Are Smoking, Drugs Or Drinking a No-No For Singers? How a Singer's Vocal Health is Affected

A singer uses their human body as an musicalno tobacco. So far the health effects of this type of
instrument & thus it is crucial for a singer to remainsmoking are unknown & not studied. However
in the best health possible.nicotine is harmful to the body. My advice is to simply
Smoking, marijuana, drugs and alcohol are all known toavoid this type of smoking even if you use no nicotine
affect the human body.to smoke because the food additives used to produce
For singers, these factors have a very huge impactthe vaporized smoke could be harmful to the lungs
upon their vocal cords, singing voice & musical& vocal cords. In other words, better stay safe
ability. The impact is mostly negative...than sorry.
Let's first cover smoking cigarettes, cigars, hookah,Smoking is not a option for singers, especially for those
those new-trendy electric vaporized cigarettes &looking for a career in singing, it IS deadly. It will age you
marijuana.quicker, ruin your voice gradually, halt any improvement
Before we do that, it is important to understand thatyou might have seen from vocal lessons, & cause
ANY type of smoke is harmful to the vocal cords, thea loads of problems to your health.
lungs & the body. Smoke dehydrates the bodyBut...
which eventually dehydrates the vocal cordsWhat about marijuana? Many singers, musicians
themselves, it also reduces the flexibility of the vocal& entertainers use all types of drugs including
cords which makes it harder to coordinate the vocalmarijuana to "enhance" their creativity. They certainly
cords. In addition, smoke from ANY type of smoking-DO enhance their creativity & their talents
whether it's hookah or marijuana damages the tissuesskyrocket- different drug substances effect each
of the vocal cords gradually.person differently. However this positive effects are
Now that we've established the fact that any type ofSHORT-TERM. Gradually a higher drug dose will be
smoking is harmful to the voice. Lets cover how eachneeded to sustain the amount of creativity in music
different type of smoking affects the voice.& singing previously attained from a much smaller
Cigarettes- Optimal lung function is crucial in singers.dose.
Tobacco, nicotine & tar are all known to harm theIn addition, side effects will occur to the health
lungs. In addition, there are over 300 different types ofphysically & mentally.
chemicals which are poisonous, toxic &Singers, Musicians & Entertainers can achieve the
carcinogenic to the body found in cigarettes. Theseamount of creativity & talent they get from drugs
chemicals affect every little CELL in the body whichuse, long termly by learning how to meditate.
includes the vocal cords, voice box & the lungs ofThis is another topic & subject on it's own.
a singer.But getting back to drugs...
Cigars- Are not meant to be inhaled but the largeFor serious singers it is not an option at all! I can
amount of unfiltered smoke produced & tobaccounderstand why many famous singers have done
found in cigars cancels out any "protection" from notdrugs. I won't point any names but you must
inhaling the smoke. The smoke definitely reaches theunderstand that these effects are only obtained when
lungs & causes significant harm due to the largeyou are on the drugs & you will need more drugs
amount of unfiltered smoke. The vocal cords are mostto sustain the positive creative effects. Your mental,
affected from cigars. Ever notice why most cigarphysical & emotional health will start taking a toll.
smokers have a very raspy & beat -up voice?If you are looking at a career, you may have a few hit
Hookah- This smoking trend has gained popularitysingles from the result of your drug-induced creativity
among the young generation of college studentsbut that does NOT seem all very impressive...When
& high school students. If you are a singer, hookahyou realize that you CAN achieve the same amount
is extremely harmful. Despite the never-ending mythof creativity by learning how to do it naturally without
that hookah is completely harmless since it contains nothe use of drugs.
tobacco, hookah IS harmful. I've looked up all theMoving on to alcohol...this again has the same side
scientific studies & research into this, a hookaheffect & consequences as drugs if abused.
produces large amounts of toxic substances whichAlcohol drunk responsibly & in reasonable
gradually ruins health BUT... for singers it is very harshamounts will not harm a singer.
on the voice & quickly stiffens, dehydrates &Coming to the conclusion, is smoking, drugs or drinking
toughens the vocal cords. The amount of smokeirresponsibly acceptable for singers?
& chemicals produced from hookah are all veryFrom a subjective point of view you can certainly
harmful to the vocal cords, even more so than cigarsargue it to your favor BUT....from a OBJECTIVE point
& cigarettes.of view it defiantly is not recommended for the serious
Electric Vaporized Cigarettes, Cigars, & Pipes-singer, performer, entertainer and/or musician.
This new technology uses vaporized smoke producedI hope any singers may take this piece of advice for
by either food additives & contains nicotine withtheir own good.