By Mariam Dandachli | Staff Writer
The Illusion of Relief Through Smoking
Every day, as I enter AUB, I find many students smoking. Taking into consideration that the ages of most university students are 18 to 24, it raises a question as to why many students take up smoking. Do universities make students more prone to smoking?
One of the main reasons university students start smoking is to help them cope with stress: The stress of tests, uncertainty of the future, and a huge change from being a high school student to a semi-independent responsible adult. Other causes include the cheap prices and availability of cigarettes and vapes outside AUB, and a lack of parental and adult supervision.
According to the World Health Organization, smoking, which is the leading cause of preventable death, results in the yearly death of over 8 million smokers, and 1.2 million second-hand smokers. Nicotine, the active drug in cigarettes, stimulates the neurotransmitters to produce a calming and pain-relieving effect, which increases the smoker’s energy and level of alertness. Therefore, it is common to see an increase of smokers during midterms and finals in universities.
Some students try smoking one time to feel its effect or due to social pressure but end up falling into smoking’s addictive trap. This addiction is triggered due to nicotine’s alteration of the brain chemistry by increasing the levels of dopamine and noradrenaline – the neurotransmitters responsible for the feelings of happiness, arousal, energy, and awareness that target the brain’s reward center.
However, the effects of nicotine come at a cost: It leads to many diseases and a higher risk of morbidity at a younger age. The increase of noradrenaline induced by nicotine also increases heart rate and blood pressure, which increases the smoker’s risk of heart disease. It also heightens the risk of developing various reproductive, eyesight, and sleep dysfunctions. However, the most appalling effect is the heightened risk of lung cancer development as the smoker inhales hundreds of carcinogenic chemicals.
Recently, many students have used vaping and e-cigarettes as an alternative for traditional cigarettes. However, this shift does not help students at all, since e-cigarettes can be just as dangerous, if not more than the traditional smoking. They still contain nicotine and other harmful compounds, but some might argue that they are less addictive, due to less concentrations of nicotine.
Quitting smoking is no easy task though. The sudden deficiency of nicotine in the bloodstream would cause harsh withdrawal symptoms, which reverts the smoker back to smoking. Withdrawal symptoms include depression, headaches, tingling sensations in the hands and feet, extreme anger, and extreme cravings for nicotine. This is why quitting such an act requires careful and extreme restraint in the act of reverting back to the temptation.
However, there are many modern ways smokers can adopt to help them quit. These smokers can opt for nicotine replacement therapy. This therapy provides smokers with small amounts of nicotine in the form of patches or gum to provide a slow quit and reverse the effects of nicotine and its withdrawal symptoms. Quitters can also participate in physical activity to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Support systems like students who also want to quit smoking are also immensely effective, where symbiotic assistance and encouragement can help provide both parties with the confidence of their actions.
AUB discourages smoking by having implemented a ban on tobacco and cigarette use in 2018. In addition, it provides students with free sessions to help them quit smoking under “The Smoking Cessation Program” at AUBMC. Upon enrollment, students receive counseling, therapy sessions, nicotine replacement therapy, and behavioral modification learning. If any AUB student wants to enroll in the program, they can call the 3000 extension.
Though smoking gives the illusion of feeling relaxed and alert, it affects the body in harmful ways. However, there are also many other holistic and safer alternatives to attain such sensations. One can read a book, meditate, or hang out with friends. To feel more alert, students can try to implement good eating, sleeping, and exercising habits. It is easy to start smoking but unfortunately giving it up is not that simple. So, don’t be deceived by the sensation of smoking, because not everything is as great as it seems.
Mariam Dandachli – Staff Writer
References:
(2022). Tobacco. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
King, L. A. (2020). The Science of Psychology. Mc Graw Hill.