Health Effects of Smoking

In the U.S. alone it is estimated that 16 percent of pregnant women smoke while they are pregnant. Smoking during pregnancy is directly for hundreds of infant deaths annually.

While the mother smokes, unborn babies are exposed to nicotine and when born they can suffer from withdrawals consistent with other infants reported to be exposed to other drugs. Not a way a child should have to enter this world. Infants are born with low birth weights, they display signs of stress, are at risk from sudden infant death syndrome, not to mention other learning and behavioral problems.

Studies have also shown that mothers who smoke a pack a day or more during pregnancy nearly doubles the risk that their child will become addicted to tobacco if they try smoking.

Smoking is more than a physical addiction. If it weren’t we could quit for a week or so and feel fine without it. But over the years we have grown accustom to smoking and its affects. We count on it to help us feel better and get us through the day. We reward ourselves with a job well done by heading out the back door and having a smoke.

Quitting smoking behavioral treatments play a major role and can be combined with other quit smoking methods such as nicotine replacement products. There are a variety of methods that people use to quit such as; self-help materials to cognitive behavioral therapy.

These types of treatments are helpful because they teach people how to recognize high risk situations, improve problem solving skills, manage stress, and increase social support. Treatments that are tailored more specifically for an individual also increase the chances of their success.

It is bad enough that that smoking hurts everyone that is exposed to it but did you know that dropped cigarettes are responsible for more than 1,000 deaths each year? Making them the leading cause of residential fire fatalities.

You have heard it many times before that over 440,000 deaths occur each year from tobacco use in the United States. Thirty eight percent of those deaths are from cancer.

Once you stop smoking, your body will no longer be damaged from the daily intake of poisonous gas and toxins. Your body will begin to repair the damage that was done and you will add days and years to your life.

You will lower your risk of death from lung cancer and other diseases such as:

• oral cancer
• throat cancer
• bladder cancer
• stomach cancer
• esophageal cancer
• laryngeal cancer
• pancreatic cancer
• kidney cancer
• cervical cancer
• stroke
• heart disease
• emphysema

The benefits of stopping smoking will begin immediately and not just for you but those around you. The health of your loved ones will also benefit from you stopping. They will no longer be exposed to secondhand smoke and you will be setting a good example to your children and those that look up to you.

Within 20 minutes of stopping smoking your body will begin to make healthy changes that will continue for years to come.

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Quitting smoking is difficult for most, many have claimed it is the hardest thing they have ever done but they did do it. There are more ex smokers today than smokers. Unfortunately, people continue to start without thinking of the long-term effects.

Millions of people quit smoking each year, roughly 17 million try to quit, and millions more think about quitting. Within 6 months, 75-80 percent of people who try to quit smoking relapse. It is estimated that only 8 percent are actually successful at quitting.

Eyes watering, throat and lungs burning, upset stomach and a cough that brings you to your knees.

Do you remember what it was like to smoke your first cigarette? I would imagine that most people don’t unless they think about it really hard. Over the years smoking has become a best friend to many, helping them in tough times, keeping them thin, and giving them something to do. But if you can step into the “way back machine” you might remember things a bit differently.

You and your friends are huddled around; laughing, having fun, and contemplating what to do next when someone pulls out a pack of cigarettes. Not wanting to feel like a dork or a wuss you agree to try one. With a flick of the lighter, the spark ignites into a flame, you hold it to the cigarette as the paper and tobacco crackle and smoke. It feels unnatural holding the cigarette between your lips but you continue and with your first inhale you encounter an awful taste, your throat and lungs begin to burn as you cough uncontrollably from the poisons entering your body, your eyes water and burn, and you begin to feel queasy and lightheaded… this is the wonderful feeling of your first puff from a cigarette.

Each day in the United States, approximately 3,450 young people between 12 and 17 years of age smoke their first cigarette, and an estimated 850 youth become daily cigarette smokers.

It does not take long for a person to become addicted to nicotine and once that happens they are faced with another uncomfortable situation – avoiding nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Everyday a person experiences nicotine withdrawal as it works it way through the body and everyday the smoker has to smoke in order to feel normal. If not then they start to go through withdrawals and as your dependence increases so does the number of cigarettes you have to smoke.

With the pain of starting to smoke and the discomfort of managing nicotine cravings it is a mystery why people start smoking, nevertheless, they do.

10 Reasons Young Teens Start Smoking

1. Low socioeconomic status
2. Use and approval of tobacco use by peers or siblings
3. Lack of skills to resist influences to tobacco use
4. Smoking by parents or guardians and/or lack of parental support or involvement
5. Accessibility, availability, and price of tobacco products
6. A perception that tobacco use is the norm
7. Low levels of academic achievement
8. Low self-image or self-esteem
9. Aggressive behavior (e.g., fighting)
10. To be cool

Smoking in the United States

Over the years there has been a large push on education and quitting smoking cessation programs. In 1965 over 40 percent of the population smoked; now it is half that. However, that still means that over 46 million people smoke and the people keeping the trend going are our youth.

They don’t understand that smoking is responsible for over 443,000 deaths each year and thousands of them are from exposure to secondhand smoke. 8.6 million people suffer from serious illnesses associated with smoking. When you smoke you damage nearly every organ in the human body and on average for each cigarette you smoke you knock 11 minutes off your life.

If you are a smoker the odds are against you, eventually it will catch up to you and you will die prematurely. Saying, “it won’t happen to you” won’t work because it very well could happen to you and before you know it the quality of your life stinks because of the health effects of smoking. The earlier you start the harder it is to quit and the longer you smoke the more damage you do. There is no safe level of exposure to the poisons and toxins of tobacco smoke.

Do yourself, your loved ones, and society a favor and quit smoking. Today is the day you turn your life around and take back control.

Click Here to Learn More About How You Can Quit Smoking!

Heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular (blood vessel) diseases are among the leading cause of death and now kill more than 800,000 adults in the US each year. Of these, 150,000 are younger than age 65. These diseases are also two of the leading causes of health disparities in the US. Treatment of these diseases accounts for 1 in every 6 US health dollars spent. Two main reasons people have heart disease or stroke are high blood pressure* and cholesterol, which are common, deadly, and preventable. Nearly 2 out of 3 adults with high cholesterol and about half of adults with high blood pressure don’t have their condition yet under control. Clearly, other steps are needed to gain control of these health risks.

What Can You Do?

Quit smoking, follow your doctors instructions, eat a healthy diet, and get physically active.

Learn how by cleaning your lungs it can help you quit smoking and stay quit.

If you are a smoker and a man, your chances of developing lung cancer are 23 times higher than that of a nonsmoker. For women smokers their rate increases by 13 times. Not only does cigarette smoking increase the likelihood of you developing lung cancer but many other cancers as well such as cancer of the:

• Lips
• Oral Cavity
• Pancreas
• Voice Box
• Bladder
• Kidney
• Cervix
• Pharynx

Cancer from smoking is the second leading cause of death in the US and one of the first linked to smoking. Among all the cancers, lung cancer is the most prevalent and is the leading cause of death. For smoking attributable cancers, the risk generally increases with the number of cigarettes smoking and the number of years smoking. By quitting smoking you can reduce your chances of getting cancer and give your body a fighting chance.

Detox Your Lungs and Quit Smoking at the Same Time!

Smoking is the primary way people choose to consume nicotine. It is an efficient and effective way to introduce the drug into a person’s system. The average smoker takes in 1 – 2 mg of nicotine per cigarette.

As a cigarette is smoked nicotine quickly reaches peak levels in the bloodstream and enters the brain. A typical smoker will take 10 puffs on a cigarette over a five minute period. For a person smoking a pack a day that is 200 “hits” of nicotine that the brain receives each day.

When a smoker inhales the nicotine from their cigarette it immediately goes to work, stimulating the adrenal glands causing them to release adrenaline. The rush of adrenaline stimulates the body and causes blood pressure, respiration, and heart rate to increase.

Research suggests that nicotine affects the brain in a number of ways, causing it to have an addictive nature. Nicotine activates reward pathways – the brain circuitry that regulates feelings of pleasure.