This isn't really meant to be a debate about smoking (but it can be if that is the trend this thread takes), I'm just honestly curious to see how many of my fellow readers are smokers or not.

You can give a reason if you like, for either, you can share your favorite brand of smokes, if you do smoke, and any other interesting tidbits you might want to share, as well.

I am a smoker, have been since I was a teenager. My brands of smokes have changed over the years, and since about 2003 I have smoked nothing except Djarum clove cigarettes, Blacks being my favorite. If I can't smoke cloves, I can't smoke at all. I was in Greece for a few weeks in May of 2008, and I unfortunately didn't pack enough cloves to satisfy my habit throughout the trip, and apparently Greece does not distribute or sell cloves of any kind, so when I ran out of what I had brought with me I had to try to make do with either Marlboros (which I smoked all through high school) or Lucky Strikes, and neither were very satisfying and I was glad to get home to pick up cloves again. Many people compliment me on their delicious smell, saying it reminds them of incense and in some cases church (apparently they smell similar to incense used in Catholic churches; one girl told me they "smelled like Christmas," which I thought was so poetic I needed to remember to use it in a poem someday). Others hate them even more than normal cigarette smoke, like my brother, who can smell that I've been smoking even if I hadn't smoked for several hours before seeing him and he always shares his disdain. If I had to give up cloves, I would give up smoking, because at this point I can't even stand the taste or smell of regular cigarettes.

Anyone else feel like sharing?

That's interesting, Bleachededen, because I have always wondered what cloves were like. I smoked regular cigs. for about 35 years, and then gave them up because all my friends and family had long ago quit, and I didn't fit in anyplace anymore. I have been smoke free for seven years, but I still miss them, and I would love to smoke again, but I won't, because of the health issues. Are cloves safer than regular tobacco? Are they less addictive? Also, I gained a lot of weight when I quit, and no matter what I do, I can't seem to lose it. Well, I'm not young anymore, so it's harder to lose weight anyway, but still, I wouldn't have gained the weight in the first place if I hadn't quit smoking.

Clove cigarettes are 60-70% tobacco. They are in fact less healthy than regular cigarettes, as they contain more nicotine (which is probably one of the reasons you prefer them, bleachededen) and tar.


But anyway, I don't smoke. I can't afford any bad habits right now (by which I mean literally, I don't have money to spare on them).

I honestly didn't know cloves had more nicotine, I like them for the smell and the taste. I knew they were more unhealthy, but I always assumed they had less nicotine because I need to smoke less than my severely addicted smoker friends and boyfriend and, to my knowledge, I don't really have "nic fits" if I don't have a cigarette. It's more the oral fixation thing, I think.

And rainbells, I can't seem to lose weight anyway, smoking or not. Probably because it's been way too cold to go for walks or anything lately. Maybe the warm weather will bring about good changes!

I didn't mean you chose them because of the more nicotine. Most people say they're more satisfying than regular cigarettes, which is because they have more nicotine, whether they know it or not.

Aha! Sneaky bastards!

I smoked from the age of 17 to 35 when I had the MS attacks. I haven't smoked anything in 25 years, yet there is no doubt in my mind that if I had a cigarette right now, tomorrow I would have 2 1/2 packs. Quitting was one of the best things I ever did.

That's exactly the way I feel, Veneer. I am glad I quit, but I still have cravings. And I would like to try just one but I am afraid that I couldn't stop at one, and I'd go right back up to 2 packs a day. I was under the impression that cloves were safer than regular smokes, I had no idea that they had tobacco and nicotine in them. Oh, for the good old days when I was young and smoked all kinds of stuff without worry

rainbells, I assure you from the bottom of my heart you can't have just one. We are just as bad as alcoholics, just a different vice. I no longer crave cigarettes, but I absolutely know that I can't tobacco in any form. Hang in there!

I just quit smoking again about a week ago. I was only a pack or maybe a little over a pack a day. I'll let you all know when I decide to start up again... It always happens.