Smoking: How will it Affect You?
With all the information that is available, anybody would be hard pressed not to know that smoking is harmful to your health. Yet people still take up smoking and continue to smoke. I have always found this difficult to understand, especially when you see the real cost of smoking – the pain and suffering caused both to the smoker and to their family.
Many young people who take up smoking think that:
- the diseases associated with smoking only occur in old age, or
- you have to smoke a lot for the diseases to happen to you, or
- they can stop smoking whenever they choose, and
- they are not or will not become addicted to smoking.
Sadly none of these ideas hold true. I have been involved with some tragic cases where smoking has cost the smoker and their family dearly.
One such case was a 29 year old mother of three young children. She was suffering from severe emphysema, which is a form of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). It is caused by the chemicals contained in cigarette smoke. In emphysema the wall of the air sacs in the lungs has been destroyed and the natural elasticity of the lungs is lost. This causes difficulty with breathing and the person needs to ‘push’ the air out of their lungs with their abdominal and rib cage muscles. This young mother sat on the side of her hospital bed and had to lean over the bed table so that she could breath. She was attached to her oxygen (set at a low level) and could not walk to the bathroom. Her children could only make short visits – she was unable to cope physically and emotionally with seeing them. When they left she would always be in tears as she knew that she would not see them grow up.
Emphysema is an irreversible condition and although it is often seen in people who have been smoking for many years it can also affect younger people as is seen in the case above. The young mother was only 29. She had started smoking in her late teens and did not consider herself to be a heavy smoker. Her smoking cost her life, deprived her children of their mother and her partner of his relationship (and these losses are only the beginning as many other people were affected as well).
In another case a 24 year old smoker had a heart attack. Prior to his heart attack he was considered fit and healthy. He had worked as a diver in the Navy. When I came into contact with him he was undergoing heart surgery to deal with clogged arteries. His smoking habit had significantly contributed to his arterial disease. As well as loosing his health, he also lost his work as a diver – a job that he had worked hard to gain and one that he greatly enjoyed.
Smoking is a major cause of atherosclerosis - a buildup of fatty substances in the arteries. Atherosclerosis occurs when the normal lining of the arteries deteriorates, the walls of the arteries thicken and deposits of fat and plaque block the flow of blood. A person’s risk of heart attack greatly increases with the number of cigarettes he or she smokes. There is no safe amount of smoking. Smokers continue to increase their risk of heart attack the longer they smoke, however as you can see from the cases above young people are also at risk. People who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day have more than twice the risk of heart attack than non-smokers.
Emphysema and heart disease are just two of the serious conditions that are caused by cigarette smoking. Smoking costs – it is difficult to tell when or what it will cost you but it does not come free from consequences and it always extracts its price. It is best never to start smoking but if you do smoke you need to quit – the sooner the better.
The sooner you quit the sooner you will reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and emphysema. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of repeat heart attacks and death from heart disease by 50 percent or more.
The most essential step in any treatment plan for smokers with emphysema is stopping smoking; it's the only way to stop the damage to your lungs from becoming worse.
Quitting smoking is never easy, and people often need the help of a comprehensive smoking cessation plan, support and encouragement. You will find such assistance by becoming a member of Growerz. Allow them to take you through the quit process. Be a non-smoker and live.
Comments (0) 23.07.2007. 02:00
Quit Smoking and Greatly Improve Your Health
If you smoke then the best thing that you can do to improve your health is to quit.
The article Cigarette Smoking Tragedy lists some of the many diseases that are a result of smoking. You can treat many of these conditions with herbal and other remedies, but any approach needs to start with removing the underlying cause of the problem - cigarette smoking.
In future articles on this blog I will be writing about the prevention and treatment of various health problems such as arthritis, heart disease, osteoporosis, fatigue and so forth. All of my recommendations for treating (and preventing) these conditions will include 'do not smoke'. Cigarette smoke causes problems for all tissues of the body and for these tissues to repair and heal the underlying irritant needs to be removed.
I have given lectures along these lines to many students over the years and almost always in the group will be someone (who is young and smokes) who has a grandfather or other relative who they maintain has smoked "all his life" and he is 85 or 76 or whatever age. The inference is that the "smoking didn't hurt him" and he is old - so it may not happen to them. However, when we really look at the relative's health we find that it is not that great - true he is still alive but that is quite different from actually being healthy and living well.
Many people think that 'old people' will have diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, coughs, poor circulation and that these are a natural part of aging - this is not the case. These conditions are the natural consequence of a particular lifestyle (of which smoking is one part) but they do not have to be a part of healthy aging.
When we look at aging, as we currently see it, what we are looking at is pathology brought about by lifestyle choices - currently we do not know what real - healthy aging looks like.
We do not know what the relatives of the students mentioned above would be like if they hadn't smoked 'all their lives'. What more would they be able to do and enjoy!
The problems associated with cigarette smoking are not isolated to the elderly. It is important to realize that some people have serious problems caused by smoke when they are still in their twenties. In my next article 'Cigarette Smoking: How will it Affect You' presents two people that I have worked with who were young and suffering because of their smoking.
The best thing that you can do for your health if you smoke is to quit. Growerz can support you as you become smoke free. Take a tour and see how they will help you.
Comments (0) 23.07.2007. 01:50
Cigarette Smoking Tragedy
Smoking harms every part of the body – there is no organ that it doesn’t touch. It causes many diseases. It reduces the quality and enjoyment of life and also reduces how long a smoker can expect to live.
Smoking has a devastating effect on the individual and their family and friends. And yet every day nearly 6,000 children under 18 years of age start smoking; of these, nearly 2,000 will become regular smokers. That is almost 800,000 annually. It is estimated that at least 4.5 million U.S. adolescents are cigarette smokers and approximately 90 percent of smokers begin smoking before the age of 21. Cigarette smoking during childhood and adolescence produces significant health problems. These problems include cough and phlegm production, an increase in the number and severity of respiratory illnesses decreased physical fitness, an unfavorable blood lipid profile and potential retardation in the rate of lung growth and the level of maximum lung function. An estimated 440,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking.
It has been estimated that, in England, 364,000 patients are admitted to hospitals each year due to diseases caused by smoking. This is 7,000 hospital admissions per week, or 1,000 day. For every death caused by smoking, approximately 20 smokers are suffering from a smoking related disease. In 1997/98, cigarette smoking caused an estimated 480,000 patients to consult their Medical Practitioner for heart disease, 20,000 for stroke and nearly 600,000 for chronic obstructive lung disease.
Half of all teenagers who are currently smoking will die from diseases caused by cigarette smoke - if they continue to smoke. One quarter will die before 70 years of age, losing on average 21 years of life. It is estimated that between 1950 and 2000 six million Britons, 60 million people worldwide, died from tobacco-related diseases. One in two long-term smokers will die prematurely as a result of smoking – half of these in middle age. Most die from one of the three main diseases associated with cigarette smoking: lung cancer, chronic obstructive lung disease (bronchitis and emphysema) and coronary heart disease.
In the UK deaths caused by smoking are five times higher than the 22,833 deaths arising from: traffic accidents (3,439); poisoning and overdose (881); alcoholic liver disease (5,121); other accidental deaths (8,579); murder and manslaughter (513); suicide (4,066); and HIV infection (234). World-wide, almost 5 million die prematurely each year as a result of smoking.
Smokers also face a higher risk than non-smokers of developing many medical conditions which may not be fatal but which may cause years of debilitating illness or other problems. These conditions include the following:
- Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (gum disease)
- Angina (20 x risk)
- Back pain
- Buerger’s Disease (severe circulatory disease)
- Cataract (2 x risk)
- Cataract, posterior subcapsular (3 x risk)
- Colon Polyps
- Crohn’s Disease (chronic inflamed bowel)
- Depression
- Diabetes (Type 2, non-insulin dependent)
- Duodenal ulcer
- Hearing loss
- Impotence (2 x risk)
- Influenza
- Ligament injuries
- Macular degeneration (eyes, 2 x risk)
- Muscle injuries
- Neck pain
- Nystagmus (abnormal eye movements)
- Ocular Histoplasmosis (fungal eye infection)
- Optic Neuropathy (loss of vision, 16 x risk)
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteoporosis (in both sexes)
- Penis (Erectile dysfunction)
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Pneumonia
- Psoriasis (2 x risk)
- Rheumatoid arthritis (for heavy smokers)
- Skin wrinkling (2 x risk)
- Stomach ulcer
- Tendon injuries
- Tobacco Amblyopia (loss of vision)
- Tooth loss
- Tuberculosis
This means that the smoker has circulation, hearing, vision, joint, muscle, sexual, digestion, lung, skin and other problems – not a pleasing picture. This list doesn’t include the various cancers that smoker are prone to - cancers such as mouth, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, stomach and leukaemia. Nor does the list include the fact that the circulation problems can lead to gangrene (death of the tissues) which necessitates amputations. There are also functions that are impaired in smokers. These include:
- Ejaculation (volume reduced)
- Fertility (30% lower in women)
- Immune System (impaired)
- Menopause (onset 1.74 years early on average)
- Sperm count reduced
- Sperm less able to penetrate the ovum
- Sperm motility impaired
- Sperm shape abnormalities increased
The life of a smoker is not an easy one. The suffering and illness caused by the smoking is severe. The only way to ensure that you don’t have this pain and suffering is not to smoke. If you currently smoke then you need to quit. Quitting is not easy – however you do not have to do undertake the quitting process alone – you can have guidance, support and assistance. Join Growerz and have the support of a team who are committed to helping you overcome your addiction. Take a tour and see how they are able to assist you as you become smoke free.
References
- Cigarette smoking-attributable morbidity – United States, 2000. MMWR Weekly Report, 5 Sep. 2003.
- Cigarettes: what the warning label doesn’t tell you. American Council on Science & Health, 1997.
- Mortality statistics 2002., Office for National Statistics, 2002; General Register Office for Scotland, 2002; Registrar General Northern Ireland, Annual Report, Statistics & Research Agency, 2002.
- Nicotine Addiction in Britain. A report of the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians. RCP, 2000 (for percentage of smoking-related deaths).
- Mortality statistics 2002., Office for National Statistics, 2002; General Register Office for Scotland, 2002; Registrar General Northern Ireland, Annual Report, Statistics & Research Agency, 2002.
- Peto R. Mortality in relation to smoking: 40 years’ observations on male British doctors. BMJ 1994; 309: 901-911.
- The World Health Report 2003. World Health Organization, 2003.
Comments (0) 21.07.2007. 22:16
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