Why Casual Smoking is Anything But

Maybe it’s a habit you picked up in university or college. Stressful times, long hours of study, and sleepless nights fueled by cups of coffee and maybe the occasional elicit cigarette to keep you awake. Or it was the celebratory nights out when exams were over and you could have a few drinks, bum a few smokes off that friend who always seemed to have a bottomless pack. If you were of age in the ‘90s, every coffee shop, café, nightclub, and pub operated in a murky haze of cigarette smoke.

 

Now you’re older and you have kids and a career, which means a different kind of stress but maybe the same kind of stress relief. Sneaking out ‘once in a while’ on your coffee break or having a smoke or two with the girls over wine and chit chat seems harmless enough, doesn’t it? Deep down, you know the answer to that is a resounding ‘no’ but here is the harsh reality of what your casual smoking is doing to your body:

 

There has never been determined a ‘safe’ amount that can be smoked without health risks and since health risks of smoking are cumulative, they build up in your system with each cigarette you smoke. If you are trying to convince yourself that you are not addicted, consider that you are 50% more likely to become addicted to nicotine if you continue social smoking over one year and that casual smokers are often more addicted to the act of smoking rather than the actual nicotine. Even if you never experience withdrawal symptoms, it can be very difficult overcoming the compulsion to smoke in specific circumstances, like a night out with the girls. Nicotine builds up in the system, so whether it is one day or one week between cigarettes, if you feel you ‘need’ one, for whatever reason, you are addicted. Sound familiar?

 

Here are the health facts:

 

·         Even smoking less than a pack a week can give you just as much blood vessel damage as those who smoke a pack a day, leading to atherosclerosis, which impairs the blood circulation to the heart.

·         Light or occasional smokers increase their risk of heart attack by smoking just a pack a week.

·         Smoking as little as four cigarettes per day may increase the risk of lung, nose, and throat cancers.

·         Just one cigarette can begin to irritate your airways, raise your blood pressure, and affect your sense smell and taste.

·         Even if you don’t inhale, you are still at risk for lip, tongue, and mouth cancers.

·         ‘Light’ cigarettes are not really light at all. The filters have small holes cut in them to dilute the smoke, but the levels of toxins per cigarette are measured by machines to simulate actual smoking. People tend to cover up the holes with their fingers or their lips, giving each cigarette much higher levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide than the package claims.

·         Another risk of ‘light’ cigarettes is that people often take more puffs per cigarette or smoke down closer to the filter in order to satisfy the nicotine craving.

·         Social smokers tend to drink more alcohol than those who do not smoke, usually combining the two. According to the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, using tobacco and alcohol together may increase the risk of esophageal because alcohol speeds the body's absorption of cancer-causing chemicals in cigarettes.

 

For women, there are other specific risks of casual smoking as well

 

·         Women who smoke and use hormonal birth control have an increased risk of blood clots, heart attacks, and stroke. This risk increases significantly if you are over 35.

·         Women who smoke are less fertile than non-smokers

·         Smokers tend to start menopause at a younger age than non-smokers and experience more severe menopausal symptoms

·         Bone density is lower in women who smoke

·         Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) occurs more frequently in women who smoke and is a major contributor to ectopic pregnancies and other fertility problems

 

Essentially, it is how long you have smoked – not how much – that is the strongest risk to your health but the good news is that as soon as you quit, your chances of getting smoking related diseases begins to diminish and continues to drop the longer you manage to stay smoke-free. The reality is that the effects of that ‘occasional’ cigarette are staying with you much longer than you think, so maybe this is the year that you have to ask yourself ‘is it worth it?’