~ SMOKING ~

Smoking is an addiction and one of the most preventable causes of premature death in the U.S. Smoking cigarettes exposes the smoker to over 4,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic. Smoking causes the vast majority of cases of lung cancer. Smoking also cause other cancers, including mouth cancer, kidney cancer, esophagus cancer, throat cancer and pancreas cancer. Smoking also causes or worsens other lung cancer. People close to a smoker can also experience similar effects due to the inhalation of second-hand smoke.   Dangerous toxins found in cigarettes include formaldehyde and cyanide. Another harmful substance is nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive drug whose side effects include raising heart rate, irritates blood vessels, and raises the risk of developing blood clots. This results in increased risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke.

Once You Start, It's Hard to Stop

Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal.

People start smoking for a variety of different reasons. Some think it looks cool. Others start because their family members or friends smoke. Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start before they're 18 years old. Most adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become addicted. That's why people say it's just so much easier to not start smoking at all.

Reasons to stop smoking

Thanks to anti-smoking campaigns, many smokers know of the common health hazards that come with cigarette smoking. However, before the damage culminates into a major, life-threatening event, health concerns are not strong motivators for quitting.

AFTER 24 years living of with his daily pack of cigarettes, it took S. Vigay-indran a mild stroke, lots of encouragement from his family and frequent thoughts of his two children to stop.

-       Better late than never

While it often takes a life-changing experience to strengthen a smoker’s resolve to stop, Vigay-indran reckons that it is better late than never.

One of the problems we face in the field of smoking cessation is that although we are looking at very shocking numbers – for instance, one billion people die from smoking in a year – smokers don’t think they are going to die.

-       Your choices

The most successful programmes are those that combine some form of counselling or behavioural therapy with the support of drug therapy.

According to the American Cancer Society guide to quitting smoking, there are a few ways you could go about quitting.

There is the nicotine replacement therapy, where you replace the nicotine you normally get from cigarettes with patches, chewing gums, sprays and inhalers to help you through withdrawal symptoms. The dose of nicotine will be reduced over time until you do not need or crave it anymore.

There are also the non-nicotine medications to choose from. Bupropion is a prescription anti-depressant that reduces symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, while varenicline is a newer drug that lessens the pleasurable physical effects a person gets from smoking and reduces the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal by attaching itself to the nicotine receptors in the brain.

Other methods, like hypnotherapy and acupuncture, may also help some people, although there is no strong evidence they can improve your chances of quitting.

“If you looked at the National Health Morbidity Surveys, one-third of the many smokers we interviewed have made an attempt to quit smoking,” says Dr Aizai.

-       Never too early, or too late to stop

There is no guarantee that a treatment that works an individual will work for another. But even if your first few attempts did not work out, there is no reason to stop trying because you will never know when smoking will catch up to you, healthwise.

·         Set a date for quitting. If possible, plan to have a friend quit smoking with you. 

·         Notice when and why you smoke. Try to find the things in your daily life that you often do while smoking (such as drinking your morning cup of coffee or driving a car). 

·         Change your smoking routines: Keep your cigarettes in a different place. Smoke with your other hand. Don't do anything else when you are smoking. Think about how you feel when you smoke. 

·         Smoke only in certain places, such as outdoors. 

·         When you want a cigarette, wait a few minutes. Try to think of something to do instead of smoking. For example, you might chew gum or drink a glass of water. 

·         Buy one pack of cigarettes at a time. Switch to a brand of cigarettes that you don't like.

What are the signs of cigarette addiction?

The signs of addiction to cigarettes include:

·         smoking more than seven cigarettes per day;

·         inhaling deeply and frequently;

·         smoking cigarettes containing nicotine levels more than 0.9mg;

·         smoking within 30 minutes of awakening in the morning;

·         finding it difficult to eliminate the first cigarette in the morning;

·         smoking frequently during the morning;

·         finding it difficult to avoid smoking in smoking-restricted areas; and

·         needing to smoke even if sick and in bed.

complication

·         Chronic bronchitis

·         COPD

·         Emphysema

·         Asthma

·         Aspergillosis

·         Tuberculosis

·         Lung abscess

·         Pleural effusion

·         Pneumothorax

·         Flail chest

·         Lung collase

·         Lung fibrosis

·         Pneumoconiosis

·         Pneumonia