Smoking - The Social Consequences (Here and Now)

In the 70's and 80's, smoking was seen as the cool and "in" thing to do. This was in no small part because of the tobacco industry's marketing campaigns portraying smoking as the activity of choice for rugged cowboys, rebels, sophisticated young women, star athletes, movie stars, and other role models for teenagers and impressionable youth.

Today however, smoking is seen in a different light. Those who smoke, and those around them almost immediately notice:

• staining of fingernails, skin and teeth from cigarette tar
• tooth decay
• wrinkled skin
• "smoker's cough" and lots of excess mucus
• the smell of cigarette smoke constantly in their clothes, hair and breath

Can an activity, which for the most part, is initiated by imitation, peer pressure, and trying to fit in make a person less attractive? Possibly... consider:

all of the effort people undertake to ensure that their teeth are white and skin clear and clean. Smoking undermines and undoes all of these efforts
how many people come home from the bar and say "Yuck... I smell of smoke!"
that even smokers do not like having the smell of smoke on their clothes and in their hair
what cigarette smoke smells like outside the human body. Now imagine what a smoker's breath must smell like after a cigarette

Smoking is also correlated with erectile dysfunction in males. Perhaps the easiest step guys can take to avoid needing Viagara in the future is to simply stop smoking. Smoking is also associated with ectopic pregnancy and miscarriages in women. Find out more about the longer term health risks of smoking.