Am I developing a health problem/addiction by smoking a few cigarettes a day??
It sounds like you are developing an addiction if you’re using cigarettes as an emotional release. And no, you don’t have to smoke for 10 years to get sick. A cigarette’s effect on your body is immediate, and while you probably won’t get cancer from a short smoking habit, your body is having to work a lot harder to do the things it needs to do, which can lead to a whole slew of problems you don’t want to deal with…especially if preventable. If you realize that you’re setting yourself up for an addiction, and don’t want one that adverse to your health, go ahead and throw the things out. Don’t allow yourself room to mess up. It’s easier the sooner you do it, so don’t wait.
You are absolutely, without question developing a health problem/addiction by smoking a few cigarettes a day! What would make you think it takes years to get sick from purposely putting carcinogenic smoke in you lungs? You are hurting your lungs immediately. That cough is telling you something. As far as addiction: Bad habits are easy to make and hard to break. Learn to calm stressful feelings by taking long, slow, deep breaths. Breathing deeply is something you always have available, free, and easy to remember to do once you get into the habit. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you; be grateful, and take good care of yourself, please.
If you’re smoking when you’re stressed, that’s a psychological addiction to the drug. A physical addiction to the drug implies withdrawal symptoms when the drug (nicotine) is not present. If you have no physical symptoms (headache, shakes, irritability, etc), you’re not physically addicted. Given the changes in the climate (and we’re changing seasons as well), there is no real way to tell whether your cough is due to smoking or allergies or a small viral/bacterial infection. You would need a doctor for that. However, a sure way to tell if the smoking is the cause of the cough is to stop smoking for a while and see what happens. If the coughing stops within a short amount of time after you’ve stopped smoking, it’s most likely the cigarettes. If the cough continues, it’s something else. Also, smoking can exacerbate allergies, so that’s something else to keep in mind. And, you may actually be allergic to smoke. Some allergies take a while to develop and get worse with continued exposure.
