Sure, smoking can be chic – if you’re Audrey Hepburn in “”Breakfast at Tiffany’s.””

But that was the 1960s, and studies have shown smoking cigarettes can deteriorate your life with unwanted effects like impotence and early aging.

Some students begin smoking when they get to college, some of them because they think it looks cool, some for other reasons.

“”I probably started sophomore year of college,”” said political science senior Derek Baird. “”I don’t think I’ll smoke the rest of my life. It’s just a phase.””

A report published Oct. 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that men who smoke die younger and live a poorer quality of life than those who never smoked, according to lead researcher Dr. Arto Y. Strandberg .

The study was done on 1,658 men over a period of 26 years.

“”A truly accurate study would use both genders in the same study,”” said Lynn Reyes, clinical social worker and substance abuse counselor at Campus Health. “”But from my experience, smoking is smoking and it’s not good for people – male or female.””

Adult male and female smokers lost an average of 13.2 and 14.5 years of life, respectively, because they smoked, according to a report published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“”Smoking clears my head if I’m reading or writing a paper,”” said economics senior Ryan Russell. “”I think that only happens once you smoke cigarettes, not right when you start.””

The myths surrounding cigarette smoking, such as smoking makes you skinnier or smoking a joint is healthier than smoking cigarettes, may not hold any truth.

“”Any kind of smoke can be damaging to our lungs or respiratory system,”” Reyes said. “”And those kinds of things in your lungs is damaging. You have toxins in smoke, whether it’s marijuana smoke or tobacco, and our lungs aren’t made to sweep away a lot of that.””

Some students have different opinions.

“”I think marijuana is much healthier for you,”” Baird said. “”It doesn’t have the harmful chemicals or have any long-term effects like cigarettes.””

All seem to agree, however, that smoking is not some magic diet pill.

“”You’re still hungry,”” Russell said. “”But it definitely suppresses your appetite.””

Unfortunately, gentlemen, Reyes said smoking does affect blood flow and circulation, which can damage arteries and cause impotence.

“”Impotence, or the ability to have an erection, depends on good arteries and good blood circulation,”” she said. “”So if you’re doing something that impacts that, then of course it’s going to impact blood flow and circulation.””

It’s a well-known fact smoking isn’t good for you. So save your beauty and dating life and snipe the cig.