When you really think about it, that well-known pastime we call smoking is actually quite bizarre. It is the act of inhaling and exhaling the fumes of burning plant material. For me, thinking about it in that purely literal sense makes it seem as weird as it does when you say the word ‘iron’ over and over again until it loses its meaning and just becomes a sound. (A psychological phenomenon, incidentally, that has been labelled ‘semantic satiation’)
It is even more so when you think of the fact that smoking, specifically tobacco, has been responsible for around 100 million deaths in the last century. Why then have we as a species become so intertwined with this strange habit and, for that matter, such a harmful one?
For a start, we didn’t always know that it was harmful. As far as we know, people have been smoking as far back as 5000BC – we know this from various drawings depicting the act. Tobacco specifically is native to the North and South American continents and was used by natives long before the “new world” was discovered by Europe. It was brought over here in the 16th Century when it was smoked in pipes and cigars. Some doctors at the time even thought it helped to prevent cancer, though I hasten to add this was not the universal opinion.
In 1880, an American chap named James Bonsack patented a cigarette rolling machine that was quickly picked up this side of the pond and the modern story of the cigarette began. These days, around 15 billion cigarettes are smoked every day.
It wasn’t until the Royal College of Physicians, in 1962, announced that cigarettes caused lung cancer and other diseases that we realised fully the harmful effects of smoking. By then, however, the manufacture and supply of cigarettes was a global industry and its sheer momentum has made it very difficult to combat over the years.
Just how harmful and costly to our health smoking is cannot be underestimated. Tobacco is the single biggest avoidable cause of cancer in the world. Each cigarette contains around 5,300 chemicals according to cancer research and 69 of these are known to cause cancer. Lung cancer is the most prominent but the habit also causes, amongst others, cancer of the larynx, oesophagus, bladder, pancreas, kidney, stomach, cervix and bowel as well as some leukaemias.
If it doesn’t cause any of these, you can expect to suffer from one or more of the following…
- Heart disease and strokes
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – leaving you with chronic coughs and progressively struggling for breath.
- Peripheral vascular disease – cold and blue feet and legs at risk of ulcers and chronic pain
- Premature ageing of skin by 10 to 20 years
- Weak and brittle bones
- Reduced fertility and impotence (smoking while pregnant causes miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth and increases the chance of cot death)
I could probably go on, but I think you get the picture. Ultimately, up to two thirds of smokers will be killed by their habit.
By far the best way to stop smoking is to avoid starting in the first place. In the past, this has been made more difficult by advertising of tobacco products. Furthermore, the habit tends to be passed down in families. The very idea of smoking has been normalised to a huge extent – it has been glamourised in popular culture and films especially. Even knowing what I know, I have to admit that the cigar makes 60s era Clint Eastwood look far more impressive than he would without. But we’ve all grown up to accept that. This social conditioning is part of the problem and may have something to do with the whole ‘reckless and carefree is cool’ attitude.
The trouble is that reality catches up with the fantasy eventually and between 2016 and 2017 there were 484,700 admissions into hospital due to smoking and in 2016 there were 77,900 deaths.
Once started, the nicotine contained within is the culprit that makes stopping so difficult. It has both stimulating and tranquillising effects on the brain and creates new pathways that stimulate pleasure centres that begin to rely on the presence of nicotine to work. If a smoker stops suddenly, they will begin to experience withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms may include cravings, depression, anxiety, insomnia and lack of concentration. All that means it is far easier just to light up a fresh cigarette and carry on where they left off.
All the while, the carbon monoxide in the smoke binds to our haemoglobin, the protein in our blood that transport oxygen around the body, and reduces its oxygen carrying capacity. It’ll make running for your train let alone that marathon pretty difficult.
Fortunately, tougher laws on advertising now mean that cigarette packets now have to display warnings about the harm smoking causes. This transfers the responsibility of the harm they do from the tobacco companies onto the smokers who pay for them. It is a bizarre situation in which the companies themselves are now trying to make their tobacco products as undesirable as possible, some countries even going so far as to pick Pantone 448 c, the ‘world’s ugliest colour’, to adorn the sides of their packets.
Such is the reliance induced by smoking that people still spend on average around £140 each month on cigarettes, meaning they could save about £1,700 each year – the equivalent of a pretty decent holiday or a large contribution to the deposit on a house for example.
Practically all forms of smoking are harmful. Whether you smoke it from a pipe or a cigar or even chew it, you are at risk. Shisha is also known to cause cancer. This puts the tobacco companies in a predicament and we are entering a new age in which e-cigarettes and vaping are emerging as safer alternatives. While certainly thought to be safer, e-cigarettes are still new enough that longer term trial data are unavailable. Meanwhile, the NHS party line is that they are better than other tobacco products at least.
Of course, the best option is to quit altogether. If you do so before 30, then you may be lucky enough to experience the same length of life as an average non-smoker. You will be able to taste and enjoy food more, your breathing and general fitness will improve, and the appearance of your skin and teeth will improve. After a year your risk of heart disease will halve and after 10 years your risk of lung cancer will also halve. At 15 years, your risk of heart disease will be the same as someone who has never smoked.
Going cold turkey is the least successful method. If you are serious about stopping, you may benefit from following a smoking cessation plan. Nicotine replacement products can be obtained through one of these and sometimes certain medications (Champix or Zyban) may also offer support. Visit www.smokefreelifeoxfordshire.co.uk for more information on all of this. Ultimately you have to really want to give up, otherwise you probably won’t succeed. And it may interest you to know that, in contrast to many of his film characters, 89 year old Clint Eastwood is actually a non-smoker.
