Please Don`t Smoke…=.Effects of smoking, how to try & quit smoking=Please Don`t Smoke…

Please Don`t Smoke…=.Effects of smoking, how to try & quit smoking=Please Don`t Smoke…

 

  Effects of smoking, how to try & quit smoking

The effects of smoking on human health are serious and in many cases, deadly. There are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarettes, hundreds of which are toxic. The ingredients in cigarettes affect everything from the internal functioning of organs to the efficiency of the body's immune system. The effects of cigarette smoking are destructive and widespread.

Smoking Effects on the Human Body

Toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body, causing damage in several different ways.

·         Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and even in the breast milk.

·         Carbon monoxide mixes with hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing affected cells from carrying a full load of oxygen.

·         Cancer-causing agents’ carcinogens in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly. Carcinogens mix with major organs of the smokers.

·         Smoking affects the function of the immune system and may increase the risk for respiratory and other infections.

·         There are several likely ways that cigarette smoke does its damage. One is oxidative stress that mutates DNA, promotes atherosclerosis, and leads to chronic lung injury. Oxidative stress is thought to be the general mechanism behind the aging process, contributing to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD is a disease in which the airways and tiny air sacs inside the lungs are partially obstructed or destroyed).

The body produces antioxidants to help repair damaged cells. Smokers have lower levels of antioxidants in their blood than the nonsmokers. Smoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation.

·         More than the lungs & cancer related diseases, it’s the heart that is the main sufferer. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among the smokers. Most of the smoking related deaths are heart related.

Let's take a look at how cigarette smoke affects our bodies, from head to toe. You may be surprised at some of the ways smoking has a negative impact on our health.

1. Hair: Smell and staining.

2. Brain and Mental Effects: Stroke, addiction, altered brain chemistry, anxiety about harm    caused by smoking.

3. Eyes: Eyes that sting water and blink more, macular degeneration, cataracts.

4. Nose: Less sense of smell.

5. Thyroid: thyroid disease.

6. Skin: wrinkles, premature ageing.

7. Teeth: stains, plaque, loose teeth, gum diseases.

8. Mouth and Throat:

·        Cancers of the lips, mouth, throat, & larynx, esophagus.

·        Sore throat, reduced sense of taste.

·        Breath smells of smoke.

9. Hands: Poor circulation (cold fingers), hardening of the arteries, tar strained fingers.

10. Respiration and Lungs:

·        Lung cancer.

·        Copd (includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema i.e. air sacks of lungs gets damaged).

·        Cough & sputum, shortness of breath, colds & flu, pneumonia, asthma.

·        Complicates tuberculosis.

11. Heart:

·        Harms, blocks, & weakens the arteries of the heart, heart attack.

12. Liver: Cancer.

13. Abdomen: Stomach & duodenal ulcers, cancer of stomach, pancreas & colon. Aortic aneurysm. (The large blood vessel that supplies blood to the abdomen, pelvis, and legs becomes abnormally large or balloons outward).

 14. Kidneys and bladder: Kidney & bladder cancer.

15. Bones & spine: Osteoporosis, hip fractures, spine degeneration.

16. Male reproduction: deformity, loss of motility, reduced sperm count, Infertility, impotence.

17. Female reproduction:  Period pains, earlier menopause, cancer of cervix, infertility & delay in conception.

  18. Blood: Leukemia.

19. Legs and Feet: Gangrene, thrombosis.

20. Immune System: Weakened immune system.

The effects of smoking hold additional risks for women. Those who smoke throughout their pregnancies increase the risk of: Abortion, miscarriage, premature birth etc, premature rupture of the membranes, still born, baby’s brain damage, baby’s limb reduction & many other birth defects.

Easy to Start, Hard to Quit

 Why do people smoke? Because nicotine acts in the brain where it can stimulate feelings of pleasure.

Nicotine affects the entire body. Nicotine acts directly on the heart to change heart rate and blood pressure. It also acts on the nerves that control respiration to change breathing patterns. In high concentrations, nicotine is deadly; in fact one drop of purified nicotine on the tongue will kill a person. It's so lethal that it has been used as a pesticide for centuries.

Did you know that nicotine is as addictive as heroin or cocaine? If someone uses nicotine again and again, such as by smoking cigarettes or cigars or chewing tobacco, his or her body develops a tolerance for it. Eventually, a person can become addicted. Once a person becomes addicted, it is extremely difficult to quit. People who start smoking before the age of 21 have the hardest time quitting, and fewer than 1 in 10 people who try to quit smoking succeed.

When nicotine addicts stop smoking they may suffer from restlessness, hunger, depression, headaches, and other uncomfortable feelings. These are called "withdrawal symptoms" because they happen when nicotine is withdrawn from the body.

Withdrawal may be bad, but long-term smoking can be much worse. It raises your blood pressure, dulls your senses of smell and taste, reduces your stamina, and wrinkles your skin. More dangerously, long-term smoking can lead to fatal heart attacks, strokes, emphysema, and cancer.

You may be surprised to learn that tobacco use causes far more illnesses and death than all other addicting drugs combined. One out every six deaths in the United States is a result of smoking.

But even when faced with risk of death, many people keep using tobacco because they are so addicted to nicotine. Believe it or not, half of the smokers who have heart attacks keep smoking, even though their doctor warns them to stop. That's a strong addiction!

Smokeless tobacco also has harmful effects. Chewing tobacco can cause damage to gum tissue and even loss of teeth. It also reduces a person's ability to taste and smell. Most importantly, smokeless tobacco contains cancer causing-chemicals that can cause cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus. This can even happen in very young users of chewing tobacco. In fact, most people who develop these cancers were users of chewing tobacco.

How to Quit Smoking:

Whether you’re a teen smoker or a lifetime pack a day smoker, quitting can be tough. But with the right game plan tailored to your needs, you can replace your smoking habits, manage your cravings, and join the millions of people who have kicked the habit for good.

Smoking tobacco is both a psychological habit and a physical addiction. The act of smoking is deep-rooted as a daily ritual and, at the same time, the nicotine from cigarettes provides a temporary, and addictive, high. Eliminating that regular fix of nicotine will cause your body to experience physical withdrawal symptoms and cravings. To successfully quit smoking, you’ll need to address both the habit and the addiction by changing your behavior and dealing with nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Managing unpleasant feelings such as stress, depression, loneliness, fear, and anxiety are some of the most common reasons why adults smoke. When you have a bad day, it can seem like cigarettes are your only friend. Smoking can temporarily make feelings such as sadness, stress; anxiety, depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air. As much comfort as cigarettes provide, though, it’s important to remember that there are healthier (and more effective) ways to keep unpleasant feelings in check. These may include exercising, meditating, using sensory relaxation strategies, and practicing simple breathing exercises. 

For many people, an important aspect of quitting smoking is to find alternate ways to handle these difficult feelings without smoking. Even when cigarettes are no longer a part of your life, the painful and unpleasant feelings that may have prompted you to smoke in the past will still remain. So, it’s worth spending some time thinking about the different ways you intend to deal with stressful situations and the daily irritations that would normally have you reaching for a cigarette.

How to quit smoking and manage cravings

After quitting, you may feel dizzy, restless, or even have strong headaches because you’re lacking the immediate release of sugar that comes from nicotine. You may also have a bigger appetite. These sugar-related cravings should only last a few days until your body adjusts so keep your sugar levels a bit higher than usual on those days by drinking plenty of juice (unless you’re a diabetic). It will help prevent the craving symptoms and help your body re-adjust back to normal.

Cravings associated with social smoking

When friends, family, and co-workers smoke around you, it is doubly difficult to quit or avoid relapse. TIP: Your social circles need to know that you are changing your habits so talk about your decision to quit. Let them know they won’t be able to smoke when you’re in the car with them or taking a coffee break together.  

In your workplace, don’t take all your coffee breaks with smokers only, do something else instead, or find non-smokers to have your breaks with.

Acupuncture

One of the oldest known medical techniques, acupuncture is believed to work by triggering the release of endorphins (natural pain relievers) that allow the body to relax. As a smoking cessation aid, acupuncture can be helpful in managing smoking withdrawal symptoms.

What to do if you relapse, Quitting smoking didn’t work, now what?

Having a small setback doesn’t mean you’re a smoker again. Most people try to quit smoking several times before they kick the habit for good. Identify the triggers or trouble spots you ran into and learn from your mistakes.  

§  You’re not a failure if you slip up. It doesn't mean you can't quit for good.

§  Don’t let a slip become a mudslide. Throw out the rest of the pack. It's important to get back on the non smoking track now.

§  Look back at your quit log and feel good about the time you went without smoking.

§  Find the trigger. Exactly what was it that made you smoke again? Decide how you will cope with that issue the next time it comes up.

§  Learn from your experience. What has been most helpful? What didn’t work? 

§  Are you using a medicine to help you quit? Some medicines cannot be used if you are smoking at the same time.

Prepare for your Quit Day

There is no one right way to quit. Most smokers, they stop completely, all at once, with no medicines or nicotine replacement. They smoke until their Quit Day and then quit. Some may smoke fewer cigarettes for 1 or 2 weeks before their Quit Day. Another way is to cut down on the number of cigarettes you smoke a little bit each day. This way, you slowly reduce the amount of nicotine in your body. You might cut out cigarettes smoked with a cup of coffee, or you might decide to smoke only at certain times of the day. It makes sense to cut down in order to reduce withdrawal symptoms, but this can be hard to do.

Quitting smoking is a lot like losing weight: it takes a strong commitment over a long time. Smokers may wish there was a short cut like a magic pill or any other method that would make quitting painless and easy. But there is nothing like that. Nicotine substitutes can help reduce withdrawal symptoms, but they work best when they are used as part of a stop smoking plan that addresses both the physical and psychological components of quitting smoking.

Here are some steps to help you prepare for your Quit Day:

·         Pick the date and mark it on your calendar.

·         Tell friends and family about your Quit Day.

·         Get rid of all the cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car, and at work.

·         Stock up on oral substitutes: sugarless gum, carrot sticks, hard candy, cinnamon sticks, coffee stirrers, straws, & or toothpicks.

·         Decide on a plan. Will you use substitutes or other medicines etc?

·          Practice saying, “No thank you, I don’t smoke.”

·         Set up a support system. This could be a group program or a friend or family member who has successfully quit and is willing to help you. Ask family and friends who still smoke not to smoke around you, and not to leave cigarettes out where you can see them.

·         Think back to your past attempts to quit. Try to figure out what worked and what did not work for you.

Successful quitting is a matter of planning and commitment, not luck. Decide now on your own plan. Some options include using nicotine replacement or other medicines, using self help materials such as books, reading or some combination of these methods. For the best chance at success, your plan should include 2 or more of these options.

On your Quit Day:

·         Do not smoke. This means none at all, not even one puff.

·         Keep active, try walking, exercising, or doing other activities or hobbies.

·         Drink lots of water and juices.

·         Begin using nicotine replacement if that is your choice.

·         Follow your self-help plan.

·         Avoid situations where the urge to smoke is strong.

·         Avoid people who are smoking.

·         Drink less alcohol or avoid it completely.

·         Think about how you can change your routine. Use a different route to go to work, drink tea instead of coffee. Eat breakfast in a different place or eat different foods.

·         Change your habits Switch to juices or water instead of alcohol or coffee. Choose foods that don’t make you want to smoke. Take a brisk walk instead of a coffee break.

Read on to find out more about the kinds of thoughts and temptations that come up when you try to quit, and ideas for ways to deal with or avoid them.

Avoid temptation stay away from people and places that tempt you to smoke. Later on you will be able to handle these with more confidence.

Staying quit

Remember the Mark Twain quote? Maybe you, too, have quit many times before. If so, you know that staying quit is the final, longest, and most important stage of the process. You can use the same methods to stay quit as you did to help you through withdrawal. Think ahead to those times when you may be tempted to smoke, and plan on how you will use other ways to cope with these situations.

More dangerous, perhaps, are the unexpected strong desires to smoke that can sometimes happen months or even years after you’ve quit. To get through these without relapse, try these:

·         Remember your reasons for quitting and think of all the benefits to your health, your finances, and your family.

·         Remind yourself that there is no such thing as just one cigarette, or even one puff.

·         Ride out the desire to smoke. It will go away, but do not fool yourself into thinking you can have just one.

·         Avoid alcohol. Drinking lowers your chance of success.

·         If you are worried about weight gain, put some energy into planning a healthy diet and finding ways to exercise and stay active.

·         Put the money that you would have otherwise used for buying cigarettes in a jar & see after few days or months how much you have saved & then reward yourself.

Passive smoking:

Your smoking affects the non smoker too who inhales the fumes.

How Smoking Affects the Environment?

Smoking and the Environment: Smoking not only affects the smoker’s health, it also greatly influences the surrounding atmosphere. Smoke and cigarette butts affect the environment the most, resulting into air, water and land pollution. Even the production of cigarettes influences the environment a lot.

All smokers think that by smoking they are only damaging their health. They are ignorant about the fact that their smoking is indirectly affecting others health. And they are one of the direct contributors to the environmental pollution.

How Smoking Causes Air Pollution.

It is quite evident that smoking causes air pollution and to some extent also pollutes the ground. Approximately 4000 chemicals are present in cigarettes, which are breathed out and released in the atmosphere. The percentage of the smoking population in developing countries is much higher. This indicates that an enormous quantity of pollution is being released in the atmosphere every day.

How Smoking Causes Land and Water Pollution.

Pollution caused due to smoking is not confined only to the air or body but to some extent it is also responsible in polluting the land and the water. Every day millions of cigarette butts are left on the ground. Maximum of the cigarette butts finally end up in lakes and rivers. By mistake fishes and other water animals eat these butts resulting in death of these water bodies. The remaining butts left on the ground will approximately take 25-26 years to decompose. The various additives and chemicals are leached into the soil, polluting the soil as well as plants. During dry seasons cigarette butts can even cause major fire, which is even harmful for the environment.

How Cigarette Production Affects Environment.

Major impact on the environment is due the production of the cigarettes. The land, which is used for the cultivation of tobacco plants, could be better used for producing food for the third world countries. Moreover as the tobacco plant is highly susceptible to pests and disease so to maintain their proper growth and health various chemicals and pesticides are being sprayed. For the production and packaging of the cigarette requires a lot of trees.

In an hour cigarette-manufacturing unit requires almost 4 miles of paper for rolling and packaging of the cigarettes. Just to produce 300 cigarettes one tree is being wasted. Energy and water is also being wasted for the production of the cigarettes as well as the chemical wastes from the manufacturing unit is also dumped into the soil. Hence it is clear the cigarettes are in total adding huge strain on the body and environment.

With the use of more advance technology tobacco industry can help in decreasing the strain from the environment. But just to save billions of dollar profit/year the industry is not willing to go for the advanced technology. The best and the easiest way to control this environmental destruction, is to stop buying this harmful product. It is tough to quit smoking but directly (your health) and indirectly (environment) it will be beneficial for you only.

To conclude, smoking is bad for your health, because it produces a lot of damage and in extreme cases causes’ death. Smoking is like a slow death, so if you are smoker, you are in risk, you are dying, so be careful with that.

Note: most of the contents of this text are taken from various sites & collaged to make it simple, easy to read & understand. 

Try to quit smoking

YOU MAY VISIT & FWD TO YOUR FRIENDS PLEASE GO THROUGH THE POSTS

ramajayam.rediffiland.com

ramajayamgomati.blogspot.com