WAYS SMOKING AFFECTS YOUR RELATIONSHIP

(YourTango.com) How has smoking affected your relationship? Is your bad habit getting in the way of your love life? As someone who has been both the smoker and the nonsmoker in relationships, I can tell you plenty of disadvantages to the act that are beyond the mere health risks -- all of which should signify that it's time to quit anyway. But I know that I needed a lot of other reasons that I could actually see and experience right away to help encourage me to quit, since the accompanying health problems tend to come about a lot slower and feel less tangible until it's often too late. Sadly, smoking definitely affects relationships, too; just another reason to drop the habit, right?

1. Bedtime

When I was in a relationship with a guy who didn't smoke, I was a moderate- to heavy-smoker (6-7 cigarettes a day). He would always complain how hard it was to hold me while we were sleeping because at the end of the day, my hair always smelled like cigarettes unless I took a shower right before bed. This was frustrating, as sometimes I would come home exhausted and didn't feel like doing so until the next morning, so we would wind up simply not cuddling that night, which both of us genuinely loved doing. It created a disconnect and we often felt that lack of closeness when we woke up.

2. Clothing & Furniture

Your partner does not want his clothes, sheets or furniture to smell like cigarette smoke, and vice versa -- trust me. Even if you used to be a smoker and were previously used to the smell, it's still unappealing to have that scent linger all around you. Either way, it's inconvenient (as trips to the laundry room or Laundromat become tedious, yet necessary) and unpleasant.

3. Illness

Obviously, people who smoke have to worry about heart disease, lung disease and other serious issues, but in general, smokers just plain get sick more often. While your partner will likely be a-okay with taking care of you, it's not exactly fun to deal with a person who perpetually gets colds and could likely avoid many of them if only he or she would just quit smoking. 4. Sexual Endurance When I was in college, I dated a guy who smoked every day. I wasn't smoking at the time in an attempt to get healthy, and was exercising frequently to help that goal. He also worked out constantly, but because of his smoking, his sexual endurance gradually lessened as he was less able to perform strenuous activities without huffing and puffing and taking breaks. This was noticeably frustrating and decreased our sexual activity -- leaving us both unsatisfied.

5. Birth Control

You know how birth control commercials always state that women over 25 should not smoke while on the pill, NuvaRing, OrthoEvra patch, etc.? That's for a good reason. There is evidence that birth control's effectiveness can lessen or even cause heart problems when you're a smoker, depending on conditions such as the type of birth control, your age and the amount you smoke per day. Don't take a risk with your body like that; stick to the pill, not the pack.

6. Life Expectancy

Should you be lucky enough to find the one person you want to stay with and decide to spend the rest of your life with him, you want that life to be long. You want it to be long and fulfilled and happy, right up until the non-premature end, right? Well, the risk of lung cancer death in female smokers has increased in recent years, so the longer you continue to smoke, the less time you'll have with your partner. On the flip side, the sooner you quit, the more time you can count on.