How Your Smoking Affects Your Loved Ones

Your cigarette, cigar or pipe smoking doesn't only have an affect on your health. The U.S. Surgeon General's report "The Health Consequences of Smoking," released in 2004, states it has been proven that smoking (or living with a person who smokes) can cause disease in nearly every organ of the body, in men as well as women. This means that every time you "light up" you are potentially damaging the health of your children, your spouse and your loved ones. It is a fact that second hand smoke (also known as environmental tobacco smoke or ETS) is a major cause of children's illness. As children have developing lungs and have higher breathing rates than adults they run the greatest risk of health effects. In children under the age of 18 second hand smoke has been linked with pneumonia, lower respiratory tract infections, upper respiratory tract irritation, increased severity of asthma and asthmatic symptoms. It has been associated with sudden infant death syndrome, middle ear infections, upper respiratory tract infections (colds and sore throats) and cancers and leukemia. Japanese researchers just released a study that suggests that second hand smoke may affect childrens gums. 70f the children of smokers had a brownish or black pigmentation of their gums. Statistics show that approximately 3,000 non-smoking adults die of lung cancer each year as a result of second hand smoke. Second hand smoke has been linked to nasal sinus cancer, cancer of the cervix, breast and bladder. Second hand smoke also causes an increased risk of death from heart disease. If you must smoke, it is essential that you protect your loved ones, especially children. Don't smoke in your home. If you must smoke, smoke outside. Do not smoke in your car when your children are with you. Make sure that childcare providers and others who work in your home or around your children do not smoke. There are many publications available to you free online that provide information on environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and it's affects on your family. Visit the US Environmental Protection Agency at http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/publications.html for a free booklet. The fact is that it's not only your own health at risk when you smoke. You quitting will make your loved ones healthier, and happier too.

Smoking Facts and Figures

A random list of statements, facts and figures relating to smoking. Hopefully this list will give you the final push to be committed to giving up smoking. When you have read it, visit abouthowtoquitsmoking for further information, help and advice. If you smoke more than 25 cigarettes a day are 25 times more likely to die from cancer and almost twice as likely to die from heart disease. Each cigarette on average takes 11 minutes off your life. Fifty diseases are caused by smoking causes. Twenty of them are fatal. Seven out of ten smokers say that they want to give up. Nicotine stimulates the central nervous system, which increases the heart rate and blood pressure. If you carry on smoking you have a one in two chance of dying from it. Smoking is the number one avoidable cause of premature death in the UK. Smoking related diseases cost the UK National Health Service about £1.7 billion a year. If you want facial wrinkles at an early age just carry on smoking. £1,600 that’s how much you could save if you gave up your twenty a day habit. Nicotine is an insecticide. £800 is what the average smoker give to the UK government in tax each year. The risk from smoking pipes can be as great as smoking cigarettes. Cigarettes contain tar, a complex mixture of chemicals, many of which are known to cause cancer. As each year passes, your addiction will become greater and will increase the difficulty of quitting. Any children growing up in a house where tobacco is regularly used are more likely to get asthma, pneumonia, ear infections, bronchitis and become tobacco users themselves. The benefits start as soon as you stop. Stomach ulcers are made worse by smoking. In the UK, about Three Hundred people are killed everyday, simply because they were smokers. You can always benefit from quitting smoking. Even if you are over 70 years of age. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of having a heart attack by two or three times. Every year 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital due to the effects of passive smoking. Smoking causes at least 80% of all deaths from lung cancer. Less than 10% of lung cancer patients survive five years. 83% of smokers say they would not smoke if they had their life again. Teenage smokers experience more asthma and respiratory symptoms than non-smokers. Chemicals that can be found in tobacco smoke: Benzene - A poisonous gas found in petrol fumes. Known to cause leukaemia. Butane - Lighter fuel. Ethanol - Used in anti-freeze. Methanol - Used in rocket fuel. Ammonia - Used in many cleaning products. Acetone - Used in paint stripper. Cadmium - Used in car batteries. Known to cause cancer. Arsenic - Poison. Toluene - Industrial solvent. 54% of people want smoking restrictions in pubs. 85% favour smoking restrictions at work and in restaurants. Passive smoking doubles the risk of acute respiratory illness in children.

You Can Stop Smoking

The facts are clear. There is nothing worse you could do to adversely affect your health. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Women are three times more likely to develop lung cancer then men. Cancer has now replaced heart disease as the number one killer of Americans aged 85 and younger. 1/3 of all cancer deaths are related to smoking. Although there has been a huge decrease in the number of smokers between 1965 and 2000, 22f American adults still continue to smoke. The good news is that surveys have shown that 70f active smokers want to quit. When you quit smoking the benefits are immediate. Blood cells that transport carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke begin to transport healthy oxygen. Even though quitting doesn't completely eliminate the risk of developing lung cancer, the risk of lung cancer starts to decline. One year after quitting smoking your chances of having a heart attack drops by half. The risk of lung cancer continues to decline and drop dramatically five to ten years after quitting. So we know that quitting is essential to enjoying a long and healthy life. The question is how do you pick the right way to stop smoking for you? The first thing you need to know is that most smokers quit unsuccessfully several times before they quit for good. You will most likely not be successful your first time around - but you must still try! Each time you attempt to quit you come closer to finally quitting for good. There are many organizations available to help you take control of your health and quit smoking. Most smokers find a greater success rate in groups. Organizations such as SmokEnders have community based seminars and will come to the workplace to counsel smokers. SmokEnders is a gradual stop smoking program that says it's success is based on treating the physical and the psychological aspects of smoking. They offer unlimited toll-free phone counseling. Some people prefer to try to stop cold turkey. They stop smoking completely with little or no reduction in the number of cigarettes they smoke beforehand. As with any smoker who quits, those who quit cold turkey will experience the withdrawal symptoms of irritability, increased appetite and restlessness. For someone trying to stop smoking cold turkey help can be obtained using medications such as Zyban which lessens withdrawal symptoms. Zyban can only be obtained with a prescription. Some smokers obtain relief from smoking withdrawal with a nicotine replacement commonly known as a nicotine patch. Patches are used for up to eight weeks. Nicotine patches are available over the counter. It is suggested that you talk to your doctor before trying any over the counter nicotine replacement therapy.