How dangerous is low-level smoking?

Zul the Conqueror

For the last month or so I've been smoking maybe three or four cloves (Djarum Blacks) a week. Less than a pack a month. How bad are the health risks associated with smoking at that level? Please no "you shouldn't smoke" posts unless you have something material beyond that to add, and let's avoid slippery-slope arguments.

Cojones

The risks with having less than a pack a month are indeed, tiny. Teeny tiny. You could probably smoke that much for the rest of your life and never blink an eye at it.

That doesn't mean that they're not there and there's still no way that I could ever recommend smoking in the slightest. I mean, just think about how much of a tool you look when smoking.

Quirk

Obviously smoking at any level isn't 'good' for you, but from what I've read and heard, that amount of smoking shouldn't really pose a large increased chance of any smoking related problems.

If you keep it at this amount then you'll probably be fine, but keeping it at this amount can be a problem, so keep an eye on it

Thanatos

Keep in mind that cloves are way worse than normal cigarettes. Also, it's really easy to let that creep up over time.

That being said, I doubt smoking so little is likely to cause all that much of a problem.

EggyToast

It's a crapshoot. There's no percentages or odds based on how much you smoke. Otherwise it'd be a lot easier to convince people and for current smokers to gauge how badly they're setting themselves up.

The more you smoke, the more health problems you are at risk of developing. Cigarettes don't fall into the "everything in moderation" category since there's really no positive, other than the "high." The real problem is that nicotine as a substance is a slippery slope -- you will develop a tolerance for it and if you're smoking for the effects (and there's little other reason to smoke tobacco), you will have to smoke more in order to feel the same way. No one starts off as a chain smoker, and nicotine is a surprisingly addicting substance.

I did have friends in college who smoked casually, though, by never buying cigarettes and only bumming off friends, meaning that they only smoked at parties or other social gatherings. Since they didn't follow a pattern or habit, they didn't develop an addiction. Did they get lung cancer? No. Diseases related to smoking are chronic in nature, meaning that they will develop over time and over regular exposure.

That doesn't make smoking safe. But it means that if you only smoke a pack a month, you're not very likely to have any serious health problems due to smoking.

Dulcius_ex_asperis

I used to do this, too. I'm really glad I quit. But yeah, don't worry too much, but I mean, if you're worried enough to ask this question, may as well quit and eliminate the risk altogether, doncha think?

But man. Cloves are dangerous. I mean, that's all I've ever tried, but since I quit I've just heard terrible things.

Pheezer

Okay, before you decide to keep going, you should understand how addiction "works" from the point of view of the addict. Just bear with me, because I'm right about pretty much everything you're about to read.

Right now you're in control. You smoke when you want to. It's not like you HAVE to, and if you felt like you HAD to, you wouldn't, because you're in control.

In a while who knows how long maybe a month maybe five years but probably somewhere in between and probably much closer to the short term you'll find that you feel like smoking a little more often. You won't NEED to, you'll just feel like it. Who cares? You're in control.

It stays like that. You never smoke unless you want to. You only do it when you feel like it. It's just that you like it so you do it more often, right?

Well that's the addiction talking, not you. It gets its hooks inside of your brain and tells you that you're in the mood. It never tells you that you NEED it, it's smart like that. It's got a special ability to make you feel like YOU want to, and that's why you have one.

Admittedly cigarettes are not the worst thing in the world for this. There are hard drugs that are significantly worse and more dangerous and much more addictive but the curve, regardless of how fast or steep, always moves the same way. It's always the same logic that convinces you to do it more often. That's just how it works.

So if you're doing it because you "want" to, you might want to consider spending your money on something less unhealthy for the next few months and see how often you "want" to smoke. I'm willing to bet you'll find yourself craving more often than you're comfortable with.

Lewisham

EggyToast wrote: »

It's a crapshoot. There's no percentages or odds based on how much you smoke. Otherwise it'd be a lot easier to convince people and for current smokers to gauge how badly they're setting themselves up.

So... much... lime... needed...