Smoking

Heart disease is the biggest killer in the UK and one of the leading causes of death in the western world. Our lifestyles are partly to blame for the risk factors for heart disease; smoking is one of the major risk factors for heart disease.

People who smoke cigarettes have twice as great a risk of a heart attack as people who do not smoke. Smokers under the age of 50 have 10 times greater risk of a heart attack than a non-smoker of the same age.

Carbon monoxide and nicotine are the two chemicals in tobacco that probably have the most effect on the heart.

Oxygen is carried around body by the red blood cells. The oxygen joins onto haemoglobin within the red blood cells. However, the carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke also joins onto the haemoglobin, reducing the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry around the body. In some smokers, up-to half of the blood can be carry carbon monoxide instead of oxygen. This deprives the heart muscle of vital oxygen.

Nicotine stimulates the body to produce adrenaline, which makes the heart heat faster and raises the blood pressure, causing the heart to work harder. Nicotine also has an effect on the sticky particles in the blood called platelets; this makes blood more likely to clot.

Other components of cigarette smoke appears to damage the lining of the coronary arteries and this leads to build-up of fatty material within the wall of the arteries called atherosclerosis

Smoking has dangerous effects on other parts of the body like:

• Four in every five deaths from lung cancer are caused from smoking.
• Ten in every 100 deaths from stroke are associated with smoking.
• Smoking is associated with cancer of lungs, larynx, mouth, pancreas, bladder, kidneys, cervix, oesophagus, and stomach or gut.
• Smoking is the main cause of chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
• Smoking can lead to diseases of the arteries in the legs, which can also lead to the need for an amputation.

How to Stop smoking:

Most smokers want to stop smoking and it’s the single most important thing a smoker can do to live longer. Seven in every ten current smokers say they would like to stop smoking. To stop smoking is definitely not easy. However, around 11 million people in the UK have stopped. Most of those who stop do so by themselves. Being determined is most vital thing.

There is no quick and easy way to stop smoking and nothing can make on stop. But if one really wants to, there are ways to increase the chances to quit smoking.

Steps to help one stop smoking:

1. A lot of willpower is needed to help break the addictive hold of nicotine. Take sometime to think about what you would gain from quitting smoking, and what you would lose. If you are likely to gain more than you would lose, now is the good time to quit.
2. Make a date and stick to it. Draw up a plan of action, thinking about what methods are available to you and having them ready before your quit date.
3. Keep busy to help take mind off cigarettes. Throw away all your ashtrays, lighters and tobacco.
4. Drink plenty of fluids. Keep a glass of water or sugar-free drink by you and sip it steadily. Try different flavours.
5. Get more active. Walk instead of using the bus or car. Try the stairs instead of the lift. Exercise helps one to relax and can boost ones morale.
6. Get the support or family and friends. They can be an important support to help one quit smoking.
7. Think positively. The withdrawal symptoms one may get when they stop smoking can be unpleasant. But these are signs that the body is recovering from the effects of tobacco. Irritability, urges to smoke and poor concentration are common. . They usually disappear after few weeks.
8. Change your routine. Try to avoid the shop where you usually buy cigarettes. Try doing something totally different. Surprise yourself!
9. No excuses. Do not use crisis, or even good news to be an excuse “for just one cigarette”.
10. Treat yourself. This is very important. If you can use the money you save by not smoking to buy yourself something special.
11. Be careful what you eat. Try not to snack on fatty foods. If need be try fruit, raw vegetables or sugar-free gum.

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