It's been a busy year in Sex and Balances: We've talked about condoms and chlamydia, hymens and hemorrhoids, blue balls and bacteria. And as much as I love making sure that University students are spared discomfiting discharge and early ejaculations, we've neglected one of the most important issues in undergraduate health: smoking.
More and more undergraduates identify themselves as "social smokers." Among college students, this is largely -- and mistakenly -- seen as a harmless practice. Most self-described social smokers believe they're not addicted to cigarettes and plan to stop after graduation. Here's the problem: In college, nearly every situation is social. Thus, it's very easy to develop dependence on nicotine while continuing to convince yourself you can control the habit. So far, there is no good data illustrating how many undergraduate "social smokers" go on to be pack-a-day, I-need-my-morning-cigarette-or-fuzzy-animals-will-suffer smokers, although many doctors believe the numbers are disturbingly high. There is, however, plenty of data showing that no amount of smoking is benign.
By now, everyone should be well aware of the unequivocal association between smoking and fatal lung diseases such as cancer and emphysema. The lungs aren't the only organs assaulted by cigarettes: Smoking also dramatically increases the risk of vascular disease, leukemia and cancers of the cervix, stomach and pancreas (to name a few). As a sexual health columnist, I would be remiss to ignore the insidious effects smoking can have on the penis. If great sex is a more inspiring motivator than living a long and healthy life, consider this: According to a 2003 study out of Tulane University, men who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day are 60 percent more likely to have erectile dysfunction (which is decidedly not smokin').
I am constantly amazed by how many young patients believe these risks don't apply to them. Every smoker loves to cite his or her 80-year-old great uncle who burns through three packs a day and subsists entirely off of beer and bacon grease. If that uncle exists, he is very lucky (and also, probably very gross). He is not, however, the rule. For every crusty, octogenarian uncle with Marlboro juice coming out of his pores, there are many other people -- in what should have been the prime of life -- realizing too late that they've smoked their way to a painful, premature and tragically preventable death.
So forget about your crusty uncle. The only way to predict how susceptible you are to smoking damage is to smoke until it kills you, and I submit that's an experiment you'd be imprudent to perform.
The good news is that if you quit while you're still in college, your body will probably be able to repair much of the damage you've done. If you've tried quitting and found it makes you want to harm fuzzy animals, consider seeing your doctor. In addition to the well known methods of quitting there is a new drug on the market that may be able to help (and no I don't have stock in it, but I wish I did). Here's the deal: Smoking is so addictive because it changes brain chemistry. Exposure to smoke recruits nicotine receptors in the brain, and when these receptors aren't filled, extreme crankiness and cravings can ensue. Fortunately, brains can be rather dumb. This new drug, called Chantix, works by mimicking nicotine in the brain, tricking your gray matter into thinking you're still sucking away on cigarettes. It's a beautiful thing: you quit smoking, no furry animals get hurt and you'll probably get many more good years out of your penis ... not to mention the rest of your body!
That's all the health and sex advice I've got until next year! Until then, I wish you a summer free of itching, burning, blue balls and -- most importantly -- cigarettes.
Anne Mills is a Cavalier Daily Health & Sexuality Columnist. She can be reached at mills@cavalierdaily.com or through the Sex & Balances submission page at cavalierdaily.com/sex.asp. This column should be used for educational purposes only and is not meant to substitute advice from your doctor.
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