The Real Cost of a Cigarette

Hello 8%ers!

We have some very exciting news regarding the future of this newsletter! Throughout the past weeks we’ve gotten to cross off a rather large list of nutrition topics, sharing some truly valuable knowledge with our community. As we reach the beginning of the end of this list, we are excited to say we’re going to venture into topics of health in general rather than just nutrition. But don’t worry! Nutrition editions will still be in here wherever possible, and as always we will be all ears if you have any specific curiosities. Here’s to the next chapter of the 8%, and thank you reader for making this newsletter a continued success!

Enough excitement, we have a newsletter to write! In this week's edition, we’ve decided to discuss something that affects us all in some way, shape or form: tobacco smoking. We all know smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, shortens our lifespan, and burns a hole in our wallets (get it?), but we aim to look at smoking through a different lens. On one hand, we want to uncover why people are so attracted to this deadly habit, and on the other, what we can do to help the youth stay far away from it. Let's dig in!

First-hand Pollution

Roughly 1 in 5 Americans smoke, 1 in 10 choose cigarettes. That is a staggering statistic that guides the leading questions. What attracts people to cigarettes? Why are they voluntarily subjecting themselves to dozens of carcinogens over and over again? Let’s review:

Everybody wants to fit in: Being a teenager is hard in many ways. One of the main ones is fitting in and making friends. Aside from the classroom, team sports are probably the best way to create lasting social skills, self-esteem, healthy life habits and have some fun. For all of these reasons, sports are thought of as an antonym to drug use. The motivation and prosocial benefits of sports doesn’t just help those involved in drug use, but in many cases prevents usage of any kind. Unfortunately, smoking can boost young teens' social lives in a way similar to sports or other social activities, creating an appeal that hooks them early. This social aspect makes it clear why teens might start smoking, but it's also a serious problem we need to address to protect youth and steer them toward healthier choices.
Us/Them Dichotomy: Most teens need to figure out who their “us” is (“us” being what group they are a part of). On a sports team or other similar activities, it’s pretty easy to make friends. Your “us” is formed pretty darn quickly. Alternatively, your “us” can be the people you smoke with on recess or at any other convenient time. But smoking goes a step further.
Reciprocal Altruism: In other words, I help you and you help me. Say you forget a lighter or a cigarette, that guy that also smokes (let’s call him Max) will probably lend you a hand. And when Max eventually forgets to do his homework, or also forgets his lighter, do you know who he will ask for help? You! And since he gave you a lighter and a few cigarettes a few weeks back and spent a total of 30 minutes chatting a day in between smoke breaks you will help him finish his homework. Continual interactions like these eventually lead to friendship. (NlH)
Increased Alertness: From the 200 cancerous or otherwise largely health damaging compounds that are found in cigarette smoke, one does have some established health benefits. Nicotine, the main compound in cigarettes, increases working memory, motor skills, anxiety relief, focus and attention. (NlH) These seemingly harmless effects have been given a spotlight in the media, with nicotine products like vapes and nicotine pouches (specifically Zyn), making a popular entrance. People seem to see nicotine as an alternative of sorts to caffeine. But there is a dark, lesser known side to nicotine that threatens the health of its users. We will discuss it in a bit.

It’s important to know why we are going over these points. By understanding why people are attracted to smoking, we can better offer prevention to tobacco usage. Sports are not just an extracurricular, but are proven to be effective at reducing the likelihood of tobacco use (OUP). Elements of a sports team unify and motivate, especially the youth, to stick to their goals and strive to be better. And now, we want to highlight smoking’s slew of negative effects to reiterate the importance of avoiding this habit.

Loneliness: Yes, we know we just discussed how smoking enhances prosocial behaviors. The truth is, that had a very important nuance to it: age. Young smokers can reap the social benefits of their toxic habit, but older smokers not so much. They are generally more addicted, lonely, isolated and they meet less with friends and family.(NlH) The reasons for this are rather unclear, but a shift in public opinion has meant that smokers are nudged out of social spheres.
Health Hazards: Out of the 250+ harmful chemicals that are found in tobacco smoke, there are 3 that we want to dedicate our attention towards for their infamousness:
Carbon Monoxide: To understand what this compound does we need to go back to our understanding of red blood cells. These cells have this protein called hemoglobin that allows them to transport oxygen to the body's cells and pick up carbon dioxide to eliminate it in the alveoli, situated in the lungs. Here’s the scary part, carbon monoxide binds irreversibly to hemoglobin. This means that that red blood cell will never be able to transport oxygen again. Cigarette smoke is approximately 4.5% carbon monoxide (NlH), which means that if you are constantly smoking you are hindering your red blood cells efficiency, causing a functional anemia, or lack of working red blood cells.
Nicotine: Over time users don't want a nicotine product, they need it, and if they can't satisfy their addiction, users can expect insomnia, irritability, reduced focus, increased depression and anxiety, the list goes on. Nicotine also induces processes that give way to the first stages of tumors. These being an increase in cellular division and suppression of apoptosis (when your immune system kills a rogue cell). Not only that but gastrointestinal carcinogenesis, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, immunosuppressive, degeneration of the ocular system are all associated with habitual consumption of nicotine. This is a key takeaway: nicotine is not only not harmless, but dangerous to the body. (NlH)
Tar: This is what is left after you remove nicotine and water from cigarette smoke. Tar not only contains the dangerous chemicals but also other particulate matter that stains, coats and adheres to a users teeth, mouth and bronchioles, over time this tar if a user is continually smoking it builds up reducing the amount of air that we can efficiently utilize. If we pair this with the functional anemia due to carbon monoxide… you get the picture, your lungs are going to be gravely jeopardized.

And no, we didn’t forget the big numbers. These are the most revealing statistics on tobacco, showing its true harm to our health:

There are at least 69 cancerous chemicals in tobacco smoke. (ALA)
Lifelong smokers tend to die 10 years sooner. (NlH)
Up to 50% of smokers die from a smoking related disease (NlH)

Final Thoughts

And that’s a wrap… How’d we do? We hope we’ve given you some insights on why people smoke, and why sports offer such an effective prevention to smoking. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, but the risks are real, especially for young people. If you’re questioning whether cigarettes are worth the cost to your health, then we’ve done our job.

See you next week!