- You have cigarettes every day, or almost
every day
- You get cravings for cigarettes
- You mostly smoke with friends, but you
also smoke when you are alone.
- You spend more than you'd like to on
cigarettes.
- You adjust your spending habits to
include cigarettes
- You get anxious when you run out of
cigarettes.
- You tell yourself you won't smoke, but
end up smoking anyway
- You sometimes get surprised at how fast
you run out of cigarettes
If you answered yes to most of these
questions, then you are most likely addicted to cigarettes. Smoking has
become a dependency to you and you are more exposed to diseases such as
lung cancer and heart attacks.
Smoking is a very easy habit to start, and
as with all habits, very difficult to stop. Peer pressure and the
glorification of smokers by celebrities make things even worse;
non-smokers feel the urge to smoke, to fit in with the crowd and to look
"cool". Worse still, smokers either don't realize or don't care about
the ill effects that they have on the environment and the people around
them.
Most smokers enjoy it because it gives the
body the same effect as alcohol:
- It increases the heartbeat and blood
pressure.
- Causes the smoker to feel a slight rush
of adrenaline.
- Loosens inhibitions and makes the smoker
feel more alert.
Saying no to Nicotine - Quit Smoking
Some people smoke in order to lose weight.
While this may be true, (nicotine curbs the appetite and increases the
metabolic rate, meaning you will eat less and burn more calories when
you smoke) over a period of time, nicotine also increases the level of
"bad" cholesterol, damaging the arteries and increasing the risk of
heart disease, not to mention lung cancer and other dangerous ailments.
Expensive and unhealthy, smoking is a habit that needs to be addressed.
If you are already a smoker and finding it hard to quit, here are some
useful tips that can help you kick this bad habit for a healthier you.
Going Cold Turkey
1) Completely giving up cigarettes at
once.
2) It's the best way to quit smoking.
3) Shows that you have the willpower to
completely stop smoking.
Write down the benefits of Quitting
Cigarettes
1) To help you stay motivated.
2) Helps you 'see' your reasons for
quitting.
3) It also helps you adhere to your
reasons.
Give yourself something to do
1) Learn pen twirls or coin flips, to give
your hands something to do when the need to smoke arises.
2) Chew on gum or candy to keep your mouth
busy whenever you have the urge to smoke.
Associate yourself with non-smokers
1) They can help you keep your mind off
smoking.
2) They also keep you focused.
3) They are a good source of help and
support
4) They can also help you in your battle
to permanently stay away from cigarettes.
Most addicts aren't even aware of their
dependency to cigarettes. As a matter of fact, they think this habit is
under control - that is until you take away their freedom to smoke. They
will experience mood swings, anxiety and difficulty concentrating. In
other words, they lose the ability to function properly until they get
the next chance to smoke.
Tobacco is hard to resist and some people
smoke more than what is considered the 'safe' level. Most social smokers
remain in the 'safe' category (keep in mind that there is no real 'safe'
level. Smoking is considered to be harmful to you and everyone around
you, no matter how little you smoke. If possible try not to smoke at
all.) but some have increased dependency on cigarettes, making them
addicts.
Keep your body Tobacco-Free
Research shows that the secret to getting
rid of nicotine in your body is just to stop smoking for 72 hours
without using any anti-smoking aids. If you can last that long, your
body will detoxify itself of all the nicotine and you are on the way to
become successful a ex-smoker.
Most long-term ex-smokers managed to quit
without resorting to any external help or products, and they did so by
sheer willpower alone. If so many people can quit by themselves without
any aids, you should be able to do so as well. So think about the
negative effects your habit has on your friends, family and more
importantly yourself. Take the first step to leading a healthy lifestyle
by quitting smoking today!
In order for you to quit smoking, it is
important to keep your body free from tobacco. You might be strong
enough to keep cigarettes at bay, but withdrawal symptoms such as
fatigue, constipation, headaches, anxiety, hunger and mood swings, might
cause you to resort to nicotine patches, nicotine lozenges and nicotine
gum.
Facts about anti-smoking aids
(Nicotine Patches, Lozenges and Gums) and how they work
- Helps smokers get through the most
difficult phase of their withdrawal attempt
- Provides a gradual dose of nicotine to
your body throughout the day (it replaces a small amount of nicotine
that your body misses) without the harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke.
- The nicotine levels released gradually
are enough to prevent withdrawal symptoms such as irritability,
restlessness and anxiety.
- 24-hour patch produces a sustained
plasma nicotine concentrations overnight thus helping to reduce the
craving for a cigarette on waking.
- The levels do not reach the high in
smoking, hence there is no pleasurable feelings.
- It allows the smoker to carry on normal
functions in everyday life while weaning-off cigarettes.
The effects of cigarettes on other
people
Public Enemy #1 - Have you ever
experienced people giving you the evil eye when you light up in a public
place? Do your colleagues or your spouse complain about the smell of
cigarettes hanging around your clothes? When you smoke, you don't only
put everyone around you at risk of developing diseases, you also annoy
everyone around you who aren't smokers. It is even worse if you smoke in
or near the office; the smell of burnt nicotine lingers, making it
unpleasant for visiting clients. Colleagues with sinus problems might
also have trouble working when you have a smoke - they might be too busy
sneezing or wheezing to get any work done.
If you can't be bothered about the harm
you cause to yourself by smoking then at least quit for your friends and
loved ones. A disturbingly large number of people aren't aware about the
dangers of inhaling second-hand smoke, otherwise known as passive
smoking. Research shows that people who are exposed to second-hand smoke
at home are at a higher risk of developing lung cancer or heart
diseases. Added to exposure from the office or in public spaces, the
risk of developing these diseases can rise up to a whopping 60%!
Did you know ?
- A rough estimation of thirty thousand
American non-smokers kick-the-bucket each year from inhaling second-hand
smoke.
- Eight thousand from those deaths are
caused by passive smoking at home.
- The rest of those deaths were the
results of diseases caused by passive smoking in public places.
- More than one hundred seventy thousand
children aged five and below are admitted to hospitals each year, as a
result of inhaling second-hand smoke at home.
A closer look
Most people have this misconception that
nicotine and tar are the only substances in cigarettes. A little
research reveals a whole slew of other unhealthy substances found in
these little death-sticks.
- Arsenic - a poison which can be lethal
- Cadmium and nickel - commonly found in
batteries
- Vinyl chloride - mainly used to make PVC
- Creosote - irritates the respiratory
tract
- Formaldehyde - a preservative substance,
can cause cancer
- Polonium 210 - a radioactive substance
that can cause liver cancer, stomach ulcers, leukemia and more
Aside from these harmful substances,
the toxins listed below are found in cigarettes as well
- Ammonia - foul smelling gas, usually
found in faeces and urine
- Acetone - used in nail polish removers
- Acrolein - used to manufacture acrylic
acid
- Hydrogen cyanide - found mostly in rat
poison. Causes headaches, dizziness and weakness
- Carbon monoxide - can be deadly if
inhaled in enclosed spaces
- Toluene - causes nausea, loss of
appetite and memory loss
Although smokers are at a higher risk of
developing diseases from all these unhealthy toxins and substances, it
is extremely unfair for non-smokers to develop smoking related diseases
from your second-hand smoke. So think twice before you have that next
cigarette - you are causing a lot of harm to the people around you.
All you need to know about Nicotine
Nicotine alkaloids are usually found in
the leaves of the coca plant and it constitutes 0.3 to 5% of the tobacco
plant by dry weight. The biosynthesis of tobacco takes place in the
roots and accumulates in the leaves. A potent neurotoxin with particular
toxicity to insects, nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the
past. Nicotine derivatives, such as imidacloprid are still widely used
as insecticides today. In smaller portions, nicotine acts as a stimulant
in mammals. This energy boosting property is just one of the many
factors responsible for nicotine addiction and cigarette smoking.
History of Nicotine
The name of Nicotine is derived from the
tobacco plant named Nicotiana tabacum, which was named after Jean Nicot,
an ambassador from France who promoted the medicinal use of nicotine by
sending tobacco from Portugal to Paris 1550. In 1828, two Germans
chemists by the name of Posselt & Reimann isolated nicotine from the
tobacco plant. Melsens first described the chemical empirical formula of
nicotine in 1843, and A. Pictet and Crepieux synthesized it in 1893.
Pharmacology and Nicotine
When someone smokes a cigarettes, the
nicotine in it is quickly distributed through the blood stream and takes
about 7 seconds to reach the brain. It can usually stay in the body for
around 2 hours. A variety of factors can affect the amount of nicotine
absorbed by the body through smoking, such as tobacco type, whether the
smoke is inhaled or not and the filter. The amount of nicotine that
enters the body by chewing tobacco (also known as dip, snuff or snus)
tends to be much higher than smoking tobacco.
Dynamics of Nicotine
Nicotine affects certain receptors in our
body. In small doses, it stimulates these receptors, leading to an
increased flow of adrenaline. This in turn causes an increase in heart
rate, blood pressure and respiration, as well as higher glucose levels
in the blood. In large amounts, nicotine can block these receptors,
which is the reason for its toxicity and its effectiveness as an
insecticide. It is believed that nicotine also increases the dopamine
levels in the brain and inhibits monoamine oxidase, resulting in
feelings of pleasure similar to those caused by cocaine and heroin.
Nicotine Toxicity
40mg to 60mg of nicotine is already
considered to be a lethal dosage for adult human beings, which makes it
even more dangerous that any other alkaloids, such as cocaine (which has
a lethal dose of 1000mg). One study has shown that exposure to nicotine
alone, not as a component of cigarette smoke could be responsible for
some of the deaths in infants dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
