Common Misconceptions About Smoking

Long term addicted smokers will try to convince themselves that cigarette puffing is incurable or even yields some benefits in order to hang onto their destructive habit. Advertising strategies employed by tobacco companies buttress their line of thinking, reinforcing the false myths and misconceptions they hold dear and do nothing more than feed an addiction.

Myth: Smoking Low Tar Cigarettes Is Safe

• Although they do not inflict as much damage to your lungs as regular cigarettes over a long period of time, low tar cigarettes are by no means safe and possess the same health risks as regular cigarettes. The Cancer Council Australia reports that people who smoke low tar cigarettes tend to inhale more deeply, puff more often over the course of the smoking session, and smoke the cigarette to a shorter butt length.

Myth: I Will Gain Weight If I Stop Smoking

• The notion that smoking curbs your appetite is widely communicated through the media and word of mouth, and may lead you to believe that you will gain weight if you stop smoking. However, this idea is merely a psychological placebo and weight gain not tied to smoking itself but rather mistaken cravings. Shortly after quitting smoking, you will experience nicotine cravings that can be mistaken for hunger pangs, which may result in overeating or eating more frequently. Smokers who recently quit may also displace their smoking addiction elsewhere, which includes food.

Myth: Quitting Is Expensive

• The sticker prices of rehabilitation programs and quitting aides keep smokers at a distance. However, the costs of holding onto their harmful habit prove they will actually save money. The Huffington Post states that a New York resident will spend $4,000 per year on his smoking habit. In comparison, gums, patches and medications round out to around $600 annually. Purchasing anti-smoking aids and maintaining a smoke free lifestyle saves the smoker about $1,400 during his first year.

Myth: Smoking Just A Few Cigarettes A Day Will Reduce Health Risks

• Cutting back the number of cigarettes you smoke each day may slightly defer the health risks associated with smoking but does not reduce them. With thousands of toxic chemicals embedded in the tobacco stick, taking puffs from just one cigarette is enough to alter cells in your body. Limiting cigarette use is also regarded as an unrealistic expectation. Smokers who try to cut back their cigarette use become starved for nicotine and often relapse.

Myth: Smoking Is A Choice That I Have Control Over

• Not too many adults "choose" to smoke. Smoking cigarettes often begins in the teenage years and grows into a long-term addiction. People who have smoked for decades find quitting a very arduous and seemingly impossible task because they consistently need to feed their heavy nicotine addiction in order to function normally. According to the Huffington Post, nearly 70 percent of smokers plan on quitting, but only 4 to 7 percent will do it successfully without assistance.

Myth: Smoking Only Harms Myself

• Smokers who carelessly puff around others expose them to secondhand smoke. Commonly noted as an inconvenience rather than a serious health risk, secondhand smoke causes serious illness and death in nonsmokers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declare that secondhand smoke exposure causes approximately 46,000 heart disease deaths annually among nonsmoking adults in the United States. Additionally, an estimated 3,400 lung cancer deaths per year among nonsmoking adults in the United States have been reported.