Smoking has a huge impact on the overall health of a doctor and anybody else. Almost half of lifelong smokers tend to die early. Most lifelong smokers lose several months of their life expectancy for each year they smoke especially after attaining 35 years. What’s more, it is addictive both psychologically and physically.
Vaping, on the other hand, is relatively new and it has critics too. Some medical professionals are actually encouraging smokers to switch to vaping. That’s because they consider it a safer option for people that can’t quit smoking and vaping altogether. Research on the health impact of vaping is still being done. As such, it might take time before the long-term health impacts of vaping are understood.
Facts about Smoking and Vaping
Whether you smoke a traditional cigarette or use the best sub-OHM tank from Vapingdaily, you inhale nicotine. This nicotine causes several reactions. For instance, it increases epinephrine and dopamine levels. When these chemicals are released in high concentration, blood pressure, breathing rate, and heart rate increase. This increases the alertness level while making a person feel energized. This creates a nicotine buzz or rush.
When a doctor smokes or vapes for the first time, they experience what is known as the smoker’s high. This can be described as a short buzz with elevated mood, lightheadedness, and a pleasurable feeling. Unfortunately, nicotine is addictive.
The first nicotine intake raises the expectations of the brain in terms of how pleasure should feel or what it should be. A person tries to reach this pleasure level by smoking additional cigarettes or vaping more. That means they keep increasing their smoking or vaping rate to achieve the same pleasure level. Eventually, the pleasure threshold becomes higher. Consequently, the same dopamine release no longer provides the same pleasure level. This is one of the psychological impacts of nicotine on doctors that smoke or vape.
Smoking, Vaping, and Mental Health
A recent study established that individuals suffering from anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses are more likely to smoke or use e-cigarette than people without mental issues’ history. The study by the University of California researchers drew findings from a survey of the smoking habits of the Americans. Out of 10,041 respondents, only 14.8% of the persons with mental health disorders reported that they had attempted to use e-cigarette compared to 6.6% of the individuals that didn’t self-report their mental disorders history.
Generally, the elevated mental disorders’ rate of electronic cigarette users reflected the increased mental illness rates among smokers. The researchers further noted that people with mental disorders purchase more than 50% of the cigarettes that are sold in the United States annually. Majority of respondents said they had switched from smoking traditional cigarettes to an electronic cigarette as a way to quit smoking. However, vaping is yet to be approved by the FDA as a means to quit smoking.
How Vaping and Smoking Affects the Mental Health of Doctors
Doctors know how this affects their overall health. As such, a doctor can start using a sub-OHM tank as a way to avoid the negative effects of the traditional cigarette smoke. Unfortunately, the nicotine from an e-cigarette can have the same effect with nicotine from a traditional cigarette on the mental health of a doctor.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 32% of adults with mental disorders reported using tobacco compared to 23.3% of adults without mental illness in 2016. These included doctors that were smoking or had switched to vaping.
Nicotine, whether inhaled through smoking or vaping, has mood-altering effects. These effects put individuals with mental disorders at a higher risk of smoking more or becoming addicted to nicotine.
Nicotine has a relationship with some mental illnesses. For instance, nicotine has a relationship with anxiety and stress. Anxiety is basically a withdrawal symptom. A doctor can experience these symptoms within hours of their last cigarette or vaping session. If a doctor is a heavy smoker, this withdrawal symptom can happen much earlier.
Hyperventilation is a trigger for anxiety symptoms like panic attacks. These include chest pains, rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, and breathe shortness. These symptoms increase the anxiety feelings which can lead to a panic disorder. This can prompt the doctor to leave their workstation to smoke or use the best sub-OHM tank for flavor for fast nicotine satisfaction.
Doctors with mental illness have a higher likelihood of having low income and living or working under stressful living conditions. These factors make quitting more challenging for such doctors.
What’s more, nicotine can affect the treatment of some mental disorders. That’s because it can react with the medications for treating illnesses.
How Smoking and Vaping Affect Doctors with Mental Illness
People with mental illness are likely to smoke or use sub-OHM tanks than people without mental illness. Unfortunately, the nicotine inhaled from vaping or smoking affects dopamine levels which in turn affects conditions like depression. For instance, nicotine can increase the dopamine level thereby increasing the doctor’s feeling of well-being and pleasure. Unfortunately, this alters the normal dopamine pathways thereby causing mood disorders.
On the other hand, most schizophrenia sufferers smoke as a way of managing the symptoms of the illness. Others smoke to counteract the side effects of schizophrenia medication. Such effects include tremors, muscle spasms, and restlessness.
Unfortunately, recent research has shown that smoking can cause psychosis. This study supports the already mounting evidence showing that it increases suicide risk.
The Bottom Line
Smoking and vaping affect doctors the same way it affects other people. But, doctors know the negative effects of cigarette smoke on their respiratory system. As such, they may opt to use the top sub-OHM tanks. However, they still inhale nicotine, which can affect their mental health negatively. Generally, the nicotine inhaled through smoking or vaping alters the brain structure. That means it can manipulate or control behavior. It can also react with medications for some mental illnesses thereby affecting their effective treatment. Thus, smoking and vaping can affect the overall performance of doctors.
