How Bad is Smoking One Cigarette a Day? Even Social Smoking Is Addictive
From the 60% of people who first tried a cigarette, 69% of them started smoking daily.
A new study from Queens Mary University has shocking findings about smoking. All it takes is just 1 cigarette to get you addicted to the habit. Researchers have found out that two-thirds of the people who experimented with smoking once went on to become regular smokers. A lot of times people indulge in social smoking. Social smoking is when someone tends to take a few puffs on certain social occasions. The person may or may not be smoking before.
The researchers collected databases of studies related to cigarette experimentation and smoking habits. They had survey findings from UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand with a total of 215,000 respondents all over. These surveys included questions about trying a cigarette and daily smoking habits. This data was analyzed to see the conversion rate from the first trial to catching the habit.
From the 60% of people who first tried a cigarette, 69% of them started smoking daily. Lead researcher Professor Peter Hajek from Queen Mary said: "This is the first time that the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience has been documented from such a large set of data.”
We keep seeing the ads about smoking being injurious to health but it is a thing to notice, how this supposed recreational activity turns into a compulsion in just a matter of few puffs. There have been alternatives like nicotine gums and e-cigarettes being introduced in order to reduce the addiction. But there have been no similar addictive cases of e-cigarettes. Professor Peter Hajek added, "Concerns were expressed that e-cigarettes could be as addictive as conventional cigarettes, but this has not been the case. It is striking those very few non-smokers who try e-cigarettes become daily vapers, while such a large proportion on non-smokers who try conventional cigarettes become daily smokers. The presence of nicotine is clearly not the whole story."
Over time, smoking has been looked upon as a mark of doing some ‘cool stuff.’ Many times it is sheer peer pressure than work pressure which drives people to smoke. Smoking has its ill effects and proved to be a cause of serious health ailments like cancer, heart problem and even other respiratory diseases. With stress governing our daily lives, it only serves as a challenge to kick the butt. These research findings show it is indeed easier to get back to the habit of smoking even if you try it once more.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 10, 2018 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).