Smoking, Is It Worth? The Ugly Truth, And Negative Effects!
Smoking, The Ugly Truth! Is it Worth Smoking?
Tobacco or cigarette smoking is an addictive habit that is quite popular among teenagers and young adults these days. Because cigarettes have a large amount of nicotine (a highly addictive drug) in order to get users hooked up. So there is no surprise that the millions of people worldwide finding it really hard to quit smoking. Ugly truth Ugly truth Ugly truth
Although the effects of smoking on our bodies are quite well known to both smokers and non-smokers people still getting hooked on smoking, and this addiction to nicotine and in many cases long-term habit makes quitting really hard for most people. Ugly truth Ugly truth Ugly truth
Smoking is,
known to be a norm within some social circles, especially among teenagers and young adults, and generally socially accepted this habit has no benefits to both smokers and non-smokers. Not only smoking is highly addictive and hooks you in spending lots of money on cigarettes, but also it can result in serious life-threatening diseases and also it will result in less serious but still quite disgusting problems like bad breath, yellow teeth, and fingers, bad skin, etc.
Also,
Smoking affects not only the smoker but for the people around the smoker as well because the smoke which gets emitted from your lungs contains huge amounts of poisonous chemicals which are quite bad for human health and the biggest problem of second-hand smoke is that in most cases it affects children around you.
The Ugly Truth About Smoking:
- Tobacco usage causes more than 430,000 adult deaths per year in the United States.
- Around 5 million under 18 years will die prematurely from smoking-related diseases.
- More than 4,000 chemicals have been identified in tobacco smoke of which at least 43 cause cancer in humans and animals
- Exposure to passive smoking, 3,000 nonsmokers die of lung cancer every year.
- 150,000 to 300,000 infants and children less than 18 months experience lower respiratory tract infections. Asthma and other respiratory conditions often are triggered or worsened by tobacco smoke. Ugly truth Ugly truth Ugly truth
- Smoking among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders varies between 18% to 40% (including 9% to 13% of females)
- Tobacco use is linked to numerous adverse health outcomes, disability, and death across a spectrum, including heart disease, cancer, and chronic lung disease.
Is it Worth Smoking?
10 Reasons for Picking the Habit Up:
- A sudden rise in energy level to combat stress, stretch, and strain of our daily schedule.
- A concentration pill.
- To overcome frustration due to the indomitable desire of achieving the very best even beyond our limits.
- To bridge the gap between our desired aspirations and hardcore reality.
- Already Addicted and finds no valid reason to quit.
- A style in society.
- The additional energy level for repeated sexual interaction in a row.
- To avoid boredom.
- It’s a tradition and doctors’ advice is a foolish notion.
- Just to enjoy it.
The smokers treat all the above as valid points and the non-smokers feel these to be.
Smoking Ain’t Cool:
- The following factors induct the youth into tobacco usage in which nicotine is found which results in addiction.
- These are responsible for the initiation of the adolescent amongst whom 76% of the daily smokers believe that in 5 years they would not be smoking.
- However, the trend shows that 5 to 6 years later 73 percent of these persons continue to smoke having built up yet another make-believe resolution to quit smoking in another 5 years when life would cool down a bit.
- 46 percent of the daily smokers, however, does succeed in having stopped smoking for at least some periods during the first 5-year phase.
- Yet remarkable there is a less than 3 percent population though insignificant who stop smoking permanently. Ugly truth Ugly truth Ugly truth
Tragically,
This habit that starts as a style spreads its roots from an age when most people just begin to give shape to their dreams, ambitions, and careers. This ‘style becomes killer’ tiptoeing on the sands of time snuffing out lives leaving behind in its trail more than 5 million years of potential life lost every year the world over. 
- Sociodemographic factors like coming from a family with low socioeconomic status.
- Environmental factors include easy accessibility and availability of tobacco products, cigarette advertising and promotion by legends and stars and the widespread affordability of tobacco due to its low price.
- Personal factors include borrowed perceptions from peers and siblings that ‘tobacco use is normal’ and lack of parental involvement.
- Low self-esteem and the lack of ability to refuse offers to use tobacco further fuels the wrong notion that tobacco use benefits.
Health Risks From Smoking:
Adam and Eve had taken the risk of eating the forbidden fruit despite the caution from God. Today the society has left to stone unturned to bring the black side of smoking to the notice of the public. But still people continue to smoke and some even find romanticism behind the skull and Red Cross symbol or the pictures depicting blackened lungs in doctor’s chambers. So, the tradition continues.
Let us see, what a cigarette contains inside the white wrapper.
- Tobacco, being the principal component contains Nicotine that hits the brain.
- It has got 43 carcinogenic substances and more than 4000 chemical substances, out of which some are toxic enough to generate the charming effects in the human body.
- It contains 400 other direct toxins, which are found in commonly used wood varnish and rat poison.
So, Just Imagine The Combined Effect!
- The cigarette is the root cause of the most dreaded scourge of the century, Lung cancer. The research and Study reveal that about 90% of lung cancers are triggered off by smoking. As cigarette affects the central nervous system, so it spells its cast to give birth to cancer in various organs of the body like mouth and lips, pancreas, kidney, stomach, urinary bladder, larynx, nose, throat, and the esophagus.
- Leukemia has been found to be caused by smoking.
- Coughing and sneezing take a turn for the worst due to smoking.
- Smoking was found to trigger off Emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
- Asthma & Short breath is enhanced by smoking. Children are very susceptible to Pneumonia when subjected to passive smoke.
Also,
The Effects On Women:
- Mothers smoking cigarettes during their pregnancy risk chances of miscarriage and even delivering premature babies.
- It has been studied that smoking during pregnancy results in lesser birth weight for the babies.
- Experts found babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy were born with smaller airways – making them more vulnerable to breathing problems after birth. These breathing problems can put your baby at increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
- Smoking has been linked to various health problems in babies, including prematurity and low birth weight.
- Mothers who smoke are at increased risk of having a stillbirth, miscarriage or premature infant.
- Smoking while pregnant will lower the amount of oxygen available to you and your growing baby and increase your baby’s heart rate.
These health factors also contribute to,
- Raising the SIDS risk for your infant and in your child’s decreased ability to breathe correctly or take in enough oxygen for a restful, restorative sleep at night.
- Babies born to mothers who smoke are significantly lighter and shorter than those born to non-smokers.
- Children who are exposed to tobacco smoke before birth or in the home are far more likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses and infections, which can also contribute to a decrease in quality of nighttime sleep for your baby.
The more cigarettes you or your baby’s caregiver smoke per day,
the greater your baby’s chances of developing these and other health problems. Studies show that a baby’s risk of SIDS rises with each additional smoker in the household, with the number of cigarettes smoked a day, and with the length of exposure to cigarette smoke. Ugly truth Ugly truth Ugly truth
So,
Give your baby and yourself the best chance at a restful night’s sleep and keep your home and your baby’s sleeping environment smoke-free. Your baby will thank you and you’ll sleep better knowing your baby’s risk for SIDS is greatly diminished and that your baby is breathing clean air with each breath he takes at night.
- Smoking has been observed to affect fertility in humans.
- Vision is affected by Smoking
- “Long-term tobacco use can dull a person’s thinking ability and bring down IQ, according to a new study conducted by a research team at the University of Michigan”.
Smoking also,
- Forms ulcers in several parts of the body, the most common one being a peptic ulcer.
- Smoking causes burning throats and acidity as it affects the entire metabolic cycle. People after having quit smoking have observed a renewed appetite than their previous stage of smoking.
- Smoking may cause the development of large-vessel peripheral vascular diseases and inflammation of veins.
- When a woman smokes she becomes more susceptible to breast cancer.
- Smoking can lead to Tuberculosis.
- Several skin diseases are generated due to smoking.
- People smoking for longer periods can gather diseases like Heartburn, High Blood Pressure, and Insomnia.
Other Negative Effects of Smoking:
Aside from the high risk of developing serious life-threatening diseases as well as negative short-term effects from smoking, you exposing yourself to other serious consequences when you smoking. These consequences include dental problems, hygiene problems, etc.
You may think that smoking looks cool, but in reality, smoking is very unhygienic.
- When you smoke your teeth tend to become yellow or even brown because the tar deposits from cigarette smoke stay on your teeth.
- Also smoking results in a higher risk of developing gum diseases and plague. And this can result in expensive procedures to get your mouth and teeth back into good condition.
Also,
Smoking significantly increases the risk of losing your teeth:
Medical statistics show that the average tooth damage among smokers ranges from 1.5 to 2.9 percent every 10 years. This means that if you were to start smoking when you 18 you are quite likely to lose about five teeth by the time you turn 35.
In addition to the above smoking shown to slow down the healing process after injury or medical procedure.
“So not only you will have longer in a hospital or out of work but it will also cost you more”
And if everything mentioned above is not enough,
- Smoking has the potential to ruin not only your health but also your physical appearance.
- Smoking tends to speed up the aging process which in turn makes your skin and hair look dull and aged.
- As a smoker, you also tend to have more wrinkles but the worst part of smoking is that over time your hair and your body start to smell of smoke.
- And it takes a long time to get rid of that smell even if you quit smoking.
- Also as you can see all this will make you less attractive to the other gender and will highly reduce the chances of finding a partner.
Benefits of Quitting Smoking:
We are going to furnish some instant benefit of quitting smoking which has been found over years and these data are furnished based on research on people who have quit smoking.
The, 
- Heart Rate drops just after 20 minutes of quitting smoking.
- The level of carbon monoxide comes back to the normal level after 12 hours of quitting smoking.
- Blood circulation improves and the lung function shows significant improvement after 2 to 3 weeks of quitting smoking.
- Mostly Smoking gives birth to diseases like coughing which is fueled by smoking.
The severity of Bronchitis enhances due to smoking.
Asthma is another disease, which is highly affected by smoking. Even the breathing of a normal person has been observed to be shortened as a result of continuous smoking. It has been observed that it takes 1 to 9 months after quitting smoking to remove these physical disorders. But a significant improvement can be visible. “American Cancer of Society”
Smoking and Women’s Health:
People who smoke are more likely to have certain health issues and get certain diseases compared to those who don’t smoke. Some health issues are immediate, while others develop over time. Below are some harmful health effects of smoking that are especially important for women to be aware of.
1. Reproductive Issues:
Women who smoke are more likely than women who don’t smoke to:
- Have more irregular or painful periods.
- Have low estrogen levels, which can lead to mood swings, fatigue, and vaginal dryness.
- Go through menopause at a younger age, and have worse symptoms.
- Have trouble getting pregnant.
2. Respiratory Issues:
Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to get chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This disease makes it hard to breathe, and it gets worse over time. There is no cure for COPD.
- Women are more likely than men to develop severe COPD at younger ages.
- Each year, more women than men die from COPD.
3. Cardiovascular (Heart) Issues:
People who smoke have an increased risk of heart disease—which is the number one cause of death for both women and men in the United States. For people under the age of 50, most cases of heart disease are related to smoking.
- Women smokers over the age of 35 have a slightly greater risk of dying from heart disease compared to men who smoke.
- Women who smoke while using oral contraceptives greatly increase their risk of heart disease. This is particularly true for women who are over the age of 35.
- Compared to men who smoke, women who smoke have a greater risk of dying from an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is a weakening of the main blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body.
4. Cancer:
People who smoke have an increased risk of many cancers, such as lung, pancreatic, kidney, liver, throat, bladder, and colorectal cancers. Below is more information about the link between smoking and cancer, specific to women.
- Smoking is associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer.
- Smoking causes most lung cancer deaths in women and men. More women die from lung cancer than any other cancer, including breast cancer. There are now more new cases of lung cancer in young women (ages 30–49) than young men.
When you become smoke-free,
- Your mind and body will begin to heal immediately.
- Quitting smoking can improve your mood and give you more energy to do the things you love.
- It also lowers your risk of getting certain diseases in the future. It’s never too late to gain the benefits from quitting.
5. Smoking and Pregnancy:
Women who smoke may have a harder time getting pregnant. If you do become pregnant, the nicotine from smoking can harm your baby. If a baby is exposed to nicotine during pregnancy, it can affect their development before and after birth.
Smoking during pregnancy can cause many problems for the baby, including:
- Higher risk of being born too early.
- Higher risk of serious birth defects, like a cleft lip or cleft palate.
- Lower chance of a healthy birthweight (more than 5.5 pounds).
- Less likely to have normal brain development before birth and through early childhood.
- More likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome.
Women who quit smoking are making a healthy choice for themselves and their baby during pregnancy and birth. Quitting smoking lowers the risk of miscarriage (loss of the pregnancy) and ectopic pregnancy (a dangerous condition when the embryo implants outside the uterus).
Here’re Some Tips that Help You Stop Smoking:
There are physical addictions but, in addition, there are also the psychological triggers that make giving smoking up difficult. Cigarette smokers become so used to smoking that they maintain regimens where they will smoke cigarettes at certain times of the day and when they do certain activities.
So When,
You try to break your addiction and you are in a situation where you would usually smoke a cigarette, you find yourself craving one just out of habit. The activity has conditioned your brain to associate smoking with the activity. So as well as breaking the physical addiction you also need to break the psychological habits that have been set up.
1. Devote Yourself:
- You must devote yourself to stop smoking.
- You must really want to stop smoking.
- An individual needs to develop a burning drive to give up smoking.
2. Keep Yourself Busy:
When you find yourself in situations where you would normally have a smoke, substitute another activity for the activity of smoking. Brush your teeth, or chew gum until the craving passes. Don’t dwell about the craving and on how much you “just got to have a cigarette”.
3. Avoid Dwelling:
Avoid dwelling on the giving up the process, you must positively be about becoming a non-smoker and not obsess over how hard it is and how much you need a cigarette.
4. Add Exercise:
Add exercise to your new life activities it occupies you and gets you through those moments when you are experiencing cravings for a cigarette. When you really are craving a cigarette, put on your running shoes or get out your yoga mat and go to it.
5. Balanced Diet:
Try to eat a low-fat, high-fiber diet to increase the speed of detoxification and to help you preserve energy. These food items circumvent weight gain.
6. Non-Smoking Friends:
Tell your non-smoking friends and co-workers that you have quit smoking using naturally using natural methods. The idea of your coworkers catching you smoking and the associated embarrassment may be enough to keep you from lighting up a cigarette.
7. Save Your Cigarette Money:
Save your cigarette money in a jar, then reward yourself – a visit to the spa, a good book or a weekend trip away will give you the reward you’ve earned.
8. Natural Remedy:
Look for an all-natural remedy for stopping smoking naturally to help reduce the cravings to smoke. There are some excellent stop-smoking formulations to help you quit smoking naturally. Natural products containing the herb echinacea are known to help your body resist cravings.
- Sarsaparilla helps prevent weight gain and passionflower aids in reducing tension and anxiety.
- Burdock root, kelp, and hyssop are good for eliminating nicotine deposits from the body.
- Aromatherapy oil can be used at times when the desire to smoke becomes almost unbearable.
- Rub the oil under your nose; the action and the aromatherapy vapor together will help you overcome the urge. Ugly truth Ugly truth Ugly truth
Conclusion:
Smoking is a habit that is so intertwined in your emotions that it is very hard to quit. The most known cause is that cigarettes contain nicotine that is a highly addictive substance. Nicotine is what leads people to become addicted to smoking in the first place.
It’s easy to discover how to quit smoking.
Quitting can very well be a struggle, but the actions in the direction of a clean break from cigarette smoking addiction are very simple in nature. Step outside of your worries, and start paying attention to your innermost desires. Use this plan of how to quit smoking and run with it for a healthier, tobacco-free life.
If you find this article useful, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, as you might help someone in need. Thanks.
Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
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