Is it normal: smoker, "rumbling" / cannot breathe.

I sympathize with you, OP - I too started smoking at a very early age, back when I felt immortal and awesome. I did quit, and for me it was difficult, not merely due to nicotine addiction. I tried several times, using the patch and other methods, but nicotine replacement did not work for me. It actually only takes a few days for the nicotine to leave your system.

For me, the biggest part if the addiction was behavioral...I ALWAYS smoked when I was stressed; I ALWAYS smoked when I needed a break; I ALWAYS smoked after a meal; I ALWAYS smoked before bed; I ALWAYS smoked when I was drinking; I ALWAYS smoked when I needed to do something with my hands, or when I was bored.

I realized that the behavioral aspect was a huge part of the addiction for me, so I ended up trying nicotine free herbal cigarettes (they taste yucky, but you do feel like you're smoking), coupled with nicotine replacent, and I was able to quit quite easily. Apparently, your lung capacity increases in a matter if days. It really is fantastic to be able to go running and laugh my ass off without feeling short of breath.

I really wish you luck with the quitting process.

After 45 years of smoking and over 30 years of trying to quit, I've finally done it (about 4 months). Every second of every minute I'm awake, I still want one. My lungs are definitely not what they once were. They don't seem to be getting better, either. For someone who was a deep sea spear fisherman, and could hold his breath for well over 3 minutes while working underwater, it's pitiful to know that I can barely hold it for a minute now.
Your recovery will depend on how resilient your body is and on how much damage you've done; we're each different there. I wouldn't hold out much hope that you will be able to play sports professionally, and perhaps even hiking and biking may be beyond your lung capacity, now. Living somewhere with zero air pollution, like I do, will help immensely.
There are simple, noninvasive tests to check lung function. Good luck; I wish you well.

Buddy, you need to quit smoking ASAP. All those symptoms sound like something that's definetly caused by smoking. I realise its a highly addictive habit, but it really isn't that hard to quit. You control what you do with your life, and you shouldn't let a craving you have for cigarettes control your health and your life.

My boyfriend was a smoker for a few years, like 3 or so. A few months after we started dating he quit smoking by smoking less and less cigarettes everyday. Eventually, he just didn't crave cigarettes anymore and hasn't since he quit. Its not that hard. Smoke less and less everyday and eventually you will lose the craving you have for them.

Cigarettes are dangerous to every aspect of your health imaginable. They increase your risk of cardiovascular disease such as heart failiure, high blood pressure, and DVT. Deep vein thrombosis is a condition where you develope fatal blood clots, mostly in the arteries of the lower legs. These blood clots can travel to the heart or brain, causing cardiac arrest or stroke. These clots can also form in the lungs, exhibiting the exact symptoms you described above. See a doctor and demand a scan of your lungs to make sure you haven't developed blood clots there.

By the way, if you quit smoking now, your lungs will more than likely repair themselves. When my boyfriend applied for life insurance and they asked if he was a smoker, he said yes but only for a couple of years. The doctor who gave him the routine check ups they do when you apply, said that smoking does permenant damage to your lungs after about 20 years of smoking. The sooner you quit, the quicker your lungs will repair themselves. Stop before its too late.

I smoked for 15 years, and quit cold turkey. Quitting was a horrible experience that I could only do once. Healing was slow. I could taste the faint flavor of nicotine coming out of my lungs occasionally for the next 5 years.

But, I got better. You will too, ever so slowly.

After over 30 years of on again off again smoking, I quit 12 years ago. I had shortness of breath, occasional chest pains, sore throats, etc. I can tell you that it does go away slowly but surely. I can't tell you if you've already done irreparable damage to yourself, but keep trying. It is a great feeling when you finally conquer the habit. That being said, I still have big time urges, which I haven't given into yet. I do have and probably always will have a smoking fetish, where I enjoy watching hot girls smoking long feminine cigarettes. I just think they look sexy. As for their health, well that's another thing...

The word that comes to mind is emphysema.