1. Smelling like smoke
There's no mistaking the smell of cigarette smoke, and it's not one many people describe favourably.
Smokers are commonly self-conscious about the smell of smoke on their clothes and in their hair. And the smell of their breath is one of particular sensitivity to most smokers.
Some of the media campaigns have compared kissing a smoker to licking an ashtray.
2. Sense of smell and taste
Smelling like an ashtray isn't the only impact smoking has on the nose. Smokers also experience a dulling of their senses; smell and taste in particular take a hit when you smoke.
Smokers can't appreciate the taste of many foods as intensely as they did before smoking, but it's really the loss of the sense of smell that diminishes the ability to taste.Breathing in the hot fumes of cigarette smoke is toxic to the senses.
3. Premature ageing
One of the chief and significant causes of premature ageing of the face is smoking. Skin changes, like leathery skin and deep wrinkling, are more likely in people who are regular smokers. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, smoking leads to biochemical changes in the body that speed the ageing process. For example, smoking deprives the living skin tissue of oxygen by causing constriction of the blood vessels. As a result, blood doesn't get to your organs as easily, and that includes the skin.
Another classic smoker give away is tar staining of the hands and skin from holding cigarettes. Burning cigarette smoke is most apparent around the face and I think that what we sometimes see is staining of the skin from the tars and other deadly toxins in tobacco smoke
4. Social pressures
The reasons for the increasing unpopularity of smoking and diminished social standing of those who continue to light up likely has roots in our increased understanding of the health implications of smoking, not just for the smoker, but for those breathing in second hand smoke as well.
The reason for [clean indoor air] ordinances is to protect the healthy non-smoker from the known danger of toxins of second hand smoke. It's not just the inconvenience of it makes my clothes smell bad when I go to get a drink, it's that risk from the carcinogens and side stream smoke, some of which are at higher concentrations than direct smoke.
5. Finding a mate
Anyone who has perused the dating advertisements in papers, magazines or online, has seen more than his or her fair share of the phrase, "No smokers, please."
There is a general sense that anybody would rather be with someone who did not smell like a dirty ashtray..
6. Impotence
If smoking generally adds a hurdle to finding a new partner, impotence sure doesn't help. Yet smoking increases the chances of impotence dramatically for men by affecting blood vessels, including those that must dilate in order for an erection to occur.
It's been said in the scientific literature that one of the most powerful messages to teenage boys is that not only does it make you smell like an ashtray and no one wants to kiss a smoker, but it can cause impotence or impact your erections. It's a message that is frequently used to motivate adolescent boys to step away from cigarettes..
7. Increased infections
You may know about the long-term health risks associated with smoking, but did you realize that smoking also makes you more susceptible to seasonal flus and colds? People don't realize how much more frequently smokers get viral, bacterial and other infections.
Tiny hairs called cilia that line the respiratory tract, including the trachea and bronchial tubes, are designed to protect us from infection. "Cilia are constantly waving in a way that grabs bacteria and viruses that get into the trachea and pushes them up and out so we cough them out and swallow them and destroy them with our stomach acids.
One of the toxic effects of cigarette smoke is that it paralyzes the cilia, thereby destroying this core protective mechanism. That's why smokers have so many more infections. Within a month of quitting, however, your cilia start performing their protective role once again.8. You're a danger to others
8. You are a danger to others
Second hand smoke is estimated to cause 50,000 deaths every year. It's no wonder: More than 4,500 separate chemicals are found in a puff of tobacco smoke, and more than 40 of those are known carcinogens.
It takes very little second hand smoke to trigger a heart attack or stroke in someone who is predisposed to that condition.The ingredients in smoke cause platelets, the material in our blood that helps it clot, become sticky. This increases the risk of heart attacks.
There have been a number of studies to show that when a community goes smoke-free the proportion of heart attacks seen at the hospitals goes down by 20% or 30%
9. Impact on physical activity
Many smokers report a diminished ability over time to comfortably do things as simple as climbing a set of stairs or enjoying sports activities they once easily took part in such as volleyball or jogging.
Even young athletes in otherwise top physical condition don't perform as well if they smoke because over time, smoking causes the lungs and heart to work harder.
10. Cost
If you're a smoker, it's no surprise that smoking is downright expensive. The price of a pack of cigarettes varies greatly by location.
If you're in a place where it costs £7 for a pack [of cigarettes], you're approaching £3,000 a year. That's putting aside the fact that the average smoker has three extra sick days a year, is 8% less productive.
The annual economic costs [of smoking] are over £200 billion nationally."
And of course, those figures don't capture the toll smoking takes in the long run.
It's important to think of this not as a bad habit to put aside but as a chronic disease that for almost all smokers needs to be addressed their whole lives....And there's no better time to start that process than now.
There's no mistaking the smell of cigarette smoke, and it's not one many people describe favourably.
Smokers are commonly self-conscious about the smell of smoke on their clothes and in their hair. And the smell of their breath is one of particular sensitivity to most smokers.
Some of the media campaigns have compared kissing a smoker to licking an ashtray.
2. Sense of smell and taste
Smelling like an ashtray isn't the only impact smoking has on the nose. Smokers also experience a dulling of their senses; smell and taste in particular take a hit when you smoke.
Smokers can't appreciate the taste of many foods as intensely as they did before smoking, but it's really the loss of the sense of smell that diminishes the ability to taste.Breathing in the hot fumes of cigarette smoke is toxic to the senses.
3. Premature ageing
One of the chief and significant causes of premature ageing of the face is smoking. Skin changes, like leathery skin and deep wrinkling, are more likely in people who are regular smokers. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, smoking leads to biochemical changes in the body that speed the ageing process. For example, smoking deprives the living skin tissue of oxygen by causing constriction of the blood vessels. As a result, blood doesn't get to your organs as easily, and that includes the skin.
Another classic smoker give away is tar staining of the hands and skin from holding cigarettes. Burning cigarette smoke is most apparent around the face and I think that what we sometimes see is staining of the skin from the tars and other deadly toxins in tobacco smoke
4. Social pressures
The reasons for the increasing unpopularity of smoking and diminished social standing of those who continue to light up likely has roots in our increased understanding of the health implications of smoking, not just for the smoker, but for those breathing in second hand smoke as well.
The reason for [clean indoor air] ordinances is to protect the healthy non-smoker from the known danger of toxins of second hand smoke. It's not just the inconvenience of it makes my clothes smell bad when I go to get a drink, it's that risk from the carcinogens and side stream smoke, some of which are at higher concentrations than direct smoke.
5. Finding a mate
Anyone who has perused the dating advertisements in papers, magazines or online, has seen more than his or her fair share of the phrase, "No smokers, please."
There is a general sense that anybody would rather be with someone who did not smell like a dirty ashtray..
6. Impotence
If smoking generally adds a hurdle to finding a new partner, impotence sure doesn't help. Yet smoking increases the chances of impotence dramatically for men by affecting blood vessels, including those that must dilate in order for an erection to occur.
It's been said in the scientific literature that one of the most powerful messages to teenage boys is that not only does it make you smell like an ashtray and no one wants to kiss a smoker, but it can cause impotence or impact your erections. It's a message that is frequently used to motivate adolescent boys to step away from cigarettes..
7. Increased infections
You may know about the long-term health risks associated with smoking, but did you realize that smoking also makes you more susceptible to seasonal flus and colds? People don't realize how much more frequently smokers get viral, bacterial and other infections.
Tiny hairs called cilia that line the respiratory tract, including the trachea and bronchial tubes, are designed to protect us from infection. "Cilia are constantly waving in a way that grabs bacteria and viruses that get into the trachea and pushes them up and out so we cough them out and swallow them and destroy them with our stomach acids.
One of the toxic effects of cigarette smoke is that it paralyzes the cilia, thereby destroying this core protective mechanism. That's why smokers have so many more infections. Within a month of quitting, however, your cilia start performing their protective role once again.8. You're a danger to others
8. You are a danger to others
Second hand smoke is estimated to cause 50,000 deaths every year. It's no wonder: More than 4,500 separate chemicals are found in a puff of tobacco smoke, and more than 40 of those are known carcinogens.
It takes very little second hand smoke to trigger a heart attack or stroke in someone who is predisposed to that condition.The ingredients in smoke cause platelets, the material in our blood that helps it clot, become sticky. This increases the risk of heart attacks.
There have been a number of studies to show that when a community goes smoke-free the proportion of heart attacks seen at the hospitals goes down by 20% or 30%
9. Impact on physical activity
Many smokers report a diminished ability over time to comfortably do things as simple as climbing a set of stairs or enjoying sports activities they once easily took part in such as volleyball or jogging.
Even young athletes in otherwise top physical condition don't perform as well if they smoke because over time, smoking causes the lungs and heart to work harder.
10. Cost
If you're a smoker, it's no surprise that smoking is downright expensive. The price of a pack of cigarettes varies greatly by location.
If you're in a place where it costs £7 for a pack [of cigarettes], you're approaching £3,000 a year. That's putting aside the fact that the average smoker has three extra sick days a year, is 8% less productive.
The annual economic costs [of smoking] are over £200 billion nationally."
And of course, those figures don't capture the toll smoking takes in the long run.
It's important to think of this not as a bad habit to put aside but as a chronic disease that for almost all smokers needs to be addressed their whole lives....And there's no better time to start that process than now.
