“Get those TPS reports filled out!” your boss may boom on a given Friday. “Screech” may go an old woman’s car as she nearly sideswipes you on the way home. “Dude, I can’t pay my rent this month” may go your roommate or “Wah, money!” may go your kids.
So much stress, so little to relieve it in a busy day, right? There is, however, a solution to these problems. It is a like a sweet, gentle mistress’ caress in the night. It’s a nice slender stick with a silky smooth taste and calming effects that can melt your daily cares away. It is an old friend who will always be there for you to whittle those troubles away. It is the romanticized cigarette of commercial lore and widespread use.
Smoking is a subject that annually brings great concern to medical professionals and hopefully many smokers too. You may have seen the “The Truth” ads that run on TV and like me may think they seem corny, extreme and lose gravity or importance of the message. We all understand that yes, smoking can cause cancer and yes, it is a hard habit to break.
So what? Current anti-smoking ad campaigns seem to lead to this question. It is important to appreciate the seriousness of smoking and why you should avoid even if you have never smoked or have been a chain smoker since ‘Nam. This appreciation comes from understanding the simple mechanisms behind nicotine addiction, the full range of ill-effects cigarette chemicals can cause, dispelling myths and finally proactive solutions. With these facts it is possible to more readily understand what smoking means for you.
Where to Start
If you are serious about “kicking” your habit, it is important that you take a long look at the basic science behind smoking. It is important to realize that nicotine is an active drug that will directly affect structural and chemical elements of your body triggering pleasurable and increasingly addictive sensations.
Many people don’t realize that cigarettes have 60 chemicals that have a high incidence of leading to cancer. Over one third of cancer related deaths this year will be directly linked to smoking. This does not take into account deaths caused from heart disease and respiratory failure, which also is also attributed to the nearly 4,000 chemicals found in smoke. About half of all those smokers who continue to smoke will die because of the habit.
“In the United States, tobacco causes nearly 1 in 5 deaths, killing about 438,000 Americans each year. Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in our society. Based on current patterns, smoking will kill about 650 million people currently alive in the world today. Tobacco-caused deaths worldwide are expected to increase from about 5 million per year today to about 10 million per year by the 2030s. Most of these deaths will occur in developing countries.” (American Cancer Society)
If you are serious about wanting to get over smoking and saving the quality of your life, please visit the links below. These are sources from scientific foundations that have information that can protect the life of you and your loved ones. While some people are able to quit smoking on willpower alone, surveys have indicated that the total number of people able to do this successfully is less than 10%.
The best course of action is to visit a physician or pharmacist to set a program for withdrawal in addition to having good resolve and support from friends.
Smokers, start taking steps today to beat the habit! It doesn’t matter if you have just started or have smoked for 30 years, your body will always benefit more when you let it begin to heal properly. Make the first step.
Comparative look of healthy lungs and those damaged by smoking. Smoking has equally damaging effects throughout the body.
National Cancer Institute: Cigarette Smoking and Cancer
Forever Free: Steps for After You Quit
2 comments:
Good article. It took me quite some time to get off cigs but I feel a lot better for it now.
I recently quit and wanted to pass along a site I used to help me. It has a few basic videos showing how to quit smoking. I'm not sure if you're interested in how to videos, but I found these useful.
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