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The smoking decline

**helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
Stats show that in 1974, 42% of 16-19 year-old guys smoked and there's been a steady decline ever since. In 2012 the stat stands at 15%.

For 20-24 year-old lads, it was a whopping 52% in 1974 and 29% in 2012.

For girls aged 16-19, it was 38% smoking and again that percentage has been dropping ever since... 15% in 2012.

For the older age range, it was 44% in 1974 dropping to 29% in 2012.

smoking.jpg


What do you think is the single biggest factor contributing to this decline?

AND... some questions for the smokers...

1. When did you start smoking and why?

2. How many do you smoke a day?

3. Have you ever tried to give up? How did that go?

4. What do you like about it?

5. What do you dislike about it.

If you previously smoked and have given up - what was your motivation?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    1. About 14, parents did and I just gravitated towards it.

    2. 20-30

    3. 3 or 4 times, I just have a lot of out of date nicotine replacement products

    4. Nothing, it's just habit/addiction.

    5. Cost, smell, health implications.

    Reasons for decline - better education, smoking ban, cost, not as 'cool' as it was portrayed when I was younger.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    1. When did you start smoking and why?

    16. Because chicks dig it.

    2. How many do you smoke a day?

    Did smoke about 10 - 15 a day. Smoke a vapourizor with e-liquid now and even then only a few puffs a day, usually after my dinner.

    3. Have you ever tried to give up? How did that go?

    Doing ok at them moment. Havn't had a fag proper for weeks

    4. What do you like about it?

    It's relaxing. A fag with a berr, after food and after sex is fantastic.

    5. What do you dislike about it.

    The health implication and the fact it's quite a dirty habit. Of course the Vape I use now cuts out most of the health problems and it doesn't smell at all.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    1) Smoked my first cig when I was about 18, just an occasional social thing. Then started again socially about a year ago.
    2) It varies, most is about 5.
    3) Yeah, never really had the need to. I never felt addicted to it. I have recently felt addicted though and cut down. I went to a vaporiser (and back to my Hookah (no tobacco)) a few months back for about 3 weeks, before I kept getting worse health because of it (ended up with tonsillitis for the first time).
    4) It's relaxing, winds me down. Disconnects me for a few minutes. Social interaction, gives my hands something to do.
    5) The smell mostly, though I always spray myself afterwards.
  • Annaarrr!!Annaarrr!! Posts: 876 Part of The Mix Family
    I think the decline is probably because there's more information about the bad effects of smoking now. It was never really seen as a bad thing.

    1. I was 14 and my nan had just died and my depression hit and i was with an older group who always used to smoke in school. They talked about how it helped with stress so i tried it one day.

    2. Really does depend where i am, standard school day between 2 and 4, more if im with the bf.

    3. I quit for 9 months then started again a year ago due to starting back at school and my depression taking hold again.

    4. Its calming, it feels nice, i do like the smell sometimes.

    5. How much it could damage me. It scares me a lot. The addiction is horrible, i cant breathe properly if im craving.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    16. Most of my friends smoked and I thought it was cool atm.

    10-12 now, earlier it was more.

    I haven't tried giving it up but, I've reduced it.

    As someone else has also said it here, it is relaxing and with alcohol it can give you a high.

    That it can give you all kinds of diseases and it is not healthy.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    don't smoke, it tastes gross and I like being able to breathe :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Smoking is an addiction same way as drug addiction, it can be very strong and hard to quit, interesting is that I started smoking after I was 18 not earlier because it was not allowed. Trying to quit now.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I totally agree.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    1. When did you start smoking and why? 18, I started because I knew it would harm you inside, this was when I was looking for other ways so 'no one' could moan..

    2. How many do you smoke a day? hmm, depends, on a night out I can get through 40 quite easily, but if I'm at home it would differ between 10-15 and at a friends would easily be 20. So yeah haha.

    3. Have you ever tried to give up? How did that go? Nope, never.

    4. What do you like about it? Keeps me calm, it's a comfort as well tbh.

    5. What do you dislike about it. They cost a bomb when you're on JobSeekers.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    **helen** wrote: »
    smoking.jpg

    The stats are good, but I can't help but think... That is one cool baby.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ^Lol, totally agree with you about the baby picture. As to the 1st posts questions:
    1.I started when I was 13, my mates eldest brother gave me a drag of a cigar he bought on holiday and I figuratively coughed up a lung. He laughed and me being a stubborn bastard kept coming back cos I didn't understand how he could smoke it and I couldn't. Sufficed to say I got used to it and eventhough I don't smoke full blown cigars often I do go through a pack of cigarillos a week.
    2.Maybe one or two on a normal day, as cigarillos (skinny cigars) have a higher tobacco content. However, if I'm out with my mates I can go through four or five.
    3.Nope, but I'm thinking about it.
    4.The flavour and feel of the smoke at the back of my lungs, rising through to my head is incredibly relaxing.
    5.The smell of my clothes the next day is not pleasant.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My dad drinks and it needs to stop and my cousin smokes aswell


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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Joking lol


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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Smoking is a bad addiction, this is an article I got off the internet




    Smoking causes serious health problems, many of them life-threatening. In the UK more than 100,000 people die each year from smoking-related diseases – this means about half of all regular smokers will die because of their addiction.

    This article will focus on the harm smoking does to your body and the diseases it causes.

    Animation - the effects of smoking on your body
    Smoking and cancer
    Smoking and your heart and circulation
    Smoking and your lungs
    Smoking and sex
    Smoking and your appearance
    Smoking and surgery
    What if I stop smoking?
    Animation - the effects of smoking on your body



    Smoking and cancer

    Smoking is by far the greatest avoidable risk for developing many types of cancer including throat, mouth, oesophagus, lung, stomach, kidney, bladder and cervical (neck of the womb). It’s also linked to some types of leukaemia (cancer of the white blood cells).

    Key facts

    About nine out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking, either directly or through passive smoking.
    If you smoke, you’re approximately three times more likely to develop bladder cancer than someone who has never smoked.
    Hand-rolled cigarettes have a greater effect than manufactured ones on your risk of developing mouth cancer.
    Smoking and your heart and circulation

    Smoking damages your blood vessels and increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. It can also affect how well your blood, and therefore oxygen, flows around your body – for example, you may notice you often have cold hands and feet, which is a result of not enough blood getting to them.

    Key facts

    If you smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day, your risk of having a stroke can be up to six times that of a non-smoker.
    If you’re under 40 and a smoker, you’re five times more likely to have a heart attack than a non-smoker of the same age.
    Smoking makes you up to 16 times more likely to develop blocked blood vessels in your legs or feet. This can lead to gangrene (where tissues in your body die) and possibly the need for amputation.
    The risk of developing a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis, DVT) is greater if you smoke. If you’re a woman who smokes and you’re taking the contraceptive pill, you’re nearly nine times more likely to develop DVT than a woman who doesn’t smoke and doesn’t take the contraceptive pill.
    Smoking and your lungs

    It’s hardly surprising that if you’re regularly breathing in smoke, your airways can become damaged, making it harder for you to get air in and out of your lungs. When your lungs are damaged in this way, it’s called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD describes a number of long-term lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties, the main two of which are bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking can also mean that if you get flu, you’re more likely to develop complications.

    Key facts

    Nearly nine out of 10 people who die from COPD are smokers.
    If you smoke, you’re more likely to get pneumonia – the more you smoke, and the longer you have smoked, the greater your risk.
    Children of parents who smoke are more likely to have asthma or other breathing problems.
    Smoking and sex

    It might be news to you but smoking can seriously affect your sex life and both men’s and women’s fertility. It can also harm your unborn child during pregnancy and after he or she is born.

    Key facts

    Smoking not only makes men more likely to have erectile dysfunction, but it also damages sperm and reduces how much of it is produced.
    If you smoke and are taking the contraceptive pill, you’re 20 times more likely to have a heart attack than a woman who doesn’t smoke.
    On average, women who smoke go through the menopause two years earlier than women who don’t smoke.
    Smoking reduces fertility in both men and women, meaning it’s likely to take longer for you to conceive.
    If you’re having fertility treatment such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), smoking can affect how successful this is.
    Smoking and your appearance

    It’s a harsh truth, but one of the most noticeable effects of smoking is how it affects your appearance. It also reduces your sense of taste and smell, and that smoky odour that clings to your hair and clothes isn’t very attractive either.

    Key facts

    Smoking can prematurely age your skin by between 10 and 20 years, and you’re more likely to have facial wrinkles at a younger age.
    The tar in cigarettes stains your fingers and teeth, so they become discoloured and yellow.
    If you smoke, you’re more likely to store fat around your waist rather than around your hips. Having this body shape, in which you have a high waist-to-hip ratio, is linked to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
    If you smoke, you’re two to three times more likely to develop psoriasis than a non-smoker. Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes patches of inflamed skin.
    Smoking and surgery

    If you smoke and you need an operation – whether it’s related to smoking or not – your body will take longer to repair itself afterwards, and you may be more at risk of complications, such as DVT, both during and after the surgery. This means a longer recovery period with more time in hospital and off work.

    What if I stop smoking?

    The good news is that it’s never too late to stop smoking, and when you do, the risks to your health drop dramatically. Within a month of quitting, your appearance will improve. After one year, your risk of heart attack is cut in half compared with that of a smoker. And if you stay a non-smoker for 10 years, you will also reduce your risk of lung cancer by half compared with someone who smokes.



    Produced by Polly Kerr, Bupa Health Information Team, October 2012.

    For sources and links to further information, see Resources.

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    This information was published by Bupa's Health Information Team and is based on reputable sources of medical evidence. It has been reviewed by appropriate medical or clinical professionals. Photos are only for illustrative purposes and do not reflect every presentation of a condition. The content is intended only for general information and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional. For more details on how we produce our content and its sources, visit the about our health information page.





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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm not sad at this.

    I never understood why people smoke anyhow, it's not like drugs or alcohol for which the reasons are obvious.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Health hazards of smoking

    The temporary effects of smoking consist of:

    1.Indistinct observation (sights, sounds, time, touch)
    2.Issues with memory and learning
    3.Loss of synchronization
    4.Problem with idea and analytical skill
    5.Increased heart rate, reduced blood pressure

    Health effects on brain
    1.Hallucinations
    2.Delusions
    3.Impaired memory
    4.Disorientation

    Effects on the Lungs
    1.Coughing on daily basis and phlegm development
    2.More frequent minute chest sicknesses
    3.Increased danger of lung contagions
    4.Blocked airways
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I started when I was 14 and smoked off and on mainly because I was smoking a lot of weed at the time and it just went with it

    At my heaviest I was maybe smoking 15 a day.


    I've given up loads of times, and I'm not smoking now but I keep getting urges too so I might go back to using a vaporizer.

    I used to sing and if I wanted a particular smokiness to my voice when I recorded I'd have one half hour before going into the studio. I liked the high after I quit smoking weed many years ago, and I had huge stress levels at uni so I needed to do something otherwise I would have been taking class As like the rest of my class and ended up in rehab like a load of them did.

    I stopped last time because I didn't want my new house smelling of smoke and smoking in the bathroom wasn't cool!
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