For years, advertisements on the lifestyle benefits of smoking dominated the media. There have been countless portrayals in the media of how just cool smokers are. People who smoked were perceived as sexier, more outgoing, and more adventurous. However, the recent upsurge in lung cancer cases have pointed to smoking as a culprit. Moreover, recent years have seen a worldwide campaign to stop this habit.
For this reason, many smokers have opted for alternatives to smoking cigarettes. Smokers are trying to move away from the habit and to find less dangerous options.
Here are some specific reasons why people are finding alternatives to smoking cigarettes:
1. Smoking Can Negatively Affect Your Sense Of Smell And Taste
Smokers inhale a lot of fumes, which affect their breathing. Smoking irritates the nasal passages. Moreover, smoking can cause inflammation that affects a person’s sense of smell and taste.
Here are ways on how smoking can affect your senses:
- Smoking can dull a person’s sense of smell and taste. Smokers will tend to have a diminished sense of smell, which can lead to compromising their ability to taste food and enjoy the aroma and flavors of a good meal. Food will eventually not taste as good for them as it used to be.
- Smoking can take away the pleasure of smelling flowers or sensing the scent of the ocean breeze.
- A decreased sense of smell can hinder your ability to be aware of your surroundings and stay away from danger.
By switching to less harmful alternatives, smokers can avoid compromising their sense of smell and taste.
2. Smoking Is Undesirable In Some Social Situations
Cigarettes have an unpleasant smell, no matter how you look at it. What’s worse, the smoke clings to your clothes and hair, even by secondhand smoke. Meanwhile, actual smokers tend to have an unpleasant smell that can throw off the people around them.
What’s more, some laws prohibit smoking in public and crowded places, including parks and restaurants. If you look at dating sites as well, there are plenty of restrictions to smokers with many ads saying that they would prefer to meet someone who is a non-smoker.
3. Smoking Could Lead To Premature Aging
There is a link between physical appearance and smoking. Smoking is known to be a cause of premature aging. People who smoke regularly tend to undergo skin changes like deep wrinkling and leathery skin.
Smoking leads to biochemical changes at the cellular level, which speed up the aging process. What’s more, smoking constricts the blood vessels and deprives the cells of oxygen. As a result, oxygen doesn’t properly circulate in your body, including the skin.
Moreover, smoking can be noticeable on a smoker’s teeth, where there is staining from the tars and toxins of cigarettes.
4. Vaping Is Rising In Popularity
Vaping is the new trend these days. Smoking and vaping are entirely different things.
The negative effects of smoking come from the fact that harmful chemicals form every time you light a cigarette. Combustion results when you smoke. This process then leads to oxidation.
Unlike cigarette smoking, vaping does not create any new harmful substances or compounds. Moreover, vaping doesn’t involve chemical change. The vape substance is simply put in a temperature that is lower than its point of combustion, and it is thus considered vapor. The vaporized chemicals are the same as the original substance. Think of vaporizing as heating water on a stove. While the smoke emitted is in a different state, it is still water.
If you want to try vaping, check out Black Friday vape deals for 2019 that can introduce you to a healthier and cleaner alternative to smoking.
5. Smoking Increases A Person’s Risk For Infections
Smoking makes people susceptible to seasonal flu and infections. Specifically, smoking paralyzes the cilia, a mechanism that is supposed to protect the body. Cilia, located in the respiratory tract and trachea, prevents bacteria and viruses so they can be coughed out or destroyed by stomach acids. Smokers destroy some of the helpful mechanisms in their bodies, such as cilia, and thus expose themselves to harmful bacteria and infections.
Final Thoughts
There are many alternatives to smoking, and there are many reasons why people should quit this habit entirely. Smoking is dangerous mainly because of the formation of harmful chemicals once you light a cigarette. It is especially not good for your health. Unlike vaping, the chemicals of cigarettes are preserved in a new state. For this reason, vaping could be a less harmful alternative to smoking.