Honestly, how bad is smoking 2-3 cigarettes a day?
To be honest, a few cigarettes a day is not that big a deal. Yes, you are going to elevate your cancer risk, but not by a whole lot, and there are probably other things you are doing that you are not aware of that provide the same risk. It is great that you can drop them without a problem. The real issue is that there is going to come a day when 3-4 a day turns into a pack a day, then 2 packs a day. And you are not going to be able to walk away so easily. When you are smoking a pack or two a day, then your risk of cancer really goes up. But why do it at all? If you are only smoking a few a day and can drop them without any problem, why go back? There must be some reason why you think you should be smoking. Give them up for 2 months and see how easy it really is. Food will taste better. You can probably exercise a little easier. You clothes will smell better.
Are cigarettes really that bad for you?
I mean, let's think about it. We all know that smoking 2-4 packs a day is bad for you long term. But I don't see people getting mad at parents for letting their children eat McDonald's or drinking soda. I honestly think that someone who eats oone big mac a day has ten times more of a risk than dying tha a pack a day smoker. Primarily because it's been proven. Pack a day smokers really aren't that suseptable to disease, whereas daily fast food consumers have a 40% risk of diabetes.
Is smoking 20-25 cigarettes per day considered heavy smoking?
Yes that is heavy smoking, especially these days when you can not smoke at work or inside public places. I smoked that much during my 4 years of college and all my friends complained about it. I'm down to 5 per day now and my friends still complain about it.
I have smoked 5 cigarettes a day for the last 2 years. Am I already at risk for cancer?
As David noted, you are at risk of cancer whether you smoke or have never smoked. Statistics tell us that smoking increases the risk of a number of cancers, but most significantly lung cancer. However lung cancer is a very rare disease -- even doubling the risk would only give you about one chance in a hundred of ever getting it. If you smoked a pack or two a day AND worked in an asbestos factory AND lived in Beijing, AND painted sewer tunnels with fumey paint for forty years your chances might go up 25 or 50% or possibly even higher if you did *all* those things! Some recent results from the "Million Women Study" that's still ongoing however suggest that if a woman smokes an average amount (?10?15?20? per day?) from her teen years until the age of thirty and then quits that she'll eliminate 97% of any excess risk she would have had if she continued to smoke throughout her life. And if she continues to smoke until 40 years old and then quits she'll eliminate 90% of the risk she would have incurred if she continued to smoke.As far as I know, there are NO studies out there that tried to examine a risk as small as one would have from smoking five or so cigarettes a day for less than five or ten years. That's not saying there's NO risk... just that it would be too small to measure with statistics.According to the "no-threshold" theory of carcinogenesis even a single puff from a cigarette, a single sip of wine, or a single moment of a sunbeam striking your skin increases your risk of cancer by some infinitesimally small amount. Heh, according to some research just in the last weeks of 2014 on the air quality in gyms, going to the gym might give you cancer: the levels of carcinogenic formaldehyde exhaled by people exercising build up to levels into the EPA Hazardous limits. Again though... if you're in a room and someone else walks in and exhales a normal human breath, they're going to be exposing you to all sorts of carcinogens and toxins that normal human metabolism produces and thus, under "no-threshold," they've increased your chances of an early and painful death from cancer.Should you worry about such things? Of course not. Only crazy people do. Five cigarettes a day for two years shouldn't cause you any worry compared to the rest of what life throws at you.- MJM, not a doctor, nor afraid of sunbeams and bad breath.
Breastfeeding AND smoking cigarettes?
It is definitely not good, but it is still better for your baby to breastfeed than to do formula (just as your doctor said). At the amount you are smoking there is probably very little in your breastmilk if at all. If you don't feel you can quit right now a few things you can do to decrease exposure to your daughter is: -smoke immediately after nursing (and definitely not right before or during) so that hopefully by the time she will nurse again it will be out of your body (it should be almost totally out of your body within 95 minutes) -smoke outside -wash your hands after smoking -wear a "smokers jacket" (something that you always put on before smoking and take off after smoking and then ideally leave outside) -it even helps to wear a hat while smoking to prevent the smoke getting into your hair (take it off also before going back inside) -don't smoke in your vehicle even if your children are not in the vehicle at the time; the smoke will stay in the car and your children will be exposed next time they get in the car Is it possible you just notice her crabbiness more when you haven't smoked? As far as second hand smoke and babies it can: -increase respiratory illnesses (colds, flu, pneumonia, etc) -increase risk of developing allergies -increase risk of ear infections -increase risk of asthma Here is a good article from La Leche League regarding breastfeeding and smoking: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/smoking.html Here is another article: http://www.netwellness.org/question.cfm/... - it points out what I have read in many places before... infants get more nicotine through the air than through the mother's breastmilk. If you want a more in depth article, here is another one from LLL: http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVAug... DEFINITELY DO NOT STOP BREASTFEEDING BECAUSE YOU ARE SMOKING; if anything by breastfeeding her you are decreasing her risks of getting illnesses, allergies, ear infections that smoking can cause.
Is smoking cigarettes in moderation still very bad for you, for example one a day or only when imbibing or only on the weekends?
It's your life and it's really up to you. But you already know that smoking isn't good for you.So the real question is:Are YOU okay with smoking in moderation?Some other questions to ask yourself:How will I stop myself from exceeding moderation?Should I set limits to keep myself accountable?How long do I plan to smoke in moderation?Many everyday smokers didn't plan to be when they first picked up. I know I didn't. I started at 18, and only smoked after a bad night at work. Then I started smoking every night after work. Then I'd smoke with friends after school and at parties. Then it became an everyday thing (off and on) for the next six or seven years.I've never had cancer, nor have I become terribly ill from smoking, but I knew it was always possible. Two or three years ago I met a dude at a party. He was about my age (early 20s at the time). We were outside smoking cigarettes, talking about how we needed to quit when he told me he had already gotten (and beaten) cancer. That really blew my mind- someone my own age who not only got cancer, but beat it too- and was right there talking about it as he took a drag from his cigarette.We all think we're invincible until we get hurt. Two years ago I decided to quit as a new year's resolution. Now I use a vape (an electronic cigarette). I started at 18mg nicotine, a very high level. Since then, I dropped down to 12, then to 6, and now I'm between 6mg and 3mg (three is pretty much the lowest, aside from zero).I still like smoking, but now I just vape. It's not good for you, but so far all the evidence I've seen suggests that vaping is far better for your health than smoking tobacco (or smoking anything for that matter). I'm no longer addicted to the nicotine- now it's just a mental addiction to "the act" of smoking. I mostly vape when socializing / when anxious / when driving / and when killing time. I plan to quit that in the future too, but I'm in no hurry.Stay realistic, set limits and don't surpass them, and keep in moderation. Keep in mind the longer you continue to smoke, the more you're endangering yourself.Edits: grammar, word choice.
How many packs of cigarettes do you smoke a day?
I smoke Pall Mall Menthol lights, one pack every two days... sometime a pack a day...
Is smoking 2-3 puffs of a cigarette just as bad as smoking the whole cigarette?
It depends on how you look at it.There are some simple physical truths here.The last few drags of a cigarette contain far more tar, as the tar from the first half has partially condensed and saturated the butt.There are also a lot of other toxic chemicals that do the same thing.Also, most of the horrible stuff in cigs is worse once it becomes oxidized (burnt.)Thus, technically, those last few drags are adding insult to injury regarding your health.There is also another truth that goes a bit beyond the physical:I seriously doubt that tossing away half-smoked cigarettes is going to impact your risk of cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and the like. IDK if anyone has specifically researched this question scientifically, but I DO know that the numbers are clear on the link between smoking cigarettes and the diseases I mentioned. If you smoke, you will PROBABLY suffer.My mother in law is dying of emphysema and COPD as we speak. Sadly, she never smoked, but contracted the disease anyway. It may have been due to a fungal infection she picked up while living in Arizona. Some call it “valley fever” and it’s usually considered annoying but harmless.
If I smoke 2 or less than 1 cigarette a day while taking birth control, how bad is that?
I am 18 and on birth control. I smoke maybe 1, sometimes 2 cigarettes a day. I often go many days without smoking any at all. Many times I only take hits of other people's ciggarettes. How much do you think this will interfere with my birth control. And yes I know smoking is bad no matter what. But that isn't my question so please do not preach your 'do not smoke' campaigns to me. The fact is: i already do occasionally. I have been smoking on and off for a year or so, and I have never been a heavy smoker, so do not tell me "one will lead to more". Please only answer the question if you have valuable information. Thank you :]