Shopping for scrubs this morning, and yes I'll be the first to admit I smoke. Friend walks up to me and says "Aren't you a nurse??? Don't you know what that does to your body???"
Ok, now I'm not giving it to my patients or blowing it in their faces..... and I know what I'm doing to my body.
Does anyone else know why nurses are frowned upon for smoking?? Yes, I do plan on quitting, but I don't want to RIGHT this second b/c I passed my boards.....
i think the people who take concern with your smoking understand how harmful and disgusting it is, and most likely they expect you as a nurse to understand it.
i guess i personally don't understand how nurses, who are educated on the effects of smoking on the body, can continue to smoke.
i have never been a smoker, so i don't know how hard it is to quit. i know it is extremely hard (from friends and family)..but it isn't impossible.
just in case you need more help understanding why people would think it's so absurd for a nurse to smoke, think about this:
cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including ammonia (floor/toilet cleaner), orificenic (rat poison), formaldehyde (embalming fluid), and hydrogen cyanide (gas chamber poison).
in 1989, millions of cases of imported fruit were banned after a small amount of cyanide was found in just two grapes. there's thirty-three times more cyanide in a single cigarette than was found in those two grapes.
over 50,000 people a year die from secondhand smoke in the us alone.
about 1 out of every 5 deaths in the us can be attributed to tobacco products
nicotine is as addicting as heroin, slightly more, but not statistically so. (ck the research.) it also has a calming effect on the brain, so i think this combination can explain why, even with education, the general public, nurses included, are not rushing out to quit.
i personally don't understand how people can eat junk food and fast food, and am appalled at the increasing size of the population in general, and their deteriorating health as a result of it -- yet i don't see people running up to them berating them for their personal choice of food or growing waistline. maybe someone should:clown:
All i can say is someone reaking of smoke is no worse than people reaking of cheap perfume. We have nurses who think bathing in perfume covers their body odar, alcohol smell or yes even smoke smell. Perfume isnt supposed to stay behind and linger for 15 min after you leave an area. At least if they smell of smoke, i know what it is. Mix it with a few to many spritzs of perfume and ya really do stink. They spray that stuff in the locker room and it hangs on everything. I'm all for catching a whiff of a nice perfume but dont make me smell it long after youve left the area.
Isnt it funny what offends our noses? I'd rather smell smoke. And isnt it funny people are so offended by cigarette smoke, but considering how many taverns and how much alcohol is consumed and the detrimental effects it inflicts on health and society isnt it the pot calling the kettle black? I think if the statistics were put side by side i dont know that cigarettes have much more detriment to society than alcohol. Think about it.
Many people here are comparing smokers to those who are overweight. I would just like to point out that there are many reasons people are overweight. Granted, eating too much of the wrong food and being inactive are very common reasons. But there are also genetic, hereditary, and medical factors to consider that are beyond *some* people's control, and no matter how healthy they eat, they will still be overweight. I know many overweight people who eat MUCH healthier than others I know who are skinny as a stick! All bodies are different and just because someone is overweight does not mean that they sit around eating fast food and washing it down with Coke all day. Perhaps you should think about that the next time you begin to judge someone by their weight.
There are no genetic or medical factors that influence a person to smoke. I realize that some will argue that his/her parents smoked, and they grew up with it so they now do it. There are many others who did not take up the habit on their own or who smoke when their parents did not.
Also, smoking is detrimental to the health of everyone around the smoker, including children, spouses, etc. Being overweight does not affect the health of anyone but the person who is overweight. It also *shouldn't* make you smell offensive to everyone you come in contact with. :chuckle
So, let's please don't compare these two issues, as they simply are not the same thing.
That being said, I do not judge people by their decision to smoke or not to smoke. They are grown, they know what it does to them, and if they want to take that chance then so be it. I know the addiction must be horrible b/c many of the students in my class will walk the 1/4 mile trek to the smoking area in below freezing temps for every one of our hourly 10 minute breaks and they would not do that if they weren't addicted!
Our school just changed into a smoke free campus because our hospital did also. You can't even smoke in the parking lot of the hospital...no more smoke breaks here. I'm not sure how the smokers are going to work around it. I don't smoke but if we can't wear perfume then we shouldn't smell like smoke either. I don't see how it's any different.
I praise the people that remember that nurses, doctors, and aides are all HUMANS. just like those patients lying in the bed that we are taking care of. I smoke, only on mandated breaks and lunch, guess what? I am fat too!! Just because some nurses are healthy, practice what they preach, doesn't mean in 10-15 years theyare going to drop dead of a heart attack, a stroke, or cancer. Don't judge me because of what I do, judge me by how I take care of my patients. when i see them struggling with the same vices as they are I can tell you who they won't listen, some rabbit food eating non-smoking skinny minny. they will however, listen to me and how I struggled and try to deal with it. recently, I seen a man who had part of his throat removed and was smoking through his trach. remeber we are all human. I don't think we should be put on some kind of pedestal just because we work in health care. and by the way, I carry febreeze with me to take care of the smell. no one seems to notice.
LOL, our hospital tried that smoke free environment ONCE. The bank across the street didnt like all the smokers in the ATM,heheh wonder why? Anyway,, we have designated areas now and everyone is happy except the people who have to clean up after the people who dont know how to dispose of their butts properly. Which i think is a bit rude considering they are giving people a place to smoke and furnishing the containers to put them out in.
Changing habits helps. If your family and friends smoke - stay away from them for a couple weeks.
Seriously.
The first 2 weeks are the worst for the physical cravings, from then on it's all in your head baby...
Oh man...let me tell my husband to leave for a couple of weeks. We'll see how well that goes over.
Sorry....don't mean to be a smart a$$, but sometimes you just can't avoid being around other smokers.
OH.....and to everyone: don't sit in the smokers section anywhere and cough and complain b/c of smoke..... wait, and sit on the other side of the restaurant.
and I know what I'm doing to my body. 
Yes, I do plan on quitting, but I don't want to RIGHT this second b/c I passed my boards..... 
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Nesher, BSN, RN
1 Article; 361 Posts
Changing habits helps. If your family and friends smoke - stay away from them for a couple weeks.
Seriously.
The first 2 weeks are the worst for the physical cravings, from then on it's all in your head baby...