The Scary Effects Of Smoking

In case you’ve missed every health warning, magazine article or television exposé, Helene Brand has the facts on why smoking can eventually kill you – and maybe even your non-smoking family too. 

The Terrifying Facts:

• Smoking causes about one third of all cancers and many cases of lung disease.
• It can cause a heart attack or stroke.
• Smoke from tobacco contains over four thousand chemicals and poisons, including nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar, which contains dozens of cancer-causing chemicals.
• A smoker is twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack than a non-smoker and double that if you have high blood pressure or cholesterol.
• If you’re a woman on a contraceptive pill your chance of a heart attack multiplies by 10.
• If you smoke while pregnant you pass the chemicals onto your baby which can have harmful and lasting effects.

Smokers double their non-smoking spouse’s risk of getting lung cancer and/or heart disease. And if they have children, they put them at an even greater risk, as infants and children have tender tissues making them more susceptible to second-hand smoke. Children of parents who smoke are more likely to develop bronchitis and pneumonia, and are more likely to suffer coughs with phlegm and chronic ear infections.

Common Health Effects Of Smoking:

• Lung disease
• Heart disease and stroke
• Cancer of the lips, tongue, salivary glands, mouth, larynx, oesophagus, pharynx, stomach, bladder, kidney, uterine cervix and pancreas
• Increased risk of osteoporosis
• Reduced mobility of sperm and impotence in male smokers

How To Quit:
If you’re not one of those people who can quit with the first try, don’t give up. Here are some pointers to successful quitting:

• Start a modest exercise routine, drink more fluids and get plenty of rest. Set a target date for quitting.
• Have realistic expectations – quitting isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible either. Withdrawal symptoms are temporary and usually only last one or two weeks. Power through those first few weeks and any stressful situations that might tempt you to smoke.
• Involve someone else in the process. Support from family and friends will help you stick to your plan.
• Switch to a brand you find distasteful.
• Smoke only half of each cigarette.
• Each day, postpone the lighting of your first cigarette by one hour.
• Don’t empty your ashtrays. This will remind you of how much you’ve smoked and the sight and smell of stale cigarettes will be very unpleasant.
• Stop carrying cigarettes with you. Make them difficult to find. Throw away your matches or lighter.
• Instead of smoking after meals, get up from the table and brush your teeth or go for a walk. If you smoke while driving, listen to a particularly interesting radio programme or your favourite music and sing along.
• Keep oral substitutes handy – eat carrots, pickled onions, gherkins, sunflower seeds, apples, celery or sugarless gum, instead of lighting up. Never allow yourself to think, “One won’t hurt” – it will.