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First Health Center » Cancer » I Enjoy Smoking So Why Should I Quit? A Few Things You Didnt Know

I Enjoy Smoking So Why Should I Quit? A Few Things You Didnt Know

by: ClareInnes (Print View)
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This isn't going to be one of those articles that preaches (well, that's not my intention anyway) and I'm sure that you are already au fait with the dangers that smoking brings. But I reckon that there are still quite a few of you out there that think that by eating a healthy diet and getting some good and regular exercise, that you can be healthy even though you still smoke.

The message that 'smoking is bad for you' is an old one, so not everyone gives it much attention anymore. Here, however, is a list of some of the facts and figures that are not so well known about the health risks of smoking:

There are nearly 4000 chemical compounds in every single cigarette that you smoke, and of these, around 400 are toxic to your body. The tip of a cigarette burns at 700 degrees centigrade, whilst the core burns at 60. This combined heating and burning process turns the tobacco into various toxins (poisons, effectively) which is then sucked toward the butt as you inhale. If you smoke a cigarette right up until the filter, this is where you get a much higher level of toxins into your body.

These are the worst of the products:

1) Tar, a carcinogen (substance that causes cancer)

2) nicotine is addictive and increases cholesterol levels in your body

3) carbon monoxide lowers the oxygen in your body

The damage caused by smoking is influenced by:

1) How many cigarettes you smoke

2) If the cigarette has a filter or not

3) How has the tobacco been prepared

More recent research has shown that smoking reduces life expectancy by seven to eight years and of the 300 people who die every day in the UK as a result of smoking, many are now comparatively young smokers.

The number of people under the age of 70 who die from smoking-related diseases exceeds the total figure for deaths caused by breast cancer, AIDS, traffic accidents and drug addiction.

The more cigarettes you smoke in a day, and the longer you've smoked, the higher your risk of lung cancer (OK, you knew that one but I thought I'd sneak it in anyway as it's kind of important). Similarly, the risk rises the deeper you inhale and the earlier in life you started smoking. For ex-smokers, it takes approximately 15 years before the risk of lung cancer drops to the same as that of a non-smoker.

Also if you smoke, the risk of contracting mouth cancer is four times higher than for a non-smoker. Cancer can start in many areas of the mouth, with the most common being on or underneath the tongue, or on the lips. Many smokers are not aware of the increased risk of getting these cancers. Smoking is the most common cause of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and is responsible for 80 per cent of cases.

Emphysema is also a disease caused by long-term smoking, and here are a couple of scary numbers for you. If you smoke 20 a day, when you die and your lungs are examined, you will have a 94 percent chance of there being emphysema present. As a non smoker, however, that percentage drops to 90 who have little or no emphysema at all.

Lung fuction declines naturally with age, but when combined with smoking it drops about three times faster, and then breathlessness begins. Severe cases can end up on permanent oxygen before dying a slow and painful death from being unable to breathe.

Nicotine itself is known to cause narrowing of the arteries all over the body, but there is one particular problem that affects you guys out there. Men in their 30s and 40s, who smoke, are much more likely to have erectile dysfunction...now you're listening aren't you?! Erection cannot happen if the arteries that lead to the penis are not functioning properly, as the blood flow would be reduced, so stopping your performance before it even gets started.

I can't stress this enough, but this a serious problem for you guys out there, not only for the obvious reason (as I'm sure you are with me there...). If you are a smoker and begin to have problems achieving or maintaining an erection you should go and see your doctor. A problem with the blood vessels in the penis could also mean that damage has been done to vessels in other parts of the body too.

The 'side-stream' smoke that comes off a cigarette between puffs carries a higher risk than directly inhaled smoke, so you're not doing your non-smoking partners, kids, friends, etc., any good either...feeling guilty yet...?

When a child is brought up in a home where one or both parents smoke, the instances of asthma and bronchitis are twice that of non smoking households. The prevalance of allergies is also much higher. There is a much greater risk of cot death and chest infections amongst the very young.

For adults, passive smoking seems to increase the risk of lung cancer, but the evidence for an increased risk of heart disease is not yet conclusive, but what is certain is that non-smokers and ex-smokers can look forward to a healthier old age than smokers.

Please do yourself and all those who love you (actually those who don't but have to be near you when you are polluting the air as well) a huge favour. There are 100's of stop smoking programmes out there to help you, so quit smoking NOW!


About the Author

About the Writer: Clare Innes has a number of health, fitness and lifestyle websites, including one showing the world's Top 3 ways to give up smoking. Look out for more of her websites in the 'First For...com' series that is currently under development.

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