Can smoking be considered a form of self-harm?

Question

It's what i think everytime i take a puff on my roll up. Don't smoke tailor made these days, they are laced with chemicals even more than tobacco.
I gave the other coping mechanisms like cutting and drinking up over the years.
So is it or not ... smoking ... a possible form of self harm?

Many W: I will never know eactly what i am putting in my body through smoking. The tobacco companies are immum fron having to declare their ingredients to the consumer. I do know that tobacco has considerable less chemicals than tailor made cigarettes.

should have read immume

and it was menat to read mary

Bryant ... why can't you just answer the question?

You should address your need to judge and condemn!

Answer 1

seeing how you know the consequences of smoking, i'd have to say yes.

Answer 2

Tobacco ingredients, additives, and radioactivity
tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour
globalink (artefact pour saut de ligne)
There are 4000 different chemicals in cigarette smoke, including 43 that meet the
stringent criteria for listing as known carcinogens.
Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation, 1990 Surgeon General report
tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour saut
Among chemicals on the top-secret list of about 700 additives to cigarettes reported
to the US government are 13 not allowed in food (US FDA) and 5 designated as
hazardous (US EPA). Most of the additives have not been scientifically investigated.
National Public Radio report, April 1994
tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour saut
Two of the 700 additives in cigarettes are sclareol, which causes seizures in
laboratory rats, and ethylfuroate, which was investigated in the 1930's as a possible
chemical warfare agent.
American Medical News, May 2, 1994
tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour saut
A two pack a day smoker takes 400 puffs a day and inhales 1000 milligrams (one
gram) of tar. This is 150,000 puffs and a quart of thick brown gooey carcinogenic tar
inhaled into the lungs each year.
American Cancer Society, 1988
tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour saut
Saccharin has received much attention as carcinogen, but the carcinogenic potency
of benzopyrene in tobacco smoke is 50,000 times greater than that of saccharin.
North Carolina Medical Journal, January 1995, p. 5

Answer 3

Smoking can indeed be seen as a form of self harm but administered in a controlled and painless way which does not bring any immediate pain. Self harmers generally harm themselves in order to cause pain there and then, therefore smoking cigarettes will not bring this affect, however be the smoker a self harmer or not the dangers of smoking are known to all!

Answer 4

Yes its a sad fact speaking as an ex smoker
peole use it as an emotional crutch when their self esteem is low
Its a pacifier
one knows on an intellectual level the harm that smoking does to our body and yet we still do it
So in answer to your question it is a form of self harm like any form of addiction
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5031088.stm

Answer 5

Living and breathing these days is a form of self-harm, that is if the Govt. is to be believed...Yes smoking does harm you, so yes it is self-harm, but so is drinking, eating fatty foods, eating sugary foods, etc....so don't cut yourself up about it (so to speak) we all have to cope someway or other, and having a roll up is not the end of the world.

Answer 6

Well, yes it is.

Except, there are some valid studies that show tobacco is good for older people, and illnesses like Parkinson's.
The Native Americans consider it an herb for the elders.

Answer 7

Absolutely. Anyone that willing inhales smokes in their lungs, knowing that it is harmful, is harming themselves willingly.

But as another poster pointed out, the same could go for alcohol, over eating, drugs and any other addictions you can think of. A lot of us harm ourselves with stuff we think isn't harmful to us at all, but it really is.

Answer 8

i guess if you think about it.. it could be. however..... if thats true, then alot of people do that... chyeaknow?

i mean i dont want people yelling at me over it. let me tell ya how i think it could be considered self-harm.

Like cutting.. drinking.. and other self harming things, you know its wrong, and yet you do it. You can get aaddicted to cutting and drinking.. and yet you still do it.. or ... did it. Its the same with smoking, you know its wrong, yet you do it. You know it can hurt you and cause harm to others (2nd hand smoking ; emotional family stress from cutting and drunk driving.).. yet you still do it.

so in my opion.. it could be considered self harmful... yet im just an opinion

:-) hope i helped

Answer 9

First, congratulations on giving up 'cutting' and alcohol, that's very hard to do.
Now, to answer your question.
Yes, smoking is a form of self harm. Smoking is one-third pleasure, and one-third addiction, and one third physical damage.
T The first part, the pleasure, comes from the nicotine causing your brain to release chemicals and hormones of relaxation and pleasure.
The second part, the nicotine, is the chemical that is highly addictive and when denied, the brain and the body's reactions to the chemicals cry out for more.
The third is the actual smoke that physically damages your throat, bronchial tubes, and lungs. While you are feeling pleasure and relaxation from the chemicals released by the nicotine, your body is working hard to remove the tar contained in the smoke you inhaled from the delicate cells doing the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange in your lungs. Over time, the buildup of tar and ash not removed in your lungs will cause you to cough incessantly. You will be gasping for breath, and eventually your lungs will start shutting down. When this happens, the rest of your body will go into overdrive trying to fix the damage, and your heart will work overtime to the point where it will stop working, and you will die. Lung cancer is the growth of damaged and mutated cells unchecked by your body's natural defenses, and is 'fed' by both the constant inhalation of tar and ash, and the body's attempts to remove the stuff from your lungs, but slower than you are taking it in.
Knowing this, you might want to understand that by quitting smoking while you are still fairly healthy, you can reverse most of the damage to your lungs over a period of time, and regain some better health for the life you have left.
However, wanting to quit smoking is another matter. If smoking is part of a coping mechanism, you might want to address the reasons why you are coping. Clearly you have serious issues that you are involved in, causing the constant decision between 'fight or flight'. 'Flight', or running away, is clearly not working, as you uourself have recognized. In your question, I see that you have given up two other forms of self-pain for escapism, which means you are ready now to fight.
You might want to start by writing down everything that is causing you pain and anxiety, which will help 'get it out' and help you begin to look at your issue objectively rather than emotionally. By looking at your issues from another angle, you may be able to see solutions to your problems. For instance, is your pain caused by a family member? Can you move? Will a separation of 1000 miles change the situation?
Or do you hate your job? Would a career change help? By seeing ways to make a change, it may reduce your anxiety to where you no longer need to escape.
While this is happening, you might want to try the nicotine patch. I have heard really good things about the patch, especially from people who were serious about quitting. It allowed them to quit the actual smoke inhalation while they dealt with other issues. It took time to deal with the issues, but as they changed their lives for the better, they found they didn't need the nicotine as much, and were able to give up completely.
Be aware you are not alone with your problems. We all have problems and we all have different ways of coping with our problems. Boy, just look at all the message boards and chat rooms full of everyone discussing their problems. The biggest problem is finding the right solution. Sometimes it takes a while. So don't give up! I say this to myself, as well, for I have tendency to just quit rather than keep fighting. Don't give up! Find a positive friend, someone who can root for you and cheer you on and lend a helping hand, and treasure that friend. Learn how to be better than you are. It's a hard journey, but worth the trip.
Good luck.

Answer 10

Smoking is most definitely a form of self harm.

Answer 11

It is a self-harming behavior, but when you talk about "self-harm" in the context of psychology, usually what is meant is a behavior with the intent being to harm yourself. Usually when people smoke, they do it to relax or calm their nerves, or feed their cravings. People don't often smoke because they get a thrill out of growing tumors in their lungs. It is a behavior that happens to be self-harming, but the primary intent of smoking is not to harm yourself.