[neilep (OP)]

Now I'm a happy non smoker !! (well apart from the odd medicinal joint !![])....but why is it that people who smoke such a lot often have a gravely voice like they've swallowed a load of gravel...is it a throaty thing ?....there's this girly I know and she smokes more than an industrial chimney on overtime and her voice is so croaky it's awful to listen to......she feels well, no coughing and spluttering just a voice that a giant would be envious of !!!..is it permanently like that ?...in other words if she was to stop smoking would it eventually return to normal.

Your smoke free non passive answers are most welcome.

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[DrN]

well, smokers have a higher risk of throat cancer, so i suspect the smoke has negative effects on cells in the throat, which may include the vocal chords. The air rushes over the vocal chord to make sound when we speak, so anything in that air, i.e. toxic fumes! are going to be in contact with them.

thought I'd reply as no-one else had! perhaps you're all smokers and don't want to think about it!

[neilep (OP)]

THANK YOU LINDSAY !!!..thanks for at least acknowledging my existence on this topic !!!...I reckon you're right...they're all too busy puffing away and sending each other smoke signals to bother with this one !!![]....but thanks for your answer.

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[chris]

Sorry for the delay Neil - I needed to verify the answer to this one because you had found something I didn't know !

The reason is that the irritants present in smoke cause thickening of the vocal folds (cords) so that they vibrate at a lower frequency - producing that characteristic husky laugh (see Marge Simpson's sisters !)

More seriously, persistent 'new' hoarseness in a smoker can be a hallmark of cancer. Lung cancer can sometimes damage the left recurrent laryngeal nerve which passes close to the left lung. This nerve supplies the left vocal cord. If damaged the cord becomes flaccid and paralysed.

The vocal folds themselves can also be affected by malignancies - cancers can develop directly on the cords in response to persistent exposure to the carcinogens in cigarette smoke.

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[sprite190582]

which bit of a cigarette can cause cancer? tar? Nicotine? Carbon Monoxide?

Alex

[neilep (OP)]

Thanks Chris.....No apology necessary at all ...i'm just being silly me that's all !!..and thank you as always for your incisive answers *yeuuch !!..ingratiate mode*

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[DrN]

not sure Alex (I expect someone will know), but i read that Nicotine actually promotes aggressiveness of breast cancer caused by smoking. so all these people on nicotine patches thinking they're doing themselves a favour should take care!

[qazibasit]

well i like smoky voices like van diesel.

[voicedoctor]

The reason people still sound like smokers even after they have quit smoking is that long term exposure of the vocal folds to cigarette smoke causes build up of a jelly-like substance under the cover of the vocal fold. This causes heaviness or increase in mass of the vocal folds which lowers the frequency of vibration (just like a thicker guitar string). Sometimes there is a precancerous thickening of the skin of the cover that also causes roughness or heaviness to the voice, and sometimes there may even be an early cancer. All of these conditions can be treated with a new green light laser (KTP laser) to restore normal anatomic vibration and raise pitch. It is a nice thing to do for women who are tired of being mistaken for men on the telephone!

[jccc]

Smokers are heading to grave, so sound so.