Could an "every now and then" cigarette be killing you?

You don’t really smoke, but you’ve had a few drinks and everybody else is doing it, so you think surely just one ciggie with your wine is harmless ...

Over 3.3 million Aussies over the age of 14 light up, and 400,000 of them consider themselves to be “social” smokers – people who only smoke occasionally (like while out drinking), or who just have a few a day. Not surprisingly, social smoking is infl uenced by social-based factors, such as peer pressure, wanting to project a certain image, or a desire to join in with others.

Natalie, 25, was once a social smoker. “I started smoking because of alcohol – which probably clouded my judgement – and peer pressure,” she says.

Natalie never craved a cigarette in non-social situations, such as at work, her habit was only triggered when out with her friends who smoked. Sometimes, the act of smoking as a social ritual can become addictive in itself.

Mel, 22, knows this all too well.

“For me, the most addictive thing is actually holding a cigarette, not the nicotine,”she says. “I associate it with having a coffee, standing outside in a queue, or meeting up with friends who smoke.”

Professor Mike Daube, president of the Australian Council on Smoking and Health, agrees.

“People get hooked on having a cigarette in social situations – it becomes a habit.”

Even though social smokers aren’t putting away on a huge scale, the dangers are still ridiculously high.

“A study a few years ago focused on the health risks of smoking just one to four cigarettes a day,” explains Daube.

“It found that even smoking this small amount was associated with a higher risk of dying of heart disease and lung cancer.”

We know from the gruesome TV ads that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, stroke and heart disease, but it actually affects almost every part of the body – from your eyes right down to your toes. Health risks aside,
smoking has some not-so pleasant cosmetic side effects as well – which is why Natalie decided to kick the habit three years ago.

“I felt fine when I was smoking, but I’d feel disgusting the next day when my mouth tasted like an ashtray and my hair and clothes stank of cigarettes!”

If your friends are smoking and you feel the temptation to light up, try to fight the urge. If you can’t, Daube recommends avoiding places where you know people will be smoking, and to always remember that “just one cigarette” usually escalates
into more.

“When you’re young, you don’t think about what could happen 25 years down the track. But the warnings on the packs are there for a reason.”

By Josephine Rozenberg-Clarke

Your say: do you consider yourself a social smoker?

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