Heavy Smoker M, 51, Forty Years Puffing Away

[heavysmokerguy]

Toward the end of the day of filling up my lung shaped ashtray with Marlboro 100s, Parliaments and a Hoya de Monterrey. I count 24 browned up cigarette butts and a cigar butt, and I emptied it out earlier in the day when it has 15 cigarette butts and two cigarillo butts. So on track for over two packs and some cigars. As a mid-fifties-aged heavy longtime smoker, I know tomorrow’s morning cough will be bad.

[heavysmokerguy]

You catch up with your neighbor Bob - the Parliament 100s smoker and heart attack survivor from one of my earlier posts- a few months after that encounter with him.

You had noticed Bob coughing a lot and clutching his chest that night. Nothing happened to him that night, but a few days later Tammy drove Bob to the hospital because his chest pains were not going away and getting worse.

Turns out Bob didn’t have a heart attack, but an angina attack- a serious symptom of his congestive heart failure, which shows that disease is getting worse. The ER doctor referred him to his cardiologist, who ordered a full workup on Bob in light of this new symptom.

The good news as far as Bob’s heart is concerned is the doctor saw this as the natural progression of the disease, and adjusted Bob’s meds accordingly. As far as his lungs, though, that was a different matter- the scan his doctor ordered showed clear symptoms of COPD Stage 2. A pulmonologist confirmed this and Bob has an inhaler for flareups, an instruction to lose weight, and an order to quit smoking.

Tammy and Bob are fine with Bob’s meds and the inhaler. They’ve also both made plans to lose weight and become more active. On quitting smoking, though: the doctor’s orders are falling on pretty deaf ears. Tammy and Bob know they can’t and won’t quit for good. But Tammy is trying to cut down to a pack a day. She’s pretty clearly ordered Bob to cut down on his Parliaments, occasionally using guilt. Bob hears “Another pack? Bob, think about your heart,” if he opens a fresh box of his little white slavers after he’s been smoking heavily throughout the day.

Now, at the annual tropical-themed barbecue Tammy and Bob always throw for the neighborhood, you notice both of them have cut back a bit on their smoking. But then you notice Bob stepping from the backyard into the house every so often. Eventually, you follow him into the house and you realize he hasn’t cut down at all - he’s sneaking off and hauling away on a Parliament out of Tammy’s sight. So much for cutting back on cigarettes together!

You make an excuse about getting another beer while you watch an evidently hooked smoker, facing serious smoking-related diseases and who can barely breathe, suck away on his cigarette.

Maybe Tammy is right and Bob should cut down on the cigarettes. Maybe cutting down or even quitting won’t change the course of events coming for Bob. But you’re curious to know what happens next…

[heavysmokerguy]

Another day working from home and another day of filling my ashtray with cigarette and cigar butts (and my lungs with tar). The work gets me paid in money now. The tar, though, is going to extract a price someday in the not to distant future. And after over four decades of heavy smoking, that’s going to be quite a tab…

But at least I organized my butts in my lung-shaped ashtray to match one of these lung-comparison photos. The comparison isn’t perfect, though- every smoker knows it’s not the color of the filter wrapping paper but the brown tar stain at the very end of the butt that tells the real tale.

[heavysmokerguy]

You said you just wanted to watch me smoke. That’s how you approached me online. I was puzzled by your request- why would anyone find it a turn on just to watch a wheezy, middle aged heavy smoker chain smoke cigarettes?

But I’m a straight, happily married man, so what could happen? You offered to buy me some beer at a little dive bar on the edge of town where smoking is still allowed. It sounded interesting and maybe fun!

You met me at the bar with a carton of Marlboro Red 100s as a gift. I admit I was surprised when I saw your eyes widen when I lit my first cigarette. Over several hours of talk, beer, and a couple of shots, I became fascinated with finding ways to turn you on. I went through a whole pack, trying everything- dangling, nose jets, deep inhales - and pretty soon it became clear to me you were melting, entranced by my clouds of exhaled gray-blue smoke. The only part of you not melted was your rock hard member making a tent in your pants.

I got carried away by it all. Now, a few hours after we left the bar, I’m next to you in bed in one of the last smoking hotel rooms in town. Whether I’m wheezing and coughing from finishing my second pack of the day or from exertion, I don’t know. But I do know I need this cigarette right now.

[heavysmokerguy]

Your uncle’s COPD is getting worse. Hard to believe that not too many years ago, he looked like he could have been a cowboy in the old Marlboro ads. Now he’s entering Stage 3 and getting used to supplemental oxygen. His waistline is expanding as he gets older. His weight, his COPD, and his decades of heavy smoking meant no one was surprised by his diagnosis of Stage C congestive heart failure.

And his doctor just called with discomforting news: while his lung scan showed three non malignant nodules, another one is a little unusual and has to be watched. He is to get another scan in three months. If the nodule has grown, he’ll need a biopsy.

But whatever happens, he’s been inhaling his cigarettes for over four decades now and he knows it’s way too late to stop. A regular cough, some chest pain that comes and goes, and whatever is growing in his left lung doesn’t change that. So he’s going to light up another Red 100, dangle it, and inhale away.

[heavysmokerguy]

Chest-heaving, deep drags on a Marlboro Red 100. I love to smoke this way but it takes its toll- I really should have that nagging cough checked out 🫁😉

[heavysmokerguy]

Since I did a “coughing, dangling, inhaling deep and clutching my chest” video with a Marlboro Red 100, I decided to do a similar one for the all-white 100s fans!

To me and my twisted fetish mind, this video suggests different scenarios. Here’s one: you and your partner are having dinner with the neighbors, a lovely early-retired couple who always serve a great dinner- and they like to host it at their house because they are both longtime, heavy, indoor smokers. Now that they’re both essentially retired empty nesters and can smoke all they want, their habits have only increased- it seems they can never be without their cigarettes anymore. Tammy was always a little over a pack day of her Virginia Slims 120, but now she jokes about opening a third pack of the day as Bob - in front of you- lights her cigarette as soon as it’s clear we’re all done with a spectacular dinner. Bob was about a fifteen-a-day Marlboro Red 100 man and cigar smoker before retirement. He now hauls away on a Parliament 100 to ease his after dinner craving. You and your partner are fine with the smoking - maybe you’re both smokers yourselves.

You both find it curious, though, that Bob is smoking more - especially since it was his smoking-related heart attack that kind of forced him into early retirement a few years ago. Tammy works from home part-time while she’s wrapping up her career - she’s in her late fifties and fills an ashtray next to her computer all day. They’re financially secure and enjoying life, even though they’re kind of homebodies because of their need to smoke pretty often.

One thing Bob did do after his (thankfully mild) heart attack was switch from Marlboro 100s to Parliament 100s. Bob is a smart man, but he still believes that low-tar-is-healthier nonsense from old ads in the 80s, when he was adding tobacco to his daily life as a young teenager. In any event, he now goes through a pack and a half a day of those charcoal-filtered “low tar” cigarettes. Plus more leisure time means he has time every day to haul away on a few big cigars, too. You’ve even seen him fiddling with a pipe.

Maybe Bob did the right thing here by switching to a lighter brand. He has made it three years since his heart attack. He’ll tell you he never felt better.

Your experience tells a different story, though, about Bob’s health. You’ve heard his coughing fits when he tries to work in the backyard. He gave up golfing at the club about a year into retirement when they banned smoking on the course - a full 18 holes without a cigarette was not something he was looking forward to. He and Tammy hold court on the smoking patio outside of the clubhouse pretty often- but you won’t see either of them at the gym. Smoking and a sedentary lifestyle are giving both of them a few extra pounds. Not a good thing for Bob after his heart attack, for sure.

That crosses your mind as you watch Bob haul away on his low-tar cigarette. He clutches his chest a bit - you know he’s not reaching for his shirt pocket pack as the hot coal on the one he’s hitting hard still has some tobacco to burn through. But he needs the nicotine so badly even a cough can’t break its grip on him to let him take the Parliament from his lips. He needs that nicotine to help digest that big brisket dinner - Bob put away more than his share of that great feast and he’s feeling a little indigestion. Maybe it’s the indigestion causing him to grasp a bit at his chest, in a natural response to the sharp pain.

But you don’t worry- Bob has a fitness watch to track his heart rate. Surely it is linked to his doctor if it detects a high heart rate and will give the doctor an alarm?

[heavysmokerguy]

Okay - my first pipe video, for better or worse. By that I mean I’m a rare pipe smoker (maybe once a month) and while I love the taste of the smoke - and as an inhaler of anything tobacco I love the smoke filled experience- my pipe smoking style isn’t nearly as good as a lot of the hardcore pipe guys on this app.

But there it is. The pipe is a churchwarden (I think- correct me if I’m wrong) and the tobacco is Havana Dream - very strong and cigar like. Dinner, advancing years, and a longtime smoker’s sedentary lifestyle are straining the buttons on my shirt at my navel. The gut and the strong nicotine of the pipe smoke raise my heart rate. Of course, a little cough. But an enjoyable experience.

Feel free to add tags as I’m not really in the pipe community (but I’m a bit beyond pipe-curious).

[heavysmokerguy]

Dangling away on a Marlboro Red 100, pack in my shirt pocket. The usual pattern ensues: the nicotine satisfies my craving while the thick tarry smoke provides the well-known Marlboro flavor and fills my lungs. Almost immediately, I can feel my heart beating faster under the 100mm long box in my shirt pocket. Ironically enough, the tobacco in that box is the reason for the heart’s increasing rate.

I try unsuccessfully to suppress a few coughs. After over four decades of smoking, I’m used to them.

[heavysmokerguy]

So after a pack of Marlboro Red 100s through the day, another during my pack of Reds in an hour experiment, and some Parliament 100s and a cigarillo along the way, I’m enjoying a Drew Estate Freestyle Live. Not a bad cigar at all.

[heavysmokerguy]

Another video from my pack an hour challenge

[heavysmokerguy]

Beard, blue polo, and raw five holder with Red 100s…

[heavysmokerguy]

Somewhere along the way while puffing on Marlboro Red 100s in my raw five holder, I decided to challenge myself: could I smoke a full pack of Red 100s in an hour using the five holder? Tonight, I met the task: one full pack; one hour; one lighter and one lung shaped ashtray for the tar stained butts. And this after already finishing a pack during the day.

Challenge accepted and accomplished. And I have a great nicotine buzz and an HR of 110. Will add some videos and more pics soon.

[specialredsmkr]

Why I post these videos.

[heavysmokerguy]

I couldn’t agree more!

[heavysmokerguy]

Seven hours of working from home and twenty Marlboro and Parliament butts browned with tar in the ashtray. Plus six and a cigarillo before I logged on. Time to crack a beer and light a big cigar! YOLO…

[heavysmokerguy]

One of the joys of working from home is being able to work while puffing away on a Marlboro with the filter removed. Takes a toll on my lungs though- at the end, it takes me three exhales to get all the smoke out 🫁 + 🚬 = ☠️

[heavysmokerguy]

What it’s like to wake up with a mid-50s aged heavy smoker! I’m a little wheezy and coughing a bit but have to start my day with some deep drags on a Marlboro 100. Filter shot at the end-