Smoking is the cause of many diseases and kills about
four hundred and forty two thousand people every year in
the United States. In spite of anti smoking campaigns
and billboard warnings, more and more people are joining
the bandwagon of smokers every year. Out of the total
number of new smokers, ninety percent are children and
adolescents, replacing smokers who have quit or died
early due to a disease caused by smoking. Smoking is the
top cause of preventable and premature deaths, followed
by obesity.
Smoking not only increases the risk of lung disease, but
also increases the risk of contracting lung cancer, oral
cancer, emphysema, stroke and heart disease. Certain
statistics by the American Lung Associations show
alarming results. Over five thousand adolescents smoke
their very first cigarette every day, out of which over
two thousand turn into regular smokers. Presently there
are nearly five million adolescents smokers. Twenty
percent of the twelfth graders smoke cigarettes
regularly.
Smoking has many harmful affects on the health of a
human being. It damages the cardiovascular system,
causes high blood pressure, increases heart rate,
increases the risk of ischemic stroke, increases the
risk of formation of blood clot formation, and decreases
the oxygen amount which reaches the tissues in the body,
reduces coronary blood flow & cardiac output, and
damages the blood vessels. Smoking not only affects
physical health, but mental health too. It causes
psychological distress and depression.
Smoking not only affects the person who smokes but also
other people who surround him/her. According to the
American Heart Association, nearly thirty five thousand
passive smokers die of smoke inhaled from a lit pipe,
cigar or cigarette. People who do not smoke directly and
inhale smoke from a cigarette smoke by his/her neighbor
is known as passive smoker, secondary smoker or indirect
smoker. Among the passive smokers, women, children and
infants are at a higher risk. Infants and children who
are exposed to smoke develop asthma, frequent ear
infections and may even experience infant death
syndrome. The symptoms experienced by secondary smokers
are coughing, excess mucus formation in the airways,
chest discomfort, chest pain, and lung irritation. They
even feel irritation of throat, nose and eyes. If the
passive smokers experiences chest pain, it can be an
indication of a heart disease. Sometimes the symptoms of
secondary smoking can coincide with the symptoms of
other medical conditions. Hence, it is recommended to
contact the doctor immediately after the surfacing of
the symptoms.
In active smokers, smoking, apart from building up high
cholesterol in blood, increases the risk of
cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure,
physical inactivity and diabetes. So smoking cessation
will not only reduce the risk of coronary heart disease,
which is top of the list, but also decreases the risk by
fifty percent of heart attacks and deaths caused by it.
But quitting smoking undertakes lots of physical and
mental efforts. The person should be made mentally
relaxed and stress free. In case of adolescents, they
can be asked to exercise regularly and sleep adequately.
The American Lung Association and The American Academy
of Otolaryngology have developed certain tips which can
be of great help to the smokers who are thinking of
quitting. The smokers must first be made to understand
the reason for quitting. Stress only makes even more
difficult to quit smoking, so a stress free period
should be chosen to quit. Family and friends’
encouragement and support are extremely necessary to
persuade the smoker to quit. If the support isn’t
sufficient, smokers can join a smoking cessation program
or a support group to attain their goals. A balanced
diet is a must, along with lots of rest.
Sometimes taking nicotine replacement products, such as
nicotine chewing gum, nicotine inhalers, and nicotine
patch, are a great help to smokers who want to quit. By
using these products the smokers can satisfy their
nicotine craving. The good thing is that these nicotine
replacement products can deduct the poisonous gases and
tars emitted by the cigarettes. But nursing and pregnant
women should consult a doctor before trying nicotine
replacement products. For such people non-nicotine
alternative is available in the market.
