I recently learned that Sweden is now classified as a smoke-free country 🌍, with less than five percent of the adult population smoking regularly. This is fantastic news! 🎉 Smoking is undeniably one of the worst things for your health, both from a Western medical and an Ayurvedic perspective. It harms nearly every organ in the body 🚭 and is strongly associated with cancer and cardiovascular disease, which are the leading causes of death today.
From an Ayurvedic viewpoint, smoking has several detrimental effects:
- It creates an imbalance in all three doshas. Initially, it mainly affects vata through dehydration and nerve damage and pitta through heat, toxicity, and inflammation. Over time, it can lead to serious kapha symptoms, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer.
- It impedes the flow of prana, our life force ✨.
- It causes ama-like blockages in the srotas, the body's channels.
- It depletes the body of ojas, the finest substance that is closest to consciousness. This depletion can lead to premature aging, reduced fertility, fatigue, and a weakened immune system.
- It disturbs agni, the digestive fire 🔥, leading to digestive issues.
- It initially increases rajas (characterised by restlessness, impatience, and irritation) and ultimately leads to an overload of tamas (which includes sluggishness, lethargy, and selfishness).
In Ayurveda, there are rasayanas—substances that promote longevity and health 🌱. Smoking acts as the perfect antithesis of a rasayana, producing completely opposite effects. I commend the youth of Sweden for being wise enough to avoid this harmful habit. 👏
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