Smoking causes many serious diseases such as cancer, heart attack, blood pressure, and more. Though most of us know about them, we never hear about the imperceptible but harmful behavioral changes, personality disorders, and mental health issues which smoking causes.

Smoking is a very dangerous addiction. Not only it is highly addictive but also it is a slow killer. In most scenarios, humans don’t take decisions by thinking long term benefits or risks. We are short-term thinkers. This human behavior works for cigarettes. After smoking you don’t make a fool of yourself like vomiting on yourself or getting into a fight with someone. What will happen is one day you will go to the doctor and he will tell you to get some tests done. Next, you know you have cancer. Before this grand day of your life, you will be fine on a day-to-day basis. At least, it will seem to you. That’s all.

No that’s not all. Smoking causes serious changes in your day-to-day life. It leads to severe personality disorders, behavioral changes, and mental health issues. Worst, these are imperceptible and do not seem a life threat but are constantly shrinking the scope of your life.

Common problems are anxiety, bipolar personality disorder, paranoia, depression, stress, skin issues, and schizophrenia. These are accepted by scholars and scientists. So let’s not talk about them. Let’s get a sneak peek at those which are not so obvious but are ruining your life.

1. Selfishness and Lack of compassion

Smokers lack compassion and have no sense of boundaries. They have no compassion that others may not be ok with their stinking clothes and horrible smoke floating around. Just because you are smoking 5 steps away does not mean that the smoke is not reaching that lady with a 3-year-old kid. Bad news! Blowing smoke in the other direction as if you care also does not work. Laws of physics don’t obey your intent. When a smoker wants a cigarette, he wants it. That’s it. Once upon a time, yours truly went on a long drive with his close friend and his pregnant wife. At gas stations, he smoked, and once the smoke went to his friend’s wife and she coughed. He very politely said “ Oh Sorry “ without even realizing how low-quality an act that was. 1.3 million people die because of passive smoking every year. If a smoker forgets his lighter, he randomly starts asking people for a lighter. He does not realize that carrying a machine of fire is not normal human behavior in the 21st century. He does not realize that it can also be disrespectful. I mean What the F…” Do I look like a smoker ! “. Try it in some western countries and observe the facial expressions of people.

2. Anger

In my phenomenal 20 years of legendry smoking career, I met all types of smokers but I could not find a smoker who is a calm, composed, and cool-headed personality. Most smokers have at least a slight bent towards anger and violent behavior. All chain smokers are angry human beings. They lose temper very fast, are rude, and have aggressive personalities. By the way, anger is the biggest reason for relationships problems.

3. Sleep Problems

The more you smoke the less oxygen you have in the body. The laziness smokers feel in the morning is because the body is compensating for the lack of oxygen throughout the day. Oxygen intake increases heavily in the morning so the body needs more sleep. It is not ready to get up yet. It needs the oxygen you have deprived it of. Due to the same reason, smokers have difficulty falling asleep at night. The body does not sleep until nicotine levels go down.

4. Irritation

A smoker needs a smoke regularly depending on the level of addiction. Whatever the frequency, a smoker needs it. If not he will get irritable and start a mission to find that smoke. He will cut short meetings, end dates, and even miss the movie and go out of the cinema hall to smoke. Thinking deeply, he immediately changes the direction of his life and priorities for smoking. If he does not get the smoke when he wants it, he gets irritated.

5. Guilt and Shame

These are the best friends of an addict. He lives with them for a very long time. Most smokers want to quit. They realize very soon that it’s not serving them. They know that alcohol at least makes them feel good but smoke, nothing at all. They start making promises of quitting and cutting down and start drowning in the river of guilt and shame.

6. Distorted Identity

Smokers develop a false sense of identity. When they start they feel cool, accepted by peers, in a unique club, and maybe risk-takers. They feel a sense of pride and completeness. This distorted sense of self serves no good. The feeling of coolness does not go beyond college or the early years of smoking. Very soon they realize they are in the shit. Smoking does not lead to any success but to shame and embarrassment. Initially, they feel different from others as if they are part of a unique tribe but then they realize that are in jail. A jail which most don’t want to enter and they cannot come out. This kills a smoker inside. Who? Why? How? What if? questions are common. They never feel how it feels to be normal. They constantly fluctuate in identity crises. From being cool, they are just a smoker with a filthy self-destructive habit which has made them helpless.

7. Poor Relationship and Social Skills

It’s hard for a smoker to form close relationships with non-smokers and vice versa. Smokers’ close friends are smokers, drinkers, or addicts. That’s the law of addiction. A chain smoker will not have a group of 5 friends who don’t smoke and have sober get-togethers.  He forms relationships based on smoking, not on the character or real connection. Smoker connects with smokers very fast. They look down upon nonsmokers calling them uncool, innocent, and boring. His scope of human contact and experience shrinks drastically. He misses out on many amazing people who are non-smokers. Nonsmokers don’t prefer dating smokers. Ask a girl how it feels to kiss a smoker and if she will ever date one. Most likely no. For those who have kids, relationships with kids can become confusing. He is a bad moral example for them. They may feel ashamed of his habit and become distant or may start smoking themselves. He may not be wanted among relatives and may be seen as a bad influence on other families. This impacts not only his relationships but his family’s relationships as well.

8. Gossiping and Time Wasting

From Chicago to Mexico City to Delhi to Amsterdam, there is one common scene I have observed. A group of smokers having coffee, smoking, and chatting for hours about meaningless stuff. If there is a true example of a time-waster, it is a smoker. It is a hobby for a smoker. Making other smoker friends and then talking meaningless stuff. Whether in a Starbucks in New York or a Tea stall in Delhi, you will always find smokers smoking, talking, and having tea. This meaningless chatting starts in the early days of smoking and develops into gossiping. Gossiping is a mental disorder of feeling good by discussing someone else without any compassion or concern. Taking pleasure in imaginary bullshit talks about others. Smokers are masters of this behavior.

9. Lack of Self Respect

It’s midnight and a smoker is out of cigarettes. What does he do? He gets on a mission to find it. All shops are closed. Oh, God! What next. He tries and tries, still no luck. What next. He takes out cigarette buds from the ashtray and sucks on them. In short, his behavior is of a stray dog who enters the garbage pile to scavenge for food. This is how low a smoker goes. He may laugh about it with his friends but deep down he knows he let himself down.

10. Loss of taste and smell

The beauty of the world is the different tastes, smells, nature, and views. A smoker loses a complete sense of taste and smell. He is just aware of the smell of pollution. It’s like being in a walking polluted city yourself. Once you quit smoking the first thing you feel is the sweetness of the fresh air and the taste of food. This is life. Different tastes smell and experiences make life not a fog of filthy polluted smoke.

11. Low Self Esteem

After the initial glory days of looking cool get over. Most likely after 2-3 years after college guilt creeps in and spoils the most important relationship of his life. His relationship with himself. Constant self-conflict is not a good thing. It kills self-confidence. Breaking self-promises, knowing you can die, facing social embarrassment, and living in filth destroys his Self-Esteem – That important feeling of being proud of yourself in a humble, confident, and positive way to look forward to life.

All these are present in every smoker to some degree depending on the amount of smoking he does. Some smokers living in denial would argue that these can be in anyone and not just in smokers. I agree as much as I agree that cancer can also happen to anyone not only to smokers.