How dangerous is it to smoke 3 packs of cigarettes / year?

[Anonymous No.11193045]

Started smoking in uni as a way to stay awake/in good spirits during exams. I've been very strict in how much I smoke, only having 2-3 packs a year, and only smoking them during a ~1-2 week-window during midterms and finals.
I wanted to know how much this would really damage me, since i just finished my >psych degree (yes, i know it's not a science) and am going to head to law school in sept. and I will definitely need the cigs to keep me going some nights.
I asked my physicians and all they talked about was muh addiction and never actually answered my question, instead telling me that I would eventually start smoking 3 packs a day.

I tried searching online but nobody was asking about what happens when you smoke such a small amount. The closest thing was when a guy said something along the lines of “because there’s such a large amount of time between smokes, your lungs have more than enough time to recover”. Is he right?

Tldlr I smoke 3 packs a year, if I theoretically keep up until I have kids (26-28) will i be okay? Or did I already ruin myself?

[Anonymous No.11193071]

It's fine, even a pack a week is fine. It's definitely not good but your risk is very low. People that die young from lung cancer are those that smoke multiple packs a day starting at 14 years old

[Anonymous No.11193076]

>>11193071
Not OP, but I often smoke for 1-2 months and then take a 2-4 month break from smoking. I don't feel addicted to it at all. During my smoking periods, I smoke 2-3 cigs a day. Right now my last smoke was 2 months ago.
I thought smoking was addictive?

[Anonymous No.11193082]

>>11193076
op here,
for me it was the of the association i made between cigs and exams that has kept me from being an addict.
Whenever I think of smoking or I smell cig smoke outside of exam season, i automatically start thinking about that shitty stressed out feeling you get during exams, and it immediately turns me off to the idea of smoking.

[Anonymous No.11193098]

>>11193071
This post is very misleading. Individual risk depends on your genetics and OP may very well possess, e. g. xenobiotic metabolism deviations that make it easier for DNA adducts to form and/or stay "hidden".

In addition, this is a classic fallacy of low probabilities. OP, you do understand what are the death rates for cancer? Are you really willing to roll the dice?

Final tip: contrary to the popular belief, the major link often is not chemical (nicotine addiction) but psychological (in particular applies to you since you smoke very little). It will be a very good "exercise" for you to break this habit as it's likely you will form more destructive habits in the future and this will help break those.

lol @ ignorant
>even a pack a week is fine
The absolute state of /sci/.

[Anonymous No.11193103]

The damage of smoking adds up, even if you just smoke from time to time, the damage done can accumulate to risky levels

[Anonymous No.11193107]

>>11193076
this

I sometimes smoke when I drink just cause it pairs well. Have never had cravings so when some friends say they want to quit and ask me how I do it I just say to eat a bowl of raisin bran with prune juice instead of milk

[Anonymous No.11193110]

>>11193098
>OP, you do understand what are the death rates for cancer?
no

[Anonymous No.11193111]

>>11193103
source

[Anonymous No.11193116]

>>11193111
>"There's no safe level of smoking. What's more, the negative health effects add up across your life," he said.
>Simon Chapman, Emeritus Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney said: "Smoking a small number of cigarettes, say less than four a day or once a week does elevate your risk [of health problems]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-12-07/will-an-occasional-cigarette-damage-your-health/9087438

[Anonymous No.11193117]

>>11193045
use transdermal nicotine instead, or a gum with nicotine

[Anonymous No.11193120]

>>11193116
>once a week does elevate your risk
by.. by how much?

[Anonymous No.11193125]

>>11193045
OP, I quit smoking probably 3 & 1/2 years ago, and that was when I quit smoking after 3 & 1/2 years of smoking (probably 2-3 packs a week at most).

I have seen both sides of the penny that is tobacco addiction and tobacco abstinence. It is honestly not a good penny to flip to be honest. I wasted a lot of time just having to sneak outside every hour or so just to get a smoke break just for the perceived benefit of alertness, even though my psyche knew full well that it was just a joke. Also, I did the calculations and I probably wasted upwards of $3,000.00 ~ $5,000.00 on tobacco, which I could have done anything with. I really don't know how I did it, OP. I really don't.

[Anonymous No.11193128]

>>11193117
do the patches give you the same effects as smoking (awake,alert,chill) minus the good smell? or are they simply just for getting rid of "cravings", because i honestly don't have cravings for cigs, i use them because that sense of alert has carried me through so many exams.
Is there anything that gives you that same feeling that wont give me cancer?? no hallucinogens tho, i'm predisposed for schizophrenia ):

[Anonymous No.11193136]

>>11193120
>Dr Des Cox, chair of the Policy Group on Tobacco at the RCPI, told Newstalk radio: "Those who smoke occasionally have almost a 40% greater risk of dying from smoking-related disease compared with non-smokers.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/occasional-smokers-at-significantly-higher-risk-of-developing-lung-cancer-861063.html

[Anonymous No.11193139]

>>11193045
I'll give you the practical answer: it's not good, but it's not as bad as, say, living in a big city. So you're increasing your risk but you would probably tolerate the same risk from other sources without even questioning it.

[Anonymous No.11193141]

Depending on how your body reacts to stress, it is possible that you actually do need some type of assistance in high stress situations like exams. The benefits of completing your degree might outweigh the health risk of some minor smoking. There are other less risky nicotine delivery methods also.
You won't live forever either way, but you will probably have a higher quality of life for more years if you have a degree.

[Anonymous No.11193156]

>>11193141
if you have to smoke to get your CS degree you should probably just kill yourself

[Anonymous No.11193159]

>>11193045
smoking is bad, but statistically you will not die from it. The death rates from smoking are mostly because of a bad but common combination: genes for high cholesterol, history of heart disease in immediate family, history of smoking associated cancer in your family, obesity AND smoking. If one of your parents smoked for a really long time and didn't have complications, your risk is fairly small. But if someone from your immediate family had a smoking associated disease then I would switch to nicotine gum or at least vaping, because of risk of addiction, not because those 3 packs a year will do damage. Our bodies are generally resilient.

[Anonymous No.11193172]

>>11193156
Some people have disproportionate stress responses. It's genetic. There is nothing to do about it but treat the symptoms.

[Anonymous No.11193200]

>>11193045
Let's put it this way: smoking 30 packs a week for 10 years kills 50% of people. Smoking 3 packs a week for 100 years kills 100% of people. Smoking more and faster is less dangerous

[Anonymous No.11193206]

>>11193128
They're really good for study. You should just get a juul. Depending on your age it may have no permanent harm. You in the US? If you are there's lots of bad chemicals in it, one is a fire retardant.

[Anonymous No.11193285]

>>11193110
Latest statistics were roughly as such: Assuming you live in a 1:st world country with best possible medical care, roughly 10% of the people who get a lung cancer diagnosis are alive after 5 years. Which is to say nothing about recurrences further down the line, all the other risks and life quality changes etc.

Basically, even IF you're one of the 10% and alive after 5 years, chances are you'll be living a shitty, hard life with 20-50% your previous lung capacity and take hit of up to several decades to your total life expectancy.

Lung cancer is literally one of the worst shits you can get. Also an extremely painful way to slowly die.

[Anonymous No.11193446]

>>11193159
Worst fucking advice and just plain disinformation.

[Anonymous No.11193467]

>>11193107
im guessing the older you start smoking the less likely you are to be addicted. i smoked 3 cigarettes in highschool when I was with friends and never craved.

[Anonymous No.11193506]

>>11193446
You seriously think 2-3 packs per Year will kill you? The quality of air in the big cities is at least 2x worse. I didnt say smoking is good, and OP should do it, but 2-3 packs per year will statistically OP is relatively safe UNLESS (the reasons I listed above). Everything you do has risks, the question is how much, you could have an undetected anurysm but does it mean you shouldnt jump from warm air into cold water (raising blood pressure) when you are at sea?

[Anonymous No.11193511]

>>11193446
You weren't even able to explain how his argument was "disinformation". Usually when someone resorts to getting hot-heated and dismissing, it's a sign of a retard.

[Anonymous No.11193607]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Doctors_Study

[Anonymous No.11193639]

>>11193172
He’s saying if you’re such a brainlet that CS undergraduate final exams stress you out you should kys because you’re genetic sludge and will never accomplish anything meaningful, it wasn’t a denial that some people are inferior and have heightened stress response and a lack of anxiolytic self soothing behavioral patterns anon.

[Anonymous No.11193680]

>>11193639
No, I meant that if you have to smoke tobacco to pass your CS exams then you should probably kill yourself.

It's not a genetic problem, not a psychological one, and not a behavioral one, but simply an existential problem that needs to be corrected.

If person A needs to smoke tobacco before the completion of their CS degree, then person A should kill themselves.

[Anonymous No.11193690]

>>11193680
>NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, YOU CAN'T JUST USE PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS. THESE "NICOTINIC ACETYLCHOLINE RECEPTOR AGONISTS" GIVE YOU AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE, NOOOOOOOOO, NOOOOOOOOOOO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, K-K-KILL YOURSELF, WHY WONT YOU LISTEN TO ME AND KILL YOURSELF?

[Anonymous No.11193697]

>>11193680
You aren’t making an actual argument
>existential
incoherent
>if person does thing followed by thing they should kill themselves
incoherent and invalid argument, you deserve death for wishing death on others illogically, retard.

[Anonymous No.11193702]

>>11193680
cringe

[Anonymous No.11193712]

>>11193702
>>11193697
>>11193690
you all need to drink pic related

[Anonymous No.11193716]

>>11193712
No, I meant that if you have to drink coffee to pass your CS exams then you should probably kill yourself.

It's not a genetic problem, not a psychological one, and not a behavioral one, but simply an existential problem that needs to be corrected.

If person A needs to smoke coffee before the completion of their CS degree, then person A should kill themselves.

[Anonymous No.11193888]

>>11193716
Its not another offensive attack on another mind altering drug, its an alternative to cigarettes before taking your CS exam.

[Anonymous No.11193890]

>>11193888
Taking both is a cheat code.

[Anonymous No.11193893]

>>11193890
Yeah but caffeine is ubiquitous & nearly harmless (in low doses). Drinking two cups of coffee a day is not like putting a computer chip in your brain.

[Anonymous No.11193910]

>>11193128
I've never used patches or gum but just by the nature of absorption theres no way they can match the instant stimulation of inhalation. Instead, the stimulation will have slower onset and be more sustained. I'd just suggest you get a vape such as a juul.

[Anonymous No.11193914]

>>11193888
>mind altering drug
why is mind altering bad?
why are minds that wish to alter themselves necessarily wrong?
what if avoiding mind alterations is just cowardice and not noble or intelligent in any way?

[Anonymous No.11193929]

3 packs a year is nothing. unless your arteries are about to explode anyway from obesity, you're golden. there are so many straight Sallys on /sci/

[Anonymous No.11195794]

>>11193893
Tobacco is nearly harmless too.

[Anonymous No.11195837]

>>11193045
>How dangerous is it to smoke 3 packs of cigarettes / year?
hahahahha holy shit
I'm willing to bet that stressing over insignificant shit like this is far more detrimental to your health than 3 packs a year.

[Anonymous No.11195842]

>>11193045
Imagine thinking smoking is bad for you.

[Anonymous No.11195930]

>>11193076
>I thought smoking was addictive?
Famous last words. Just be careful.

[Anonymous No.11196070]

>>11193914
Well said

[Anonymous No.11196097]

dude, just use pure nicotine like mentioned
i use gum and it's super duper

[Anonymous No.11196100]

>>11196097
Pure nicotine actually raises BP more.

[Anonymous No.11196148]

>>11196100
Acceptable.

[Anonymous No.11196452]

>>11193107
sensiblechuckle.jpg