Ask Lemmy

I watched 2 grandparents die of lung cancer. My mom has COPD, and has never smoked. I have had breathing problems since I was young.

It's all because my grandparents smoked.

I have never and will never smoke.

Alcohol has too many calories.

Grew up in a house with 3 smokers. I breathed second hand smoke for more than 30 years. (Total, not consecutive)

I won't ever smoke cigarettes, smoke cigars occasionally, (been more than 4 years, but I still have a bunch in my humidor.

I will say that after I finally left that environment, it took about 6 months to realize what cigarettes actual smell like on clothes from the perspective of someone who isn't noseblind to the smell.

Good damn I didn't know how I just have smelled to other people, doing smoke around other people who don't want to be around it please, that caused me more problems than I ever knew

Millennial here. Never smoked, never tempted to either. Don’t like the taste of alcohol unless it’s in deserts, so no temptation there. Tried weed once, also that is not for me. Heck, I even avoid caffeine most days so I don’t build up a tolerance for days when I actually need it.

Yes, both.

Nicotine: will hit my wife's vape or buy a pack of nicotine pouches during the week. At the weekend I'll buy a pack of cigarettes becauss I like smoking at the pub. Main deterence is how expensive it is but I feel like I'd only get a 10 deck at the weekend if they still sold them in the UK. Healthwise, living in the city is roughly equivalent to smoking a few cigarettes a day so I think I'm just tinkering around the edges.

Alcohol: I'll have a beer or some wine most days. More when I'm out at the weekend. Probably drink too much but I enjoy it. Social activity.

Edit - millenial

I stopped smoking. I drink beer and whiskey.

Millennial here. I like not being a public nuisance and having functional lungs, a liver, and what little of my mental faculties I haven't lost to mental illness, so no I don't partake

I'm on the Gen Z/Millennial border for reference.

I've done a few puffs of cigars at big celebrations with friends/family, but I've never smoked a whole cigar or used any other tobacco. Never really cared much for the idea, and the little bit I did try didn't make me want to do more.

I'll drink when I'm at a social gathering, but it's rarely ever enough to get drunk. I don't like beer, which is frequently the only alcohol offered, so there are quite a few times where I don't drink anything. I never really drank outside of social situations before, but I've recently started to appreciate the taste of good bourbon, so I'll occasionally pour some at home.

I no longer willingly consume cancer-causing substances.

Health is something you only need to lose once, and you're life is forever changed for the worse.

And neither alcohol or tobacco products bring even an ounce of benefits that could outweigh their risks.

Plus, tobacco products cause you to smell like absolute shit, and alcohol turns people into idiots or lunatics.

And I also couldn't imagine pissing away money on something so unnecessary.

FWIW, I was a pack-a-day smoker and drank alcohol, so I know both sides. I regret it in hindsight, but teens so stupid things, and that was my stupid thing.

Elder millennial. I think we were the last gen where cigarettes, booze, and drugs were seen as "cool". Younger people seemed to have figured it out early how much of a fucking waste of time and money all three are.

It's more common for younger generations to abstain. I don't want to do it because it's harmful for your body and mind and is addictive. I do drink for social reasons once or twice a year though.

You mentioned your generation so ill put myself as xennial.

I dont use tobacco at all. Never seen the appeal of it myself.

I have a beer on occasion and sometimes use wine in cooking.

I use weed regularly for sleep and shoulder pain

I don’t because I like money, and I don’t think my life would get any better from smoking and drinking.

Nope. In both cases it's expensive and bad for you, and it can be hard to stop once you start.

Smoking makes you gross to everyone on top of it, and school was pretty good at explaining all this at length. When I see or hear about someone in our generation who's a smoker I wonder WTF their reasoning was.

I drink beer cuz look around.

I use vapes because it's how I quit smoking and there's still something comforting/de-stressing about the ritual. I use pretty strong juice but I don't get nic fits if I go a while without it like I did when I smoked, which leads me to believe nicotine isn't the only addictive thing the latter.

I drink alcohol because caffeinated programmer needs to stop going brrr at some point, not the healthiest life decision but who the hell cares it's not like I'm ever going to have enough money to retire

I’m addicted to a vape. Not the disposable ones, thank fuck.

I cut out drinking and weed because I can’t not use them when they’re available… weed is awesome, drinking sucks ass but is alluring despite its awful effects.

Both

I take what small pleasures I can from this life.

Based on the way the world is going, I will probably be shot way before lung cancer ever develops.

I drink a couple times a year. I generally get in the mood for it a handful of times a year, but beyond that I just have no desire.

You loose a lot of money and a lot of life expectancy for very little fun and you smell bad after.

Also, you annoy people around you and eventually poison them too

Not worth it.

No. Paying money to ingest poison is extremely unappealing

Quit self-medication years ago because it's lethal, killed my whole family, and right now we should all be hoarding money to keep it out of the hands of the oligarchs and tyrants trying to seize our land.

I like to get a little intoxicated and find the different headspaces the drugs provides to be very relaxing and fun. That said, I get a really good calming buzz from a cup of coffee and some particular candy (vespebol) these days.

I used to drink a lot, mostly because it was fun and relaxing to start, then it became habitual. I drink way less now, I like the buzz and mindset I get from a few beers, but I no longer need the escape that drunkenness provides and I've grown to really dislike it. Stopped drinking for a little while, then eased back into it and experimented with it for a few years. I found that for me the cost of drinking increases exponentially per unit and the benefits flattens and become costs after a few units now.

I only have tobacco when someone has rolled a joint with it. Had my first while cigarette at 29, I got a really good nicotine shock from it, which I loved, but my lungs hurt for days afterwards so I'm staying away from tobacco, never tried snus either even though it's pretty huge around here.

Don't really smoke much weed either, but I'll have a puff if someone is offering. I like the buz and calmness it brings.

Alcohol yes. Less the older I get.

I've got an appreciation for bourbon and wine, so tasting those is pretty enjoyable. I also like a cold beer every now and then if I'm running the grill and it's particularly hot, just not IPAs: I'm not that basic.

Tobacco no. I have tried it, but both my parents are smokers and I don't like the smell.

I'm a millennial.

i drink cigs and smoke beer

I started smoking and drinking at 12 because I thought it would make me look cool and developed a pretty bad drinking habit in high school and college. After college it got worse and there were some severe consequences. Finally got sober at 30. I’d been trying to quit smoking for years but would always light up when I’d had a few beers and since that was pretty much all the time, I wasn’t able to quit smoking until I quit drinking.

I haven’t touched either in almost 27 years and I’m so much better off for it.

No. Never smoked. Alcohol tried pretty hard to get me, so I quit. Wasn’t fun anymore. Never really gambled other than pocket change, whatever I had on me was used and when it was gone it was gone. Rarely more than $5.

Both. Tobacco (now vape liquid) was a product of extremely misplaced curiosity. If you're young and reading this, fuck your curiosity, fuck what your friends are doing - don't fucking do it. Buy a stress ball if you have that "Well [x moron] smokes when they are stressed, maybe I should try it" thought. Putting aside the health effects (which are reason enough), shit is basically a money hole for idiots and addicts. I really need to try quitting again (just with a lot of prep for the early stage when I want to kill myself and everyone around me).

I like beer and spirits, but I find anything above 3 standard drinks is diminishing returns. I did the 'get dangerously drunk' thing in my teenaged years/very early adulthood. Very happy I grew out of that, shit was getting dark by the end. Have overindulged since and every time, woke up thinking "I should have stopped at 2".

2 beers is a nice, very lucid buzz for me - body relaxation and a bit chattier. 3 is when my motor skills start to soften in a perceivable (though still light) way. Experience has taught me this is a good place to switch to water/non-alc beer/tonic water for the rest of the night (if 'partying', supplemented with some weed.)

Now - a cup of coffee before heading out, 2-3 beers, and some weed? This is generally a good Friday or Saturday night.

Never liked smoking anything including weed though I do enjoy it as an edible on rare occassions (maybe twice a year max). I also drink beer on occassion (0-2 a month). Wine and liquor jusf upset my stomach too much.

I used to like moking, tobacco and weed in a bong, would make my brain stop buzzing around, extremely calming, honestly it was just a way to self medicate not knowing I prob have adhd/ocd, I'm still super "lazy" about seeing a doctor and getting medicated, just swapped to vaping weed and nicotine. It doesn't work as well, can honestly be overstimulating compared to how calming it used to be, ocassionally works

I drink time to time, not always. Beer and wine mainly to taste and enjoy, and some raki too.

Tobacco: No. Hopefully never

Alcohol: Only if it tastes good. No good taste = I don't want it.
Example: I dislike beer. Sake on the other hand has a pleasant taste.

I hate everything about tobacco. Drink? Only specialish occasions.

Yes, in short, because I like them.

For better or worse, booze is a big part of British socialising culture, so it's unusual if someone my age (mid thirties millennial) has never drank, but a couple of my mates have gone tee total in recent years.

Why do I still do it? Beers with your mates whilst enjoying a beer garden or watching the footie is a pretty enjoyable way to pass the time. I'm also a bit of a nerd with it all so I love trying new beers, there's been a huge renaissance around beer variety over the past decade-ish, so there's always something new to try. I've gotten more into wine and cocktails in recent years too, and there's a rich well of variety in there to experience too.

Smoking tobacco I generally avoid now, it's nice to have the odd one with a beer but I'll probably only have a few a year now. I regularly smoked last in my 20s. I occasionally have ended up with a vape in my pocket after a big night out, but I don't really like them much flavour wise.

Weed is something I still enjoy, it helps me clear my head, relax, and kinda be more present with whatever activity I'm engaging in, if I'm smoking with mates it can often be a pretty hilarious time. However, it's easy for me to slip into habitual use with it especially though, I don't really seem to get much in the way of acute negative effects beyond tolerance, so I try to be mindful to keep it in check these days. I'll probably try and relegate it to a treat for when I visit somewhere like Amsterdam in the coming years given the downsides of smoking (I've got a vape, but I basically never choose it).

FWIW I've heard that Gen Z is differing their consumption habits significantly from previous generations. Less drinking alcohol in general, preferring non-smokeable forms of tobacco/weed.

There doesn't appear to be too many bad examples in here, so allow me.

I smoked cigarettes for a long time and, at 59, got to experience lung cancer. I'm currently 62 and still dealing with it. I'd probably be dead now if the mass in my lung hadn't adhered to the back of my chest cavity and eroded into one of my ribs causing a ridiculous amount of pain. Lung cancer usually goes undetected until it spreads to other places, like the brain, so I guess I got lucky. It did pop up on an adrenal gland, but we nuked that one too. I have another small mass in my other lung that will probably have to be radiated too. I'm also dealing with emphysema and a mouth half full of fucked up teeth. (So glamorous!)

Having no wind in my sails and trying to talk around and eat with both upper and lower partials just sucks all around. I'm only 62, but I feel like I'm 82, and I only have myself to blame.

I used to. I have stopped. My life is much better without.