Nov 11
17
No Smoking, Please
Don’t Smoke, Diabetes is Hard Enough
Have you been noticing that smoking or Not Smoking has been in the news lately?
Apparently, as with all the other problems we are trying to solve in this down world now, quitting smoking is another one and might I add, a very important health reason to quit.
As a diabetic, I don’t smoke, never have, and never will. This is one area where I will always be able to say the word never about.
As a diabetic, you shouldn’t smoke. Isn’t having Diabetes enough?
November 17th marked the 36th Great American Smokeout. It was sponsored by the American Cancer Society encouraging smokers nationwide to quit, at least for one day. Well, of course, I didn’t know about until it was over, but hey, I can still give information, statistics, and a helping hand.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 46.6 million adults in the U.S. smoke, despite decades of ample scientific proof of negative health effects from smoking.
Also, let’s not forget about second hand smoke. It has just about the same negative effects from smoking and maybe worse.
Smoking damages every organ in the body and contributes to 443,000 deaths a year.
Smoking is at the top of the list for being harmful, dangerous, and out right bad for you.
So why do people keep doing it? Many reasons but the most harmful word I can use is addictive. It is nearly impossible to escape it and the only possible way, if you are trying to quit, is hypnosis.
If you are trying to convince someone you care about or yourself to quit, use some of these facts:
193,000,000,000 The number, in dollars, of health care costs and productivity losses in the United States each year from smoking.
The CDC links smoking to a laundry list of health conditions and premature deaths in United States each year. Most people know that lighting up can lead to heart disease, the leading cause of death in the country, as well as stroke, lung cancer, and respiratory conditions such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. But smoking also plays a significant role in many other less-obvious conditions, from cataracts to skin cancer and tooth and gum decay.
Secondhand smoke and thirdhand smoke, or the buildup of smoke residue on everything from furniture and walls to hair and clothes, also contribute to the problem, especially in children. A ban on smoking in cars recently proposed by the British Medical Association (BMA) reinforces the severity of smoking’s health risks on non-smokers. Passengers in the car of a smoker are likely to take in 23 times more toxins than they would at a smoky bar.
15 The number of years it takes after quitting for one’s risk of heart disease to be comparable to that of a person who never smoked.
Once you’ve given up cigarettes, the positive effects on your physical and emotional health begin almost immediately and continue for years. Your heart disease risk is halved just one year after quitting. After five years, your risk of stroke has almost disappeared. After 10 years, you’re less vulnerable to ulcers and cancer of the lungs, mouth, and throat, among others types of cancer.
Quitting will improve your health at any age but the earlier in life you do it, the better. People who stop smoking before their mid-thirties have mortality rates similar to those who never smoked. Age also plays an important role in how you quit and what challenges you face during the process. According to one 2007 study, younger smokers were more likely than older smokers to report cravings. The same study also reported that younger smokers were more likely to quit cold turkey, which has a poorer success rate.
3,000,000 The number of Americans who quit smoking every year.
While quitting can be a split-second decision for some, it’s often a more deliberate process complete with research, smoking cessation aids, and a support system of family, friends, and doctors. Pinpointing why you really want to quit is often the most important part in terms of providing motivation to stick with a cessation strategy.
19.3 The percentage of U.S. adults who still smoke.
When a smoker inhales a cigarette, the addictive nicotine it contains reaches the brain in as few as 10 seconds. The chemical enters the lungs through the smoke, in the form of vapor and tar droplets, and the body absorbs it quickly. From the bloodstream, the nicotine stimulates the body’s adrenal glands to produce more adrenaline, creating that “rush” that raises blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration.
52.4 The percentage of current adult smokers tried to quit within the past year.
More than half of smokers want to quit, but kicking butt isn’t always that simple. The American Lung Association reports that quitting smoking usually requires multiple attempts. While nicotine is physically addictive, the mental addiction often poses the biggest challenge. Smokers tend to associate the nicotine high with different parts of their days and lives, whether it’s commuting to work or doing the morning crossword puzzle.
3,300 The amount, in dollars, you could save if you didn’t buy cigarettes (at $9 a pack) for an entire year.
That’s 959 gallons of gas at the current national average or about 942 lattes at $3.50 each. And if you stay on the non-smoking wagon for 10 years, that $33,000 could even buy a new car or help pay for a kid’s college education.
26 The estimated percentage of heart attacks attributable to smoking.
Smoking makes it more difficult for oxygen to reach the heart and puts stress on your ticker. It also makes blood platelets stickier, which increases the risk of blood clots and stroke. Over time, a smoking habit causes plaque to accumulate in the arteries, resulting in atherosclerosis. Smoking’s toll on the heart is compounded even further in people who are overweight or have other heart disease risk factors.
48 The number of hours it takes after you quit smoking for nerve endings deadened by the habit to start to regenerate.
If there’s any consolation to how difficult quitting can be, here it is: You’ll start feeling healthier right away. After only a couple of days, your sense of taste and smell will have already improved. You may also notice a fresh change in your breath, and the stains on your teeth, fingers and fingernails will start to fade. Plus, you won’t smell like a chimney anymore.
Your mood will probably improve, too, once the irritability from nicotine withdrawal subsides. A recent study from the University of Missouri found that quitting smoking can overhaul your personality, helping people become less anxious and impulsive.
80 The estimated percentage of lung cancer cases caused by smoking.
The American Cancer society reports that lung cancer causes more deaths in men and women than any other cancer, and most of the time, smoking plays a direct or indirect role. Inhaling cigarette smoke and the many carcinogens it contains destroys lung tissue. In fact, a recent University of North Carolina study found that smoking has the same impact on the lungs as cystic fibrosis, a deadly genetic disease. As in CF, smoking causes the body to produce a sticky mucus that triggers coughing and increases infection risk.
3,450 he approximate amount of U.S. young adults between ages 12 and 17 who smoke their first cigarette each day.
An estimated 850 of those teens ultimately become daily smokers. Nearly half of high school students have tried a cigarette, according to a 2009 CDC survey. Whether they smoke for the first time due to peer pressure or plain curiosity, teens whose parents talk to them about the dangers of smoking are half as likely to smoke as those who don’t have such conversations. So it’s important they know the risks.
In June, the FDA introduced new, graphic warning labels featuring rotting teeth and diseased lungs, among other gruesome photographs to deter would-be and current smokers, especially young adults, from buying them. The new labels were set to roll out in September 2012 until this month, when a U.S. district judge blocked the new requirements. He ruled that the cigarette companies will likely to win their lawsuit that claims the proposed graphic images violate the First Amendment.
Secondhand Smoke
What is secondhand smoke?
Secondhand smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or passive smoke. It is a mixture of 2 forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco: sidestream smoke (smoke that comes from the end of a lighted cigarette, pipe, or cigar) and mainstream smoke (smoke that is exhaled by a smoker). Even though we think of these as the same, they aren’t. The sidestream smoke has higher concentrations of cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) than the mainstream smoke. And, it contains smaller particles than mainstream smoke, which make their way into the body’s cells more easily.
When non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke it is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. Non-smokers who breathe in secondhand smoke take in nicotine and other toxic chemicals just like smokers do. The more secondhand smoke you are exposed to, the higher the level of these harmful chemicals in your body.
Why is secondhand smoke a problem?
Secondhand smoke causes cancer
Secondhand smoke is classified as a “known human carcinogen” (cancer-causing agent) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization.
Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds. More than 60 of these are known or suspected to cause cancer.
Secondhand smoke causes other kinds of diseases and deaths
Secondhand smoke can cause harm in many ways. In the United States alone, each year it is responsible for:
An estimated 46,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are currently non-smokers
About 3,400 lung cancer deaths as a result of breathing secondhand smoke
Other breathing problems in non-smokers, including coughing, mucus, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function
50,000 to 300,000 lung infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually
Increases in the number and severity of asthma attacks in about 200,000 to 1 million children who have asthma
More than 750,000 middle ear infections in children
Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke are also at increased risk of having low birth- weight babies.
Secondhand smoke may be linked to breast cancer
Whether secondhand smoke increases the risk of breast cancer is an issue that is still being studied. Both mainstream and secondhand smoke contain about 20 chemicals that, in high concentrations, cause breast cancer in rodents. And we know that in humans, chemicals from tobacco smoke reach breast tissue and are found in breast milk.
But a link between secondhand smoke and breast cancer risk in human studies is still being debated. This is partly because breast cancer risk has not been shown to be increased in active smokers. One possible explanation for this is that tobacco smoke may have different effects on breast cancer risk in smokers and in those who are exposed to secondhand smoke.
A report from the California Environmental Protection Agency in 2005 concluded that the evidence regarding secondhand smoke and breast cancer is “consistent with a causal association” in younger women. This means that the secondhand smoke acts as if it could be a cause of breast cancer in these women. The 2006 US Surgeon General’s report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, found that there is “suggestive but not sufficient” evidence of a link at this point. In any case, women should be told that this possible link to breast cancer is yet another reason to avoid being around secondhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke kills children and adults who don’t smoke, and makes others sick (Surgeon General’s report)
The 2006 US Surgeon General’s report reached some important conclusions:
Secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke.
Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes breathing (respiratory) symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.
Secondhand smoke immediately affects the heart and blood circulation in a harmful way. Over a longer time it also causes heart disease and lung cancer.
The scientific evidence shows that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces despite a great deal of progress in tobacco control.
The only way to fully protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke indoors is to prevent all smoking in that indoor space or building. Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot keep non-smokers from being exposed to secondhand smoke.
Where is secondhand smoke a problem?
You should be especially concerned about exposure to secondhand smoke in these 4 places:
At work
The workplace is a major source of secondhand smoke exposure for adults. Secondhand smoke meets the standard to be classified as a potential cancer-causing agent by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency responsible for health and safety regulations in the workplace. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), another federal agency, also recommends that secondhand smoke be considered a possible carcinogen in the workplace. Because there are no known safe levels, they recommend that exposures to secondhand smoke be reduced to the lowest possible levels.
Secondhand smoke in the workplace has been linked to an increased risk for heart disease and lung cancer among adult non-smokers. The Surgeon General has said that smoke-free workplace policies are the only way to do away with secondhand smoke exposure at work. Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating the building cannot prevent exposure if people still smoke inside the building. An extra bonus other than protecting non-smokers is that workplace smoking restrictions may also encourage smokers to quit.
In public places
Everyone can be exposed to secondhand smoke in public places, such as restaurants, shopping centers, public transportation, schools, and daycare centers.
Some businesses seem to be afraid to ban smoking, but there is no proof that going smoke-free is bad for business. Public places where children go are a special area of concern.
At home
Making your home smoke-free may be one of the most important things you can do for the health of your family. Any family member can develop health problems related to secondhand smoke.
Children are especially sensitive to secondhand smoke. Asthma, lung infections, and ear infections are more common in children who are around smokers. Some of these problems can be serious and even life-threatening. Others may seem like small problems, but they add up quickly: think of the expenses, doctor visits, medicines, lost school time, and often lost work time for the parent who must take the child to the doctor. In the United States, 21 million, or 35% of children live in homes where residents or visitors smoke in the home on a regular basis. About 50% to 75% of children in the United States have detectable levels of cotinine, the breakdown product of nicotine, in their blood.
Think about it: we spend more time at home than anywhere else. A smoke-free home protects your family, your guests, and even your pets.
In the car
Americans spend a great deal of time in cars, and if someone smokes there, hazardous levels of smoke can build up quickly. Again, this can be especially harmful to children.
In response to this fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency has a special program to encourage people to make their cars, as well as their homes, smoke-free. And some states have laws that ban smoking in the car if carrying passengers under the age of 17.