Smoking is injurious to health. Smoking causes cancer.
These are the two popular precautionary statements for all smokers. Additionally, there are unpleasant pictures that depict the harmful effects of smoking over cigarette boxes. Governments all over the world make cigarettes more expensive. But, the sad truth is smokers hasn’t reduced in number. Their numbers keep soaring is the truth.
Cigarettes contain nicotine, thiocyanate, benzene, cadmium and other cancer-causing chemicals and toxins. A single cigarette contains 8 to 20mg of nicotine. Depending on the smoking frequency and time duration, it can lead to many diseases.
Harmful effects of smoking
The first thing that strikes our mind when we think about smoking is cancer. But, there is some other disease that is as dangerous as cancer that is caused by cigarettes.
It is COPD – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Initially, it affects the lungs. Due to this, there will be blocks in the windpipe, which will progress into breathing problems, wheezing, and lays the foundation for many more infections and diseases.
COPD
This disease will shrink the windpipes that reach the lungs. Due to this, the lungs will lose its elasticity, so it cannot expand and contract properly. In this stage, there will be problems with breathing. Victims of COPD are more vulnerable to pneumonia, and wheezing problems. Once the windpipe contracts due to COPD, it cannot be cured. Treatments can only prevent further damage and progress of the disease.
What are the symptoms?
- COPD will not give out any symptoms in its initial stage.
- There will be a continuous cough and cold for three months a year. Released phlegm will be white, yellow, and green in color.
- The presence of phlegm in the throat while waking up in the morning.
- Gradual but sturdy weight loss
How to Detect?
The presence of this disease can be detected through PFT (Pulmonary Functional Test) and X-rays.
X-rays will help to detect blockages in wind pipes
PFT test helps with detecting the efficiency of the lungs. This test uses a special instrument with a pipe that is attached to a computer. The person will be made to blow air through the pipe, the computer attached to the pipe calculates the force and duration of the air blown, and calculates the efficiency of the lungs based on these factors.
Vaccines for Smokers
- There are few vaccines that are suggested for smokers, to protect them from certain diseases and infections.
- Flu vaccine is suggested to them to prevent fever
- Pneumococcal vaccine is prescribed to prevent infections. This vaccine should be taken once in 5 years.
What are the bad effects of smoking?
- Cigarettes will affect brain and heart.
- It will lead to anxiety and stress.
- Impacts lifestyle and makes the person feel weak and tired.
- Will increase the level of bad fat or bad cholesterol in the body. This will lead to weight gain.
- Irritation in the chest.
- Constant phlegm deposition in the throat.
- Irritation in the stomach followed by ulcer.
Passive Smokers
Air that surrounds smokers will have nicotine, aromatic hydrocarbons, sulfide, cadmium, nickel and thousands of other harmful toxins. Due to this, the people who are close to smokers are also affected by cigarettes as well. We call these people as passive smokers or secondhand smokers.
Harmful effects of Passive smoking
- When a pregnant woman inhales the smoke released by a smoker, it will affect the growth of the fetus. Sometimes it can even lead to the death of the fetus as well.
- Kids who inhale these smoke will have problems with their growth and brain development.
- It can cause diseases like Asthma and wheezing in other family members.
- Allergies and breathing problems to family members
- When passive smokers are affected by Asthma, and heart diseases, they become more vulnerable to lung infections.
Benefits of Stopping Smoking
- When a smoker stops to smoke, his blood pressure and pulse rate will gradually reach the normal levels. This can prevent high blood pressure and heart diseases.
- Lungs will start to get to fresh and more hygienic air. This will cure lung infections and problems in lungs.
- It reduces the chances of lung cancer to a greater degree.
- The brain will become more agile and receptive. It will increase the brain activity.
- Reduces stress, anxiety, and improves the focus at work.
- Cigarettes are quite expensive, quitting it will mean the person will have more money at the end of the day.
Lite cigarettes are equally harmful
Lite cigarette smokers think they are smoking less, as the smoke they give out will be rapidly mixed with air and disappears. But the sad truth is, light smokers don’t get satisfied with the amount of smoke they inhale through these lite cigarettes. So, they will keep smoking until they feel satisfied. This will make them smoke even more. The only difference with these cigarettes is the amount of nicotine present in them. But, a very little amount of nicotine is sufficient to do greater damage to our health.
A recent study finds out Lite Cigarette smokers are more vulnerable to lung cancer.
Some people prefer e-cigarettes. But even this contain nicotine and it can become addictive upon regular use as well.
How to Prevent Smoking?
Smoking is a really addictive habit. Its effects will depend upon the time duration of this habit. Some people would have started to smoke at a very young age. These people will have really hard time quitting it. On the other hand, it is relatively easy for people who just started to smoke.
Tablets to Quit Smoking
During the initial period of the treatment, doctors will suggest some special inhalers depending upon the person’s condition. But, there are misunderstandings about these inhalers. Some people feel the medicines in these inhalers will make a person even more additive to the habit.
In the next stage, Doctors will prescribe steroid tablets, which again will be suggested based on patient’s health condition. But these steroid tablets comes with many harmful side effects such as heart diseases, problems with eyesight, diabetes, blood pressure, problems in the joints and much more. So it is better to avoid these tablets to stop smoking.
Always the best way to stop smoking will be your sheer determination over medicines.
Counseling
It is a really hard task to bring out a person from his or her smoking habit. They would need continuous counseling sessions from a professional psychiatrist or psychologist. Additionally, they would need a great deal of support and help from their family members and friends as well.