If I smoke 2 or less than 1 cigarette a day while taking birth control, how bad is that?

Question

I am 18 and on birth control.
I smoke maybe 1, sometimes 2 cigarettes a day.
I often go many days without smoking any at all.
Many times I only take hits of other people's ciggarettes.
How much do you think this will interfere with my birth control.

And yes I know smoking is bad no matter what.
But that isn't my question so please do not preach your 'do not smoke' campaigns to me.
The fact is: i already do occasionally.
I have been smoking on and off for a year or so, and I have never been a heavy smoker, so do not tell me "one will lead to more".
Please only answer the question if you have valuable information.
Thank you :]

Answer 1

Although it is not as likely to do as much harm as if you were to smoke a lot more, you are still putting yourself behind the 8-ball when it comes to pregnancy.

1) "Smoking is associated with decreased fertility. Women who smoke take longer to get pregnant than nonsmokers. Smokers also have much higher rates of miscarriage." http://www.plannedparenthood.org/birth-control-pregnancy/birth-control/smoking-or-the-pill-the-patch-the-ring.htm

2) "Smoking causes a breakdown of estrogen, thus lowering the body's estrogen levels, which in turn plays a role in the effectiveness of the pill. Some smokers will experience spotting or breakthrough bleeding on the pill, more so than non-smokers. This could signal that the efficacy of the pill is lowered. More research needs to be conducted to better understand how, to what degree, and in what timetable smoking decreases the pill's effectiveness." http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/3667.html

3) "An excerpt from the Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR), a text describing prescription medications and the risks associated, reads as follows:
WARNING: Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular side effects from oral contraceptive use. This risk increases with age and heavy smoking (15 or more cigarettes per day) and is quite marked in women over 35 years of age. Women who use oral contraceptives should be strongly advised not to smoke. More specifically, risks increase for heart attacks, blood clots, stroke, liver cancer, and gallbladder disease, although the risk is very small in healthy women without underlying risk factors." http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/901289862.html

4) "Even light smokers should consider curbing their habit, Haney said. Women who smoke less than one pack per week can still develop those unwanted side effects." http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2006/09/25/Life/Weekly.Check.Up.Smoking.And.Birth.Control-2305488.shtml

I hope that, with my documentation, you do not think that I am preaching to you. There really can be health risks involved. Everything in here was found by doing two Google searches. The first search was for "Smoking and birth control" and the second search was for "light smoking and birth control". What I listed here barely scratches the iceberg when it comes to the abundance of information on this subject.

The bottom line on this issue is that it is your life and it is your choice. My only other advice for you is to research the effects on babies of women who smoke before and during pregnancy and then make your choices. One other thing to consider is how much money you can have available if you do not spend it on cigarettes.

I wish you all the best!

Answer 2

look at all the side effects on the birth control. when you smoke, your increasing your risk for all of those, including the serious ones. its not the best idea to mix the pills with smoking.

Answer 3

i heard you can have a heart attack, or its more likely. true story, that happened to my friend the other day, shes on birth control and smokes and she had a heart attack, shes 16 or 17

Answer 4

Yes it's affect