Phil,
I have thought for a long time that it seems to be harder for younger quitters to stay quit. I often thought that it should be the other way around... people who are older consequently smoked for a longer period of time and are therefore more set in their ways, so it should be easier for younger people to quit... but it's not. When I joined this site 2 years ago, I was the youngest person to quit successfully on the site (I was 28) and even still, I had a really hard time with it, slipping 3 times in the first 4 months.
I think you're right about the invincibility that younger people feel, but I think it's more than that. When we are young, we tend to focus on the here and now. It's not so much "I don't think it will happen to me" as it is "it's not happening NOW, so I've got time." At least that was my thought... until I was diagnosed with COPD at age 28, was on breathing treatments 2x a day, was going to the doctor once a week, was on 7 different medications and STILL couldn't get rid of my all day/every day cough! That was when I decided that I HAD to quit. If I hadn't been affected by the very real consequences of smoking, I would probably still be smoking today. And I know that most smokers my age don't suffer the side effects of their addiction, so yes, that's definitely why I think that younger people who try to quit have such a hard time. I guess you can say I was FORTUNATE to have these symptoms so early... because if I hadn't, then I may have kept smoking and then gotten even worse diseases such as cancer due to my smoking. As it is, I have very few symptoms of the COPD. SOmetimes, it's hard for me to breathe, and I do still cough (but not as bas as I did)... I can only imagine what would have happened if I'd kept smoking!
For almost 2 years now, I have taken it upon myself to "seek out" the younger quitters and take a special interest in their success. I do this because I think a lot of them may feel that this site is "old" and therefore, people can't relate... at least I did at first. So, I do pay special attention if I see somebody mention that they are in their teens or 20s and trying to quit. Unfortunately, very few of them are successful, but I still want to do everything I can to help them quit BEFORE it's too late!
If you're reading this and you're under 30, understand that you CAN quit now and will be better off for it!
Crave the Quit!
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/17/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 707
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 17,675
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,919.91
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 49 [B]Hrs:[/B] 21 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 14
