THE EFFECTS OF SMOKING

What are the effects of smoking?
    The effects of smoking include a range of adverse health conditions including lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses such as shortness of breath. Smoking also affects daily lives and relationships in subtle ways. Some include the bad smell, tainted breath, and nicotine stained teeth distance friends and family (my wife refused to kiss me).
    Are the health effects of smoking irreversible? While some of the consequences from smoking may be permanent, a smoker’s health greatly improves upon quitting. Within 20 minutes of a smoker’s refusing another cigarette, the damage to his body begins to repair. After giving up smoking, I could run up stairs without getting short of breath. Also, I found that I could walk 100 yards without having to slow down.
Some of the effects of smoking are ; respiratory and non-respiratory problems, lower level of lung function, reduced rate of lung growth, greater risk of heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer, then lower physical fitness

    Second-hand smoke, known as passive smoking, can also harm bystanders. The effects range from eye irritation, headaches, and nausea to increased risk of cancer and heart disease. The effects of passive smoking on children include an elevated risk of respiratory infections. A pregnant woman who smokes affects the mental and physical development of her unborn child. The infant of a parent who smokes is at greater risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
As a smoker’s body becomes dependent on a regular intake of nicotine, an addiction develops.
Smoking Addiction – What is it?
Smoking addiction begins when one of the following habits is formed, for example nicotine dependence occurs through smoking cigarettes and drug addiction occurs through substances like cannabis (marijuana), cocaine, and heroine.
    When the smoking of these harmful substances becomes habitual and compulsive, an addiction develops. If the substance is subsequently withheld, a smoking addict experiences withdrawal symptoms because the body has to re-adjust itself to function without the substance.

1. Scientific research has shown that most young smokers were influenced to begin the habit by observing their friends or older siblings smoke. A teen’s susceptibility to peer-pressure is also affected
 by his parents’ approval or disapproval of smoking. Likewise, advertising may reinforce the smoking habit. Media marketing techniques can create the impression that smoking is a socially acceptable norm.
    Smokers quickly become addicted to the nicotine in tobacco. A MORI survey indicates that teenagers have similar levels of nicotine dependence as adults. One third of smokers light up their first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking. One in twelve light up within the first 5 minutes. Over half said they would have difficulty going without smoking for a week, while 72% thought they would have difficulty giving up altogether.
    Young people who try to stop smoking, especially during the early stages, experience similar withdrawal symptoms as adult smokers.
Smoking Addiction - Health Effects
    Health effects from a smoking addiction are numerous and begin once an individual smokes his first cigarette. Beginner smokers are two to six times more likely to suffer from health effects such as coughs, increased phlegm, wheezing, and shortness of breath than non-smokers.
    The earlier teenagers become smokers, the greater the risk of dying prematurely from heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema (abnormal dilation of air spaces in the lung). Other health effects experienced by adult smokers include accelerated osteoporosis, earlier menopause, and impaired reproductive capacity.
    If a pregnant woman smokes, her baby’s brain development and birth weight is affected. The baby would also have a higher risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), hyperactivity, and behavioural problems. Chronic respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and asthma are significantly more common in infants and children who have one or two smoking parents.
    Children with parents who both smoke receive a nicotine equivalent of smoking 80 cigarettes a year; this quota is based on continine levels (a standard nicotine test) in the saliva of these children. A child’s health is acutely affected by passive smoking.

2. Smoking Addiction – Stopping
    The consequences of a smoking addiction -- from the health affects to the hardships on a smoker’s  loved  ones --  are strong  reasons  to  quit. From the first  moment  a smoker
rejects a cigarette, health benefits accrue. The question is this: how does one conquer a smoking addiction? If an addicted smoker quits cold turkey, he or she may experience powerful withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms are physical and mental changes following interruption or termination of drug use. When a drug that the body has grown accustomed to is no longer ingested, the body enters a period of re-adjustment. If an addicted smoker is unaware of this re-adjustment time, he or she will have a harder time overcoming the addiction. Therefore, an addicted smoker should not attempt to quit in ignorance. He must know what to expect.
    Many people experience symptoms like irritability, aggression, depressions, restlessness, poor concentration, increased appetite, light-headedness, waking at night, and cravings. These symptoms generally last between 2 and 4 weeks, but an increased appetite continues for several weeks.
        A well-thought plan to overcome a smoking addiction is vital for success. Here are some tips to keep in mind: Nicotine replacement therapy methods such as chewing gum, skin patches, tablets, nasal     sprays, or inhalers ease withdrawal symptoms such as cravings and mood changes. Studies     show that these methods can almost double the chances of breaking a smoking addiction.
        Bupropion (tradename Zyban), which does not contain nicotine, can help an addicted smoker resist the urge to smoke. Accountability lends support. Do not try conquering your smoking addiction on your own. Pinpoint habits or locations that are associated with smoking and change the routine. Keep an accessible list of reasons for freedom from a smoking addiction which can be read when tempted to restart. Don’t give up. Full victory may come after a relapse. Try again, bearing in mind what might have triggered the setback. Remember, God can help.