sure its worth wagering on it.

Don’t think so, but then it’s always a game of risk multiplied by time. Less chance but not zero risk.

Can’t speak on lung cancer. My mum died in 2013 from non-Hodgson’s lymphoma and she only smoked for a few years in her early twenties. She was diagnosed in her forties and it didn’t actually get her until her early seventies.

The risk there is highest in current smokers, lowest in non-smokers, and past smokers are in the middle.

Apparently research has shown that each cigarette smoked can damage DNA; where build up of damage in the same cell is what leads to cancer. So your lungs can recover. Your lung* DNA, less so.

* mouth, pharynx, nose / sinuses, larynx, esophagus, liver, pancreas, stomach, kidney, bowel, ovary, bladder, cervix ...

I believe there are specific DNA errors that cause a cell to become cancerous.

The effects are not cumulative.

It's about statistics - the longer you smoke and the more you smoke, the more likely you will be to get cancer.

Yeah, it’s like playing cellular Russian roulette, as I understand it. The gun has a lot of empty chambers, but that one mutated cell they goes nuclear can be all it takes.

> It's about statistics - the longer you smoke and the more you smoke, the more likely you will be to get cancer.

Exactly, a simple metric used is the "pack year"[0] which is a way to represent overall exposure.

My mother died of lung cancer which sent me down many a rabbit hole, and I don't really understand what is surprising in the linked article. It's been known that risk of cancer decreases after one stops smoking, even if it never recedes to baseline (while asymptotically approaching it, basically). You have damaged cells which might become carcinogenic, or they might not, but those cells can also just die and be replaced by healthy cells.

The more you've smoked, though, the more damaged cells you've caused, so the more land mines you've got floating around your body.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack-year

I think there are cost aspects to it; athletes gets broken bone all the times without grave QoL consequences after full recoveries, doesn’t mean it’s free of charge or it’s okay normal thing.

During that healing period, your quality of life can significantly suffer.

There's a "Smoker's cough" associated with people who smoke, but also a more serious "Smoker's cough" for some past smokers who are quitting. It's loud, obnoxious, and it feels like your insides are going to turn out if you cough one more time.

If you were a heavy smoker, like I once was, you can't breathe quickly or else you'll go into a coughing spell. Exercising and otherwise enjoying the world on foot is nearly impossible. There's not much you can do to make it better except wait -- Depending on your past smoking habits, sometimes years.

I do wonder if light smokers could get away with it, though.

My dad smoked a pack a day from his teens until age 36. Quit drinking alcohol (another risk factor) around the same time. Took up long-distance cycling at 45. At 55, his doctor was gobsmacked: his lungs were absolutely clear. At 60, healthier than most people half his age, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Died less than a year later.

Smoking increases risk of cancer in the mouth and throat, not just the lungs. Your lungs aren't the whole story.

This is sobering, lung cancer risk:

— The risk was as follows:

5 years after quitting: 12.12 times that of a never smoker 5 to 10 years after quitting: 11.77 times 10 to 15 years after quitting: 7.81 times 15 to 25 years after quitting: 5.88 Over 25 years since quitting: 3.85 — https://www.verywellhealth.com/risk-of-lung-cancer-in-former...

>does that mean you can smoke with no health consequences by stopping when you're middle aged?

The answer to that is clearly no.

Young people aren't immune to cancer; they're also increasing their risk of developing cancer while they smoke...

Additionally, this study only speaks of lung health. There is also lots of evidence out there showing smoking adversely affects cardiovascular health... whether you heal from those effects is another matter.

On a personal anecdote, both my grandfathers smoked their entire lives - and both had thoracic aortic aneurysms (one actually had his rupture and survived miraculously despite a 97-99% mortality rate). Anyhow, tobacco use is a risk factor for developing thoracic aneurysms - and I can't see how one's aorta would ever go completely back to normal after developing such a malformation...

The effects of quitting have been part of the quit smoking campaigns here (https://www.quit.org.au/articles/the-health-benefits-of-quit...), so the news that your body recovers somewhat is hardly new. Also these positive ads are the only ones that had an effect on me compared to the usual vilification they contain.

I've been switching to vaping lately which has cut down my smoking a lot, especially when I'm drinking. I plan on switching to 100% vaping at some point and after a couple of months it's starting to happen naturally more and more. Maybe if I get that far I'll lower the nicotine levels and try quitting, but for now it's nice to smell a bit better, breath a bit better and not have a burning hole in my wallet.

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