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Health Effects of Smoking

You know smoking is bad for you, but do you know what this dangerous habit does to your body and to nonsmokers who inhale secondhand smoke?

By Dennis Thompson, Jr.

Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

Cigarette smoking has disastrous consequences: It damages just about every organ of the body and leads to the general deterioration of the smoker's health. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that cigarette smoking is responsible for nearly one of every five deaths in the United States, or about 438,000 deaths every year. Cigarette smoking is deadlier on an annual basis than HIV/AIDS, motor vehicle crashes, drug abuse, alcoholism, suicide, and murder … combined.

Smoking and Cancer

Cancer was one of the first diseases that researchers linked to cigarette smoking, and it continues to be smoking's most notorious health effect. Cigarette smoking and tobacco use causes about one-third of all cancer deaths in the United States.

Lung cancer is most closely linked to cigarette smoking. Smoking causes nearly all lung cancer deaths in America, about 90 percent of male deaths and 80 percent of female deaths. The chances that a male smoker will die of lung cancer is 23 times that of someone who's never smoked, while women who smoke run a risk 13 times greater than non-smokers.

But lung cancer is far from the only form of cancer attributable to cigarette smoking. Researchers have also linked smoking to cancers of the bladder, larynx, mouth, throat, esophagus, pancreas, stomach, kidney, and cervix. Smoking also is a known cause of some forms of leukemia.

Smoking and Respiratory Disease

Breathing in cigarette smoke is terribly harmful to the lungs. The damage starts with the first puff and continues until the smoker quits. About 9 out of 10 deaths from lung diseases are caused by smoking. A cigarette smoker's risk of dying from a chronic obstructive lung disease like chronic bronchitis or emphysema is 10 times that of non-smokers:

• Chronic bronchitis occurs when cigarette smoke prompts the airways to produce too much protective mucus. The smoker develops a chronic cough to clear their airways of the mucus so they can breathe. Eventually, the airways swell and become blocked by scar tissue and mucus. The smoker with bronchitis has a higher risk of contracting pneumonia and other infections.
• Emphysema occurs as cigarette smoke destroys the tiny air sacs inside the lungs that allow oxygen to be diffused into the bloodstream. The process destroys the smoker's ability to draw breath, eventually making them gasp and struggle for air.

Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease

Smoking also affects the heart and the circulatory system, and has been linked to coronary heart disease, the number one killer in the United States. Cigarette smokers are as much as four times more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease than non-smokers, and are twice as likely to suffer strokes.

Other Health Effects of Smoking

Cigarette smoking's effects are widespread and include damage to:

• Skin. Smoking prematurely ages the skin, causing facial wrinkles. It also slows the skin’s healing ability and has been linked to skin cancer.
• Eyes. Smoking has been linked to the development of cataracts, a condition in which the clear lens of the eye becomes cloudy. Cigarette smoking also can cause macular degeneration and do damage to the optic nerve.
• Mouth. Smoking is estimated to be responsible for three of every four cases of periodontal disease in the United States. Toxins contained in cigarette smoke damage the gums, causing them to recede and putting the smoker at greater risk for tooth decay.

The Dangers Secondhand Smoke

Cigarette smoking can harm your health even if you're not a smoker. Exposure to secondhand smoke is believed to cause the lung cancer or heart disease deaths of about 49,000 non-smokers every year. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes or workplaces have a 25 to 30 percent increase in their heart disease risk and a 20 to 30 percent increase in their lung cancer risk. Children whose parents or caregivers smoke have an increased risk of asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, coughing, wheezing, and ear infections. Babies of smokers have a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.

Although the health consequences of smoking are dire, it's important to remember that you can take control of your health by quitting. Once you give up cigarettes your body can begin to repair some of the damage smoking has caused.

From http://www.everydayhealth.com

Men, Women, and the Dangers of Smoking

When it comes to smoking, there are clear differences between how men and women think about it and react to it.

By Dennis Thompson Jr.

Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

Smoking used to be considered more of a male pursuit, with much higher numbers of men smoking than women. Back in 1965, about 52 percent of men smoked, compared with 34 percent of women. Forty years later, 24 percent of men smoked compared with 18 percent of women. Though the overall percentage of people who smoke has come down, the smoking "gender gap" has narrowed over time, putting both sexes at more equal risk of the dangers of smoking.

Gender Differences in Smoking

Smoking is a very different experience for men and women, research has found. Men and women differ on:

• Why they smoke
• How they feel about the dangers of smoking
• What addicts them to smoking
• Why they may or may not quit

Some of the specific differences found between male and female smokers include:

• Reasons for smoking. Studies have found that men smoke to feel more alert and vigorous, enjoying the positive feelings associated with the habit. Women smoke because they find it relaxes them and relieves stress. Nicotine appears to promote aggression in men, but has a calming effect on women. Women also appear to be more likely to take up smoking to help control their weight.
• Enjoyment of smoking. Women appear to smoke less for the nicotine and more for other factors, such as enjoying the sight and smell of tobacco smoke or the pleasure involved in interacting with other people while smoking. For example, men on cigarette breaks tend to smoke alone, while women taking smoke breaks gather in groups.
• Intensity of smoking. Men tend to consume more cigarettes than women. About 15 percent of male smokers have more than 24 cigarettes a day, compared to just 8 percent of female smokers. Women overall smoke fewer cigarettes per day than men and are less likely to inhale deeply when they smoke.
• Health concerns. While many of the dangers of smoking cross gender lines, men and women smokers do face some unique risks. Male smokers may experience a decline in sexual potency and fertility. Female smokers have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly if they are taking oral contraceptives, and they also risk early menopause, cervical cancer, bone fractures, and reproductive difficulties.

Gender Differences in the Ability to Quit Smoking

Overall, women may find it much harder to stop smoking than men do. Both genders cite health concerns regarding the dangers of smoking as the top reason for quitting smoking, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that while 29 percent of male smokers have been able to quit, only 19 percent of female smokers have permanently broken the habit. Women are three times more likely than men to relapse while trying to quit smoking without any help.

Researchers have found a number of reasons why it’s harder for women to stop smoking. Women tend to suffer withdrawal more intensely than men, especially during the last two weeks of their menstrual cycles. They may find nicotine replacement therapies like nicotine patches and nicotine gum to be less helpful than men do, and tend to worry more about weight gain if they stop smoking. Women are also more likely to relapse under stress.

from http://www.everydayhealth.com

5 Ways to Quit Smoking for Good

You've made the decision to quit smoking — now you need a plan, resolve, and support. Here are five tips that will help you quit smoking for life.

By Dennis Thompson Jr.

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Quitting smoking is no small feat. To do it successfully, it helps to know what worked for others. These tips will help you see it through, from beginning to end.

1. Start With a Stop-Smoking Plan
   
   
   • Pick a day to quit smoking. Having a specific day in mind will help you stick to your goal. One day next month would be best — that will give you enough time to plan for it, but not enough time to talk yourself out of it. Don't quit smoking during holiday periods or at a time when you can expect a lot of additional stress. Post the date on your calendar, and let family and close co-workers and friends know.
   • Visit your doctor. Discuss your decision to quit smoking, and ask if nicotine replacement therapy or other medications might help you quit.
   • Cut back now. In the days leading up to your quit-smoking day, begin cutting back on the number of cigarettes you smoke each day. Try to smoke just half a cigarette when you do light up.
   • Get smart. Read about what you'll be going through, especiallynicotine withdrawal and the stresses of quitting. Start paying attention to triggers that make you want to smoke. You'll need to avoid or deal with these triggers once you've quit smoking.
   • Plan substitutes. Stock up on cigarette substitutes like carrot sticks, hard candy, straws, toothpicks, and sugarless gum.
2. Seek Help and Support to Stop Smoking
   
   
   • Tell family and friends about your quit-smoking day, and ask for their support. Just having someone to talk with can help you during low moments.
   • Ask those who still smoke not to smoke around you while you're trying to quit smoking.
   • Find a support group or a smoking cessation program in your area. Many groups like the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society offer programs through which smokers can receive help and advice while they're trying to quit smoking.
3. Make Your Quit-Smoking Day Special
   
   
   • Don't smoke at all. Not one puff. This is it!
   • Get rid of all of your smoking paraphernalia. Toss out your cigarettes, matches, lighters, and ashtrays.
   • Plan to stay busy all day. Go for a walk or exercise. Go someplace where smoking isn't allowed, like the library or the movies. Eat foods you don't normally eat, and take routes you don't normally take. The idea is to avoid any association with your usual patterns of behavior.
   • Begin using a nicotine replacement, if you've decided that will help you.
   • Drink lots of water and juice. This will give you something to do and help flush the nicotine out of your body.
4. Be Prepared to Deal With Smoking Withdrawal Symptoms
   As time passes, you’ll need to confront rationalizations. You will come up with reasons to smoke that wouldn't normally make any sense to you except at this point, when you're in the middle of a powerful craving. Thoughts like, "Just one to get me through this rough patch" and "I can't deal with this today, I'll quit tomorrow" will go through your mind. See these thoughts for what they are, and ignore them. Here’s how:
   • Avoid situations that trigger the desire to smoke.
   • Find ways to deal with cravings. Take slow, deep breaths until the craving passes. Drink some water slowly and hold it in your mouth. Munch on carrot sticks or suck some hard candy. Focus on a crossword puzzle. Play with a rubber band.
   • If nothing else works, just tell yourself to hold off smoking for 10 minutes; often, that will get you past the craving.
   
   

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5. Maintain Your Resolve, But Be Ready for a Slip
   Whenever you feel your resolve weakening, remind yourself of all the benefits of not smoking:
   • Count the money you're saving on cigarettes, consider how much better everything tastes and smells, and think about how your secondhand smoke is no longer affecting your family and friends.
   • Avoid alcohol. Drinking makes it more likely you'll slide back into smoking.
   • Eat right and exercise. A healthy diet and an exercise regimen can keep your mind off cravings and draw attention to how much better you feel now that you've quit smoking.
   • Reward yourself. Buy something special with the money you've saved on cigarettes.
   • Quickly regain control if you slip. Slipping is not the same as relapse — it's just a one-time mistake. You're still a non-smoker. Rededicate yourself, and use the slip as a learning opportunity by asking yourself what triggered your desire to smoke and what you can do to avoid it in the future.

Quitting smoking is difficult but not impossible. Many have done it before you and had to try a number of times before they were successful. Don’t give up!

Why Is It So Hard to Quit Smoking?

Smoking is so extremely addictive that many people fail at their first attempt to quit. Learn more about why this is true.

By Dennis Thompson, Jr.

Medically reviewed by Cynthia Haines, MD

The American Cancer Society says about 70 percent of smokers want to quit and about 40 percent make an attempt to stop smoking each year. However, only 4 to 7 percent actually accomplish this goal without assistance.

Why is it so hard to quit smoking?

The short answer is nicotine. The long answer is more complex. First, nicotine is physically addictive and, second, nicotine addiction also causes psychological changes in smokers because they connect its pleasurable feelings to many different aspects of their lives. Cigarette smoking becomes interwoven with their lives, so that when they try to quit smoking, they not only have to beat back an addiction to smoking, they also have to deal with dozens of triggers that can prompt a desire to smoke.

Nicotine is a drug that naturally occurs in tobacco. When you puff on a cigarette, you inhale nicotine in the smoke and it then spreads through your body. Nicotine interferes with communication between nerve cells. The result is a relaxing, pleasant feeling that makes you want to smoke more.

As you continue to smoke, your body adapts and becomes tolerant to nicotine. You have to smoke more cigarettes in order to achieve the same pleasant feeling. Because your body metabolizes nicotine quickly, the level of nicotine in your blood drops within a couple of hours and you find yourself needing to smoke repeatedly throughout the day to refresh the drug’s effect. At some point, enough nicotine may accumulate in your system that you may need only a certain number of cigarettes each day to keep the level stable.

The Power of Nicotine

You can become physically dependent on nicotine after just a few weeks of regular smoking. When you try to quit smoking, your body goes into nicotine withdrawal. Your system reacts to the absence of nicotine with symptoms including:

• Irritability and impatience
• Hostility
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleeping
• Restlessness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Increase in appetite
• Decreased heart rate

Beating the Nicotine Addiction

If physical addiction were the only problem, it might be easier to quit smoking and more people would succeed. But smokers have to deal with the psychological addiction to smoking as well as the physical dependence of nicotine addiction. Even people who use cessation aids to take the edge off the symptoms of physical addiction have trouble feeling “normal” without cigarettes and smoking rituals. This feeling is exacerbated by psychological triggers that build up over time as people use the pleasant feelings prompted by nicotine and their smoking habit to either cope with unpleasant things or enhance their enjoyment of activities.

Activities that trigger the desire to smoke can include:

• Talking on the phone or even just hearing the phone ring
• Finishing a meal
• Drinking a cup of coffee or an alcoholic drink
• Driving
• Seeing someone else light up a cigarette
• Watching television or relaxing around the house

You also might find the desire to smoke triggered by negative emotional states that you previously coped with through nicotine use, including:

• Sadness or disappointment
• Anger, frustration, or resentment
• Anxiety or stress
• Depression
• Embarrassment
• Guilt
• Fright or fear
• Boredom or loneliness

Nicotine is addictive, but it can be beaten. You can take comfort in the fact that most people try many times before finally kicking the habit.

from http://www.everydayhealth.com/smoking-cessation/understanding/index.aspx

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