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Cigarette smoking benefits, dangers, quitting.
By Lynda Kohn
As harmful as smoking is there are benefits. Yes you read that right. One benefit is that smoking can be relaxing. This is true especially for people who tend to be generally anxious, or suffer from social anxiety disorder. Smoking cigarettes helps them relax. Conversely the habit can make a person more alert. Or at least feel their alertness is significantly increased. Therefore making it much easier to concentrate. There is the social part too. If everybody is puffing away some persons may feel odd person out if they not joining the others. For children of various ages, it makes them feel grown up. I personally remember growing up Phila, PA there was a boy who started to smoke at the tender age of seven. He did it because it made him feel like an adult. How do I know, he told me as he smoked a pack of cigarettes. I recall for several years he thought that way. Why his parents didn't stop him I can only guess. Perhaps they figured it was a lost cause. However as much as there are psychological gain the real reason for smoking is that the tar in cigarettes is physically addicting. One could say smokers are literally addicts. This information is from the National Cancer Information Center. Web site is www.nic.gov. Toll free phone number is 1800 4CANCER. NCI is part of the US National Institute of Health. The addiction is what keeps one smoking. The gain in doing so makes the experience pleasurable. However the pleasure isn't the real reason. Its the fact that cigarettes are habit forming. This reality is of course a factor in difficulty in quitting. More on how to quit below. Some of the dangers are several pulmonary conditions. These include COPD Chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, chronic bronchits and lung cancer. The Mayo clinic lists premature aging with increase in wrinkles. Teeth, nails can turn yellow. Men can become impotent as well. The US. Surgeon General lists the following:Low bone density, hip fractures, cataracts, peptic ulcers, delayed wound healing and breathing issues. An as of now an unknown part of smoke destroys a major brain enzyme, monoamine oxidase. Monoamine oxidase is a component in causing major depression. One type of anti depressant is an MAOI. Mono amine oxidase inhibitor. If there is too much MAO depression results. Dopamine a major neurotransmitter is responsible among other things for preventing one from feeling depressed. Specifically this substance encourages people to seek behavior that induces pleasurable behavior. Persons who smoke experience ultra high amounts of this brain chemical. This creates a vicious cycle. The smoker smokes because it is pleasurable and this feelings makes the smoker smoke even more. This is where the addiction comes in. Like virtually any addict the person smoking needs more dopamine to still experience what they first felt when they started the toxic habit.
. Some of the dangerous substances in cigarettes include fungicides and pesticides that are the cause of many different malignancies. Plus deformities in newborns. Cadmium suspected in causing lung, prostate cancer. Benzene is a proven cause of leukemias. Another substance in cigarette smoke linking to lung cancer is formaldehyde. Nickel lung infections.
Below is a partial list of the toxins one is exposed to in smoking.Ammonia: Household cleaner Angelica root extract: Known to cause cancer in animals Arsenic: Used in rat poisonsBenzene linked to both acute and chronic leukemias. Butane used in lighter fluid,Carbon monoxide:Cadmium,Cyanide, a deady toxin, Lead a harmful heavy metal, Formaldehyd Used as a perseravative in biology class , maltitol, sweetener Napthalene, mothballs These are only a few of the close to 600 ingredients in cigarette smoke. This a very short list. There are hundreds of chemicals. Tar in tobacco products is the resin byproduct resulting when tobacco and other smoked products including cannabis, is burned. This Since tar is a product of a burnt product it can't be part of chewing tobacco. It is crucially important to know that chewing tobacco can be as cancer causing as smoking. When a smoker endures smoking any tobacco products, tar builds up in the smoker's, lung's cells from correctly reproducing and repairing themselves. Here are some facts of how cigarettes can effect a woman's pregnancy and her baby.
Pregnant women who smoke run a risk of ectopic pregnancy. This is especially true of smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The habit can cause placenta previa. The placenta is situated very low in the uterus, practically at the cervix. Fetal growth can be delayed. The result being low birth weight babies. Some health problems can be cerebral palsy, mental retardation, cleft lips, cleft palates, asthma, behavior problems, learning disabilities. The infant can be still born. There are several methods in effectively quitting smoking cigarettes. There is no one right way. Deciding what manner to quit must be based on what the person quitting feels must effective for her or him. There are some who believe cold turkey is the best way. If that is the case, why is their nicotine gum, the patch, prescription meds, alt health plans? I mean if it was so easy to just stop then what is the reason for these modes of treatment? Obviously unless there is some kind of sinister conspiracy those who think its best to just up and quit don't believe everybody is an individual. In other words one size doesn't fit all. Here are brief descriptions of several ways to quit. Some of them utilizes nicotine to permit a gradual withdrawal. These include the gum and the patch. There are Rx drugs. These include Zyban and Chantix. Zyban is Bupropion. It is known as Wellbutrin too. Bupropian's first use was as an antidepressant. Its mode of operation is to increase the brain chemicals of dopamine and norepinephrine. Both of these neurotransmitters can improve one's mood. The result is to be significantly more capable of going through nicotine withdrawal. However many people who use Zyban still need a professional program to help them quit.
Unfortunately like virtually every prescription there can be serious side effects. One of the prevalent one's are seizures. If there is a history of epilepsy or any other seizure disorder Zyban is prohibited. Other side effects are much more mild. They include dry mouth and day time drowsiness. If one is allergic, pregant or nursing this medicine should not be prescribed. The medical term is contraindicated. There are quite a few drug interactions too. Chantix , generic Varenicline can help one stop smoking too. Chantix effects the parts of the brain effected by smoking. Specifically it takes the pleasure out of the habit so it becomes much desirable to smoke. It doesn't work like Antabuse for people with alcoholism with making drinking most unpleasant. However some of the adverse reactions can be quite rough. They include feeling nauseous, wanting to vomit. Plus bizarre dreaming, sleepiness, trouble moving one's bowels. Some rather serious concerns are feelings of anxiety, depressed or overly irritable. The worst is thoughts and intentions of suicide. If someone on this drug experiences any of these quite serious side effects they should contact whoever prescribed Chantix as soon as possible. There are alternative health techniques too. These include acupuncture, hypnotherapy, Chinese medicine, herbs and more. While these methods can cause little problems the question is how effective are they? Acupuncture is the injecting super thin needles in various parts of one's body. What the Chinese call meridians. Basically meridians are thought to be channels underneath the skin where Chi, the energy force, flows. Acupuncture is known to reduce cravings and ease withdrawal symptoms. Chinese medicine uses various herbs to help. Western herbology makes use of grape seed extract, ginger and lobelia. Lobelia is the source of the prescription medication Lobeline. The general consensus of many physicians and herbalists is lobelia can be rather dangerous. It can easily cause nausea, vomting. Even more serious it is linked to liver damage and even hepatic cancer. Even if there weren't any problems with the herbal is an endangered plant. Grape seed extract is an antioxidant helps with strengthening the body's resistance to tar and nicotine. Ginger contains melotonin. This is an antioxidant too. It can be effectively used as an antidepressant. The result is the smoker is much more relaxed. The psychological need to smoke is greatly reduced. What ever you choose, the bottom line is quit!!!
I am a disability advocate in Phila, PA. My blog entree on the Medicaid Safety act was listed in 2008 number one in the Google blog directory under that topic. Plus I've shown my artwork in various galleries in Phila, local suburbs and NYC. I've been doing disability advocacy since the late 70s in Philadelphia, PA and suburbs. My mental health stigma Squidoo site can be seen at http://disabilityinfo.hostcell.net/MHStigma.htm My disability site is at http://disabilityinfo.hostcell.net/index.htm Blog http://societyfordaintydamsels.wordpress.com Two self proclaimed etiquette experts, dear friends,Auntie carol and Lady Lynda. Lady Lynda's gentleman friend is Seymour Toze who loves Lady Lynda in her open toed spiked heels. With exotic, sensual Black Orchid and earthy Wanda Lust. I work as a disability advocate for Chestnut Place Rehab. This Sept. 2011 we plan to be celebrating our 20th year.
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It's all Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble's fault Wilma helped too!
Great read, something I need to address on my own drug addiction website
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This intel was contributed by mugwort
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