How does smoking affect my singing?

This is a great question, I get asked frequently by singers if it's ok to smoke and sing!

Truth is, smoking is not the best for you in any way, shape or form.  There really is no way to beat about that bush, it's bad for you!  If you want to be a singer, it's just not going to help you advance your career, and may very well do just the opposite.

So what does it do?

Breathing: - First and foremost, smoking affects your breathing, and as we know, breath is the fuel for your voice.  The lungs contain little fibres, called Cilia, which help to move debris from the lungs.  When you smoke, these fibres are damaged, so they don't work, debris sits in your lungs and you have to work extra hard to cough it out, hence, smokers cough.




 

The Vocal Cords: - The vocal cords are what create the pitch, their resonance is what creates the notes as the air from your lungs passes through.  They are pale in colour and covered in a slight mucos, which helps them to vibrate.  In a healthy voice, this movement is effortless.  If you smoke, you can disrupt the blood flow in the vocal cords, and they can become inflamed, a-symmetric and dry. 

 

 

This is when you notice changes to your voice, you sound hoarse, or dry and no matter how much water you drink, it doesn't go away.  The swelling in the cords and the a-symmetry, (as seen in the diagram), mean that the cords cannot vibrate together freely, and do not come together cleanly, instead there may be airy gaps in the process, which can alter desired pitches, or may make a note sound like it has an overtone as two pitches can be created.

It's not about fear, but if you want to sing, best to drop the ciggies!