[Hi, Exers! No time today to do my Know the Enemy Series but this one I have to post! Enjoy!]
It’s not an uncommon sight: a small group of people — some with drinks in their hands — having a cigarette just outside of a loud party. If you ask them, though, they may claim, “I don’t do this all the time,” or “Just when I’m kicking back.”
This is social smoking. Those who take part in it are thought to occupy something of a middle ground between nonsmokers and full-fledged smokers. In actuality, these almost-smokers are addicted more to the act of smoking rather than to the cigarettes themselves.
“(Quitting social smoking) is complicated … for the people that get down to let’s say, three or four cigarettes a day, or who only smoke on vacation, or only smoke when they’re drinking, they really value those cigarettes,” said Nikki Hillier, wellness and health program coordinator of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. “A lot of times they kind of kid themselves, and they’re in denial about the harm that they’re doing to their body.”
This is why, in a sense, it could be just as difficult to quit casual smoking than addicted smoking because of these lingering psychological effects.
Often, the case is that a few hard-core smokers are smoking at a social event, and invite their friends to do the same. While these non-committed smokers believe that it is not as big of a deal as the real thing, it can get to be less of an “I can quit anytime” and more of a perpetual “It wouldn’t hurt to just have one more” issue.
Moreover, these social smoking sessions tend to occur during parties or group functions, making it more accepted and more seemingly low-key. These parties, in many cases, do tend to connect both smoking and alcohol, a risky combination.
“When (partygoers) start to drink, their inhibitions are lower, and I think that makes it more difficult not to smoke,” Hillier said. “(Nicotine) is a very addictive substance, and so that’s where, with those lower inhibitions, people start to make some bad decisions.”
Although social smoking is in moderation, it can still also have negative health consequences.
“The more you smoke, the worse it is for you, but even light smoking can cause a lot of the health effects that regular smoking causes,” Hillier said. “So quitting is really the best option for people.”
Lighting up every once in a while could seem like it’s not a big deal at the time, but in truth it is more detrimental when begun at a young age. As the lungs are still developing, there is more to lose, health-wise.
Don’t be fooled. Don’t let the social aspect of it and its temporary nature make you think it is any easier to quit.
A closely related concept goes for smoking other types of substances — other drugs have a similar addictive effect, and they are still harmful to the lungs.
With this in mind, casual smokers themselves have their own reasons for lighting up.With this in mind, casual smokers themselves have their own reasons for lighting up.
“I actually kind of started on my own. I know a lot of people around me were doing it, and I just decided to try it out and to see how it was,” said Kasi Bowman, freshman in LAS. “And before I started, of course I had to do my research about it, but I just tried it and I guess I started to like it.”
Both Bowman and Roxanne Devriendt, freshman in DGS, began smoking their senior year of high school.
“I smoke with friends — it’s definitely a social thing, but I smoke by myself also,” Devriendt said. “Like if I have a lot of time between a class and I’m trying to waste time, I’ll go to the store and just grab a smoke.”
Another layer to the social smoking issue is that it isn’t necessarily always at parties. Rather, in many cases, casual smokers use it as a way to relieve personal stress or ruminate.
“(Casual smoking is) kind of some type of extra control over my mind and my body that is really peaceful to me,” Bowman added.
In any case, social smoking may seem like a light issue, but it should be noted that it could have unfavorable long-term effects if it goes unchecked.
