Smoking FAQs
Does smoking reduce stress?
No. The idea that cigarettes relieve stress is the most widely believed myth. Smoking doesn’t make you relax. Nicotine is a stimulant. It actually speeds up your bodily functions – especially your heart rate
Does smoking make me lose weight?
Cigarettes do not make you lose weight. Nicotine is an appetite suppressant, so smokers tend to eat less. Nicotine also affects your metabolism so that calories are burnt off quicker. You may put on a few pounds when you stop smoking but a healthy diet and exercise will limit the amount of weight you gain. If you continue to smoke, restricted breathing will prevent you from exercising, therefore increasing the likelihood of gaining weight anyway.
Are ‘light’, ‘mild’ or ‘low tar’ cigarettes less harmful?
No. Modifications to cigarette design, such as ventilation holes in the filter, allow more air to be drawn in, thereby reducing tar yields when measured on a machine. However, people do not smoke like machines. As low tar cigarettes are also lower in nicotine, smokers compensate by puffing harder or covering the ventilation holes to get the desired level of nicotine. Thus, they inhale higher levels of tar than those recorded by machine and inhale the smoke deeper into their lungs.
“All my mates do it. I want to fit in”
You would probably be very surprised how many of your mates don’t like smoking and want to give up but like you may be reluctant to speak up. Don’t be a sheep by following the crowd! Be a leader by being the first to say you’re fed up with the disgusting habit, and the sheep might start following you
“It looks cool and attractive”
Smoking causes wrinkles and cellulite, and oral cancers are 4 times more likely in smokers than non-smokers. It stains and eventually rots your teeth. Still think smoking is cool?
Can smoking affect my sex life?
Yes. Blokes who smoke are twice as likely to suffer from impotence or erectile dysfunction (unable to get or keep an erection that is hard enough or lasts long enough to have sex) as non-smokers. Smoking affects blood flow and circulation and also damages valves in the veins that keep the blood in the penis during an erection. Smokers are also 7 times more likely to develop Peyronie’s disease, where the penis develops lumps and becomes less flexible making the penis bend during an erection and this makes sex more difficult.
For women who smoke sexual arousal can also be affected by blocked blood vessels, and those who use an oral contraceptive are at risk of suffering from Deep Vein Thrombosis and by the time they reach their thirties are 10 times more likely to have a stroke of fatal heart attack.
Can smoking affect my chances of having children?
Yes. Men who smoke have lower sperm count, and women who smoke are 60% more likely to be infertile than non-smokers. Female smokers have lower oestrogen levels and reach menopause about 2 years earlier than non-smokers.
Why is smoking banned in public places?
To reduce harm caused by secondhand smoke. Cigarette smoke contains a cocktail of around 4,000 chemicals many of which are poisonous and short term causes coughing, headaches, eye and throat irritation, sneezing and runny nose, feeling sick, breathing problems, asthma attacks and irregular heart beat. Over time it can increase your risk of heart disease and lung cancer.
Does smoking affect the environment?
Yes, in many ways.
- For every 300 cigarettes made from third world tobacco, a tree is burnt.
- It takes up to 12 years for a cigarette end to biodegrade
- Cigarette stubs account for almost 40% of street litter.
- Tobacco plants can require as many as sixteen applications of pesticide in just one three-month growing period.
“It’s safer to smoke cannabis”
Wrong! Apart from it being illegal, the concentrations of tar, carbon monoxide, and cancer agents in cannabis are almost 4 times more than in cigarette smoke.
