Smoking and Diving?

[Scuba.Pro]

When I was certified at 15 I remember the instructor saying again and again that you shouldn't smoke. Now at 32 I've been smoking for over 10 years and I'm starting to get back into diving.

Are the risks of being a Scuba smoker too much? Or should I go for it anyway.

I've tried quitting in the past, I guess I should try again.

 

[Gene_Hobbs]

Just not much in the diving literature but:

Dembert, Beck, Jekel, and Mooney. Relations of smoking and diving experience to pulmonary function among U.S. Navy divers. Undersea Biomed Res. 1984 Sep;11(3):299-304.
RRR ID: 2980

Buch, Dovenbarger, Uguccioni, EI-Moalem, and Moon. EFFECT OF CIGARETTE SMOKING ON THE SEVERITY OF DECOMPRESSION ILLNESS (DCI) SYMPTOMS. 2000 UHMS Meeting Abstract.
RRR ID: 6539

Molvaer and Lehmann. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SMOKING AND HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN COMMERCIAL DIVERS. 1984 UHMS Meeting Abstract.
RRR ID: 5349

Edmonds C and Quick D. 1969. Respiratory function in oxygen breathing divers I. Royal Australian Navy, School of Underwater Medicine. Project 1-69
RRR ID: 4956

 

[amascuba]

Smoking inhibits the lungs ability of exchanging gas efficiently (metabolizing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide and nitrogen), therefore smoking increases your chances of carbon dioxide retention and DCS.

 

[Derek S]

I'm an ex-smoker, so I know what you're talking about.

1 - Smoking kills. There's no way around it, no ambiguous data, it just does.
2 - Smoking inhibits your gas exchange, adding to the possibility of a DCS incidence
3 - Smoking is nasty and expensive. I can get a fill for the price of a pack.
4 - Did I mention smoking kills?

If all else fails, listen to Gene, he's very smart and a good guy to boot.

 

[spectrum]

No good can come from it.

If you can't won't quit then add a risk factor. Premature death is not eminent but surely more likely.

 

[Kim]

When I was certified at 15 I remember the instructor saying again and again that you shouldn't smoke. Now at 32 I've been smoking for over 10 years and I'm starting to get back into diving.

Are the risks of being a Scuba smoker too much? Or should I go for it anyway.

I've tried quitting in the past, I guess I should try again.

I don't know about diving specifically....it never bothered me personally.....one way or the other.

However..... due to the gunge and crap blocking my veins and generally inhibiting huge parts of my circulatory system, two years ago I underwent a major bypass operation to re-plumb my aorta to the top of my legs. You should see the scar!
As there's no point having this surgery if you are still smoking I gave up then...

Hey.....

2 packets of cigarettes a day or start amputating limbs!!! I have to THINK about that????

To be fair though....so far it did NOT improve my fitness to dive. To the contrary - giving up smoking has precipitated a huge weight gain. That has not helped my diving at all.

I'm still working on that. I'll get back to you if I ever find a solution.

 

[Dsix36]

I am 46 and have been smoking since I was 18. 2-3 packs aday. I stated diving in 1998 and have never had any issues from it.

The previous posts tell about the disavantages and possible dangers to a diver that smokes.

I quit smoking 10 months ago when I finally went to a closed circuit rebreather. I do not notice any difference in my diving. I don't cough and hack anymore though.

12K for a rebreather was enough motivation for me to quit I guess.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Living will Kill you! Smoking will just help it come sooner.

It won't be long before there it is outlawed in the US anyway (On June 1st the place I work the most is going to ban smoking on company property). Then they will come after us that need to lose 10 or 50 lbs.

From the counrties that I have been to the US is ahead of most places for banning smoking. In China it seems like everyone smokes.

Edit:
Just some ramblings from a non smoker but an advocate of personal responsibility and choice.

 

[Garrobo]

Never smoked much except for a little weed when younger. I always liked the smell of someone's cigarette when it was first fired up but it seems over the years that they gradually lost that nice smell. Must be something that they are putting (or not putting) in the cigarettes. I still like the smell of raw tobacco. While driving along Rt. 52 in North Carolina south from Mt. Airy it smells great (Tobaccoville?). I've watched a lot of my friends deteriorate from smoking and drinking, along with drug use, so I've avoided most of that stuff. I also know people who have kicked alcohol, cocaine and heroin but can't quit smoking. That should tell you something about nicotine addiction.

 

[Rhone Man]

Not a smoker myself, but most of the dive instructors at my LDS smoke, and it doesn't seem to harm them thus far (although they all have the benefit of being in their 20s).