 "Photo: Jeb Draper")
Michelle Huot doesn’t consider herself to be an addicted cigarette smoker. She doesn’t smoke every day, or even every week. She doesn’t experience any sort of craving or withdrawal systems if she doesn’t smoke. Huot considers herself to be a “social smoker.”
She tried her first cigarette about six months ago while drinking with a few of her friends who are regular smokers, she said.
When Huot smokes, she doesn’t even deeply inhale the smoke, but rather holds it in her mouth before blowing it out, she said.
“It’s just like a social thing to go along with,” Huot said.
The term “social smoker” was coined to describe smokers who wouldn’t necessarily smoke while alone, said Shelley Brantley, the program coordinator for the Chico branch of the American Lung Association.
Many people who habitually smoke try their first cigarette while socializing with friends, Brantley said. Going out and partying with friends is typical of people in their early twenties and trying new things, such as smoking, is common, she said.
While the smoking rate has gone down among every other age group in California, the number of smokers aged 18 to 24 was up to 17.6 percent in 2008, Brantley said.
One common finding among researchers is people who do not use tobacco daily do not consider themselves to be smokers, according to the “Nicotine and Tobacco Research” journal. This can be an issue because if people do not consider themselves smokers, they won’t seek help to stop their tobacco use.
People inhale more than 4,000 known cancer-causing chemicals with every cigarette, therefore, any smoking is harmful, Brantley said. Also, those who smoke only on the weekends or only when they drink often won’t find out how hard it is to quit until they try, which is when people commonly find out that they are addicted on some level.
As far as the tobacco industry is concerned, the earlier a person begins smoking, the better, Brantley said. If companies can get people addicted to smoking at an earlier age it is more likely they will become lifelong smokers.
Sometimes, that addiction to smoking can start with simple marketing, said Christina Craven, a health educator for the American Lung Association branch in Chico.
“It’s no accident that the models in smoking ads are young adults,” Craven said.
Another growing trend among young people and tobacco use, especially in college communities such as Chico, is going to hookah bars, said Raúl Raygoza, an education specialist for the Public Health Department in Chico.
The three hookah bars located in Chico are all in within a close vicinity of the university on purpose, he said. Retailers often try to appeal to students are who are attracted to trying new things that seem exotic.
Huot wouldn’t think of smoking at a hookah bar alone, but has been to the hookah bars downtown and smoked there with friends at least three times, she said.
One thing Raygoza thinks is a common misconception about smoking at a hookah bar is it does not contribute to a nicotine or tobacco addiction, Raygoza said. Studies have shown that during an average 45 minute to one-hour session of smoking at a hookah bar, a person will ingest about four times more nicotine than from smoking cigarettes.
This is equivalent to chain smoking 15 cigarettes in terms of ingesting chemicals, tar and the amount of damage done to a person’s lungs, he said.
Though there are a growing number of young adults starting to use tobacco products, Craven met many young people trying to kick the habit when she tabled for the American Lung Association at Thursday Night Market, she said. People wanting to quit can go to the American Lung Association’s office at 10 Landing Circle, Suite 1.
Huot is not addicted to cigarettes, she said. However, she predicts that she will smoke again in the future, but only if she is with others who are doing the same.
Patty Conover can be reached at
pconover@theorion.com
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