SMOKING FACTS & INFORMATION
Relationships?
While we're on the subject of smoking
and your sex life, consider what smoking
does to your sexual attractiveness. Bad
breath, smelly hair and clothes, and yellow
teeth and fingers are not exactly a turn-on.
When you give up smoking you immediately
become more attractive to your nonsmoking
friends and coworkers.
Perhaps the very real dangers of cancer and heart disease seem remote when
you're
young and healthy. But your sexual enjoyment
is something that smoking could affect right
now or in the very near future.
It's just one more reason to get out of the nicotine habit.
http://www.quit-smoking.com/kopykit/reports/killsexlife.htm
The Ties that Bind Smoking to Depressionby
Debra A. Mayer
When an individual attempts to quit smoking,
mood changes are one symptom of tobacco
withdrawal. For individuals who are currently depressed or are more susceptible
to depressive symptoms, such mood
disturbances may be more severe....
Adolescents who are more depressed, anxious
or have lower self-esteem may smoke
to feel better or "fit in" with their
peers....One may then
conclude that if adolescents begin smoking due to a feeling of lack of
self-worth,
these emotions can mature and fester in
the psyche of an adult addict....
All these self-destructive tendencies
are in keeping with the guilt and
negative self-image associated with depression.
...the incredible hold of cigarette dependence.
Surprisingly, we see
thatsome people are able to quit "cold
turkey," while others remain
chained to their addiction after countless
attempts to quit. We are
astounded when family members, friends
or co-workers return to their
habit months after having apparently quit....
http://www.acsh.org/publications/priorities/0501/depression.html
1996 Health Information Award
Winner
"... lists 108 poisonous chemicals
contained in cigarette
smoke.Forty-one are known to cause cancer
and 19 are believed to
contribute to birth defects"
http://www.wrsgroup.com/HEprodpg/giantsig.html
***
Women who smoke also have cause for concern.
There's evidence that smoking can
interfere
with a
woman's ability to have an orgasm. Nicotine can also damage ovaries,
causing menstrual abnormalities
and
decreased estrogen production. It can
lead to early menopause with
such side effects as increased aging and
vaginal dryness.
http://www.quit-smoking.com/kopykit/reports/killsexlife.htm
(good site to check out!!)
***
The Irreversible Health Effects of Cigarette
Smoking
" A risk or effect may diminish over time,
but it may also increase;
some risk may remain many years after
exposure has ended. smoking
cigarettes...can have a permanent effect
on the lungs, the heart, the
eyes, the throat, the urinary tract, the
digestive organs, the bones
and joints, and the skin—even if the smoker
quits."
http://www.acsh.org/publications/booklets/iesmoke.html
INFERTILITY "If you are a woman
and you smoke, your cigarette
addiction may make it harder for
you to become pregnant.
Cigarette smoking causes problems with
the Fallopian tubes that pass
eggs from the ovaries to the uterus.
Poisons in cigarette smoke can
damage a man’s sperm. Cigarette smoke
weakens the lungs Influenza, or
flu, can overtake a person who smokes.Because
cigarette smoke puts
many poisons into the body, the kidneys
are more likely to get cancer."
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/ABC/html/the_i_s_-_k_s.html
"many people who smoke don’t think it will
really hurt them.
Cigarette smoke contains more than
4,000 chemicals, more than 40 of
which cause cancer. Your chances of getting
lung cancer are 10 times
greater than a nonsmoker. You are twice
as likely to have a heart attack
than a nonsmoker and have less of a chance
surviving than a nonsmoker.
Cigarette smoking is strongly linked to
emphysema and chronic
bronchitis. Pregnant women who smoke are
more likely to have low-weight
or stillborn babies. Cigarette
smoke is harmful to all who inhale it...
second-hand smoke, is a serious health
hazard for nonsmokers... Nicotine
in cigarette smoke is addictive. This
means that as a smoker your body
has gotten used to a certain level of
nicotine. After you stop smoking,
you may feel irritable or tired, or experience
trouble sleeping,
excessive hunger, cough, dry mouth, and
depression. You might want to
try these few basic strategies that have
helped smokers kick the habit.
Practice these exercises every day and
before you know it, you’ll be an
ex-smoker: Stay positive: When you wake
up each morning, promise
yourself you won’t smoke a cigarette that
day. Picture success: It
sounds corny, but it really does help.
Plan ahead and think of how
you’ll deal with stressful situations
without lighting up. Take a
breather: Relaxation exercises help relieve
the urge to smoke. Take a
deep breath, holdit a second, then release
it very, very slowly.
Remember, urges to smoke are temporary.
If you have a weak moment and
slip, don’t throw in the towel. Just remember
that slips and stumble
don’t mean you can light up. Remind yourself
why you stopped smoking --
smoking kills."
http://www.health-first.org/YourHealthFirst/Articles/StopSmoking.htm
Smoking: Why It is so Hard to Quit
by David Krogh
http://www.acsh.org/publications/priorities/0401/hardtoquit.html
What's in a Cigarette?
by K. H. Ginzel, M.D.
"...cigarette smoking is a
true addiction, more powerful than a dependence
on alcohol, heroin or
cocaine...Addiction is in a cigarette...nicotine
is in a cigarette.
..tar is in a cigarette... besides nitrogen
and oxygen, a bewildering
assortment of toxic gases, such as carbon
monoxide, formaldehyde,
acrolein, hydrogen cyanide, and nitrogen
oxide...pollution is in a
cigarette. .. disease is in a cigarette...presence
of methyl isocyanide,
the toxicant of the Bhopal disaster...high
exposure to acrolein -This
compound is not only a potent respiratory
irritant, but qualifies,
according to current studies, as a carcinogen.
cancer is in
acigarette..." etc.
http://www.acsh.org/publications/priorities/0102/nicotine.html
Bladder Cancer
This site also has other excellent information
and pictures about
cigarette smoking.
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/abc/html/the_b_s.html
SMOKING KILLS BABIES
Further, a newborn child in the
care of a mother who
smokes is at risk for lung problems caused
by
cigarette smoke. In some infants
of mothers
who smoke, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
(SIDS) may also be a risk.
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/abc/html/the_d_s_-_g_s.html
PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a problem
that some women have before their
menstrual periods every month. It begins about 7-10 days before menstruation,
and
ends once the menstrual period begins. It can cause headaches,
pain and
depression. Smoking can worsen PMS.
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/abc/html/the_m_s_-_p_s.html
FACTS
Smoking is the most preventable cause
of death in our society. During 1995, approximately
2.1 million people in developed countries
died as a result of smoking.1
Tobacco use is responsible for nearly
one in five deaths in the United States.
Nicotine
is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction. Cigarettes and other forms
of
tobacco are addicting. The pharmacologic
and behavioral processes that determine
tobacco addiction are similar to those
that determine addiction to drugs such as heroin and
cocaine. Nicotine is found in substantial
amounts in tobacco. It is absorbed
readily from tobacco smoke in the lungs
and from smokeless tobacco in the
mouth or nose and is rapidly distributed
throughout the body.
Since
1987, more women have died each year from lung cancer than breast cancer,
which was the major cause of cancer death
in women for over 40 years. Approximately
half of all continuing smokers die prematurely
from smoking. Of these, approximately
alf die in middle age (35-69), losing
an average of 20 to 25 years of life expectancy.
http://www3.cancer.org/cancerinfo/acs_frame.asp?frame=statistics/cff98/tobacco.html
Mild Oral Cancer
Cancer Lung
Smokers teeth and gums
DEATH AND DISEASE
Think of those who you care about and those
who might call you mom or dad.
Most importantly. Think of your
own health.
Don't let the drug control you.
Take control.
You might also want to try my Vitality
Page for more info!