Commemorate Successful Smoking Cessation with a 3D Printed Lung Trophy!

Cigarette smoking is on the decline in the United States. It has been chased out of public areas, kicked off planes, heavily taxed, and erased from billboards. More and more people are realizing the addictive and damaging nature of smoking as tobacco companies pay out billions to atone for their sins. In some countries the packaging for cigarettes is now all black and includes a skull and crossbones. In others, a picture of a diseased lung, an underweight infant, or a simple funeral plot greet the purchaser of a pack of smokes. It’s no wonder it’s on the decline–the fact that people still do it at all is actually somewhat more confusing.

In 1965, approximately 42% of the population used cigarettes as compared to somewhere around 18% these days. The story of this shift is painless when viewed at this large scale as simple changes in percentage points. But for those working to kick the habit, it’s a struggle of nearly epic proportions. I’ve watched friends and family members twitch and sweat and pace and curse as they feel the effects of withdrawal. So many times, a hopeful start turns into a false one as the will to resist is assaulted by the addiction.

Being able to beat the addiction is a reward in its own right, but it’s also nice to be able to show those we care about how proud we are of their accomplishment and how much it means to us that they are taking steps to ensure that they can be with us longer. It was with that in mind that Imgur contributor Moaraj Hasan decided to create something unique for his father, who had quit smoking after 40 years.

His father had started smoking when he was living in Pakistan and the tender age of 13, not an uncommon age for people to get hooked in to the habit. Four decades later, he had stuck it out through the struggle and given up the cigarettes for good (pun intended).

“After 40 or so years of smoking he finally kicked the habit,” Hasan says of his father. “[The 3D printed trophy] sits on his desk everyday as a reminder of the work he had to put in and the work he’s going to have to keep putting in for the next few decades to live healthier.”

Now, any time a craving hits him or he needs to remind himself of why he worked so hard to stop, he can look on his desk and see the 3D printed trophy that his son made him as a heartfelt way of saying congratulations.

Rather than just take a generic trophy and add a nameplate and occasion, this trophy is made of the outline of a pair of lungs held together by the bronchus leading to the trachea and was printed using a very sparse infill in PLA. At the base of the trophy is a plaque with his father’s name, Hasan Afzal, and a date that commemorates when he quit. On the inside of the lungs are written the following words: ‘smoke free’ and ‘iron lungs.’

It’s true that parents appreciate gifts that their children make for them and this could be seen as the ultimate hand made gift on the spectrum including macaroni art and handprint cards. I remember when I was a kid and we would work with clay in art class, we were almost always making an ash tray because it was an easy form to create. Now, with 3D printing, maybe kids’ projects can be on the healthier side.

Hasan has also made the design available for customization, if others are interested in supporting their loved ones through a similar trophy, noting:

“The CAD file for the trophy can be found at the address below.

• Open the part in solidworks and expand the left the sidebar
• Edit Sketch 24 (face place of trophy would light up when you click this object)
• Change the Name and Date
• Send to 3D print center
• It took about 3 hours for me to get it printed on a really old machine.”

Do you know anyone who has recently quit smoking?  Is this something you’d consider giving them?  Let us know in the 3D Printed Lung Trophy forum thread on 3DPB.com.