Are cigarettes THAT terrible?

[Steve89]

I wouldn't say I'm a SMOKER, really, but when I'm around people that light up, I tend to join in.

Is it absolutely raping my body to have a few cigs a week, or is it negligible?

[Sam277]

Yeah your lifts will go down dramatically, it ain't a joke. And say goodbye to any cardio work, you won't keep up any intensity.

Nicotine is a lethal and horrifically addictive compound. I think the amount it takes to OD with it is the same amount as in 2-3 cigars, (if injected). The same amount in steroids would do nothing. Actually i'm fairly sure that amount in herroin would have less of an effect. Granted you're never going to take that much at once, but it's an intresting fact.

However, that amount will effect your respiratory system, and that will hurt you.

If you're serious about lifting then you'll stop. You're better off grabbing a beer or popping a pill than lighting up.

[itsbruce]

Sorry, but cigarettes are just a useless waste of time. Waste of your money, bad for your health. Tobacco is possibly the most addictive drug known to man and yet is much less fun than, say, cannabis.

What did you want to hear? It's not as if the scientific evidence about tobacco has become less clear with time.

[TakeFive]

It's a dirty and useless habit. Give it up before it becomes an additiction. It will make you a slave.

I used to work with a couple of guys who smoked 3 packs a day. Absolutely killed their productivity. They had to step outside about every 20 mins for an 8 to 10 min "break". On top of that, they were slobs who threw their butts in the planters.

I really, really hate it when I see kids smoking. I want to tell them to stop it, but know it's probably pointless.

[Steve89]

I don't know; I'm definitely not addicted. I just smoked a cig a few nights ago but haven't lit up for at least two weeks before that, and I don't plan on buying a pack myself, ever...although I do enjoy a smoke every now and again.

I feel like a lot of the information out there against cigarettes is propaganda. I certainly believe that smoking a pack of cigarettes a day (or more) is harmful to your health; hell, most things when taken in extreme amounts can be harmful (i.e. water). But even only smoking, say, once a week, will that fuck me over (assuming I don't get addicted, which I'm fairly certain I won't)?

It just seemed to me that a cigarette now and again wouldn't hurt, but, then again, I know nothing and I know that I know nothing. I appreciate your replies.

[StevieB]

every person I've ever known that had the occasional cigarette when out drinking etc.. is now a full on smoker.

if you're not addicted yet, just pack it in.

Also, anyone who takes up smoking in their twenties is retarded.
I forgive the kids and teens with peer pressure and the need to rebel or be cool.... and all of these regret it with maturity

[FilthyMcNasty]

""Nicotine is more addictive than heroin," says Dr. Elliot Wineburg, the director of the New York Stop Smoking Medical Center
at Mt. Sinai Hospital."... so the longer you're messing with just a few ,the more chance it'll hook you.
As to effect, it can depend..everybody's hears of 96 year old smoking 3 packs a day, right? That's just because their individual genetics afford them a protection science hasn't unravelled yet. But as there's no way to know who'll make 90 and who croaks at 30, you're just rolling the dice. Up to you if you wanna gamble on a nasty exit from your mortal coil or just quit now.

[Portillo]

Smoking is worse than terrible, it is a poison. It increases your chance of a stroke by 10 times.

[luco]

Dude, I've been smoking on and off for about 7 years (more on with some half hearted quitting attemps) and used to be like you. Only smoked during weekends, when I had a drink in my hand. After two years of doing that, I went on a holiday for a week (read: I was drunk for a week) and the next week I was happily buying a pack a day. It sneaks up on you and now I'm having the hardest time quitting. For the most part because I don't feel like it affects me much (probably because I don't have a point of reference). I know it's bad, but I'm not coughing and wheezing or anything so I'm not confronted with it being bad. However, I would love nothing more than to not WANT a cigarette. It's costing me way too much money, although I've succesfully cut down to a couple cigarettes a day, it's still close to 5 euros a pack.
Bottomline, get out while you can. I'm the biggest hypocrite in the world, being a smoker myself, but it's the best advice I can give you since it's sooo much easier than the other route.

[knoted]

Don't ever think that "one or two with a drink" won't lead to full blown addiction. Myself and every other smoker I know started that way. It is one of the most addictive substances known to man, and it's the most pointless. Heroin and Weed get you high, caffeine gives you a buzz, but nicotine gives you nothing except a mild increase in heart rate.

They taste and smell disgusting, cost a fortune, and over time will severely impede every facet of fitness, and obviously all the other health risks. I stopped smoking once and after 4 weeks with no extra training, went from a 10:40 2.4 km run to 9:15.

To be clear, the biggest problem with smoking isn't the fact that you have 2 or 3 on a weekend drinking, it's the incredibly high rate of succumbing to being a pack a day smoker.

The biggest thing I hate about them is the fact that every hour I have to go light another one, the way it controls my life. Every other area of my life I'm the boss, but being controlled by the filthy weed is one worst feelings.

[Subsistence]

If you seriously aren't addicted yet, there is no reason why you can't just stop now.

The fact that you seem very reluctant to give up your couple of smokes a week indicates that you are not as far away from addiction as you'd like to think.

[baatzt]

What if you work shifts as a bartender, at a bar where people smoke cigarettes pretty intense. As a passive smoker. Is this just as bad?

[Mehdi]

I don't know; I'm definitely not addicted. I just smoked a cig a few nights ago but haven't lit up for at least two weeks before that, and I don't plan on buying a pack myself, ever...although I do enjoy a smoke every now and again.

I feel like a lot of the information out there against cigarettes is propaganda. I certainly believe that smoking a pack of cigarettes a day (or more) is harmful to your health; hell, most things when taken in extreme amounts can be harmful (i.e. water). But even only smoking, say, once a week, will that fuck me over (assuming I don't get addicted, which I'm fairly certain I won't)?

It just seemed to me that a cigarette now and again wouldn't hurt, but, then again, I know nothing and I know that I know nothing. I appreciate your replies.

If you're not addicted, why don't you stop? Because you can't.

It seems you want to rationalize your behavior.

I've been a smoker for 10 years. Non smoker since 4 years (except passive smoking when I go to clubs). I also started like you: just a few cigs a week, social settings. It got out of control as the years went by.

Smoking & Weight Lifting: Does it Affect Your Gains?

[StevieB]

except passive smoking when I go to clubs

smoking ban here in Ireland.... time for Belgium to catch up

[Steve89]

Having gotten such a strong, universal response, I can honestly say that I'll never smoke (cigarettes) again. It's good that I got this information before I got addicted; I hadn't even considered myself at risk, and was only thinking about the harm of a few a week.