Community, Support
and Information
For Those Thinking
of Quitting Smoking

The Appearance of a Smoker

Other than the social rejection of smokers among the majority of the population nowadays, the physical appearance of a smoker is comprised of yellow teeth, the slow deepening of wrinkles on the face and hands, leathery skin and a pungent odor.

And that's really just the beginning. Eventually you may also have to deal with the stigma of having to wheel around an oxygen tank and have issues going out to eat because of the tubes delivering a higher dosage of oxygen to the lungs so that you can breathe. All because the smoke has degraded your lungs to the point that normal air is not enough.

When we also talk about appearance, we also are talking about the social appearance of the smoker. We've all been there and all of us here know how it feels to smoke. On one hand, we have an attitude of ownership. As in, "No one can tell me what to do, I'm an adult." I don't mean to get all psychological or anything, but when you really think about the feelings smoking gives you, part of it is that you are doing something that you should not be and in a way that gives you pleasure in and of itself.

And the more people say, "You need to stop smoking", the more you get a little zing of satisfaction. A feeling of - you are doing something that you choose to do and no one can tell you what to do. Almost as if we were kids again and each cigarette is an exclaimation of our independence. Whoa, okay that might be too deep. But during your next smoke, ponder if any of that rings true.

If it does, then you might want to ponder if that is the best way to get that feeling. You know, there's nothing wrong with the feeling of individualism, independence and in a way, freedom. But there's so many other ways to proclaim to yourself and others that you have control over your life and that the choices you make are your own. Injesting nicotine may not be the best way.

But at the same time this may be the case, many of us got addicted to the nicotine but no longer require that little zing of satisfaction in our lives. So then we became trapped by the drug and the original motivation for smoking no longer existed. And we now are left with trying to overcome the addiction and learn how to quit.