SMOKING - If your parents smoked

mckayleesmom wrote: I don't know why I thought of this to post today....I was thinking about it last night after something I saw. I guess my overall question is, do you think that parents smoking affects wether their children will smoke in the future?

I grew up with 2 smoking parents. I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers. All my siblings smoke, excluding myself and 1 sister.

Leithan smokes (he has tried and tried to quit with no luck). Both his mom, brother and sister smoke as well as himself. Leithan didn't start smoking till he was like 19 and after he joined the Army.

Im really hoping he quits soon because I think its going to be hard to keep the kids from doing it when they see him doing it...kwim?

C&K*s Mommie replied: I do not anymore, I did for a short time.

Chris does but claims he started again, with the infuence of a roomie we had in Tallahassee. When I met him he had not smoked for a while. His parents both smoke, and so do his siblings.

Kaitlin'smom replied: my dad used to smoke, I dont remember the cigaretts but I do remember the pipes, he did have some really neat pipes, I used to love to smell the tabacco they had/have some really good smelling ones. I dont smoke however, nor does DH. My olderst sister (the dark side as we call her) is the only one of us that took the habit up.

luvmykids replied: On one side of the family everybody smoked, grandparents, aunts, uncles....on the other side, not a single one.

MyLuvBugs replied: My parents never smoked and I don't either (mainly b/c of asthma LOL ).
However, my Grandpa did....A LOT!! and it's interesting to see the effects that it had on the family. Dad's kidney cancer, according to the Dr., was probably an effect of growing up in a smoking household. Grandpa's heart attack. Grandmas cancer....blah blah blah.

DH's family is the same way. All but one of his grandparents smoked, but his parents didn't and he doesn't. However, all his grandparents have died from cancers thought to have been brought on by cigarette smoke. And now with both his parents having boughts with cancer....

it's really made us glad that we don't smoke anyway.

amynicole21 replied: Both parents smoked, my father quit when I was young but my mother still smokes. I smoked for 10 years and quit 2 years ago. My sister also smoked for many years.

PrairieMom replied: Statistics show that children of smoking parents are much more likely to be smokers themselves.
stepping onto my soap box:

keep that in mind all you smokers out there. Even those of you that only smoke outside.

stepping back off my soapbox.

3_call_me_mama replied: My mom smoked for I can't even rememebr how long, most of my youth. I think. Then she quit and has never gone back. My dad smokes still, has tried to quite several times but no luck. i think you really have to want to whole heartedly and have a phenomenal support system to do it. He has smoked since he was 12 years old. So 42 years. Hard habit to break I guess. Dennis' mom smokes, and has for about 38 years. (since she was 16 I think) She's tried to quit as well but no luck. Both her parents smoked. As did both my dads.
I have 2 brothers that smoke despite begging my dad to quit, they smoke them selves. I do not smoke. never have never intend to. Neither has Dennis. My kids hopefully will never smoke either.

TheOaf66 replied: my parents both smoked when I was younger but they quit, I smoked for a number of years but quit as well so we all wised up

kit_kats_mom replied: my mom smoked for years. I started regularly smoking when I was 12. before that I had a few starting around 10. By the time I was 14 I was smoking in the house with my mom. Not one of her best decisions.

I think most kids want to be like their parents when they grow up...especially the same sex parent KWIM? I know I started smoking to be cool like my mom.

I quit 4 years ago

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I am the only one that doesn't smoke. Both my brother and sister smoke. DH's parents never smoked and he does, doesn't make any sense. But he is taking Zyban and in 5 more days he will be smoke free! I really hope it works this time.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: My mom quit smoking when she was pg with either me or my sister, so I voted that neither me or my parents smoked. My mom smoked while my half brother and sister were growing up, and my sister smoked until she got pg and my brother still smokes.

coasterqueen replied: Yes, I truly believe if at least one parent smoked, one of the kids will smoke...unfortunately.

My dad smoked, quit when I was little, then my mom started up when I was a teen. I smoked, my sister did not.

DH's dad smoked, mom didn't not. Dh smokes, 1 brother smokes, 1 sister smokes, 2 brothers do not, 1 sister does not.

Celestrina replied: My mom smoked until she found out she had breast cancer about 10 years ago. I remember seeing a show when I was a kid how smoking can cause cancer so I always bugged her to stop. One time when I was about 10 we were in line at the supermarket I wanted a candy bar, she said no. Here's the rest of the conversation:

"You're getting cigarettes."

"So?"

"Cigarettes can kill you, chocolate can't."

She caved without a good response. You should have seen the look on the cashier's face.

Sarah&Mackenzie replied: My dad did smoke but quit when I was young, I don't ever remember seeing him smoke. My mom still smokes and all 3 of my siblings do too. I do not smoke and never have. Dh use to smoke, but has quit. He has been smoke free for a month now!!!

msoulz replied: NOw that second hand smoke has been linked with asthma my Dad feels so badly that he smoked around us. How was he to know? I wonder what we do now that will be found to be bad in the future?

JP&KJMOM replied: My parents both did before me and my brother were born but quit. They never smoked while we were growing up but both my brother and I started in high school. My mom started again when I was about 19 (why I don't know) and still does. Both my brother and I still smoke.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: My parents did not smoke. However, my dad dips snuff. All 3 of my brothers dip and they smoke at times too. I do not smoke.

Scotty's dad is a chain smoker. Neither he or his sister smoke.

PrairieMom replied:
My dad KNEW. He is a nurse that works with pulmonary patients and watched them suffer and die on a daily basis. he KNEW that his somking was making my Asthma worse. Growing up I would end up in the ER and be hospitalized at least once a year for a while because of my Asthma. The man would smoke in the car while taking me to the ER. I never even knew how bad it was until I moved away to college and discovered what it was like to be able to breath! at the end of the year when I moved home I ended up in the ER the first night just from the leftover smoke that was on the walls and in the carpet and all that. I am still bitter twards both my parents for that. My father quit after having a MAJOR heart attack, my mom still smokes.

PrairieMom replied: Here's another tidibt

my mom smoked while PG with me, and I have asthma.

she did not smoke while PG with my sister, and she doesn't.

ZandersMama replied: my daddy smoked till I was about 16, when I started. I quit when I got preggo with zan and never went back.

coasterqueen replied:
Yeah, not sure if there is a correlation or not really.

DH's mom smoked with both of him and his sister. Both were considered 'stick' babies because they were born to a mother who smoked, therefore they were low birth weight babies. Neither one of them have asthma or any other related health issues.

holley79 replied: My parents both smoked and I started smoking. My brother and sister do not smoke. I think it all depends on the child.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: My parents never smoked and neither do I. My DH smoked as a teenager, but quit before we got together...thank god. I wouldn't be with him otherwise. No offense, but smoking disgusts me!

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I think it CAN have an affect. Smoking goes way back in my family. I do not (well, I do once in awhile socially to be honest), but almost my entire family smokes though. It's like it's been passed down to everyone. I don't think it guarantees that a smoking parent's children will smoke though. I do think it can have an affect in the negative direction, but I think in the end everyone makes their own choices. I think children are more likely to smoke if they grow up around it, but on another side, if you have seen enough family members die of cancer like I have, it could have a lasting postive impact to not want to smoke.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Me too! I have it and my mom smoked with me. Funny how when I moved out of the smoky house though, that my problems got WAY better. I do not allow smoking in my home, but always grew up in a smoky house.

My2Beauties replied: Neither one of my parents smoked (cigarettes that is ) and I do not smoke. I admit, I tried them but hated them and never ever picked them up again. DH's dad smoked for 18 years, up until Brian was about 9 years old (so smoked well before Brian was even born) and he quit cold turkey after a really bad motorcycle accident that landed him in the hospital for weeks. DH doesn't smoke. A whole bunch of DH's aunts and uncles smoke, more than half of them. The one around Hanna the most, Betty, just had a minor stroke and she quit cold turkey as well. I'm so proud of her. Now my dad dappled in some Mary Jane every once in a while, but never in front of me, I could just smell it sometimes when I came home and what not. He quit that a long time ago, he'll fully admit to smoking it once or so a day to calm his nerves. My dad is a health freak now and would never ever dare. But this is about cigarettes so I'm just babbling now.

amymom replied: I put "yes my parents smoke but I do not. " only because that seems like the best answer.
But truth is, my dad smoked from the time he was 12 until he died at 73. His Dad smoked and died with lung cancer in his 50's. But that didn't deter my dad. Mom smoked recreationally but I don't recall ever seeing her smoke. But I know she did. Maybe 10 cigs a year.
I am the only one of my 6 siblings who smoked for any period of time. My older brother may have smoked for about a year. I smoked for about 10 years and quit 21 years ago last February.

I know my son will not smoke ~~ he hates the smell and how it makes his lungs feel. so I hope that continues for him.

My DH's parents did not smoke and neither did he. But his brothers both did.

Jeffs Wife replied: My mother has never smoked, ok I saw her try once when she was drunk, it was very funny, she didn't have a clue as to what she was doing.
My father smoked on and off while I was growning up . He could smoke for a couple of years and then just quit cold turkey. A year or two later he would start again. My mom made him smoke outside after a while because she hated everything in the house smelling like smoke.
I have smoked on and off like my father. I started the first time when I was a teenager and then I stopped when I got pregnant. I smoked on and off for years but I haven't smoked in about 3 1/2 years now. DH does and I hate it. It's a waiste of money, and it smells so bad. Not to mention how bad it is for him and everyone else that comes in contact with the smoke. At least he tries to stay in the bedroom or outside with them

My3LilMonkeys replied: My dad smokes - I do not. Older sister does a little (less than a pack a week), younger sister doesn't.

DH's parents smoke - he doesn't and neither do either of his sisters.

Bee_Kay replied: I didn't vote because none of the choices really apply to me.

Yes, my parents smoked.... and so did I.... but I have chosen to quit.

Brias3 replied: My parents were not smokers (well, my dad was from high school until right before I was born apparently) and neither am I today. Never have been either. My husband's parents were smokers (both have quit within the past couple of years) and he couldn't be more grossed out by the habit- never touched a cigarette in his life.

Interesting to see these results and what patterns certain people follow or don't follow.

Nina J replied: My parents didn't, I did. But, I quit along time ago.

Sometimes I think parents who smoke can influence there children, but other times, it's just the person. Like Rae, smoking can really disgust people. It is a deadly habit, but I think all smokers or ex-smokers feel alot of empathy towards people who smoke. It's addictive, and quitting is hard. People need all the support they can get, but smokers also need to understand that some people are disgusted by it. I don't like people smoking in busy street's, people shouldn't be subjected to 2nd hand smoke. I always went down an alleyway or a smoking area. But, I also felt embarrassed and ashamed when people would make snide comments about smoking.

People make there own choices.

mammag replied: Well, they didn't smoke ever when I was growing up and I've never so much as tried a cigarette. They both chain smoke now that they are older though....isn't that crazy? But then, they've picked up a lot of bad habits since they got older.