Socially Smoking

special43543 · Oct 11, 2005

I did a search on smoking and its effects on cardio, but none of it really answered my question. I know most of you will tell me to get away from smoking, but how bad is it to have one or two cigarettes every now and then? Smoking socially with friends, at a concert or something of that nature. Is it really that bad on your cardio to where I couldn't keep up with what I use to, or slow me down drastically in BJJ? If it's cigarettes or martial arts I choose martial arts...but does it really come to that? As long as I keep it to just a few cigarettes every once and a while, will it effect my cardio and lungs that much?

ThaiBxr · Oct 11, 2005

Every now and then... won't really effect squat.

The problem is that "every now and then" is how a lot of smokers start out. I know a lot of friends who pulled the once in a while routine with smoking, generally while drinking, and simply got addicted accidentally and it all took off from there. If you're only looking to smoke every once in a while, then smoke cigars.

But yeah, as for cardio, I spend most my evenings and nights with friends at their house on campus, so as you can imagine we smoke a lot of cigars and get high a few times a week. I have solid cardio and I haven't noticed any effect from smoking at all really.

regs · Oct 11, 2005

Yeah, the whole every now and then thing was how I got hooked on it and now it's playing hell to quit. What I'm gonna have to do is just drop them cold turkey, as nothing else seems to be working. Anyways, I'm gonna have to suggest stopping even the every now and then smoking cigs, because it's way to easy to get addicted. Pick up cigars for the every now and then thing as was said. Doesn't seem as easy to get addicted to them.

regan

Prophet · Oct 11, 2005

EVERY smoker starts with the "everynow and then"

I mean, who just decides one day "yeah, i think its time to start smoking a pack a day, for no reason!"

The tar builds up in your lungs preventing oxygen from entering your blood as efficiently. Smoking only once in a while will mimimize this, but smoking once in a while for 30 years would be noticeable. Also, just because your cardio wont be effected as much by doing the "once in a while" thing, doesnt mean your chances of getting cancer go down.

slipthejab · Oct 11, 2005

special43543 said:

...
If it's cigarettes or martial arts I choose martial arts...but does it really come to that?
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If you are serious about you're health and your martial arts... yes it comes down to that.

inteq9 · Oct 11, 2005

I mean, who just decides one day "yeah, i think its time to start smoking a pack a day, for no reason!"
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I have a friend who did just this after starting college. He wanted to fit in with the "cool" people so he started smoking. What a dumbass he is. He has a very screwed up way of trying to get people to like him, but I guess it works... problem is nobody RESPECTS him... whatever I'm not getting into this in the H&F forum

P.S. don't smoke, it makes you stink and ruins your lungs.

Maverick · Oct 11, 2005

Ignore any off-topic or holier than thou posts.

No, smoking occasionally will not have a significant effect on your cardio.

Gray · Oct 11, 2005

I am guilty of social smoking. So far I haven't noticed any loss. Then again, it's like one or two every six weeks.

Sam · Oct 11, 2005

I don't get socially smoking how does not smoking around people who do smoke make you unsociable and vice versa.
And as smoking is one the most unsociable habits there is i just really dont get it.
If you're going to smoke, smoke, if your not then don't.
This one every once in a while stuff is just silly imo whats the point, really?

adouglasmhor · Oct 11, 2005

I have a good quality cigar at new year, but I never had one this year because I was getting over a bad cold.

Yohan · Oct 11, 2005

I wouldn't recommend it, personally. I echo what everyone else says about how it's easy to get addicted. I quit cold turkey after 7 years. It's not easy, and smoking sucks. I don't understand how you would want to smoke at all socially or not. I tried smoking one a few weeks ago because I'd had a few too many to drink, and I couldn't get 1/3 of a way through the thing before I felt like I was going to throw up.

slipthejab · Oct 11, 2005

I wonder what the point of 'social smoking' is?

Does it help you to fit in with the crowd you're hanging with?

Are you nervous enough in a social setting that it gives you something to do with your hands?

Woud you feel out of place if you didn't smoke?

Would you be looked down upon or ostracized if you didn't smoke?

Over the last couple several years I've known quite a few people that used to join in on the weekly hill runs. Some of them started to smoke socially... down at the pub... in a club... at a party... social smoking right?

Funny enough... it was those same individuals that eventually tapered off on the running and ended up becoming more than just 'social smokers'. I guess for them being accepted socially was more important than their health. I still bump into them down at the pub every now and then... they always look a bit sheepish.

I dunno does that come off as 'holier than thou'?!

slipthejab · Oct 11, 2005

Here's some interesting and relevant info:

Smoking When Drinking

Sarah Hansen, M.A., C.H.E.S.
Health Educator
Student Health Service
First Published: 2003
Last Revised: December 2003
Peer Review Status: Internally Reviewed

I smoke occasionally, generally only when I go out on the weekends. Am I doing long-term damage to myself?

Possibly. No one starts out to become an addicted smoker. In fact, especially on a college campus, many students who smoke numerous cigarettes don't even consider themselves smokers, because they don't smoke daily, don't buy their own, or only smoke when drinking. However, only 1 in 10 people actually have the "luxury" of being non-addicted social smokers, known as "chippers." It is a rare person indeed who has a few cigarettes a week and never sees that use increase. The others are forming solid addictive patterns that are leading in the direction of more frequent or even daily smoking. Most definitions of a smoker agree that if you can answer "yes" to the following questions, you've "joined the club":

* "Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your lifetime?"
* "Do you currently smoke cigarettes?"

Although most of the physical changes from smoking return to normal once you quit, there are permanent DNA changes in your lung cells. Enough of these mutations in combination with an individual's genetics can equal cancer. If your weekend smoking is combined with alcohol use, it's important to note that this greatly increases your risk of cancers of the mouth and esophagus. Unfortunately, alcohol serves as a perfect solvent to help all those carcinogens affect your mucus membranes. Smoking also weakens the immune system and irritates the respiratory system making you more prone to colds, bronchitis, and even 8 times more likely to contract meningitis if you are exposed.

Nicotine is so addictive because it becomes "paired" in your brain with experiences and cues in the environment. Each time you smoke after eating, while drinking, after waking up, with a cup of java, or to relax, your brain forms an association that causes a strong craving for nicotine when you are in any of those situations in the future. A pack-a-day smoker experiences about 70,000 pairings a year resulting in Pavlovian cravings for nicotine. Even if you're just an occasional smoker, you can experience 50-100 pairings in one evening out, which is why many occasional smokers don't remain occasional for long.

There are also some non-health consequences that even occasional smoking can have for your future. Employers interviewing for potential employees are completely within their rights in asking if you smoke. Even if you say "no," keep in mind that smokers may have odor residue in their hair and clothing that tips others off to their habit. The point? Employers know that it will cost them $6,000 to $8,000 more in insurance costs and sick leave benefits to hire you than a non-smoker. Given that they're in the business of making money, which candidate do you think they'll choose?

There is help in quitting smoking. Consult your health care provider to see what the best option is for you.

Most smokers say they'd like to quit, and we know that each smoking occasion just reinforces the "pairings" and makes it more difficult to do so. But while quitting is tough, it's not impossible with the right support. You can save your health (and your money) by doing it now rather than later.
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souce: http://www.vh.org/adult/patient/familymedicine/studenthealth/raresmoking.html

Here's more:

Adolescent Nicotine Addiction Begins Within Days
of Onset of Occasional Smoking: Study reveals children addicted even before smoking becomes a daily habit
September 11, 2000

WORCESTER, Mass. - A newly published study on the addictive effects of nicotine reveals that adolescent smokers can become addicted even before they have established a daily smoking habit. Prior to this study, to be published in the September 2000 issue of the journal Tobacco Control, it was commonly believed that nicotine addiction was a slow and gradual process requiring months or years of heavy daily smoking.

"We were surprised to find that the children [in the study] were experiencing the same symptoms of nicotine addiction as adults who smoked heavily, even those kids who only smoked a few cigarettes a week," said the study's lead author, Joseph R. DiFranza, MD, professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). "In accord with those findings, it was common to observe that these young occasional smokers also suffered the same symptoms of nicotine withdrawal as adults who smoked heavily and tried to quit. This is particularly disturbing, given that each day over 4,800 teens in this country smoke their first cigarette. That's 1.7 million children annually."

Researchers monitored more than 600 seventh-grade students over a four-year period, frequently interviewing them about their use of tobacco and the appearance of any of the symptoms of nicotine addiction. Common symptoms include the inability to stop smoking, a strong urge to smoke, a feeling of addiction, or the experience of withdrawal symptoms such as cravings, anxiety, irritability, and trouble concentrating. The Tobacco Control paper, "Initial Symptoms of Nicotine Dependence in Adolescents," concludes that nearly one-quarter of the youths who had smoked as infrequently as once a month reported symptoms of nicotine addiction within four weeks of beginning monthly smoking. Almost two-thirds of the youths who had smoked more than once a month reported symptoms of nicotine addiction.

"It is truly frightening how quickly symptoms of nicotine addiction can appear," said Dr. DiFranza. "These kids who have used tobacco only occasionally failed in their attempts to quit smoking as often as adults who've smoked heavily for years. And for children and adolescents, the stakes are high. Half of all smokers ultimately die as a consequence of their addiction to nicotine. Clearly, nicotine is a very dangerous drug."

Joseph DiFranza, MD, is a nationally recognized expert on tobacco, and on the dangerous health consequences of first- and second-hand smoke. DiFranza has been involved in a number of research projects for the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. He has published reports on the connection between tobacco products and cancer, and has linked smoking to pregnancy complications and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. DiFranza has written extensively for such publications as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the Journal of Family Practice. DiFranza worked together with J.K. Ockene, PhD, J.A. Savageau, MPH, D. St. Cyr, and M. Coleman, all of UMMS, N.A. Rigotii, MD, of Harvard Medical School, and A.D. McNeill, PhD, of the Health Education Authority in London on this study.

The University of Massachusetts Medical School is one of the fastest growing medical schools in the country, attracting more than $93 million in research funding annually. A perennial top ten finisher in the annual US News and World Report ranking of primary care medical schools, UMMS is composed of a medical school, graduate school of nursing, graduate school of biomedical sciences and an active research enterprise, and is a leader in health sciences education, research, and public service. It is the academic partner of UMass Memorial Health Care.
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source: http://www.umassmed.edu/pap/news/2000/09-11-00.cfm

and.... shocker... some more:

Vast majority of college smokers don't quit
Medical Research News
Published: Wednesday, 14-Apr-2004

Almost 90 percent of college students who were daily smokers and 50 percent of occasional smokers were still smoking four years later, according to a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and just published in the current issue of Health Psychology.

The high rates of smoking identify college students as an important group to target for smoking cessation interventions. The results also dispel the mistaken belief that most college students who smoke easily give up tobacco use within a few years.

"We also found that some college smokers did move between categories -14 percent of occasional smokers became daily smokers, and 11 percent of nonsmokers took up smoking," says Michael Fiore, director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention. Progression from occasional smoking to daily smoking seemed to be gender-related, with more males than females making the progression.

Some college students who were smoking quit during the four-year study. Slightly more than 50 percent of occasional smokers and 13 percent of daily smokers stopped smoking before the end of the study.

Other findings indicate potential areas for intervention to promote cessation. The strongest predictor for continued smoking among occasional smokers related to expectations about smoking. More likely to continue smoking were those students with the strongest beliefs that smoking provides positive emotional experiences, lessens negative ones and helps control weight. Nonsmokers were more likely to believe other activities would produce these results.

"Helping students to develop realistic expectations about smoking and to find other ways to cope with negative feelings may be helpful in reducing dependence upon smoking," Fiore says. "This is critical since we know that half of those who become daily lifetime smokers will be killed prematurely by a disease directly caused by their smoking."

The study was conducted with 647 freshmen and sophomores enrolled in the introductory psychology class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Smokers were typed as daily (smoked every day), occasional (smoked every few days, weeks or months) and non-smokers (never smoked). Factors such as alcohol use, family smoking, peer smoking, smoking expectations, and emotions and stress were measured at the baseline of the study.

Four years later, 85 percent of the students (548) participated in a follow-up study, which included using the same mutually exclusive smoking status categories. Follow-up with daily smokers showed that only 13 percent had quit, 28 percent had become occasional smokers and 59 percent were still daily smokers. Among occasional smokers, 51 percent had stopped smoking, 35 percent were still occasional smokers and 14 percent had become daily smokers. Of non-smokers, 89 percent were still non-smokers, 11 percent had become occasional smokers and none were daily smokers.

The persistence of daily smoking suggests a significant degree of tobacco dependence among the college-aged population. These smokers may then require high levels of intervention, including medication (nicotine replacement therapy or bupropion) and smoking cessation counseling.

"Because their smoking status seems more changeable than adults, college students may be more receptive to smoking cessation," Fiore says. "Plus, the relatively confined nature of the college environment might be an excellent setting for implementing both policy and individual interventions."
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source: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=512

here's more:

Occasional smoking increases total and cardiovascular mortality among men.

Luoto R, Uutela A, Puska P.

Department of Health and Disability, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. Riitta.Luoto@UTA.Fi

The aim was to study whether occasional smoking increases mortality risk. The mortality of random samples of the Finnish Adult Health Behavior surveys from 1978 to 1991 were followed for 18 years from 1978 to 1995. Poisson models were used to determine the risk of total and cardiovascular mortality. It was found that occasional smokers were less often sedentary and had less often unhealthy diet than other smoking status groups. Occasional smoking among men was significantly related to the risk of both total (age-adjusted relative risk, RR, 1.6, 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.3-2.1) and cardiovascular mortality (age-adjusted RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.0-2.3). Controlling for education, period and chronic morbidity did not change results. Among women no significant associations could be established; when adjusted for age, period, education and morbidity the RR for cardiovascular mortality was 1.4 (95% CI 0.6-3.4) and total mortality 1.0 (95% CI 0.6-1.6). Occasional smoking is associated with increased risk of premature death, at least among men. Although occasional smoking is a less dangerous practice than regular smoking, it is not a safe alternative for daily smoking.

PMID: 11072451 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11072451&dopt=Abstract

one last one... I think you get the point that this could go on for the next 30 pages of the thread...

College Smokers Stay Smokers
Few College Students Stop Smoking Years Later

April 16, 2004 -- More than 90% of college students who smoke daily and nearly 50% of occasional college smokers continue smoking at least four years longer, according to a new study.

Researchers say that despite the fact that smoking rates have climbed among college students in recent years, few studies have looked at smoking behaviors among this group of young adults.

Recent studies have shown that smoking rates are surprisingly high among college students with about 30% having reported smoking a cigarette in the last 30 days. In contrast, older adults with higher educational status are less likely to smoke than those who didn't attend college.

College Smoking Habits Die Hard

In this study, which appears in the March issue of Health Psychology, researchers looked at smoking prevalence and factors that affected smoking behavior in a group of 550 college students during a period of four years. About 30% of the participants were freshmen or sophomore students.

Researchers found that 90% of the students who smoked daily at the start of the study continued to smoke four years later, and half of those who smoked occasionally did the same. Only 13% of daily smokers quit smoking by the end of the study.

But the study also showed that the smoking behavior of college smokers was generally more flexible than among other groups of smokers. For example, 28% of daily college smokers cut back on the number of cigarettes they smoked per day but did not quit.

"We also found that some college smokers did move between categories --14% of occasional smokers became daily smokers, and 11% of nonsmokers took up smoking," says researcher Michael Fiore, director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, in a news release. He says progression from occasional smoking to daily smoking seemed to be gender-related, with more males than females making the switch to becoming more avid smokers.

Researchers say those findings show that college smokers may be a prime target for smoking cessation and tobacco control efforts. The strongest factor that predicted smoking behaviors was the student's expectations about smoking. Those who believed that smoking helped them cope or had a beneficial emotional effect were more likely to continue smoking.

"Helping students to develop realistic expectations about smoking and to find other ways to cope with negative feelings may be helpful in reducing dependence upon smoking," says Fiore. "This is critical since we know that half of those who become daily lifetime smokers will be killed prematurely by a disease directly caused by their smoking."

SOURCES:

* WebMD Medical News By Jennifer Warner, Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD, Wetter, D.
* Health Psychology, March 2004; vol 23: pp 168-177. News release, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
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source: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/ohe/library/drugs/smoking/collegesmoke.htm

Kwajman · Oct 11, 2005

One of the reasons I left my first instructor is that he would preach to us about staying healthy and then first thing after class he'd go outside and light up. Talk about hypocritical.

Vita · Oct 11, 2005

special43543 said:

I did a search on smoking and its effects on cardio, but none of it really answered my question. I know most of you will tell me to get away from smoking, but how bad is it to have one or two cigarettes every now and then? Smoking socially with friends, at a concert or something of that nature. Is it really that bad on your cardio to where I couldn't keep up with what I use to, or slow me down drastically in BJJ? If it's cigarettes or martial arts I choose martial arts...but does it really come to that? As long as I keep it to just a few cigarettes every once and a while, will it effect my cardio and lungs that much?
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won't affect you, but your problem lies in the continuous use of them. you'll get addicted, and besides, what's the point. just quit AGAIN last night, and made the wife quit this time too, hopefully it works. my point is, is that i've smoked since i was 12 or 13, i'm 23 now, started out as "social" smoking with friends, and it was pointless, i still outran the jocks in my gym classes in the mile, but after leaving high school (at age 16) and getting my own place, it picked up with drinking.

if i would have never smoked in the first place, i wouldn't have ended up smoking.

point of the matter, don't smoke, it's bad for you, and one day you're going to want to quit, but your body won't let you. i'm going to mop the floor with myself until i don't have any urges anymore, not a lot of people i know have the drive to do it, and i've failed numerous times already. you start smoking a little here and a little there, you'll start to smoke more, if not now, later when your life slows down a bit, just stay away. (sorry if i'm re-stating others comments, but i didn't read the thread yet...)

SickDevildog · Oct 11, 2005

Thats sad

Thanks for the Article Slip, good read, now I know that im a Chipper lol.

Although most of the physical changes from smoking return to normal once you quit, there are permanent DNA changes in your lung cells

Its good to know that you can quit smoking and your lungs'll revert back to normal over time.
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I keep thinking about the pictures they used to show us in biology class, you know the ones witth the healty vs smoker lungs.

Smokers Lungs

Non-smokers Lungs

Healthy Vs. Smoker Lungs

If you're a smoker and trying to quit remember the devil grabbing into Constantine, pulling those tar-dripping pitch-black lungs out, and imagine those beeing yours.

I know its hard to quit, nervouseness, stress, anxiety, the fitting in thing for young people and ofcourse nicotine make it hard, but in the end it'll add some healthy years to your life.

Athleng Nordic · Oct 11, 2005

It's about the same as second-hand smoking.

hux · Oct 11, 2005

ThaiBxr said:

Every now and then... won't really effect squat.

The problem is that "every now and then" is how a lot of smokers start out.
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uh, no. it's how every smoker starts out. Nobody starts off smoking 3 packs a day like I did, we *all* start off thinking "feh, every once in a while won't hurt anything"...

I haven't lit one of those awful things in 3 years, hardest thing I've ever done was quitting 'em. I would strongly, strongly, strongly suggest you not mess with them at all. Insert a bunch of Nancy Reagan cliches here.

seriously.

Yohan · Oct 11, 2005

It may sound stupid, but I actually did start smoking with the intention of smoking every day.

I would also like to confirm the suspicion that the only way to quit is to quit coldd turkey.

Here's my best advice to quit smoking: quit in the morning before you've had your first cigarette. It's easiest not to smoke when you don't have any nicotine in your system. I used to quit every Tuesday. By the next monday, I'd always be smoking again. It's a hard process, and it probably took me 2 years before I kicked it completely.

I haven't smoked in 3 years (unless you count a 1/3rd of a cigarette at the bar, after I'd had too much to drink).

Good luck to all you smokers, and if you don't smoke, don't start, because there isn't a single good reason to.

IrishStomp · Oct 11, 2005

Just don't smoke, it doesn't make you look as cool as you think. I used to smoke "socially" like that and then I stopped and got in shape, now if I smoke a cigarette ever I can completely feel how unhealthy it is.

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Socially Smoking

special43543 Special Member

ThaiBxr Banned Banned

regs New Member

Prophet ♥ H&F ♥

slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

inteq9 165lb of TROUBLE!

Maverick New Member

Gray New Member

Sam Absent-ish member

adouglasmhor Not an Objectivist

Yohan In the Spirit of Yohan Supporter

slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

Kwajman Penguin in paradise....

Vita Valued Member

SickDevildog Lost In The Sauce

Athleng Nordic Sadly passed away. RIP. Supporter

hux ya, whatever.

Yohan In the Spirit of Yohan Supporter

IrishStomp Valued Member

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Socially Smoking

special43543 Special Member

ThaiBxr Banned Banned

regs New Member

Prophet ♥ H&F ♥

slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

inteq9 165lb of TROUBLE!

Maverick New Member

Gray New Member

Sam Absent-ish member

adouglasmhor Not an Objectivist

Yohan In the Spirit of Yohan Supporter

slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

Kwajman Penguin in paradise....

Vita Valued Member

SickDevildog Lost In The Sauce

Athleng Nordic Sadly passed away. RIP. Supporter

hux ya, whatever.

Yohan In the Spirit of Yohan Supporter

IrishStomp Valued Member

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