Tobacco use is clearly the cause of many serious medical conditions, including heart disease, some forms of cancer, and lung ailments. Over the years tobacco has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals. The University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that rates of smoking among young people continue to decline.³ One concern about college students and smoking is “social smoking,” however. This term describes smoking by students who do so only when hanging out with friends, drinking, or partying. Most college students think that they will be able to give up their social smoking habit once they graduate, but after four years of college, some find that they are addicted to cigarettes.

Although a small percentage of college students use smokeless tobacco, one “dip” delivers the same amount of nicotine as three to four cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco contains twenty-eight known cancer-causing substances and is associated with the same level of health risk as cigarette smoking.

Although smoking is more prevalent among men than among women, according to the American Lung Association, the differences are narrowing, and the rates of smoking-related cancers in women are rapidly approaching or surpassing rates in men.⁴ One explanation as to why women smoke is the enormous amount of pressure on young women to stay thin. Although there is some evidence that smoking increases metabolism and suppresses the appetite, the problem of being 2 or 3 pounds heavier cannot begin to compare with the dangers of smoking. It has been noted that, on average, female smokers are at risk of having a heart attack nineteen years before nonsmoking females do.

Chemicals in tobacco are highly addictive, making it hard to quit. Although young people might not worry about long-term side effects, increased numbers of respiratory infections, worsening of asthma, bad breath, stained teeth, and the huge expense should be motivations not to start smoking at all. Cigarette smoking and the use of hormonal birth control can be a deadly combination. A study conducted at Boston University’s School of Medicine showed that women who smoke and use hormonal birth control are nearly ten times more likely to have a heart attack than are women who don’t smoke and don’t use hormonal methods of birth control. A final reason for smokers to quit is the cost (see Table 13.5).

Many institutions and local hospitals offer smoking cessation programs to help individuals who are addicted to nicotine quit smoking. Contact your campus health center for more information about taking this step toward quitting.