Are you a smoker? here are some facts you need to know

If you are a regular cigarettes smoker -like 1.1 billion people around the globe- it is expected that you heard several requests from your entourage to quit.
     People who ask you that may advance diverse reasons, but you probably know that frequent smoking causes heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic bronchitis, and other serious pathologies more likely.

You may also know that smoking is the first cause of preventable death worldwide. When you start smoking, it seems easy, cheep, available even normal, the challenge of quitting glows when you take awareness of your health state and economical depletion .Here are some facts that every smoker should know:

 

About fifty percent of people who smoke die because of a “smoking-related disease”

Yes it is the reality unfortunately; almost half of people who smoke regularly die by a smoking-related health problems, and they are so numerous. On average, smokers die eight years earlier than the rest of population, since smoking deteriorates your whole body and causes several types of cancer, among them lung, colon, bladder, throat cancers and so on, besides breathing diseases like emphysema and chronic bronchitis, smoking contributes as well to heart and blood vessel problems, including heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

Although nicotine –the main addictive substance- itself doesn't cause cancer or have a cancerogenic potential, there are several chemicals that are found in every cigarette, produced in cigarette smoke and harm the body, even can cause cancer. Chemicals freed by cigarettes contain carbon monoxide, benzene, tar, cyanide, formaldehyde and so on.

What you should really know, after you stop smoking, the health benefits appear right away, the risk of heart disease starts to decrease, and after fifteen years of smoking abstinence, your risk falls to the same level as that of a the rest of population.

 

Smoking is “Trojan horse” for your health

We talked above about long-term health risks associated with smoking, but few people realize that smoking also makes you more susceptible to seasonal flu, colds and several other bacterial infections.

Tiny cilia that line the respiratory tract, including the trachea and bronchial tubes, are made to protect us from respiratory infections, they are constantly waving in a way that grabs bacteria and viruses that get into our respiratory system and pushes them up and out.

One of the harmful effects of cigarette smoke is that it paralyzes and degrades the cilia, thus destroying this core protective process. Here we can understand why smokers have so many more infections than non-smoking people. Within a month of quitting, your cilia start growing up again and performing their protective role once more.
 

You're a cancer generator for your entourage

“Secondhand smoke” is the combination of smoke that comes from a cigarette and smoke breathed out by a smoker, inhaled by a non-smoker. This type of smoking is estimated to cause 50,000 deaths each year. If you wonder why, here are the reasons: More than five thousand chemicals are found in a puff of tobacco smoke, and more than forty of those are documented carcinogens (causing cancer substance).

On the other hand, it takes very little secondhand smoke to generate a heart attack or stroke in someone who is non-smoker predisposed to that condition. The components in smoke stick to the inner layers of arteries and activate platelets, the material in the blood that helps it clot, and become more viscous. This increases the risk of atherosclerosis and heart attacks.

 

Early aging

Smoking is chief and main cause of premature aging, cutaneous changes, like leathery skin and deep wrinkling, are more frequently seen in people who are ordinary smokers. Smoking leads to biochemical modifications in the body that speed the aging process and alter its natural procedures to prevent this phenomenon, smoking withdraws oxygen from the living skin tissue by causing constriction of the blood vessels, and thus your skin suffers permanently and heads toward aging quickly.

 

There is no ideal way to stop smoking.

All roads can lead to a smoke-free life, if you want. You may have been told that the nicotine gum made wonders for them, while another friend swears by the miraculous patch, and your brother quit cold turkey only. What you have to understand is that everyone is unique, and distinct methods of quitting will appeal specifically to different people. One thing for sure: you have numerous methods to choose from and try out, talk about your quit smoking choices with your doctor, and try them till you find what works best for you. Your future plan MUST include your pros and cons of quitting, the rewards you'll give yourself when you do well, list of people in your support system, and diverse strategies to help you handle eventual cravings and triggers.

 

Your children will be less likely to smoke if you decide to quit smoking.

As we said above, secondhand smoke from your one smoking puts your child's health and your whole entourage at higher risk. However, if you quit, you are also protecting your children from upcoming harm to their health, when kids see their parents (or family members) smoking, they start thinking that smoking is just a normal thing to do without any harmful effect, and they are more likely to take up smoking themselves at young ages. So quitting is the best example you can provide for your kids.
 

Here we come to the cost!

If you're a regular smoker, it's no wonder that smoking is becoming more and more expensive. The worth of a pack of cigarettes varies significantly by location, but the average cost is about $5 per pack, and in some states it can reach $10 per pack, including federal and state taxes.

If you live in a place where it costs $7 for a pack, you are wasting $3,000 per year! Taking consideration of other costs that go along with smoking, the average smoker has more extra sick days a year, and has $1,000 in extra health care costs per year. The annual economic costs within the United States only are over $200 billion.