Tec Instructors and Cigarettes

Hi All,

As an Instructor Trainer for both PADI and IANTD I've been noticing for a while that there is a high percentage of recreational Scuba Instructors I see that smoke cigarettes. Whilst I don't condone this as the healthiest of practices I accept that people, even scuba Instructors will smoke!

However my concern now is that I am seeing a high percentage of technical diving Instructors also smoking cigarettes and often during training. At Utila Dive Centre we do not allow any of our Instructors, recreational or technical to smoke on duty.

A technical diving Instructor teaches programs that allow us as divers to gently push our limits of training and to enter delicate models of decompression. This side of the sport is often more strenous, demanding, susceptible to DCS and requires a higher degree of physical fitness from both the diver and Instructor.

I'm looking for some feed back here, would anyone's choice of technical Instructor be influenced by the fact that they smoke?

Also if you are a technical Instructor and you do smoke how do you explain this to your students? Maybe a reference to the latest edition of the PADI Undersea Journal on health/fitness and technical diving might give some interesting reading.

Wonder if this should have been posted in the Instructors Only forum. But then, have you requested access to that yet?

I know, divers shouldn't smoke. But diving seems to attract a higher portion of people who like to live beyond accepted safe limits, which includes more smokers like me. :11:

Does the smoking affect the teaching? Granted, technical diving dictates that the diver should be in better physical shape. Not all are though. What about overweight tech instructors? What about older tech instructors? Or even women tech instructors (women being more prone to DCS)? I'm not condoning smoking, but as a former smoke, I know how difficult it can be to quit.

How do you explain it to your students - acknowledge that you are aware of the increased risks associated with smoking and leave it at that. It's a personal thing.

I just completed a technical course with an instructor that I think was sneaking off for a smoke on breaks. I understand why he did that, but it wasn't necessary. It's his choice. He was a good instructor and I will continue training with him.

DandyDon:

Wonder if this should have been posted in the Instructors Only forum. But then, have you requested access to that yet?

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If it was in that forum then it would be hard for potential students to answer the question!

To answer that question:
If I was looking for a technical instructor then I would be looking for skill, knowledge, experience, and an ability to teach (i.e. communicate). I'm not sure that whether someone smokes or not would effect that much. On the other hand, if I saw that they were so out of condition that they could hardly make it into the water with doubles on their back then it would certainly give me pause for thought. It's funny though because probably 75% of all the instructors I've seen (out of 40 to 50 or so) did smoke. They still had SAC rates that would make a tank last twice as long as most ordinairy divers. I know it's not good for diving - but there really are a lot of people who have done it for years and they aren't getting bent or injured in a higher proportion to those who don't, as far as I know.
Of course - GUE would agree with you completely!

GoProHonduras:

I'm looking for some feed back here, would anyone's choice of technical Instructor be influenced by the fact that they smoke?

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I care about my instructor's abilities as a teacher, about his/her technical competence, and about his/her ability to solve problems under water. I don't care if s/he smokes, as long as the smoke doesn't get blown into my face. Like several others have remarked, some of the best divers I have known (including one of my current instructors) are smokers. I would tell them to quit if they asked, but usually they don't...

GoProHonduras:

I'm looking for some feed back here, would anyone's choice of technical Instructor be influenced by the fact that they smoke?

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It would be well down the list and I would expect it to be overshadowed by other factors.

Now days we know that smoking is bad for you so whether your a diver or not it's not a very smart thing to do. It has also become politically incorrect and smokers are punished in an increasing number of bublic places and some employers are now attempting to forbid employees to even smoke in their own homes. I think that one might make it to the supreme court. I'm waiting for them to outlaw donuts for their over weight employees. Is there a blood test they can do to check up on them? LOL

The diseases and long term effects caused by smoking certainly can be a problem. We also know that carbon monoxide bonds with hemoglobin effecting the way the body handles oxygen so smoking and diving in the same time frame isn't optimal.

All well and good but how does being fat and/or just plain weak and out of shape effect diving? While the number of smokers is dropping the numbers of "out of shape" people seem to be increasing. It might make more sense to worry about the overall physical condition of your instructor...how far can they run, swim, how many pushups, pullups, situps ect, regardless of how they came to be in that condition.

Our society is full of pots that are calling the kettles black. The point, to me, is that an instructor should set a good example and pratice what he/she teaches. When they hand you a text that says that you should be in good phisical condition to dive or tech dive then the instructor should be in good condition. The older one gets the harder it is to stay in good condition and bad habits like smoking, too much time in front of the TV and too many donuts all make it that much harder.

When we accept all kinds of poor phisical specimens for students and instructors (and in fact encourage it with our marketing) it seems like bs to pick on the smokers.

When my wife and I got certified last summer every single one of the instructors smoked. And I don't mean the pansy filtered ones either. I mean the roll your own, no filter, camel killers. Now otoh, every one of them was in better physical shape than we were and had a lower sac rate than we did.

Whether they smoke or not is of no concern, and quite frankly none of anyones business but their own. Whether they are in good enough physical shape to effect a rescue and haul your butt out of the water if there's an accident is. In my mind that is the gating factor.

Have had this discussion a few times since I use tobacco..(smokeless but still)..
my argument is...
as a diver, would you rather have a buddy who is sated/calm/relaxed/_____(your own option) because he had a few cigs or would you dive with one who is dying for a cig, maybe even in withdrawal symptoms?

I know what my answer is...

Dragon2115:

When my wife and I got certified last summer every single one of the instructors smoked. And I don't mean the pansy filtered ones either. I mean the roll your own, no filter, camel killers. Now otoh, every one of them was in better physical shape than we were and had a lower sac rate than we did.

Whether they smoke or not is of no concern, and quite frankly none of anyones business but their own. Whether they are in good enough physical shape to effect a rescue and haul your butt out of the water if there's an accident is. In my mind that is the gating factor.

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See, now THAT is the kind of smoker that I like... no filters! I personally don't smoke, but I'm not a fanatic about it. I don't like people smoking in restaurants while I'm eating with them, but I'll have the occasional cigarette myself in a bar (outside of NYC), or on the sidewalk (in NYC!).

The main thing that I don't like about other people's smoking is the filters... that 99% of outdoor smokers seem to think that it's OK to throw filters around but wouldn't do the same thing with a gum wrapper! Really makes a beach look like an ashtray, IMHO.

SO, smoke 'em if you got 'em, but throw the butts away or go filterless... I have no problem with an instructor that indulges (as long as I don't have to budy breathe with him!). If every instructor had to pass a lifestyle test...

Mike