The Intermittent or Social Smoker
An intermittent smoker is anyone who smokes but doesn’t do so every day. The social smoker is the most common type of intermittent smoker, and for many this pattern is fueled by alcohol as well as social contact. If this sounds like you, you probably don’t ever smoke alone. You may buy an occasional pack of cigarettes or just bum them from friends who smoke. You smoke when out at bars, parties, or clubs with friends and when you’re all drinking. Young people, women, and educated people are most likely to be intermittent smokers, and among young people especially, this type of smoking is often associated with binge drinking.How Social Smoking Is Harming Your Health
If you fit the description of a social, intermittent smoker, you’re far from alone. While heavy and regular smoking has been on the decline for decades, intermittent smoking has been increasing. Most social smokers assume that their habit is not posing any health risk, and if that sounds like you, it’s time to wake up and realize what you’re doing to your body:- Smoking just one to five days each month can lead to coughing and difficulty breathing.
- For women, light and intermittent smoking increases the risk of developing lung cancer.
- After one or two cigarettes, your blood pressure spikes.
- Just 30 minutes of exposure to cigarette smoke causes heart damage.
- Smoking any amount of cigarettes exposes you to over 4,000 chemicals, including heavy metals like lead, mercury and arsenic.
- Mortality risk increases for intermittent smokers as compared to nonsmokers.
- Intermittent smokers are at risk of becoming addicted to nicotine.
