I already wrote about the effects of Alcohol and what the courses like Singorama and Singing Success have to say about them.
If you don't smoke you are lucky enough, if you Smoke then giving it up for Singing is a worthwhile cause.
Remember that whatever you breathe moves directly through the vocal folds and affects them accordingly. Smoke of any kind is hot and toxic. It causes burning, drying and irritation which in turn causes the vocal folds to swell making a good singing tone difficult at first and over time impossible for the habitual smoker. Young peoples' bodies seem to be resilient and thus young singers who smoke may not notice any ill effects, so they may think that smoking isn't doing them or their voice any harm. What they don't understand is that the damage that is being done to the vocal folds and the breathing mechanism is cumulative and often cannot be reversed once they notice problems singing. My advice is to find a way to quit smoking immediately.
Stop Smoking Now!
