How Smoking Effects Your Health

Although the negative health effects of cigarette smoking cannot be debated, it remains the single most common cause of preventable deaths.  Each year, over 430,000 people die as a result of a smoking related disease. Yet, over 50 million continue to smoke, including over 3 million teens. An estimated three thousand teenagers begin to smoke each day, and one thousand of them will eventually die as a result.  According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoking leads to 87% of lung cancers, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.  Healthcare and lost productivity costs of $97.2 billion dollars per years arise from smoking related illnesses. Cigarettes contain over 19 known cancer-causing chemicals in addition to nicotine.

Quitting is a frustrating and difficult proposition for these people who despite the knowledge that they are seriously harming their bodies.  Addiction to nicotine causes very uncomfortable symptoms of with drawl.  Irritation, agitation and anxiety as well as loss of concentration, sleep disturbances, headaches, coughing and cravings.  

Smoking cigarettes is so compelling because of the effects of nicotine. A stimulant, nicotine causes a temporary increase in alertness and a calm feeling.  And it can be incredibly addictive.  Some studies have found nicotine to be more highly addictive that cocaine or heroin.  Additionally, it suppresses the appetite and smokers tend to keep weight off.

How Smoking Harms Your Body

Here’s why cigarette smoke causes so much damage to our bodies. While nicotine itself isn't thought to be carcinogenic, the highly addictive drug is toxic and potentially lethal in large doses. Long-term smokers have a much higher risk of developing a host of life threatening diseases. Just about any cancer you can think of, including cancer of the lung, mouth, nose, voice box, lip, tongue, nasal sinus, esophagus, throat, pancreas, bone marrow, kidney, cervix, liver, bladder and stomach can result from smoking.

Heart and lungs are most damaged by smoking

Lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, are largely due to smoking.   Heart disease, which includes coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke are far more common in smokers.  One of the effects of nicotine is constricting the blood vessels, which in turn causes high blood pressure.  Another effect is raising your heart rate, which adds extra stress on your heart.

Not only does smoking affect the heart, but every part of your circulatory system. Your blood becomes thicker and stickier, further taxing the heart.  The lining of the blood vessels is damaged, allowing fat deposits to adhere, and is most likely a significant cause of arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

As a result, diminished circulation to the feet and hands leads to painful neuropathy, and impaired ability to fight local infections. This can lead to gangrene and sometimes requires amputation. 

Inhaled smoke contains poison

The inhaled smoke contains many harmful substances, such as tar, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, heavy metals and free radicals. Each of these damages the body in various ways.  Tar is sticky and brown, containing many chemicals known to be carcinogenic, including benzopyrene.  It also and stains teeth, fingernails and lung tissue.

It causes damage to the mouth, teeth and gums, as well as ulcers of the digestive system.
Osteoporosis is caused by a leeching of calcium from the bones and predisposes smokers to fractures.  The hip joint is particularly vulnerable to fractures and Avascular Necrosis, a disorder where the bone dies.

Because carbon monoxide, a major component of the smoke, binds with higher affinity to hemoglobin, it displaces oxygen carried by the blood.   Since less oxygen is carried within each blood cell, the heart must pump more blood through the body to transfer the same amount of oxygen to the cells.

Hydrogen cyanide prevents the lungs from cleaning themselves of poisonous chemicals. Cilia, the tiny hairs that help to clean the lungs by moving foreign substances out are damaged. Harmful chemicals are allowed to collect in the lungs, preventing oxygenation of the blood.

Other chemicals in smoke that damage the lungs include hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, organic acids, phenols and oxidizing agents. Free radicals are highly reactive chemicals that can damage the heart muscles and blood vessels When they react with cholesterol plaques are formed, which increase the risk of arterial damage,  heart disease and stroke. Finally, tobacco smoke contains dangerous metals including arsenic, cadmium, and lead.  Many of these are known to cause cancer.

The tars in smoke can trigger cancer of the esophagus and throat. Smoking causes increased stomach acid secretion, leading to heartburn and ulcers. Smokers have higher rates of deadly pancreatic cancer. Many of the carcinogens from cigarettes are excreted in the urine where their presence can cause bladder cancer, which is often fatal. High blood pressure from smoking can damage the kidneys.

Smoking Damages Other Systems

Smoking adversely affects the reproductive system, especially in women.  Many female smokers experience irregular or absent periods.  Fertility is compromised, and menopause occurs one to two years earlier. The risk of cervical cancer is increased. For women over 35 taking oral contraceptives, there is a significantly increased risk of stroke or heart attack if they are smokers.  Men, experience lower sperm count, more abnormal sperm with decreased motility.  There is also an effect on the man’s level of sex hormones.  Decrease circulations also predisposes male smokers to impotence as a result of overall compromised circulation and damage to the blood vessels in the penis.

Smoker’s immune systems are impaired, leaving the smoker vulnerable to a host of minor infections. A smoker needs more time to recover from infections than a non-smoker.  Coupled with diminished circulation, a smoker’s risk of infection from minor cuts or abrasions to the arms or legs skyrockets.

Cigarette smoking decreases bone density, promoting osteoporosis. Skin becomes dry and loses it’s elasticity as a result of poor circulation. Premature wrinkling is common.  Irritation and inflammation of the stomach and intestines is frequently seen, including painful ulceration of the entire GI tract.

Even more serious are the risks to an unborn child if the mother smokes. Miscarriage is more common in women who smoke. Infants of smoking mothers are at increased risk of low birth weight, prematurity, cleft lip and palate, infections and SIDS.

How Smoking Affects our Environment

It is a common belief among cigarette smokers that they are only hurting themselves. In fact they are not only hurting themselves, but also the people who love them and the environment. As an ex-smoker I was curious about the environmental impact of smoking so I decided to investigate. These days everyone knows what smoking cigarettes does to our bodies, but the knowledge of what smoking does to the Earth is not as common. There are some things that every smoker who has any concern for environmental issues should know.

It is fairly obvious that smoking pollutes the air and quite often the ground. However, it is not always obvious how or how much smoking pollutes. Cigarettes contain over 4000 chemicals which are exhaled and released into the air and the atmosphere. Approximately 30% of North Americans are smokers, and the percentage goes much higher in developing countries, which means there is a massive amount of pollution being released into the air every day. Trees are often compared to the lungs in our bodies because they perform basically the same functions as our lungs do on a global scale. With all of the pollutants that the trees filter out for us already it seems almost crazy to add more to the air that doesn’t need to be added. We need to breathe, but no one needs to smoke.

The pollution caused by cigarettes does not stop in our bodies or the air; it also affects the land we live on and the water that we drink. Millions of cigarette butts are discarded onto the ground every day. Every year in California the state has a statewide cleanup and cigarette butts account for almost half of the waste that is collected. These are only the ones that are picked up in one state and millions more are never picked up. They end up in the rivers and lakes where fish and animals eat them by mistake and quite often die from it. The rest are left on the ground to decompose which will take an average of 25 years while all of the chemicals and additives leach into the ground and pollute the soil and the plants. If you are going to smoke please consider this information before your throw your cigarette butts on the ground. It looks unattractive, it is a major fire hazard in dry weather, and it is extremely harmful to the environment.

Probably the most impacting aspect of cigarettes is actually producing them. There is the land used to grow the crops all over the world that could be put to better use by planting more trees or food for starving children in third world countries. These crops are also often sprayed with a lot of harmful pesticides and chemicals because tobacco is a very fragile plant and is likely to pick up disease. It also takes a lot of trees to produce and package cigarettes. Cigarette manufacturing uses four miles of paper an hour just for rolling and packaging cigarettes. One tree is wasted for every three hundred cigarettes produced. Those trees could be filtering out the pollutants already in the air instead of being chopped down for the cause of adding new ones. There is still the energy and water wasted in manufacturing cigarettes that needs to be considered and with soil depletion and chemical wastage added on top of that it becomes clear that manufacturing cigarettes has an enormous strain on the environment.

The tobacco industry is quite unwilling to use better technology to reduce the impact they are having on the environment because it would take up too much of their billions of dollars in profit every year. They are often trying to have more trees planted, but since they use trees to dry the tobacco and for rolling and packaging it is probably not concern for the environment, but concern for losing their wood sources that encourage them to do this. They do not care about polluting our bodies so it seems unlikely that they would think twice about polluting our environment. The only way to stop them from harming the environment is to stop buying their products. Quitting smoking is hard, but it can be done and it’s not only about the harm smokers are doing to their own bodies, it’s also about the harm they are doing to the earth and the pain that they are causing their friends and families.

Passive Smoking Effects

You must be aware of the hazards of cigarette smoking, and hence, must be keeping away from it. But, do you know that passive smoking is equally deleterious to us? Let us get to know more on passive smoking.

Passive Smoking
Passive smoking is the involuntary inhalation of the smoke from cigarettes or tobacco that is being smoked by others. This smoke is known as secondhand smoke (SHS). Passive smoking, also known as involuntary smoking, occurs when cigarette smoke spreads in the air and is inhaled by people who are present in the same environment. All over the world, it has been found that passive smoking is as injurious to health as the actual smoking itself.

Most of the times, passive smokers are the ones who live with smokers, and hence, are regularly exposed to tobacco smoke. On the other hand, a non-smoker can also get exposed to tobacco smoke while working in a smoky atmosphere or simply by being in a smoke-filled restaurant or bar. In either of the cases, non-smokers have high chances of passive smoking which is hazardous to their health. Let us have a look at the effects of passive smoking.

Passive Smoking Effects in Adults
As mentioned above, passive smoking can cause dangerous health effects. The following are minor side effects of passive smoking:

• Cough
• Sore throat
• Irritation of eyes
• Headache
• Nausea
• Infection in nose / ear

Apart from these, there are several other long term passive smoking effects which can lead to disability or even death. They include:

• Lung cancer
• Asthma
• Pneumonia
• Bronchitis
• Tuberculosis
• Hypertension

Some diseases are not directly caused due to passive smoking. But if a person continues being exposed to passive smoke for a long time, he has an increased risk of suffering from the following diseases:

• Heart diseases
• Diseases of the circulatory system
• Dementia
• Renal cell carcinoma
• Brain tumor

Passive Smoking Effects in Children
Passive smoking is more hazardous to children than to adults. As the immune system of children is very weak, they are at a higher risk of suffering from diseases. Passive smoking effects in children include:

• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Pneumonia
• Allergy
• Infection in lungs / ear / throat

Passive Smoking Effects in Fetus
You may have heard that pregnant or expectant mothers are advised to quit smoking as it causes harm to the fetus. Passive smoking dangers in fetus include:

• Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• Premature birth
• Low birth weight
• Low production of milk (in mothers)

Prevention of Passive Smoking

As we have seen the numerous passive smoking effects, one should be equally careful about it, the sane way as one is aware of cigarette smoking. Smoking is banned in most of the parts of the world. In other parts, it is banned in enclosed places like restaurants, theaters, or other public places, in order to avoid the risks of passive smoking. On the other hand, smokers can help a lot for the prevention of passive smoking. Smokers should never smoke at home or in cars. This should be strictly followed especially if there are children at home. Although, it is always better to stop smoking, but if smokers cannot overcome smoking, they should do it outdoors, in open places. This way, the risk of passive smoking can be greatly reduced.

HOW TO QUIT SMOKING TODAY!

This a great quick reference guide on how to kick the habit. With the price of cigarettes along with the price of everything else, many people have given up smoking. If you havent yet there is still hope. Many people have done many different things to try to quit. There are many many success stories.

There are many ways to quit smoking. Many people have tried the patch, gum, hypnotherapy, acupuncture and more. Today, however, in our society there are alot more ways to quit. There are support groups, hotlines you can call for support, books, pills, an much more. The hook is to decide which one is right for you. For most people who have quit smoking and have tried the gum or the patch all say it really works. Well, If it didn't obviously it would not still be on the shelves today. 

The patch. It is a clear patch that you stick on your arm and it helps you to quit smoking. It does this by a controlled release of nicotine for 24 hours. Over the next eight to ten weeks depending on the strength you started with you can lower your dosage to where you do not have to use it at all.
Stop Smoking Gums. Nicorette is used by many as an easier way to quit, because your mouth is moving and while you are chewing the nicotine is being released. With gum also you can pop an extra piece if you have strong craving. Over the next twelve weeks of starting the gum, you will use less and less pieces and should be smoke free in about twelve weeks.
Hypnotherapy to stop smoking. When it comes to wanting to quit smoking people often think of hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy is and has been promoted for some time now. However in some studies it does prove to be a successful tool when it comes to kicking the habit. It may be a little costly for a session or too. But the money you can save in the long run when you do quit will be worth it after all.
Let's look at some reasons why you should want to quit smoking. Some of the top reasons people quit are as follows Your health. Your health should be the number one reason to quit. After a few months you will feel better and occassionally crave one. It's just the first month or so that is hardest.You may be like me you quit while you were pregnant. Well simple as this don't pick one back up after you have your baby.

Another reason your family. You want to be able to sit inside all day with your family or drive your car with out having to worry about if they can smell your smoke or not and if its making them sick or not. Do you have pets? Yes? Then you need to think about them as well. The smoke effects animals too.It can make them sick the same as humans.

Another great reason is for women. LESS WRINKLES!!! When you smoke it makes you look 3-5 years older than what you actually are. I for instance am 28 I look about 30 to 32. I am totaly freaking out because I am starting to notice wrinkles! I know that when women and men smoke your lips get these lines around them and they are not laugh lines. No, I call them smokers lines. I have two aunts that have them really bad. They are worse than crows feet or forehead wrinkles. Another reason is to save money. I know if I took the money I spent on my cigarettes a day and took that money and put it in my saving account I would save about $1880.00 a year. The things I could do with that money. I could go on vacation, pay an extra 7 payments on my car and still have money left, pay 3 months ahead on my rent. I could give my mom back the money I have borrowed from her.

I know some more reasons women and men have not quit smoking yet. One is because you are afraid you are going to gain weight. Well that is why I haven't quit yet. I just figure if I get going on a really good diet, which I am working on, start exercising when I can I know I will lose weight. In fact I actually think if I quit I would lose more weight. I think this because I tend to smoke while I am cooking or right after I eat. So maybe I am going about this diet thing all wrong.

It is also hard to quit when someone in your family smokes, or your spouse smokes. My mom and my fiance smoke. I do not use that as an excuse but it is hard that when you go see your mom its kind of a tradition that you smoke a cigarette together before you head home. Kind of like if something happens to either one of us we know we did that one last thing together. What makes it really hard is my fiance. He is just about a chain smoker. I know if I quit he would too (maybe) But to be honest he probably would just go outside which would just make it hard. I do not know but I know I am going to try.

These things I have listed here are just a few of the most important reasons to quit smoking. Sit down and write out what would be your best reasons to quit. Good luck and I hope you quit!

Tobacco smoke is bad for you.

I lived through the smoking ban enacted in bars and restaurants and I couldn't be more delighted. Although I was never particularly bothered by the smoke, no more than most that is, I certainly noticed the lack after the bans went through. No more smelly hair and clothes. No more changing the pillowcases after a night out because the smoke smell went from hair to the pillow like clockwork.

Since I'm not a smoker there was no problem.

But oh, you should have heard the caterwauling. Personal liberty was being infringed! (Never mind the liberty of others to be free from annoyance of smoke, eh? Why do the libertarians always forget that?) Business will be AffEcTed! Bars will close. Nobody will buy alcohol anymore! Nobody will go out to dine.

Naturally this never came to pass in my region of the world. Nor did it in a myriad of other jurisdictions that passed smoking bans.

Including NYC.

And here is a tale from a bartender who was practically on the ramparts to oppose the smoking ban. Changing. His. Mind. Based on the results of the policy as he personally experienced it.

And it was at that moment, silently of course, that I grudgingly had to thank old Mayor Bloomberg. For regardless of what his motivation was and regardless of the fact that he did it with an iron fist, the son-of-a-gun when it's all said and done was right. The good, as it all turns out, outweighs the bad. And not just because of the major things, of which we are all aware, but the minor things of which you're about to read...

Test out a policy change, evaluate the outcome. If you are originally opposed to the policy....what do you do? Do you leave your ego at the door and really look at the data? Or do you stick to your guns no matter what the evidence?

Scribbler is a standup guy for admitting he was wrong. May we all be able to do the same when public policies have results that are demonstrably better than our initial preferences

Smoking and Periodontal Disease

Covering smoking and periodontal health, bad breath and gum disease

Smoking and periodontal disease is amongst the most apparent dangers of smoking. One single most effective way of eliminating the risk factor for periodontal disease is to quit smoking. Periodontitis is the disease that compromises the gum and bone and areas surrounding your teeth.

On it's own even without periodontitis tobacco and nicotine may cause severe damage to your teeth and gums as shown in these pictures.

The link between smoking and periodontal disease lays in the nicotine effect and other smoke toxins and chemicals that inflame the gum tissue by cutting the amount of oxygen to these tissues. They trigger the excessive production of a harmful amount of cytokines to cells and tissues.

The disease itself has very few symptoms and progresses silently so much that by the time treatment is sought it would have significantly progressed. Heavy smokers who take many cigarettes per day have a greater risk of periodontal disease. It's only a greater risk, but risk in general is higher in people who smoke.Some people who smoke mistakenly opt for pipes and cigars with the hope of reduced health risks. In fact the periodontal disease risk is the same for cigars and pipes.

Housemates of people who smoke are also exposed to compromised periodontal health via second hand smoke.

The emergence of painful bleeding gums or gum disease and loose teeth is merely the showing up of signs and symptoms of a significantly advanced periodontal disease. The bleeding occurs on biting hard food such as apples. Further symptoms including recurringly swelling gums, teeth recession and bad breath.

For those who smoke marijuana, cannabis smoking has been shown to also increase the risk of periodontal disease. Other diseases are also linked to periodontitis such as diabetes.

Smoking and periodontal disease is a potentially distressing development in smokers especially the bad breath which is immediately noticeable. Some preventative and treatment measures include;

• Quitting smoking - when you quit smoking recovery begins in earnest.
• Taking vitamin c supplements - vitamin c levels are naturally depleted in smokers. Go for more citrus fruits including grapefruits.
• Brush and floss your teeth sufficiently on a daily basis
• Antiseptic mouth wash is very handy and can be used daily and also before bed time.
• Regular dental checks with 3 to 6 months intervals so that professional teeth cleaning is done.

There are other techniques that include all out surgery to do deep cleaning of your teeth and reposition the bones. These would require a visit to your dental health care service provider for a chat.

HOW TO STOP SMOKING INSTANTLY: MY STORY

You might disagree what I’m going to tell you, but the truth of the matter is I did it myself without any use of medical support. 

For more than 25 years I was a change smoker, consuming more than two packs a day. That’s a normal for me. Sometimes I consumed three packs the whole night when I played music during invitations to provide entertainment to fiestas in our place, the Philippines. 

Yes, being a catholic country, the Philippines has lots of fiestas and holidays. During fiestas, every town or baranggay needs the services of musicians to entertain visitors, especially during vesper day dances. 

So, musicians are in demand during these occasions. 

Me, being a combo player always got the best deal to give music to every fiestas in our place. During night time – were most of these occasions are held, is cold and smoking is the only remedy to quench the cold environment. 

That’s where I consumed around three packs the whole night. 

How I  stopped smoking is the one I’m going to share with you, right now. 

Are you really serious to STOP smoking? 

Well, I know you’re excited to know how I stopped smoking instantly and how you can do it too. 

Here they are… 

1. Crush a single stick. One time I was suffering from a smokers

cough for almost one month. Any medication I takes but to no avail. I couldn’t sleep sometimes when the cough attacks. I was really, really mad at my cough and immediately I connected the cigarette to the cough I was suffering. I got one stick, and I immediately crushed it and says, “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you” crushing the single

stick into small pieces and thrown in the trash can. You can crush more than what I did if you think you’re not comfortable with one stick. It depends to your decision. 

2. Do away from cigarette smoke. Sometimes I was enticed to smoke when I smell the cigarette smoke especially in public places. What I did, I leave the place immediately and look for a place where no one smokes. I did this routine for more than six months. After this period, I can already mingle with people who smoke without being enticed with their smoke. I already passed through the critical period of adjustment. 

3. Keep busy. When I feel like to smoke, I see to it that I have to do something to make myself busy. I used to do heavy work like, cutting grasses, lifting heavy loads, jogging in place, or anything that will let me perspire heavily. When I perspire heavily, I am relieve from the craving for cigarette. 

4. Drink plenty of water or fruit juice. After perspiring from my physical activities stated in number 3, I drink plenty of water or fruit juice whatever is available to the maximum. Water is the number one body cleansing. I  felt I was totally relieved after drinking water. When there is a fresh fruit juice I take it to replace water. Most often I drink more water than fruit juice. 

5. Think positive. Thinking positive, what I mean, is I always imagine and focus on the positive side of things. I don’t bother myself looking back at the bad experiences I encountered during my period of addiction with cigarette smoking. I always do things that has no connection whatsoever with cigarette. When suddenly cigarette craving comes to my mind, I immediately change course to erase it. Doing things to while away the time to forget cigarette related attention. 

6. Eat fruits and vegetables. This is my secret to forget cigarette smoking. I always maintain to have fruit or vegetable with my diet. If

there is no fruit available during lean months, I used to eat plenty of vegetables in one setting. Sometimes I’ll combine three or five vegetables in one cooking, any kind of vegetable available around I have to used them. 

7. Self Discipline. I always hold through to my decision to quit smoking. No amount of enticement or seduction could break my personal decision from my friends who are smokers. During social gatherings or simple get together, I could not escape to mingle with smokers. But, because of my strong belief not to smoke again, I strictly adhere to my decision to be non-smoker, and I can withstand the strong pressure. To me, that’s self discipline. 

8. Ask Divine Help. Believe me, whatever sect do you belong, I know you agree that there is an Almighty God that intervenes our lives. For me being a Christian, totally believe that Divine help reinforces my desire to stop smoking. When cravings for cigarette sets in, I closed my eyes and pray to God that I may be strong enough to resist temptation. And it really works. 

If you’re serious to stop smoking, I encourage you to follow what I did. There’s no need of any medical help. Just stick to what you believe can do away with cigarette smoking. 

Give yourself a try what I’ve done. 

If I’ve done it, and so you can do it too. Just be determined and don’t stop until you achieve what you desires! 

Believe Me, if I’ve done it, and so you can. 

And if ever you’ve succeed with your “stop-smoking-plan” please send me a note and ask your permission to include you in my testimonies for smokers who’ve stop smoking without the use of medical help. 

I want more people to be aware about the negative effect of cigarette smoking to our lives. 

Let us advocate “stop smoking” to those people who are desirous to be released from the chain of cigarette addiction. 

Together, with our common efforts to help them “WE CAN DO IT”!

LET’S HELP THEM… I KNOW THEY NEED OUR IMMEDIATE HELP!