Do you sabotage your dance career?

You may do it in private, secretly. Or maybe you do it in public, calmly and coolly. But it doesn’t matter where or why you do it–what’s important is that it can hurt you and your ability to dance, the very activity that you work at day after day.

An Epidemic in Dance

Unfortunately, surveys find high rates of smoking among dancers. In some studies, 40-percent of the professional dancers surveyed were smokers. This was almost 20-percent higher than the percentage of smokers in the general population, in the same age group. ¹

So why would people who constantly train to improve their strength, stamina, and physical excellence, start smoking?

Why Dancers Smoke

In Why Do Dancers Smoke: Smoking, Time Preference, and Wage Dynamics economist Lalith Munasinghe suggested that dancers smoke because they are “more present-oriented.”

Munasinghe found that dancers and other people who work in jobs with uncertain future earnings often engage in activities like smoking without considering the long-term effects and outcomes. ²

The best “reason” for smoking, according to over 120 professional dancers who were also smokers, was that they found smoking relaxing and enjoyable. The worst reason for smoking, according to these dancers, was “weight control.” ³

Dancers, and many others, say that they smoke because it keeps them busy. It’s something to do. And, still other people buy into the idea that smoking is glamorous.

Regardless of why you smoke, every pack endangers your future as a dancer.

Instant Gratification

For many people, smoking supplies some sort of quick gratification: it keeps them busy, or it kills their appetite, or it gives them a certain image.

But, this time line shows that you can also get immediate gratification from quitting.

If you finish your last cigarette, right now: ^{4 5}

• Within 20 minutes, your blood pressure and heart rate will drop to normal.
• Within 12 hours, your blood oxygen level will increase to normal, and the level of carbon monoxide in your blood will drop to normal.
• Within 48 hours, your body will begin to repair damaged nerve endings, and your senses of taste and smell will start to improve.
• Within 72 hours, your bronchial tubes will start to relax, and breathing will get easier. Your lung capacity will also start to increase.
• Within 10 days to two weeks, your body will adjust to a lack of nicotine.
• Within two weeks to three months, your heart attack risk will begin to drop, and your lung function will improve. Your circulation will improve, and your chronic cough will start to go away.
• Within one to nine months, you’ll have less smoking-related sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath. You’ll get sick less often, because your body will be ready to fight off infections. And overall, you’ll have more energy.
• Within one year, your excess risk of coronary heart disease will be half of what it is now.
• Within five to 15 years, your excess risk of stroke will be half that of a smoker’s.
• Within ten years, your risk of death from lung cancer will be half that of a smoker’s, and your risk of mouth, throat and esophageal cancers will have dropped.
• Within 15 years, your risk of coronary heart disease will be that of a person who has never smoked.
  

  Recover your smile when you give up smoking.

Other benefits are even more immediate. With your last cigarette, you’ll stop staining your teeth and hands. And, soon after, you’ll no longer smell like smoke (and as your sense of smell returns, you’ll realize how strong the smell is to non-smokers). Plus, you’ll stop sabotaging your skin, since smoking prevents collagen production and speeds up wrinkling and sagging.

If you need more reasons to quit, think about what you’ll do with the money you save. In the US, a one-pack-a-day smoker will save, on average, over $1,800 per year just by quitting. If you live in New York City and pay the highest cigarette prices in the country, you could save over $3,600 each year. Over ten years, the money that you would have spent on cigarettes might finish paying your college loans.

Why You “Shouldn’t” Quit

There really aren’t any reasons to not quit. But, something is keeping you from quitting.

Think about your real reason for smoking. Do you smoke because you believe it’s glamorous? Do you smoke because you think it helps you relax? Figure out why you really think you need cigarettes. Then, find other things that fulfill those needs.

You Think You Need To Keep The Weight Off

Smoking helps you keep your weight down, because it increases your metabolism and reduces your appetite. And, since smoking decreases your sense of taste, foods are less enticing. Smoking even burns calories by increasing your heart rate. Really, it’s an effective tool for controlling metabolism, and smokers are afraid to give it up. ⁶ Regardless of what dancers say about why they smoke, weight control probably is one of the top reasons they don’t quit.

But as smoking helps you stay slim, it also wreaks havoc on your cardiovascular system and weakens your bones and joints. If you’re a female dancer, you can add the increased risk of osteoporosis to the list of ways that smoking affects your health. ⁷ Yes, smoking helps you lose weight. But, if failing lungs, fractures, or joint injuries stop you from dancing, it won’t matter that

you weigh 110 pounds instead of 120. You’ll be sitting out.

How You Can Quit

It’s true that many people gain weight when they quit smoking. On average, a smoker gains four to 12 pounds in the first year after quitting. But, if you’re informed and ready, you can minimize your weight gain.

First, don’t replace your cigarettes with food. Buy sugar-free gum and candy, and chew on these when you feel the urge to put something in your mouth. As your appetite increases, munch on healthy, low-calorie snacks like carrots, celery, or even air-popped popcorn. (You might even find that you like these foods more as your sense of taste returns!)

Second, work off any extra calories. Smoking burns between 100 and 200 calories per day. When you quit, adjust your eating and exercise to compensate for those calories.

When it comes to quitting, dancers actually have an advantage. Since you’re physically active, it won’t be hard to burn an extra 200 calories each day. And, if you bypass your daily Nonfat Caffe Mocha without whip, you easily save about 160 calories. Try replacing it with a brewed coffee or tea at almost zero calories. (Or even better, replace it with a brewed green tea with lemon, and get the antioxidants that might help reverse the damage of smoking.) ⁸

You Think You Need to Relax

In the past, the public has seen smoking as an acceptable way to socialize. Smoking, eating, drinking, relaxing: they were all connected.

Maybe all of your friends smoke when you get together. Maybe you chat with your co-workers during cigarette breaks. These social smoking opportunities tie cigarettes to relaxation. It’s hard to quit, because getting away from cigarettes means getting away from the crowd.

How You Can Quit

If social smoking is your problem, you might have a lot of help in quitting. As you’ve noticed, cigarettes are less welcome in public places, because we’ve learned about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Many states already ban smoking in public places, and the inconvenience of these laws helps many smokers quit.

But, if you still light up a cigarette whenever you’re with friends, you can try several quitting strategies.

First, just tell your friends that you want to quit. Repeated surveys show that the majority of smokers actually want to quit. If you tell your friends that you’re making a serious attempt to quit, one of them might even join you.

Second, remove yourself from situations in which people smoke. Hang out in places where smoking isn’t allowed. Avoid the areas where your co-workers take cigarette breaks. If you can’t avoid these places, distract yourself with soda, water, or gum.

A third step in kicking your social smoking habit is to replace your smoking “triggers.” If you always smoke when you get together with friends for coffee, replace that coffee with tea. When you eliminate the coffee that always goes with a cigarette, you can reduce your craving for the cigarette.

You Think You Need to Fit In

Some people still smoke because it seems glamorous. If you’re one of those people, realize that decades of smoking won’t be kind on your skin.

Smoking robs your skin of oxygen and nutrients, because it narrows the blood vessels in your skin’s outer layers. Smoking also speeds up aging’s wrinkling process by destroying collagen and elastin. ⁹ It’s hard enough to look beautiful onstage while you’re sweating–don’t add wrinkles before your time.

If you still think smoking seems glamorous, ask yourself why. Who are you trying to impress?

Suzanne Martin, physical therapist for Smuin Ballet in San Francisco, wrote that she had seen a young teenage boy smoking outside the San Francisco Ballet School. She had asked why he smoked, and he said that “he did because the principals did.”

Martin chalked this up to the glamor of smoking. But that boy may have had a deeper problem, like a lack of self-esteem and confidence.

How You Can Quit

People who smoke because it helps them fit in might want to try counseling or coaching. Professionals can help you understand what you see in the people you emulate, and they can introduce you to the person you can become without cigarettes. Studies show that smokers who quit with the help of a professional, like a coach, quadruple their chances of success. ¹⁰

When Quitting Is Hard

Quitting is always hard. Ex-smokers often say that it’s the most difficult thing they’ve ever done. But they do it. And you can do it.

If you’ve failed at quitting before, try again. Your chance of success will only improve with every attempt. And remember that every time you smoke, you put cigarettes over your future as a dancer.