Does Your Voice Change When You Smoke?

At this point, we all know smoking is bad for your health.

It’s been well documented over the years.

So we know we’re not saying anything new here.

But what you might not know is how smoking can affect your voice.

At Forte Speech & Language Therapy, our speech pathologists know all too well how that works.

Here on our blog, we focus on addressing different speech and language disorders.

But this week, we’re talking about smoking.

In case you needed another reason to quit, let’s take a look at smoking.

Does your voice change when you smoke?

Can you permanently damage your voice from smoking?

And will your voice improve if you quit smoking?

Let’s take a look at each of these questions and how speech therapy can help.

How Does Smoking Tobacco Change Your Voice?

There is more than one way that smoking tobacco can change your voice.

We’ll go through some of the more common effects that smoking has on your voice below.

It Causes “Smoker’s Voice”

“Smoker’s voice” is the most commonly associated vocal change that occurs after smoking.

It’s when your voice becomes raspy and deeper after smoking for a long time.

Why do smokers have a different voice?

It’s caused by the swelling of your vocal folds in your larynx, which are irritated by the act of smoking.

RELATED ARTICLE: How The Larynx Impacts Speech: A Speech Pathologist’s Perspective

If your vocal folds are swollen, then that means that they have a higher water content.

This added water content is what contributes to the deepening of your voice when speaking or singing.

Over time, using your vocal folds to speak or sing while swollen puts added stress on them.

This makes it more likely that they will bleed or scar as you use them.

The result is that your vocal range drops and it’s no longer possible for you to use the upper registers of your voice.

Chronic smoking increases the chances for this change to become permanent.

Part of “smoker’s voice” is also “smoker’s cough”.

This is what happens when the little hairs in your throat, called cilia, get coated in tar from your cigarettes and are unable to clear the phlegm in your throat.

That is the main purpose of your cilia, to control the accumulation of phlegm in your throat.

“Smoker’s cough” is your body’s solution to removing the excess phlegm in your throat.

This gets the job done, but can sound very loud and jarring to those around you.

It also further irritates your vocal folds.

2. It Shrinks Your Lung Capacity

Your lung capacity will be reduced if you consistently smoke.

You might notice this effect during your day to day when you go up the stairs, walk briskly, or exercise.

It may also be harder for you to sing or play a wind instrument because your reduced lung capacity won’t allow you to push as much air through your vocal folds as usual.

The effect of smoking on your lung capacity is perhaps the greatest impact of smoking on your body.

But, the good news is that if you stop smoking, you can recover at least some of your lung capacity with time.

3. It Can Cause Vocal Fold Nodules Or Polyps

Smoking can cause vocal fold nodules or polyps to form.

A vocal fold polyp is a bump or growth on your vocal folds caused by overusing them.

It can look like a blister, an elongated growth, or a swollen bump.

Having one vocal fold polyp can create another one, due to your vocal folds rubbing against the first one.

Smoking increases your chances of getting one because it makes your vocal folds swell, which can contribute to the rubbing.

A vocal fold nodule is a benign growth on your vocal folds that is often smaller than a vocal fold polyp.

They aren’t cancerous.

But having either of these can make it harder for your vocal folds to vibrate, which can lead to voice problems.

Common symptoms of both a vocal fold polyp or nodule are:

• Breathiness while speaking
• Changes in your vocal tone towards harsh, rough, or scratchy
• Pain from ear to ear while speaking
• Neck pain
• Vocal and body fatigue
• Challenges controlling your vocal pitch
• Voice loss

4. It Can Cause Laryngeal Cancer

Being a chronic smoker can cause laryngeal cancer.

This type of cancer affects your larynx, which is the part of your throat that houses your vocal cords.

It is also responsible for your ability to speak, breathe, and swallow.

Like other cancers, laryngeal cancer occurs when the cells within your larynx grow uncontrollably and damage the tissues of your body.

It’s also possible for this cancer to spread beyond your throat if it’s not caught early.

The worrying part is that it’s easy to miss the early signs of this particular cancer.

That’s because the most common symptom can be easily mistaken as being caused by many other conditions, including the common cold.

A hoarse voice is the most common symptom of laryngeal cancer.

Especially one that doesn’t improve after a few weeks.

Some other possible symptoms include:

• Vocal changes with no known cause
• Pain or difficulty swallowing
• Dysphonia
• Ear pain
• A lump in your neck or throat

5. It Can Cause Lung Cancer

Smoking can also cause lung cancer.

The uncontrollable growth of cancerous cells can lead to tumors forming in your lungs.

Like all cancers, it can spread to other parts of your body if left untreated.

Unlike laryngeal cancer, lung cancer doesn’t usually cause early symptoms.

They often only show up during the advanced stages of the disease.

These symptoms include:

• Chronic coughing
• Chest pain
• Chronic hoarse voice
• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Coughing up blood

What Happens To Your Voice If You Quit Smoking?

The good news is that even though smoking is terrible for your voice, in most cases the effects can be reversed when you quit.

Quitting smoking often facilitates a dramatic improvement to your lung capacity and overall health.

But, it can take a few months for your vocal cord and larynx irritation to fully get better.

The length of time that you spent smoking will affect how long it takes for your voice to bounce back.

Staying hydrated, managing allergies, and reducing your acid reflux are some ways that you can help your larynx and vocal cords heal faster.

If you need help quitting smoking, the California Department of Public Health has free resources available.

Is Vaping Bad For Your Voice?

Vaping is still a relatively new activity.

As a result, there’s not a lot of evidence for what effects, if any, that vaping has on your voice.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a healthy alternative.

As the Memphis Center for Cosmetic Dentistry points out in their blog “Is Vaping Bad For You?” vapes still have nicotine in them.

That means they’re just as addictive as cigarettes.

As well, research suggests it has a similar negative effect on your lungs.

Anecdotal evidence suggests it’s just as bad for your voice as cigarettes as well.

For that reason, a vape is not a good alternative to a cigarette.

Is Cannabis Bad For Your Voice?

Likewise, there is not a lot of evidence for the effect of cannabis on your voice.

Ongoing research is working to determine the health risks of cannabis.

Of course, inhaling smoke of any kind is not good for your voice.

But cannabis may be less harmful just by the nature of its use.

In general, people who smoke cigarettes will smoke several a day.

That doesn’t give your body much time to recover.

On the other hand, people who smoke cannabis might use it once or twice a week.

But again, we want to emphasize that smoking anything is not good for your lungs or your voice.

Book Your Appointment With Our Speech Therapy Clinic Today

Smoking doesn’t just affect your lungs—it can have lasting consequences on your voice, your larynx, and your ability to communicate.

From hoarseness to vocal fold damage and even cancer, the risks are real.

If you’ve noticed your voice has suffered as a result of a smoking habit, we can help.

The good news? In many cases, your voice can recover with the right support and care.

Our speech therapy team offers speech therapy for adults with a wide range of speech and language concerns.

Book your appointment with Forte Speech & Language Therapy today and let our speech therapists in Los Angeles help you find your voice again.