Let’s Quit Smoking

Just as many people today are looking to put away cigarettes for good as are picking them up for the first time.  This is a good thing, and many health professionals have high hopes that a day will come when tobacco as a substance which is used by many people is a thing of the past.  To drive the point home, there is a number of smoking health risks a person should know.

Smoking as an activity consumes the wallets and attention of more people than we care to count.  Workplace productivity is negatively affected because many people have to take several or more smoke breaks in a shift or a workday just to get the habit satisfied, if only for a short period of time.  What then, are some of the smoking health risks a person should know, in addition to the monetary impact? Continue reading »

Several types of cancer are caused by smoking. This is the fact that even a smoker could not deny. Lung cancer is the most notable one. Other cancers that effect mouth, bladder, throat and also colon are also quite synonym with the smoking habit. And yes, these kind of cancers have been a common cause of death amongst the smokers. It become even worse if the habit of smoking is combined altogether with alcohol consumption, which increases the risk of developing these types of cancer.

Here is the fact. On average, about one in four smokers will die because of lung cancer. Female smokers have a 13% increased risk of developing lung cancer while male smokers have a 20% increased risk. 

Tobacco smoke contains many harmful substances. Around 60 of these substances cause cancer. The most dangerous chemicals are found in the tar, because 70% of them stays inside the lungs when a person - smoker or non smoker - inhales cigarette smoke. Benzpyrene, a carcinogen found in the tar of cigarette smoke, damages and destroys a gene in the body that is responsible for controlling cancer cell growth. Over time, the chemicals and toxins from cigarette smoke stimulates the lung tissues into developing cancerous cells.

Tumor formation can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors are not harmful unless they are very big in size. They develop slowly and do not spread to other tissues. On the other hand, malignant tumors are cancerous and can be fatal if not detected early. Malignant tumor cells reproduce erratically, destroying the surrounding tissues and spreading uncontrollably. The result is metastasis or the spread of cancerous cells to other organs of the body.

There are two types of lung cancer; On-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancers (SCLC). SCLC, the more aggressive type of lung cancer, is found in about 20% of lung cancer cases. This form of lung cancer is strongly related to smoking.

Not all cancers are fatal. If detected early, cancerous cells or tumors can be surgically removed and monitored. Treatment will vary on the type of cancer, location, tumor size, and the patient’s general health. Tumors and affected surrounding tissues are often removed by surgery, after which the patient may or may not receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

It is important for a recovering cancer patient to change his or her lifestyle dramatically. He or she should never smoke again, whether actively or passively. Harmful substances in food must be avoided, for these can trigger the growth of cancer cells. Friends and family play an important role in supporting the patient acquire a new, healthier lifestyle.

Talk soon,

Wayne J 

Read previous post :  Quit Smoking Advice

Smoking is a habit that endangers a lot of people. If you are a smoker, you are not only "killing" yourself, but people around you as well. Hard to believe? Well, you have to now. Let’s take a look at a few of the smoking facts that I collected, based on my experience and my research. 

1. On average, a smoker may and can die, 16 years earlier than a non smoker. Why? Because smoking cause some very serious diseases such as cancer and stroke.

2. Cigarettes are not cheap. In some countries, the tax charged by the government could be as high as 300% or more! This cause the expensive price of the cigarettes. In US for example, a smoker could spend approximately $3000 or more a year. If you’ve been smoking for 10 years (like I used to be), just imagine how much money you have spent, and this money is used TO KILL YOURSELF (or make you die earlier - that’s pretty much the same thing though).

3. Like I said in the introduction, a smoker is basically a "killer". Not only himself, but also people around him/her. If we accept the fact that the cigarette can reduce your "days on earth" by 16 years, do you really want to risk the life of your family, your children, just for the sake of your temporary satisfaction by smoking? C’mon..

4. So by having said the point no. 3 above, another fact that I could mention here is : People are not going to like you. Yes, just get ready to accept this surrounding, where people avoid getting near you. It’s like being a smelly dork in the middle of a crowd.

These 4 facts alone should have done some scary feeling, especially if you are a smoker. Yes, there are lots more. But I guess that’s it for now. I will definitely post some others soon.

You know, it’s never too late to quit smoking, unless you know that you are going to die tomorrow. The sooner you quit smoking, the sooner you can start living a happier, healthier life. I did. I quit smoking, so what about you?

Read my previous post : I quit smoking, what about you?

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Talk soon!

Wayne J