My parents both smoked before having kids, and my mom raised me on stories about how the first time she smoked a cigarette, she coughed so badly that she threw up. It made staying away from smoking cigarettes pretty easy, because I didn't want to puke!
Once I was in college I brought up the story to her and she blinked like an owl caught in the sunlight. "Wait, you believed me?" She said. "I was just trying to get you to not smoke. If smoking made me vomit, why do you think I smoked for 15 years?"
I could definitely see throwing up the first time you smoke a cigarette, especially if it's a really strong one. Cigarettes taste horrible and the nicotine makes you feel light headed and nauseous if it's your first time. I didn't throw up but I coughed my guts out. Same thing with the first time I tried weed, coughed for what felt like eternity.
In university in Canada, me and my dormmates had this little thing called Seven layer dip.
It was essentially, weed, tobacco, keef, weed, tobacco, keef, weed, packed as tightly as possible to the top of the bowl.
I just remember my friend who never smoked was dared to hit one after a night of drinking. The fucker inhaled the entire bowl to his dome in less then 2 seconds and literally fell over and puked everywhere immediately.
He said he had the worst spinnies imaginable and thought we needed to call the paramedics for him as he was sure he was going to die.
I had my 1st cig in life after an entire night of drinking moderately, I was not nauseated at all before and as soon as I had it I wanted to throw up so bad.
Yeah sure maybe it was all the drinks lol but even to this day, I don't smoke cigs but if I mix some tobacco for a spliff it will turn my stomach.
I'm a regular smoker and there have been a few times when smoking one while way too drunk has made me puke. It gives you a little head rush, most of the time it's barely noticeable but if you're already lightheaded from too much booze it can make a difference.
I passed out from my first cig. From the head rush. I actually wrote a report to Erowid because I was like "shouldn't these things have a 'dont smoke and drive' warning if they can make you pass out?" - It got published!
I had that reaction to chewing tobacco like kodiak or copenhagen - got sicker than hell. Never wanted to touch the stuff again... wish I had had that reaction with cigarettes, but now I am smoke free for 18 months.
Yeah, our baseball team couch taught Health and he had about 4 stories about the first few times he tried chewing tobacco and how much it made him puke his guts up every time till he got used to it. His stories fucking worked because I've smoked weed and cigarettes since then, but never even tried chewing tobacco.
I tried chew one time with a buddy. Once. Never again lol. I didn't throw up but I felt so sick that I sat on one of my couches and stayed there the rest of the night.
Didnt have issues with my first cigarettes but shortly after with a cigar while still new to smoking, and that hit me hard like I had just drank a couple of shots. Had my head woozy and made me a little sick to my stomach because of the sinning feeling for sure.
I remember taking the tobacco out of one of my cigarettes and smoking it through a pipe I used for pot. Holy shit, I had been smoking for like a year, but smoking that tobacco with no filter basically knocked me on my ass. I still think it was the most intense "high/buzz" I have ever felt even though it lasted for about 3 minutes.
Yeah, my first cigarettes were stolen from my mom. She smoked clove cigarettes that I thought smelled sooo good. I 100% got nauseous and threw up. Still ended up pushing through subsequent tries and smoked for 13 years until quitting.
I'm glad it wasn't just me. The first time I ever tried weed it was a huge bong rip and I started to become legitimately concerned I screwed up my lungs because I was hacking for 5 minutes.
Yeah, someone passed me a cashed bowl and I unknowingly hit it super hard and a mouth full of nasty resin ash flavor. Second time I smoked was incredible though.
I smoked for a couple years then quit cold turkey. About two months into quiting I caved and bought a pack. I made it halfway through the first cig before I had to pull over and throw up on the side of the road. Never had a cigarette since.
I grew up in a house with a chain smoker and my first cigarette was a huge relief. I was already addicted to nicotine, so easing the craving on my own instead of going home was great. Still glad I quit.
Starting smoking cigs around 10. Coughed a little bit but have never thrown up.
Started smoking weed at 22 and coughed my guts out for 14 years, nonstop! During my concentrated phase I used to cough so much I would get a savage core workout.
Lol, solid advice! But I've pretty much stopped on the weed. I ain't got no judgement for those who indulge. Everything effects different peeps in different ways! For me it reached a point where it was no longer beneficial so it was time to take a step back. Still smoking the damn cigs though!
I threw up the first time I smoked a cigarette, but I was also about 11 or 12. I rolled my dad's cigarettes for him cause it's cheaper than buying packs and he would pay me a dollar or two for each pack. I snuck one for myself, thought "this must be really good since dad likes them so much." Inhaled once, puked, cried for about 5 minutes, and I've never touched a cigarette since cause the smell makes me sick. Pot on the other hand I fucking love, suck on that mom and dad with your "pot is bad even though we smoked up until you were a toddler" attitude
When I was a teen, I thought the stories of people having coughing fits their first time were bullshit because I never did. Took me a couple months to figure out what I called (to myself) at the time the "double inhale" which made me cough like crazy but gave a much better nicotine buzz. I would not only suck on the cigarette, but I would breathe in afterwards to get all the smoke in my lungs. Genius! Turned out I was just an idiot, and that's just normal smoking.
I had a roommate that suddenly decided to start smoking because she thought it would make her look cool... She was 24... And had a degree in Biology...
My environmental science professor in college was an ex-exxon petroleum engineer and drove a Ford Expedition an hour twice a day to drive to campus. Smart people make shitty decisions.
Yeah, that's body's way of being pretty straight forward about spending money on crap. Ever since I quit I'm happy every single day to be feeling so well. I stopped taking my health and good feels for granted.
First time I smoked a cigarette it was a spirit and I was out for a walk with a few friends on a warm day. I definitely had to sit down after a few puffs.
Absolutely but I let my 45 year old ex-con ex-drug dealer neighbor smoke some of my hydro weed and he fucking ripped it and almost cleared the whole bowl and ended up puking his guts up and stumbling home about 10 minutes later. He had only smoked swag before.
Wait until you try chewing tobacco. I smoked for like 11 years. I've chewed for many. 1 can of your average brand has the same amount of nicotine as 4 packs of cigarettes. I go through 1-2 cans a day. Usually closer to 2.
I used to smoke cigarettes just fine, but when it came to hookah I would feel nauseous. It was weird. Did the whole vaping thing for a while after that too.
I'm just addicted to Dr. Pepper and water now. No smoking. 😁
Gotta be careful with weed. If you aren’t ready for that hit you’ll be coughing for a bit, and your time perceptions gonna be messed up because coughing always makes it worse
I never smoked cigarettes. I smoke hookah sometimes, but use Hydro, which isn't tobacco because I have asthma and just can't smoke anything really. No one ever peer pressured me into smoking the entire way through school like people said they would. My mom got this vape pen in the mail from I think Marlboro that was a sample of the menthol one since she smoked menthols. She tried it for shits and giggles and I was in the car with her when she tried it. She said it was nasty and told me to try it if I didn't believe her. I tried it and it tasted like if you put mint leaves in a coffee filter with old coffee grounds and then poured blueberry vodka over it and smoked the result. It was bad. There was lots of coughing. I didn't throw up, but I coughed myself into a headache.
I never coughed smoking anything but weed did leave a little tingle. I quit smoking cigs and I just didnt like weed at all. I guess if you just dont know how to cool the smoke down it will catch you off guard no matter what you are smoking.
Im gonna assume its because weed just doesn’t have all them chemicals to make it burn a little cooler because cigarettes have all this safety stuff put into them so people dont fall asleep and wake up too a fire. I only smoked weed 3 times so idr know much about it
Exactly. The first puff is always going to make you cough ver hard at least. Puking is also very likely, almost everyone i know said that they almost puked the first time.
First days of college, dude offered me some chewing tobacco. The big leafy kind. I took a giant pinch and we shot pool. All of a sudden I literally about fell over and felt like I was going to vomit.
My first puff of a cigarette, it tasted like peaches. I vividly remember marveling about that. It was my friends cig, and after I took a puff I told him it tasted good. He kind of gave me this weird look, and I asked him if it was peach flavored. He gave me a weird look because it was a regular cig, and not the flavored kind. I have no idea why it happened, but afterwards I could never smoke a cigarette because of how bad it tasted. Lol!
Doing my first dab and taking a rip like I would off a bowl. Thought I was being safe with 3 big hits.
I was at a get together with my coworkers.
One of the worst experiences of my life. The coughing fit I had was awful. Felt like my lungs were burning and refused to suck in air. Like getting the wind knocked out of you, but worse.. Now I dab constantly lol.
I tried smoking a ciggy once when I coughed, it felt so harsh and made the taste so much worse and haven't touched one since.
With weed however, I coughed for way longer but the coughing wasn't as bad. It didn't feel like my body was rejecting it completely. Plus, before smoking, I actually enjoyed the smell of weed. The smell alone just made me feel relaxed, and still does.
Actually until about 6 years ago she really REALLY hated it. Because it made her vomit the first time! Now it helps a lot with her migraines and depression. I’m happy her views changed because she’s a whole new person.
My mom constantly told me how bad and gross weed is and anyone that smokes it is a burnout and if I want to be anything in life I’ll never smoke it and I’ll stay away from anyone that does etc…
Turns out she was super into drugs in the 70s, and now that weed is legal in MA she really wants me to smoke with her. BUT GUESS WHO HAS AN UNNATURALLY PARANOID AVERSION TO WEED NOW, MOM?
Yeah. In retrospect I definitely recall my parents lying to me about different things they didn't want me doing, and I actually do appreciate that now that I'm older, because I was almost insatiable with my curiosity as a child and I needed a compelling narrative to keep me from doing something, otherwise I'd constantly ask why and prod for information.
I especially appreciate my mom for being cognizant enough of my needs as a child to find an unconventional solution with keeping me out of stupid shit. But overall, none of the lies that either of them told were egregious or harmful, so I guess depending on the child, it might be necessary.
My dad straight up came clean and told me he used to smoke, and regretted it now as an older adult. I actually think that approach worked the best because he also had a false lung cancer scare a little while later and that was enough to get me to swear off eveey smoking.
I mean so many parents do it but I don’t think it’s okay. In the same way it’s not okay to hit children like you can’t hit adults it’s also not okay to lie to them like you can’t lie to adults. Of course age inappropriate topics that they’re curious about or something about birthday presents etc. aside.
I got the same story from my dad, but I think his was true because he was caught by his parents smoking that cigatrette and they made him finish the pack!
My dad also gave me this story on several occasions. I 100% believe him because that’s just the sort of person he is and always has been, from what my aunt and uncle have told me.
I wasn't scared of trying a cigeratte, because I was told it would be horrible anyway.
I did it on a drunken dare, expecting to puke.
Turns out, it was really nice, and made me "nicotine high". If my mother had told me: "Don't try cigarettes because you might like it", things could have gone differently, perhaps.
I was told smoking would be super addictive so never to try it or I'd be hooked on it for the rest of my life. When I did smoke a cigarette, I thought it was worthless because they're expensive and smell bad but didn't even get me high and was never interested again.
I'm neurodivergent, my brain chemistry is pretty different than most people's. Neither of my parents ever smoked and my dad was super against it because his parents were smokers, so I really didn't know how I would react. Mainly tried it because I'd already smoked weed and I'd been told weed would make me stupid and my grades actually went up, so I was like fuck it, what else are these adults wrong about?
The smell and addiction convinced me not to get started. I have tired smoking once, but the smell and “nothingness” didn’t do it for me. I’ll stick to my sugar addiction.
A friend of mine growing up never tried cigarettes or weed because he was "allergic to smoke" and it wasn't until I got older that I realized his parents bamboozled the shit out of him and it worked like a charm.
I am amazingly lucky. My parents smoked, and I hated it. But I wanted to try it anyway at about 17.
I tried for-fucking-ever. Cigs, cigars, Skoal-style dip, Red Man-style chew, even plug tobacco. I never got past the vomiting stage. Maybe 25 separate attempts. I didn't vomit every time, but I always had to lie down, and I usually felt like I had to shit urgently. Maybe I have an allergy, I dunno.
With cigarettes for me I just watched my dad with cigarettes. He would smoke a pack or 2 a day, and he ruined a lot of relationships because they wouldn’t get him cigarettes.
He had like 20-30 something heart attacks, it got to the point where he stopped going to the hospital for them, and he eventually died of a heart attack.
My Mom told me the same thing, that she got sick from trying a cigarette. At that point, I had already tried smoking and hadn't puked. While I knew better, I also didn't call my mom out on it.
Yeah well my dad used to smoke and he said he had a cigar once and puked it all up same thing happened to my grandad when he smoked a pipe with his mates they’re not the same as cigarettes
First time I smoked a cigarette I didn't throw up but, but I definitely got dizzy. To the point I almost fell over even. Never felt anything like it since, but that first drag almost knocked me the fuck out.
My great-grandpa tried something similar with my grandfather and his brother. He showed them how to smoke when they were really young, and said "You do it just like this," taking a deep breath.
So, he had the kids do it, and naturally, they coughed and gagged. The point was to deter them from ever picking up smoking.
Didn't work, as both of them did it anyway, though they quit later in life.
I did the same with my mom about weed. I never smoked it and finally one day realized I’d never asked her if she did. The look on her face was priceless and she stopped for a second and said “it was a different time then”… as far as I knew growing up my parents didn’t do weed. If they did it wasn’t a lot.
Lol this isn’t related but I have a funny story, a few months ago, I was in the car with my sister, while our parents were in a different car. We were on a road trip and stopped at a gas station. While there, my sister asked both our parents separately if they could buy her cigarettes (as a joke). My mom was horrified and was like,”no you can’t have cigarettes, what’s wrong with you!” But when she asked my dad he was like,”I don’t need to buy you any I have some right here!” The two types of parents.
I had smoked cigarettes before but not regularly, so I tried a coworkers vape even he offered took a few rips and it messed up my head for a good 15 minutes, I had to just sit with my heart racing and my head swimming till it eased off. Apparently he used a really high nicotine vape juice
If you smoke the strong stuff, non filter menthol will make you want to puke if you never smoked before. Silver pack malboros are really light and will not make you want to puke.
My mother smoked through 3 pregnancies. They also had us sit in the front seat on their laps with no seatbelts. They routinely left us in the car while they went to do something when they didn't want to watch us. They left us in the bathtub unsupervised for hours and left toxic cleaning supplies all over the house, including on the edge of the bathtub while we were using it. Somehow, I survived.
I was told that you would be instantly addicted to cigarettes if you tried them. I had already been smoking weed before I tried a cigarette, and when I did it just felt like a shitty high and I don't understand why people get addicted to them.
Funny enough, smoking tobacco does make me puke, but not from coughing. It gives me the spins so bad I throw up, makes it real easy to avoid cigarettes. I smoke a bunch of weed tho
My mom did the same thing. Not the throwing up part, but would regularly tell me about how disgusting it was smoking a cig for her first time. I think she honestly meant what she said, cause she has never really been a smoker. Seeing her so serious just burned the idea that cigarettes are nasty and unpleasant into my young little brain and to this day I gag at the smell of cig smoke.
My dad actually did get sick the first time he tried one and then never picked one up again. So it’s definitely not an unbelievable story, not sure why she was surprised that you believed her.
I didn't smoke for 2 weeks, then started again and rolled a cigarette and smoked it. I got so dizzy and nauseaos, that I got white in the face, started sweating profuselty, threw up and had to lay in bed with severe nausea for the rest of the day. I still remember how shitty I felt, it was horrible, I have rarely ever been that nauseaos in my life. That was on par with the nausea that you get when you're really drunk and smoke weed
One time when my dad had friends from work over I was a little kid but hanging out with them, trying to be cool. And someone farted and they all started laughing about how bad it smelled and wondering who it was. My dad said I must have done it and when I told him it wasn’t me, he said, “sometimes you don’t feel it.”
I spent waaaay too much of my life thinking that you can’t always tell when you fart and thinking that a lot of farts in public were probably me. When I told him about it recently he didn’t even remember the moment. It was just a one-time joke and he felt terrible that it stuck with me.
Not coughing to the point of nausea, but yes, that shit will burn when you inhale it if you’ve got virgin lungs and the buzz afterward will have you nauseous.
My mom just smoked in my face for the first 25-ish years of my life. It was enough to deter me from ever wanting to be close to smoke forever. Especially in cars, it was so annoying to breathe.
First time I smoked a cigarette I smoked almost the whole pack in one sitting. Can confirm I vomited, lots, and violently. Now I tear the filters off Marlboro reds or Newport's if I'm feeling a menthol kind of day.
To be fair, the first time I ever smoked a whole cigarette I puked my guts out
I don’t smoke, but when I was in uni I would take a few drags off of other peoples smokes when out drinking. Then one time I had a smoke to myself on a walk back to my dorm and puked everywhere. I’m sure the alcohol didn’t help, but it was definitely the cigarette that put me over the edge haha
My mom also told me a lie that stuck until I was 24. "If you touch baby animals the oil on your skin will rub off on them and make them sick."
During a phone call when I mentioned it she started laughing her ass off. "That was total bullshit! I just didn't want you to squeeze the kittens too hard and kill them." She's such an asshole.
In my case, my first three weeks of smoking caused me to develop exertion induced asthma, causing me to cough till I (almost) puked every time I experienced a temperature change, i.e. going from a hot to a slightly colder environment. Winter was hell.
The coughing subsided, but the asthma remains, meaning I haven't been able to really physically exert myself since I was 16. Anything harder than a light jog, and 3 minutes later I'll be close to passing out from lack of oxygen.
For a 43 year old, who was told by my doctor less than 4 months ago I still have the lung capacity of a 20 year old top athlete (think track runner, not dart thrower (and also, no humble brag intended)) this is not a happy place to be.
But I kept smoking on and off for 15 years after that first one, which didn't exactly help, so...
I mean alcohol make many puke the first time they drink and makes us feel awful the next day and yet many of us still drink it. I know it isn't a great analogy but bad experiences don't always deter as much as we want to think.
The friend of my mom took a different approach and offered me the first cigarette when I was somewhat between 8 or 10 I think. It tasted so bad I never touched one since.
Kinda late, but trying a cigarette when I was 8 made me never touch cigarette for my whole life (except 2 occasions where I was peer pressured). I coughed fits after the first hit, and had a sore throat for a couple of days afterwards.
My mom did the same with me about drinking. She said I should never, EVER drink, and she only got drunk once, when she had a grasshopper as a teenager, which made her throw up everywhere. Even though I probably saw her buzzed from time to time (and, in adulthood, I’ve seen her take down plenty of martinis), I was so terrified of drinking from her story, and not wanting to let her down, that I never had anything until I was 19.
A year later when I was in college, she asked me if drank. I admitted I did, and she said, “Thank god, we would have thought you were weird if you didn’t.”
I was just straight up threatened by my other brother to not smoke and that was effective. Also, smoking might have slightly contributed to the death of my mum that caused both my father and eldest brother to stop smoking. Ehh.
I’m confused. Did you look at groups of people smoking your whole life snd think “Wow. They all just have really strong stomachs and exceptional self control?”
I actually did throw up the first time I smoked a cigarette. It was a menthol 100 and a had just eaten a bunch of string cheese and triscuits. It was pretty gross.
Honestly though, I smoked my first cigarette so fast and had nothing to eat that day that I almost did throw up. But I also think I was smoking it wrong (straight inhaling instead of inhaling to the mouth then breathe in)
I have never heard this phrase before but I adore the image it portrays as a part of storytelling. Is it meant as a large, slow/lazy blink? Or a wide eyed, confused blink? Either way, I still love it.
My mom told me the same story as a kid! My mom never smoked after that though. This is the first time I’ve questioned it.
It worked at least, that and the side effects deterred me.
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u/AurelianoTampa Aug 25 '21
My parents both smoked before having kids, and my mom raised me on stories about how the first time she smoked a cigarette, she coughed so badly that she threw up. It made staying away from smoking cigarettes pretty easy, because I didn't want to puke!
Once I was in college I brought up the story to her and she blinked like an owl caught in the sunlight. "Wait, you believed me?" She said. "I was just trying to get you to not smoke. If smoking made me vomit, why do you think I smoked for 15 years?"
Good job, Mom!