The Effect of Occasional Cigarettes on Health

edited July 2011 in Life
What would happen if I was to smoke say... One cigarette per week, maybe even less? Would I start to notice any health effects at all, or does this only happen to people who smoke a lot and very regularly? I know that smoking anything and in any quantity isn't exactly GOOD for you, but one a week isn't going to do any real damage will it?

Comments

  • jewnosejewnose Regular
    edited July 2011
    I'm just curious as to why you'd even bother. You won't stay with one cigarette a week, you know. You'll be smoking them by the pack in no time.
  • edited July 2011
    I just enjoy the occasional cigarette. I sit at the bottom of the garden in the sunshine, sometimes with an alcoholic drink, chilling out. I haven't taken up smoking after having the very occasional one for as many years as I remember, and it's really not something I'd enjoy anyway. This pack of ten has lasted me well over a month, really.

    Besides, I couldn't keep up the habit even if I had one. I have no money, and I just wouldn't have the motivation to go to the store and pick up some more as I live so far away from the nearest one ;)
  • jewnosejewnose Regular
    edited July 2011
    well if you can keep it down like that, I can't see how it would hurt you any more than a lot of things we do on a daily basis. Like standing at a bus stop breathing in the fumes from the passing traffic. Then again I'm not a doctor so what do I know.

    Smoking really is a pain in the ass. You're a slave to a stupid pack of cigarettes. There's always that one person who bums smokes off you constantly. You freak out when you get down to your last cigarette. The price of a pack these days is outrageous. I smoked for 10 years and I'm glad I quit.
  • edited July 2011
    That's what I was thinking. Thanks for the reassurance, and I can actually promise myself that I won't ever become a slave to a pack of cigarettes. Even after smoking one of them, I feel like I need a shower :D
  • bornkillerbornkiller Administrator In your girlfriends snatch
    edited July 2011
    jewnose wrote: »
    well if you can keep it down like that, I can't see how it would hurt you any more than a lot of things we do on a daily basis. Like standing at a bus stop breathing in the fumes from the passing traffic. Then again I'm not a doctor so what do I know.
    Exhaust emissions are so much worse than a cigarette. But the good old governments isn't going to protest against fossilized fuels. I'd rather have a cigarette stuck to my lips than an exhaust. I know which one would kill me faster. :(
  • LethargicaLethargica Regular
    edited July 2011
    Why not just cold turkey and save some money? That's how the company gets it's residuals.. from addicted people:(
  • jewnosejewnose Regular
    edited July 2011
    bornkiller wrote: »
    Exhaust emissions are so much worse than a cigarette. But the good old governments isn't going to protest against fossilized fuels. I'd rather have a cigarette stuck to my lips than an exhaust. I know which one would kill me faster. :(
    Ain't that the damn truth.
  • RogueEagle91RogueEagle91 Regular
    edited July 2011
    The effect of the occasional cigarette turned into the effect of a pack a day. :(
    I need to fucking quit.
    Don't start, kids. It's fucking expensive once you go through a pack faster than 3 days, and no matter what shape you're in, stairs will kick your ass.
    Seriously. Looking at my build, health records, and the like, you wouldn't think walking a few blocks or a flight of steps would wind me. But it does. And it's gayer than a bucket of dicks.
  • edited July 2011
    From what I can tell, the serious health aspects of tobacco use are associated with the heavy use seen in most tobacco smokers.

    Most who smoke cigarettes have smoke in their lungs for a large percentage of the day. It's this frequent, chronic exposure that fucks you up. Not to say that one cigarette on its own is healthy, but there's much less risk in one cigarette a week than there is in a pack a day.

    Why not try high-quality pipe tobaccos and things like that? Make it a treat that you enjoy every so often.

    Also, studies show that tobacco, when used with cannabis, does not increase ones risk for lung, head and neck cancers. Marijuana seems to be a protective factor against cancers.
  • skunkskunk Regular
    edited July 2011
    You'll get cancer and possibly asthma, albeit at a much slower rate. Also if you're going to smoke cigarettes, I would recommend smoking the most natural you can find. Marlboros and "regular" cigarettes are going to kill you faster than cigarettes that haven't had chemical pesticides/fertilizers sprayed on it.

    Edit to add: You could also grow your own tobacco, nicotiana rustica is a potent strain :)
  • jewnosejewnose Regular
    edited July 2011
    A lot of the harmful shit is in the filter so get the unfiltered kind. They make you look bad ass too.
  • edited July 2011
    jewnose wrote: »
    A lot of the harmful shit is in the filter so get the unfiltered kind. They make you look bad ass too.

    If you just buy straight tobacco rather than the treated, processed stuff present in cigarettes, you'd avoid many of the issues, as well.
  • thewandererthewanderer Regular
    edited July 2011
    skunk wrote: »
    You'll get cancer

    Everything gives you cancer.
  • edited July 2011
    Everything gives you cancer.

    2/3 of all men and 1/2 of all women will get cancer in their lifetime.

    It's true. Even the air gives you cancer nowadays.
  • jewnosejewnose Regular
    edited July 2011
    The shit we eat gives us cancer. Well, specifically the shit they spray on the shit we eat gives us cancer. Stomach cancer in particular is pretty nasty stuff. If you get it, at some point you'll get to projectile vomit blood all over the place and then you die.
  • edited July 2011
    The effect of the occasional cigarette turned into the effect of a pack a day. :(
    I need to fucking quit.
    Don't start, kids. It's fucking expensive once you go through a pack faster than 3 days, and no matter what shape you're in, stairs will kick your ass.
    Seriously. Looking at my build, health records, and the like, you wouldn't think walking a few blocks or a flight of steps would wind me. But it does. And it's gayer than a bucket of dicks.

    Agreed, I quit for about a year, and even after smoking for 10 years before that I recovered quite quickly, and was surprised one day when I got to the top of a half dozen flights of stairs and was breathing normally.

    There is a ton of shit out there lining up for the privilege of giving you cancer, but tossing one more thing on the heap sure won't help, just because it's hot outside, doesn't make it any smarter to stick your head in the oven.
  • GrinchGrinch Regular
    edited July 2011
    I was going to make a post concerning aspects of self control, as I do smoke roughly once or twice a week on weekends primarily after smoking regularly for quite a while.

    Although after drinking as much as I did this evening, ended up smoking three short of a pack rendering my intended post invalid.

    Honestly though, smoking makes me feel terrible after the fact, my lung capacity is drastically effected for at least the week following. It is quite nice at the time, although when all is said and done, it is not worth it.

    Do not submit to posts advocating the practice or condemning it to an absolute degree on either side. Some of the post that I have read in this thread are quite ridiculous, if you smoke occasionally, the potential to become addicted is exponentially greater (obviously), although truthfully it is not some sudden switch where you go from a few cigarettes to a few packs regularly.

    It is really about how you manage yourself. Provided, be aware that the days following smoking urges will prevent themselves, although if you manage the practice, placing the smokes out of easy reach throughout the week, a cigarette now and again is not so bad.

    Sure, you may feel the effects, but as stated the occasional is not substantially worse than the regular pollution absorbed on the regular.

    tl;dr Do you want to live to be 100 years old? After a certain point, life will not be the most enjoyable (arguable, I know), although a life used, as compared to abused, has a higher tendency to be more enjoyable than a life lived in pure moderation. You could die today, tomorrow, or yesterday, so op have the occasional cigarette on the right occasion, yet sustain a means of self control and maintain the practice. Granted, cigarettes are addicting, yet ultimately one consciously chooses to submit to said addiction. If you feel yourself headed that way, say no once, remind yourself that you are accountable for all of your actions, set the pack down, and step away until you feel the time is right.

    Overall, don't smoke Marlboros or cigarettes similar, they burn way too quickly and are way too easy to smoke. Understandably so, a pack can burn down before realizing it, find a brand that isn't overly harsh, yet strong enough to remind oneself that the practice does not go without consequences.

    Edit: tl;dr^2 My lungs hurt.
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