Social smokers, this is what those weekend cigs are really doing to your body

A few drags when you’ve had one too many. A cheeky cigarette on a sunny day. But you’re a still a non-smoker… right?

According to a 2024 study, over a third of adults who currently smoke, or have quit in the past year in England, identify as social smokers.

But while some might find comfort in the term — swearing only to whip out a Vogue or Marlboro after a couple of pints — there’s evidence to suggest you could still be doing damage to your health.

In fact, Dr Suzanne Wylie, GP and medical adviser, highlights that ‘the body does not distinguish between a daily smoker and someone who smokes intermittently’.

So ,while you might keep this sneaky habit to beer gardens only, your gums don’t know that — and your lungs definitely won’t get the memo.

How can just one single cigarette affect the body?

Dr Suzanne from IQdoctor, warns that each cigarette you smoke means introducing a lot of nasty toxins into your body.

She tells Metro: ‘Each exposure to tobacco smoke delivers nicotine, carbon monoxide, tar and a wide range of toxic chemicals that have immediate and cumulative effects.

‘Research has shown that the cardiovascular system reacts almost immediately to tobacco smoke — even one cigarette.’

While dose does matter, and Dr Suzanne says ‘someone smoking 20 a day is at far greater risk’, the affects of smoking ‘begin with the very first cigarette.’

She continues: ‘If someone were to smoke a single cigarette, the immediate effects on the body would include a transient rise in heart rate and blood pressure, constriction of blood vessels, and a temporary reduction in oxygen delivery due to carbon monoxide exposure.’

All this ultimately contributes to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Cancer is also a massive factor to consider – and isn’t deterred by the fact you only have a cigarette when the footie is on.

‘Even low-level smoking increases the risk of cancers of the lung, mouth, throat and oesophagus, and when combined with alcohol in social settings, the carcinogenic effects are amplified,’ she says.

Dr Suzanne does add though that if someone smoked around ten cigarettes a month for a year and then stopped completely, in most cases the body would recover very well.

‘These changes are short lived in a healthy person and the body will largely recover within hours to days — so one isolated cigarette is extremely unlikely to cause permanent measurable damage in an otherwise well individual.

‘The cardiovascular system begins to improve within days to weeks of stopping.’

How many is too many?

So is one fag on the weekend okay then? How about five? Or 10? Unfortunately, it’s not an exact science – so it’s hard to properly quantify.

But Dr Suzanne warns ‘there is no safe threshold.’ She continues: ‘Even though the absolute risk from a single event is very small, one exposure triggers inflammatory changes within the vascular lining and oxidative stress at a cellular level.’

So adds that ‘even very low levels of exposure, for example one cigarette in a day, or even smoking occasionally such as a few cigarettes over a weekend,’ can be enough to impact your health.

Is it really just ‘one’?

Due to the highly addictive nature of nicotine, social smokers are inherently more likely to escalate their habit.

So, just because you only smoke on a casual basis now, you might very well become a full-time smoker further down the line.

‘Risk is not binary, and what concerns us clinically is not so much the one off cigarette, but the behavioural trajectory,’ Dr Suzanne says.

‘Repeated “just one” scenarios can gradually shift into a pattern of intermittent or regular smoking, and it is that sustained exposure over years that meaningfully alters long term health outcomes.’

Smoking and fertility

Some social smokers might also be interested to know that smoking just a small number of cigarettes can have an impact on your fertility.

Dr Suzanne says: ‘In women, tobacco toxins can accelerate ovarian aging by increasing follicular loss and reducing ovarian reserve, meaning that the number and quality of eggs decline more quickly than they otherwise would.

‘In men, it’s linked to reduced sperm count, reduced motility, and increased DNA fragmentation within sperm, all of which can impair fertility and increase miscarriage risk.’

Smoking cigarettes is also associated with earlier menopause, reduced success rates with natural conception and IVF, and a higher risk of miscarriage.

Is smoking making a comeback?

There’s been a downward trend when it comes to smoking habits in the UK, partially down to society’s changing attitudes towards health as well as the growth in popularity of alternatives such as vaping or snus.

According to the Office of National Statistics, in 2024, around 5.3 million people aged 18 years and over (10.6%) smoked cigarettes in the UK – the lowest proportion of current smokers since records began in 2011.

However, in corners of pop culture and in the everyday lives of millennials (who continue to have the highest proportion of current smokers in the UK) smoking is becoming ‘cool’ again.

Celebrities like Charli XCX and Addison Rae play a big role in this, not just being ‘caught’ having a ciggie on their days off, but actively incorporating smoking culture into their brands – romanticising it and eternally interlinking cigarettes with cool girl culture.

There’s even an entire Instagram page dedicated to people’s favourite ‘cigfluencers’, featuring pictures of celebrities either posing with cigarettes or taking a few puffs whilst seen in the wild.

But holding onto the supposedly cool ‘social smoker’ label for dear life, means you could could face hard truths later down the line.

Dr Suzanne notes that she often sees individuals come to her clinic who began as social smokers in their 20s and 30s, and are surprised to later find that their cardiovascular risk profile, lung function or fertility has been affected as a result.

Dr Suzanne concludes: ‘Ultimately, while the pattern of use may be different, the harm is not negligible, and it is important for patients to understand that “only socially” does not equate to safe.’

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