“Is giving up smoking your New Year resolution?”
“Oh I’m not a smoker, I just smoke socially.”
For some reason there is an increasing epidemic surrounding the idea of social smoking. We are completely ignoring the insanely obvious and dangerous effects that smoking can have on our bodies. We have grown up learning about the harmful effects of second hand smoking, in the generation where smoking inside became banned and where the price of cigarettes have soared. We have decided to ignore these inconvenient truths and continue to puff on our death sticks.
As penny-pinching students you would imagine that forking out almost £10 for a pack of cigarettes would be enough to put us off. But it doesn’t; us social smokers manage to beg, borrow or steal, just to feed our habit. Which, by the way, is definitely not a habit, we are definitely not addicted and we could give up at any time…right?
We know that about half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their addiction. We know that every year, over 100,000 smokers in the UK die from smoking related causes. We have all seen the adverts on the cigarette packets and on the TV. We just chose to feign ignorance and ignore it.
A fourth year student at the University of Exeter claims, “I only smoke when I’m in a club, to get out of the sweaty, packed dance floors. The smoking area gives you a bit of fresh air” (yes, the irony of that statement was pointed out to her). Maybe clubs and bars need to offer areas in clubs for people to chill out in that are not smoking areas, so that people can take a break from the chaotic club without feeling the need for a cigarette.
Even just sitting with your friends who are enjoying their death sticks can have serious implications on your health. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), found that exposure to other people’s smoke increases the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers by 20-30% and coronary heart disease by 25-35%.
“Am I giving up? Oh no no, I’m not addicted! I just have one or two on a night out.”
This may be true for some, but for many “social smokers”, they should probably wake and up and smell the smoke.
images @IARC/@nerdyculturist.com