Social Smoking: A Weekend Habit or Growing Addiction?

Social Smoking: A Weekend Habit or Growing Addiction?

          Social smoking is something we see as students every day.  Almost everyone knows a friend who will feverishly deny being a “smoker” yet that Friday night they are outside having a cigarette.  As young adults, the idea of social smoking something that is appealing to us – it allows for social lubrication when faced with new peer groups and new environments.  And since you’re only smoking on Friday nights, it can’t be that harmful, right?

          That low risk perception is the outlook many young adults have when it comes to social smoking.  No one in University believes that they will be smoking regularly, or at all, once they go out into the world as adults.  However, research shows us that only half of these young adults social smokers will quit, and 25% of them will go on to become regular smokers.

          Another reason many young adults begin and continue to smoke socially is access.  You don’t have to go to the convenience store and buy a whole pack, it is much easier to get just one from a friend at a party.  This can lead one to believe they are in control of their smoking behaviour, but medical researcher Dr. DiFranza from the University of Massachusetts disagrees.  Even if you smoke once a week, DiFranza says, the craving for nicotine can be building up until the next time you are able to “borrow a smoke” from a friend.  For many social smokers, the time between smoking often escalates until they are a regular smoker.

          If you are a social smoker, or you know friends who are, we’d love to hear how you feel about social smoking.  Comment and discuss on this blog or our facebook!

References:

Preventing the Initiation & Escalation of Smoking, Leave the Pack Behind, 2011

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201106/i-m-social-smoker-who-are-you-kidding-0