today

• When you stop smoking, you might find yourself feeling depressed.
• When you quit smoking, you might find that you are struggling with insomnia or changes in your sleep patterns.
• You might find that you are cranky, frustrated or irritable when you stop smoking.
• You might find that your appetite is greatly increased, and this could lead to some weight gain when you quit smoking.

The Best Ways to Quit Smoking for Good

By Tim Shank
I know that when I was trying to quit smoking it was one of the most difficult times of my life. Sure I had tried to quit many times, and some times I was even successful for a brief period of time, but I always found my way back to the comfort zone, and in my case that was holding a cigarette. So what was it that made me finally kick the habit for good, and what are the best ways to quit smoking?
There are so many different ways that you can quit. You could try anything from nicotine gum to the patch to laser therapy. The options are pretty much limitless anymore, and there are several ways that promise to help you to quit without any cravings at all. I give up the habit before any of these new ways to quit were even around, and from what I understand they will take away some of the physical cravings, but you and I both know that the mental cravings are the worst. So what can you do to guarantee success?
The best ways to quit smoking have always been through preparation and willpower. You need to make you mind up that is what you want to do and that you are going to do it no matter what. Then you need to prepare yourself for life without smoking. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't try one of the new gadgets that are said to help you quit, but you should still prepare for the worst, and make sure that you can fill any negative void in your life with a positive influence. Stick with the program, prepare in advance and don't let failure be an option.
You can quit smoking for good, even if you have tried dozens of times unsuccessfully. Visit our website for a special report. http://www.youcanquitsmoking.info/
Quit Smoking for Good - and Stop Being a Slave to Tobacco

Today lesson

Easy step to stop smoking:
· Determining the reason of you to desist to smoke
· Make a priority sequence why you smoke
· Lessening to smoke step by step
· Fortify self of desire to smoke
· Every time you smoke a cigarette ask yourself the question."Why do I smoke again?"

What Are You Smoking?

Do you really know what you are smoking with every puff? I always thought it was just tobacco. Boy was I wrong.
There are over 4,000 chemical compounds present in cigarette smoke, and many of these compounds are confirmed carcinogens. Here is a partial listing of some of the toxins you are taking into your body every time you inhale smoke from a cigarette.
Toxins You Intake In Every Puff:
* Acetone - This is a chemical manly used in finger nail polish remover
* Ammonia - The same stuff janitors use to clean the bathrooms to kill off bacteria’s and odor
* Arsenic - One of the main ingredients in rat / mouse poison.
* Butane - Key part in the creation of lighter fluid
* Cadmium - The most active component in battery acid
* Carbon Monoxide - The same gas released from your car's exhaust system
* DDT/Dieldrin - A poison used in commercial insecticides
* Ethanol - More commonly known as alcohol
* Hydrogen Cyanide - yet another lethal poison
* Methane - The gas released from your bowels (what a nice thought)
* Methanol - A component in making rocket fuel
* Naphthalene - One of the ingredients used in mothballs
* Nicotine - Yet another insecticide, and a highly addictive substance. The legal drug.
* Stearic Acid - a compound found in candle wax
* Toluene - An industrial strength cleaning solvent
Take a second look at this list and just imagine the kind of damage you are doing to your body with every puff. I find it amazing that such a collection of destructive chemicals can be legally packaged and sold in your local convenient store.
I hope that you enjoyed this article. When I found this discovery this made me realize I needed to stop puffing.

By Carlos Valdez

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carlos_Valdez

SMOKER MYTH

Smoking it looks modern and sexy
Smoking habits it’s up to date, not make we look old fashion
If we’re young smoker we can stop whenever we want
Smoking makes our body slim
Smoking makes us looks sexy
Smoking is not a deadly habit
Smoking isn’t forbidden habit

Those myths are known in our community,
Most of people think that smoking cigarette (with small amount) not really harmful for our health.
But from the last post, we can know that nicotine can diffuse through our skin.

Is that myth only nonsense???

DEADLY HABIT-TRUTH ABOUT NICOTINE

Cigarette Addictive is Dangerous
Did you realize that:
- Nicotine Addiction equal with cocaine or heroin addiction
- Young progressively you start to smoke, gain strength you'd be addictive to smoke

How smoker become addictively?
Nicotine represent poison acting directly to your brain, it can damage your body and mind. If you smoke, you'd depended to nicotine. Without cigarette, you will feel of less delicious symptoms for example:
- Feel quickly fulminate
- Worry
- Stress in working.

The feeling that you get from (every bar) smoking cigarette just few minutes and the symptoms will return initially. Later you will start to fire the lighter and unconsciously you become addictive to nicotine.
Slowly (but sure) nicotine will change your brain’s cells causing you feel important to smoke more to overcome addictive symptoms.

It’s very easy to become addictive
Smoker may become addictive swiftly because:
- Nicotine soaks into body easily
- Not like other poison, got easy cigarette so that easy to be consumed.

Nicotine in smoke only requires time around 10 just second to come to brain. They who assume suck cigarette without firing its ok, big wrong. Because nicotine also can diffuse to pass through mouth, nose and skin

All kinds of cigarette is very dangerous, Even lots of cigarette producer made cigarette with lower tar and nicotine, it still may harm our body. Don’t trust what you see on TV commercials.

It’s not to late for you to stop smoking addiction, just trust your self. You just need time and passion. Lots of people become desperate, because they are not ready yet to stop smoking. The key is in your heart, prepare your self physically an mentally.

Smoking 101 Fact Sheet

May 2007
Cigarette smoking has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 438,000 American lives each year, including those affected indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking and victims of "secondhand" exposure to tobacco's carcinogens. Smoking costs the United States over $167 billion each year in health-care costs including $92 billion in mortality-related productivity loses and $75 billion in direct medical expenditures or an average of $3,702 per adult smoker.1
Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer. Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80-90 percent of COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths.2
About 8.6 million people in the U.S. have at least one serious illness caused by smoking. That means that for every person who dies of a smoking-related disease, there are 20 more people who suffer from at least one serious illness associated with smoking.3
Among current smokers, chronic lung disease accounts for 73 percent of smoking-related conditions. Even among smokers who have quit chronic lung disease accounts for 50 percent of smoking-related conditions.4
Smoking is also a major factor in coronary heart disease and stroke; may be causally related to malignancies in other parts of the body; and has been linked to a variety of other conditions and disorders, including slowed healing of wounds, infertility, and peptic ulcer disease. For the first time, the Surgeon General includes pneumonia in the list of diseases caused by smoking.5
Smoking in pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of preterm deliveries, and some 10 percent of all infant deaths. Even apparently healthy, full-term babies of smokers have been found to be born with narrowed airways and curtailed lung function.6
Only about 30 percent of women who smoke stop smoking when they find out they are pregnant; the proportion of quitters is highest among married women and women with higher levels of education.7 Smoking during pregnancy declined in 2004 to 10.2 percent of women giving birth, down 42 percent from 1990.8
Neonatal health-care costs attributable to maternal smoking in the U.S. have been estimated at $366 million per year, or $704 per maternal smoker.9
Smoking by parents is also associated with a wide range of adverse effects in their children, including exacerbation of asthma, increased frequency of colds and ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome. Secondhand smoke causes an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 cases of lower respiratory tract infections in children less than 18 months of age, resulting in 7,500 to 15,000 annual hospitalizations.10
In 2005, an estimated 45.1 million, or 21.0 percent of, adults were current smokers. The annual prevalence of smoking has declined 40 percent between 1965 and 1990, but has been unchanged virtually thereafter.11
Males tend to have significantly higher rates of smoking prevalence than females. In 2005, 23.9 percent of males currently smoked compared to 18.1 percent of females.12
Prevalence of current smoking in 2005 was highest among Native American Indians/Alaska Natives (32.0%), intermediate among non-Hispanic whites (21.9%), and non-Hispanic blacks (21.5%), and lowest among Hispanics (16.2%) and Asians and Pacific Islanders (13.3%).13
As smoking declines among the White non-Hispanic population, tobacco companies have targeted both African Americans and Hispanics with intensive merchandising, which includes billboards, advertising in media targeted to those communities, and sponsorship of civic groups and athletic, cultural, and entertainment events. In 2003, total advertising and promotion by the five major tobacco companies was the highest ever reported at $15.15 billion.14
Tobacco advertising also plays an important role in encouraging young people to begin a lifelong addiction to smoking before they are old enough to fully understand its long-term health risk. Approximately 90 percent of smokers begin smoking before the age of 21.15
In 2005, 23 percent of high school students were current smokers.16 Over 8 percent of middle school students were current smokers in 2004.17
Secondhand smoke involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers from other people's cigarettes is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a known human (Group A) carcinogen, responsible for approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 (ranging 22,700-69,600) heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers annually in United States.18
Workplaces nationwide are going smoke-free to provide clean indoor air and protect employees from the life-threatening effects of secondhand smoke. Nearly 70 percent of the U.S. workforce worked under a smoke free policy in 1999, but the percentage of workers protected varies by state, ranging from a high of 83.9 percent in Utah and 81.2 percent in Maryland to 48.7% in Nevada.19
Employers have a legal right to restrict smoking in the workplace, or implement a totally smoke-free workplace policy. Exceptions may arise in the case of collective bargaining agreements with unions.
Nicotine is an addictive drug, which when inhaled in cigarette smoke reaches the brain faster than drugs that enter the body intravenously. Smokers not only become physically addicted to nicotine; they also link smoking with many social activities, making smoking a difficult habit to break.20
In 2005, an estimated 46.1 million adults were former smokers. Of the current 45.1 million smokers, 42.5 percent of current smokers had stopped smoking at least 1 day in the preceding year because they were trying to quit smoking completely.21
Nicotine replacement products can help relieve withdrawal symptoms people experience when they quit smoking. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges are available over-the-counter, and a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are currently available by prescription.22
In addition, a doctor can prescribe non nicotine pills such as Zyban and Chantix to help smokers quit.
Nicotine replacement therapies are helpful in quitting when combined with a behavior change program such as the American Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking (FFS), which addresses psychological and behavioral addictions to smoking and strategies for coping with urges to smoke.
For more information on smoking, please review the Tobacco Use Morbidity and Mortality Trend Report in the Data and Statistics section of our website at www.lungusa.org or call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).
Sources:
1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 1997–2001. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [serial online]. 2005;54:625-628 [cited 2007 Mar 13]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5425a1.htm.
2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS). Tobacco Use in the United States. January 27, 2004.
3
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette Smoking Attributable Morbidity – U.S., 2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2003 Sept; 52(35): 842-844.
4
Ibid.
5
U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.
6
U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2001.
7
Martin J, Hamilton B, Sutton P, Ventura S, Menacker, F. and Munson M. Division of Vital StatisticsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. National Vital Statistics Reports. Births Final Data for 2003. Vol. 54(2), September 2005. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_02.pdf. Accessed on 3/15/07.
8
National Vital Statistic Reports. Births: Final Data for 2004. Vol. 55, No. 1, September 2006.
9
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. State Estimates of Neonatal Health-Care Costs Associated with Maternal Smoking – U.S., 1996. Vol. 53, No. 39, October 8, 2004.
10
California Environmental Protection Agency. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke. September 1997.
11
National Health Interview Survey. Vital and Health Statistics: Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2005. Series 10, No. 232, Oct. 4, 2006.
12
Ibid.
13
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Tobacco Use among Adults, Vol. 55 (42); 1145-1148, Oct. 2006. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5542a1.htm. Accessed on 4/19/07.
14
Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report for 2003. Issued August 2005. Available at: http://www.ftc.gov/reports/cigarette05/050809cigrpt.pdf. Accessed on 4/30/07.
15
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1994.
16
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2005. Vol. 55(SS05);1-108(pg.14). Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5505al. Accessed on 4/30/07.
17
National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2000-2005 and CDC. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Tobacco Use, Access and Exposure in Media Among Middle School and High School Students, United States 2004. Vol. 54, No. 12;297-301, April 2005. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5526a2.htm. Accessed on 4/30/07.
18
California Environmental Protection Agency. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke. June 2005. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/healtheffects.html. Accessed on 4/30/07.
19
Shopland DR, Gerlach KK, Burns DM, Hartman AM, Gibson JT. State-Specific Trends in Smokefree Workplace Policy Coverage: the Current Population Tobacco Use Supplement, 1993 to 1999. J Occup Environ Med 2001; 43:680-686.
20
National Institute of Drug Abuse. Research Report on Nicotine: Addiction, August 2001.
21
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Tobacco Use Among Adults—United States, 2005. Vol. 55. No. 42, October 2005. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5542a1.htm. Accessed on 4/19/07.
22
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: A Clinical Practice Guideline. 2000.

smoking addict

"smoker" contains of
s : suck
m : money
o : or
k : kill
e : effectively and
r : rapidly





it means that smoking cigarette is very dangerous

Health effects of smoking are more dangerous than thought

While smoking has long been linked to an array of health problems, recent research shows that the harmful habit is worse than previously known: A new report from the U.S. surgeon general found that smoking causes diseases in almost every organ of the human body.

Released in late May, "The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General," cites more than 1,600 scientific articles on the health effects of smoking. In addition to the well-known effects of smoking, such as lung, mouth and esophageal cancers, the new report found that smoking is conclusively linked to leukemia, cataracts and pneumonia as well as cancers of the pancreas, cervix and kidneys. Other complications linked to smoking in the report included diabetes complications, hip fractures and reproductive complications.

"The toxins from cigarette smoke can go everywhere the blood flows," said U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS. "I'm hoping this new information will help motivate people to quit smoking and convince young people not to start in the first place."

The new report was released on the anniversary of the historic 1964 surgeon general's report on smoking, which was the first to draw widespread attention to the dangers of tobacco use. While U.S. smoking rates have notably dropped since the publication of the first report - 42 percent of the public smoked in 1964 versus 22.5 percent of adults today - the practice still leads to 440,000 U.S. deaths each year.

More than 12 million Americans have died from smoking since the 1964 report, and another 25 million Americans alive today are expected to die of a smoking-related illness, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Among the report's other conclusions was that low-tar or low-nicotine cigarettes are not healthier than regular cigarettes.

Despite the damaging effects of tobacco use, quitting smoking has immediate and long-term effects such as improved circulation and a drop in heart rate, the report found. Even quitting late in life can have positive effects: Giving up tobacco at age 65 can reduce a smoker's risk of dying of related disease by 50 percent.

The scientific articles cited in the report are featured in a new online interactive database that is available via the surgeon general's Web site at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov. The database will be updated as new studies are published.

Legislation introduced

The surgeon general report findings came as courts, legislators and advocates stepped up their attention to tobacco control in recent months.

In Washington, D.C., legislators from both sides of the political table embraced new legislation that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products.

While such legislation has been proposed in previous sessions of Congress, the new bills, introduced in May, are notable in that they were introduced by Republicans and Democrats in both congressional chambers. In the House, H.R. 4433 was introduced by Reps. Tom Davis, R-Va., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., while in the Senate, S. 2461 was introduced by Sens. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

The bills would provide FDA with the authority for actions such as prohibiting unsubstantiated health claims, requiring changes in the composition of tobacco products to make them less harmful and protecting children from tobacco marketing. A June poll by the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids found that 69 percent of respondents favored passing legislation that would provide regulation authority to FDA.

"Many consumers, including smokers, are surprised to learn that no federal agency has the authority to require tobacco companies to list the ingredients that are in their products - things like trace amounts of arsenic, formaldehyde and ammonia," DeWine said. "No federal agency has the authority to inspect tobacco manufacturers - how the cigarette and smokeless tobacco products are made, whether the manufacturers' machines and equipment are clean."

FDA regulation of tobacco is supported by health and tobacco control advocates, including APHA, which has long had policy on the books specifically calling for such a move. APHA also supports measures that would provide incentives to tobacco farmers to switch to other crops, such as a tobacco industry-financed buyout of such farmers.

source www.medicalnewstoday.com

Smoking is dangerous to your oral health

Dental researchers have long known that people who use tobacco products are more likely to have their tooth enamel and pulp cavity worn down. Only recently have they found a reason why.

Abrasive particles in tobacco can damage teeth

Researchers at Baylor University's College of Dentistry recently examined samples of cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff and unprocessed tobacco leaves used as cigar wrappers. They found that tobacco products, like many plants, contain tiny particles that are abrasive to teeth. When mixed with saliva and chewed, an abrasive paste is created that wears down teeth over time. Although the particles are too small to be detected, the effect is similar to rubbing your teeth with fine sandpaper.

The researchers also noted that people who habitually chew foreign materials such as pens or pencils, eat coarse diets or are repeatedly exposed to air that contains high levels of abrasive dust may also experience a wearing away of the tooth enamel and pulp cavity.

Tobacco use has other detrimental effects: bad breath, periodontal disease, oral cancer and increased incidence of cleft lip and palate among children of mothers who smoke during pregnancy.

Smoking during pregnancy can lead to oral clefts

According to a study conducted at Johns Hopkins University, women who smoke may be more likely to have children born with an oral cleft.

Cleft lips or palates, one of the most common birth defects, occur during early fetal development, often before a woman knows she's pregnant. Women who smoke can trigger the gene that causes the birth defect. According to the study, children who carried the gene responsible for the defect who had smoking mothers were six times more likely to develop a cleft than children in the control group.

source www.deltadentalins.com

Start Smoking Now!

Remember the Marlboro guy? You don’t see those sorts of ads promoting tobacco products on TV anymore. Back in the day, it used to be cool to smoke. Today we know, more than ever, the many health problems that are associated with smoking a tobacco product. It is finally being seen as a bad habit, perhaps a socially unacceptable one by a few. But, why do so many people start smoking then? Each year millions of people will light their first cigarette. Will it be you this year?

Why We Smoke

Fitting in- In many schools, smoking is a large problem. Yes, it is still peer pressure that forces many teens to light up. Whether caused by the bully or the “come on, are you cool or not?” routine, smoking still happens quite a bit in those younger years. The best way to prevent your child from smoking is to talk to them about what it is, what it does to them, and the need to avoid it in the first place.

The partner does it- This is another large reason why people begin smoking in their young adult years. As they begin to date and hang around a group of people, they may just learn to smoke. Even if the non-smoking partner is never asked to take a smoke, it often happens that he/she gives it a try. At other times, people start it because it’s easier to make conversation at bars or clubs.

Stress relief- Many people know that those who are smoking are relieving stress through it. So, if your life gets overloaded with anxiety and worry, maybe smoking a pack will help you to deal with it. Atleast that’s how many individuals start smoking. Like other addictions, these feelings simply serve as a short-term escape from reality.

All of these reasons to start smoking do not have any real merit. After all, who really believes that it is cool to have tobacco yellow teeth? Nevertheless, thousands of people make the decision to start, pressured or not each day. Will you be one of them? You may want to realize, too, that if you never do start to smoke, you’ll never have to fight the battle of quitting, a task that is harder than most problems of our daily life.

By Mike Singh

Mike Singh is the publisher of http://www.my-stop-smoking-zone.com/ On his website he provides articles about tips on stopping smoking and side affects of zyban.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Singh

smoking-kills

Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life.”
Brooke Shields (American actress)
Cigarette smoking is the number one preventable cause of premature deaths in the United States. In the year 2000, it is estimated that 8.6 million Americans had 12.7 million medical conditions that were caused by cigarette smoking. For current smokers, the most prevalent were chronic bronchitis (49%), followed by emphysema (24%). For former smokers, the three most prevalent conditions were chronic bronchitis (26%), emphysema (24%), and previous heart attack (24%). Lung cancer accounted for 1% of all cigarette smoking-attributable illnesses Each year in the United States, approximately 440,000 persons die of a cigarette smoking-attributable illness. This results in 5.6 million years of potential life lost, $75 billion in direct medical costs, and $82 billion in lost productivity.. Smoking is responsible for 30% of all coronary heart disease deaths. Smoking however remains very prevalent, with almost 21 million men and 18 million women continue to smoke. The sad part is that a significant percentage of children continue to take up smoking each year.
“I smoke ten to fifteen cigars a day. At my age I have to hold on to something.” George F. Burns (American comedian 1896-1996). Geoge Burns may have been genetically blessed or just plain lucky. Most people who smoke will see the risk of dying from heart disease go up by almost three times. The risk of stroke will double. Smoking increases blood pressure, accelerates the progression of arteriosclerosis, decreases the good HDL cholesterol, and increases the tendency for the blood to clot. Even after heart bypass surgery, continuing smoking increases the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events. Smokers also suffer from more peripheral arterial disease and aneurysms. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives increase their risk of heart attack ten fold and increase their risk of strokes and blood clots in the legs
Second hand or passive smoke is also associated with health risks in both children and adults. This environmental tobacco smoke contains a complex mixture of over 4000 chemicals, many toxic and about 40 proven to cause cancer in humans. The EPA estimates that environmental tobaccos smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer and about 37,000 coronary heart disease deaths in nonsmokers each year. Children, exposed to secondhand smoke before and after birth, are at a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, cleft pallets and lips, childhood leukemia, attention deficit disorder and childhood wheezing. Besides Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), second hand smoke is also associated with an increase in acute lower respiratory tract infections, asthma, chronic respiratory symptoms and middle ear infections in children. Adults experience an increased risk of lung cancer, nasal sinus cancer, heart disease mortality, acute and chronic coronary heart disease morbidity and eye and nasal irritation, when exposed to second hand smoke. It also greatly increases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, both in children and adults. No wonder Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels noted, “Every citizen who stops smoking, or loses a few pounds, or starts managing his chronic disease with real diligence, is caulking a crack for the benefit of us all. “
“Smoking is related to practically every terrible thing that can happen to you. “ Actress Loni Anderson. Smoking does not just damage the cardiovascular system. It can make men infertile and reduce their potency. It causes chronic lung disease like bronchitis and emphysema, and also the irritating chronic cough and increased phlegm production. It increases susceptibility to the flu and increases wrinkling. It has been linked to hearing loss, cataracts, rheumatoid arthritis and many cancers. Pregnant women who smoke face the danger of spontaneous abortion, still birth and sudden infant death syndrome after childbirth.
If you stop smoking, the benefits start almost immediately. The body begins to repair itself almost immediately. Several clinical studies have shown the cessation of smoking results in a substantial decrease in recurrent heart attacks, sudden cardiac death, total coronary heart disease mortality, and ischemic stroke. People who quit smoking cut their risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm in half. Within a few days or weeks, exercise endurance and cardiovascular capacity improve, and the good high density lipoprotein cholesterol increases. Within a year, the risk for most cardiovascular diseases will be cut in half. Within 5 to 15 years after stopping smoking, the risk of having a stroke decreases to the same level as that of someone who never smoked. After 15 smoke free years, the cardiovascular system will be as healthy as of somebody who had never smoked. And the incidence of all smoking related cancers--of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas--decreases.
“The best way to stop smoking is to just stop - no ifs, ands or butts. ”Groucho Marx (American Comedian, Actor and Singer, 1890-1977). Once you are ready to quit smoking, set a quit date. Inform and gather support from friends and relatives. Change your environment that encourages you to smoke. Get rid of all cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car, and place of work. Do not let people smoke around you or in your home. Learn new skills and behavior and distract yourself from the urge to smoke. Drink lots of water and other fluids. You may also want to join a smoking support group. If you feel like the actress Loni Anderson, who unfortunately experienced, “Once you are hooked, smoking is harder to quit then heroin, “ then you may want to seek professional help. There are several prescription and non-prescription medicines available. Nicotine replacement therapy is available as nicotine patch, gum, nasal spray or inhaler. Non-nicotine therapy includes prescription drugs Zyban and Chantix. Four out of five people who quit smoking may gain an average of about five pounds in weight. The good news is that this usually goes away within a few weeks or months after quitting.
Smokeless tobacco should not be used as an alternative to cigarettes. It is highly addictive and often more difficult to give up. This is because of its high nicotine content. Using smokeless tobacco also increases the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
So quit today. You will not only look younger but smell better. You will also live a better and longer life. And save a lot of money. It has also been said that cancer cures smoking. Perhaps I can add that premature death will definitely cure your smoking. So do not be like Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910) “It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.” Quit once and quit forever.
Dr. Shashi K. Agarwal is a Board Certified Internist and Cardiologist with a private practice in New York City and New Jersey. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Holistic Medicine and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Shashi_Agarwal_MD