Stop Smoking, You Can Do It!
The dangers of smoking are well known today, so why do people continue to smoke. Well, some people started smoking before the dangers were widely known, while others started in adolescence, when they either felt invulnerable or more likely to want to fit in with a particular social crowd.
However, surveys show consistently that no matter why or when they started, most current smokers do not smoke because they want to but because they are addicted!
Nicotine has long been known to be a deadly toxin. A single pinhead sized drop of liquid nicotine, directly into the bloodstream, would be fatal. So what happens when the normal dose is ingested while smoking?
Nicotine:
- Makes the heart pump faster and work harder increasing the likelihood of heart disease
- Constricts the peripheral blood vessels, contributing to circulatory disorders such as Raynaud’s phenomenon and hardening of the arteries.
If this wasn’t enough, nicotine is not the only ingredient in cigarettes that poses a danger to health. Over 4,000 chemical substances have been identified as constituents of cigarette smoke. Of these at least 43 are known to cause cancer in humans.
Cigarette smoke contains:
- Carbon monoxide (which binds to hemoglobin, interfering with the transport of oxygen throughout the body. It also promotes the development of cholesterol deposits on artery walls. These two factors increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.)
- Benzene
- Cyanide( Hydrogen cyanide causes bronchitis by inflaming the lining of the bronchi)
- Ammonia
- Nitrosamines
- Vinyl chloride
- Radioactive particles
- Other known irritants and carcinogens.
Over the long term, smoking dramatically reduces flow of blood to the brain.
Men who have smoked for years are more likely to have abnormally low penile blood pressure, leading to impotence. The sperm of men who smoke have less ability than that of nonsmokers to penetrate, and thus fertilize, an egg, leading to sterility.
Women cigarette smokers are more likely:
- To experience menopause earlier
- To face a greater risk of osteoporosis after menopause
- To have a much higher risk of developing cervical or uterine cancer
- They appear less fertile
- To have more difficulties during pregnancy
- To have more miscarriages, stillbirths, and premature deliveries
- To have smaller babies which have more health problems than nonsmokers
Infants whose mothers smoke both during pregnancy and after childbirth appear to be three times as likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as infants of nonsmokers.
Children whose fathers smoke also face an increase in health problems. Children of male smokers have been shown to be at a higher than normal risk of developing brain cancer and leukemia.
Smoking dramatically effects nutrition. Smokers break down vitamin C twice as fast as nonsmokers. This effects the gum and teeth health, along with many other processes that speeds the aging process. This can deprive the body of adequate amounts of one of the most powerful and versatile antioxidants at our disposal. Other antioxidant vitamins are depleted as well. Cigarette smoke is high in nitrogen dioxide ozone, which oxidizes the antioxidant vitamins and is known to do damage to DNA.
Tobacco smoking causes an estimated:
- One third of all cancer deaths
- One fourth of fatal heart attacks
- 85 percent of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- 85 percent of lung cancer cases.
Other health problems linked to smoking include:
- Angina
- Arteriosclerosis
- Cataracts
- Chronic bronchitis
- Colorectal cancer
- Diarrhea
- Emphysema
- Heartburn
- High blood pressure
- Impotence
- Peptic ulcers
- Respiratory ailments
- Urinary Incontinence
- Circulatory ailments
- Cancers of the mouth and throat
The good news is that this addiction can be overcome, and that health benefits begin almost immediately. In just 24 hours after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse rate should return to normal, as well as the levels of oxygen and carbon monoxide in your blood. Within a week the risk of heart attack begins to decrease, the senses of smell and taste improve, breathing becomes easier.
Our health is our responsibility. It takes a decision on our part to take control of our actions, which affects not only us but our loved ones for many years to come. Hopefully we will be here to enjoy them. It is said that every cigarette smoked takes off 15 minutes from the end of one’s life. Let’s take action now, You Can Do It!!
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