Risks of Social Smoking

While many people may not consider themselves regular smokers, there are those who feel compelled to smoke while out with friends or at a party. They "light up" to be part of the crowd or because they associate smoking with drinking. However, even occasional smoking carries serious health consequences.

Personal Harm

• Even those who smoke occasionally do harm to their bodies. Casual smoking, as opposed to a regular smoking habit, still plays havoc with your circulation. This can lead to atherosclerosis and blood vessel damage. Smoking increases your risk for a heart attack, for cancer and pregnant women who smoke risk not only their own health, but also the health of their baby. Smoking shortens what might have been a long, healthy life.

Addictive

• Smoking is highly addictive both as a substance and as a habit. Many who begin to smoke for social reasons find themselves addicted. This addiction leads to increased hours and days of missed work due to illness, in addition to the cost of smoking itself. If you come from a family where members smoke, your chances of becoming addicted to nicotine increases. Smoking causes both an emotional and a physical dependency that makes quitting increasingly difficult, even when faced with health issues.

Secondhand Harm

• Adding your smoke to that of other smokers in the room, increases the health risk not only to yourself, but also to others at the gathering. If they wish to participate with the group as partner, spouse or friend, non-smokers have little choice when others smoke. Non-smokers inhale the smoke as well as the smokers. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers secondhand smoke a Group A carcinogen. This means that secondhand smoke causes cancer in human beings.

  Secondhand smoke lowers the ability of those exposed to it to fight infections, especially respiratory infections. Children and those with already compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable. There is absolutely no safe level of secondhand smoke for anyone. For some, even minor exposure can lead to serious heart problems or even an outright heart attack.

Setting an Example

• Not only is social smoking harmful to you and others at the gathering, it sends a negative message to those in your sphere of influence such as friends, family members and especially children. Children follow your example. Whatever you may say, they will smell the smoke on your clothes. For children, your social smoking gives them the green light to smoke, which endangers their health. Friends who may be trying to quit, or considering quitting, may find it difficult to resist when they see you smoking.