Why do ballet dancers smoke?

INTRO

Since my dance specialty was ballet, I will be talking about ballerinas and ballet dancers, but I am sure that dancers of other dance genre smoke, too.

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I have seen many dancers smoke during their breaks. When I ask them why they smoke, the popular responses were: 
     "Because I'm stressed" and "I'm trying to lose weight"

One of my dancer friend from a prestige ballet school in Japan also smoked. As he complained about the price of cigarettes in the States, he explained, "my teacher is very strict and borderline abusive. In my studio, kids start smoking at age 14 to deal with the stress." 

Let's look at their reasons and break it down…

• "Because I'm stressed"

     There has been studies that explained that smokers are more stressed than nonsmokers. However, these findings were challenged since smokers could have started smoking because they were stressed. BUT, there are sources that suggest that smokers are stressed because they are experiencing withdrawal to nicotine, and smoking relieves the stress because they intake nicotine again, suppressing the withdrawal. 
     So, if you think about it, it's better for you not to start smoking… ever! You will be adding stress to your system.

• "I'm trying to lose weight"

     Many ballerinas believe that smoking kills appetite. Since body shape can determine if you get to keep your job as a dancer or not, it is understandable for them to cling on to anything they believe would help them lose weight and keep them skinny or well-defined. 

    One study published in 2005 monitored weight loss and appetite on mice after smoking cigarettes. On the first day, the mice ate less. On the second day, the weight loss became evident. Smoking also decreased plasma leptin (hormone that tells you you're full) by 34%. So… I guess it works?

BUT WAIT!!!!

Is it actually worth it?

WHY DANCERS SHOULDN'T SMOKE

Now, I'm not going to bore you with a bunch of facts your high school teachers or D.A.R.E. told you in health class. But I will give you reasons why you shouldn't based on what you actually need to be able to be a healthy dancer. 

• You need to breathe to dance, right?

     At least in ballet, breathing is essential not only to stay alive, but also to send signals to other dancers. The movement of the chest is big enough to be able be detected from meters away or even in the corner of their eyes. Why does corps ballet look synchronized? Why can partners move together in pas de deux? It's because they breathe.

     Now, as you may know, smoking can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This affects the way you breathe because then, you will be coughing more and you would have to work your muscles just to breathe during exercise. COPD can also make you feel tired. 

     So what kind of graceful dancer wheezes, coughs, and gets tired? 

• Your body won't be able to use Vitamin C

     One of many side effects of smoking is the change in the Vitamin C composition. Nicotine will manipulate Vitamin C so that the body will not be able to absorb, store, or use Vitamin C. You ate grapefruits for breakfast? That's nice. But if you smoke, you might as well just sniff it instead. 

     So why should you care about Vitamin C? People rarely get scurvy these days. 

     Vitamin C helps cells produce collagen and other protein fibers that promote elasticity and strength. Since skin has many fibers, this could explain the reason why smokers look old and wrinkly than nonsmokers. Why would any directors cast you when you look 10 years older for a character who's supposed to be 15, like Romeo and Juliet?  How your skin looks might not be your main concern since you can cake your face with makeup. But fibers make up many tissues in your body such as bones, cartilages, and ligaments. That means if you get injured, and you want to recover ASAP, you're relying on cells to lay fibers down on the injured site to repair damages. 

     No Vitamin C --> less fibers --> longer recovery. That can't be good for your career. 

SUMMARY

     The reasons I listed are not even the full list. There are many, many things that can go wrong. So next time, instead of smoking, or thinking of start smoking, remember that it's really not worth it. If you want a high-quality dancing career, I'd stay away from it. There are many things you cannot control, but what you put in your body is probably one of the few things you have control over. 

REFERENCE

Chen, H., Vlahos, R., Bozinovski, S., Jones, J., Anderson, G. P., & Morris, M. J. (2005). Effect of short-term cigarette smoke exposure on body weight, appetite and brain neuropeptide Y in mice. Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 30(4), 713-719. doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1300597

McCann, N., & Lester, D. (1996). Smoking and stress: Cigarettes and marihuana. Psychological Reports, 79(2), 366-366. doi:10.2466/pr0.1996.79.2.366

Parrott, A. (1994). Does cigarette smoking increase stress?Addiction (Abingdon, England), 89(2), 142-144. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1994.tb00870.x

Parrott, A. C. (1999). Does cigarette smoking cause stress?American Psychologist, 54(10), 817-820. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.10.817

Parrott, A. C. (2000). Cigarette smoking does cause stress. The American Psychologist, 55(10), 1159. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.10.1159

PELLETIER, O. (1970). Cigarette smoking and vitamin C.Nutrition Today, 5(3), 12-15. doi:10.1097/00017285-197000530-00002