Easiest Ways To Quit Smoking
Many smokers want to stop smoking because they are concerned about the unhealthy effects of tobacco smoke. Those concerns are rationally justifiable.
Over the course of the 20th century, scientists progressively discovered the harmful effects that tobacco smoke has on people's health. While I rather prefer to focus my discussion on the benefits of stopping smoking, I think it is important to have a clear and informed understanding of what the health risks are for smokers. And, as you will shortly find out, they are enormous.
According to a recent report by the World Health Organization on the global tobacco epidemic, in the 20th century alone, tobacco killed 100 million people worldwide. During this century, it could kill upwards of 1 billion people if the current trend of smoking continues without change. By 2030 more than 80% of tobacco deaths will be in the developing countries such as China and India. According to the report, tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death in the world today. This year alone, tobacco will kill more people than tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Currently, 5.4 million people die annually due to the tobacco epidemic.
One out of two long-term smokers will die as a result of their smoking. Those who will die from smoking will lose, on average, 10 years of life expectancy. Also, the quality of life of smokers is reduced. Many toxins found in tobacco smoke affect practically every organ of the body. Several cancers are attributable to smoking. These are: cancer of the lung, upper respiratory, head and neck, bladder, cervical, kidney, stomach, pancreas, myeloid leukemia and breast cancer.
There are deadly respiratory diseases that are caused by smoking, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which can lead to extreme breathing difficulties.
Deadly circulatory diseases such as heart attack, stroke, aortic aneurysm (which can result in the rupture of the aorta) are caused by smoking. Tobacco smoking also increases the chance of arteriosclerosis, which leads to partial blockage of the arteries and decreased blood supply to extremities such as hands and feet.
As well, ulcers of the stomach and the intestine are also known to be linked to smoking.
The following bodily functions are lowered in smokers: fertility is poorer in female smokers; menopause begins years earlier than in non-smokers; in male smokers sperm count is reduced and mobility of sperm is lowered. Also, sperm are less able to enter the ovum. As well, there is an increase in shape abnormalities of sperm. Males are at greater risks of: impotence, erectile dysfunction and volume decline of ejaculation.
In both sexes, the immune system can become impaired as well. Smokers place themselves under greater risk for diseases of the teeth and gums. There is an increased risk of muscle injuries. Also, an increased chance of neck and back pain and osteoporosis, or loss of bone mass.
And there is increased risk for skin diseases such as skin wrinkles and psoriasis. Moreover, the eyes are more affected by smoking, so that smokers are at greater risk of cataracts and other diseases that can result in loss of vision.
The above are just some of the risks of disease caused to smokers directly from their smoking. But the smoke that is released from cigarettes or any other smoked tobacco product into the surroundings can also cause harm and disease to people who are around smokers.
“When a person smokes near you, you breathe in second-hand smoke. When someone smokes inside a home, car or [any enclosed area], everyone inside breathes second-hand smoke."
Chemicals found in second-hand smoke also are known to cause cancer and other diseases.
Second-hand smoke also:
"Causes sore eyes and throat, nasal irritation, headaches, coughing and wheezing, nausea and dizziness. You are more likely to get colds and the flu. Breathing in second-hand smoke can also trigger asthma attacks and increase your chances of getting bronchitis and pneumonia. If you have been exposed to second-hand smoke for a long time, you are more likely to develop and die from heart problems, breathing problems and lung cancer.
Second-hand smoke can harm babies before and after they are born. Several chemicals in second-hand smoke can pass into the baby's blood affecting how your unborn baby develops. If you smoke or are around second-hand smoke while you are pregnant, you are more likely to: miscarry; deliver early; experience problems during labour. Also, babies exposed to second-hand smoke before they were born are more likely to be small and less healthy. They are also at higher risk from dying during childbirth or dying of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). If you’re breast-feeding, keep in mind that some chemicals from second-hand smoke are passed directly from breast milk to the baby….
Mothers who don't smoke are healthier. They have easier pregnancies and labours, and faster recoveries after giving birth…. Second-hand smoke hurts older children too. Children are more at risk of getting sick than adults when they breathe in second-hand smoke because their bodies are still growing. They breathe faster than adults, so they absorb more harmful chemicals. Children's immune system, which protects them from getting sick, is not yet fully developed.
Children have less control over their surroundings than adults do. Unlike adults, children are less likely to leave smoky places by themselves. Some children may not feel comfortable complaining about second-hand smoke. Compared to children of non-smokers, children who regularly breathe in second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer from: coughing and wheezing; painful ear infections, asthma and other breathing problems such as bronchitis, croup and pneumonia. They are also more likely to have higher risk of heart disease and to take up smoking themselves…. Second-hand smoke is even more dangerous inside the small air space in your car because the smoke is more concentrated. The chemicals remain in the car even when the tobacco is no longer burning.”
There is evidence that the illness and harm caused by smoking and second-hand smoke that was mentioned above is often underestimated by people who smoke. Nevertheless, numerous scientific studies can substantiate these unhealthy effects. The way that researchers have validated these findings was by studying smokers and people who have been exposed to second-hand smoke over the course of their lives and compared them with similar people who never smoked nor were exposed to second-hand smoke. In numerous studies involving ten of thousands of people, smokers and people exposed to second-hand smoke had greater risk for those diseases mentioned earlier. These findings have been researched over and over again and are available in numerous articles and books by eminent researchers.
As you will see in the next post, the benefits of quitting will ensure that much of the danger associated with smoking will be eliminated once you quit smoking tobacco. So the benefits of stopping are certainly worth considering it up. To find out more, you can check out Easiest Ways To Quit Smoking.
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