Posts Tagged ‘Nicotine’

Smoking Harms People of All Ages

Comments: 0August 13th, 2011 by admin



All of us are well aware of the act that smoking is harmful and we should quit smoking. But does that enlightenment really help you quit smoking for good? The answer is NO.

Nicotine enslaves us for the rest of our lives; we keep on kissing our enemy while it kills us slowly, day by day. While considering those who are trying to stop smoking, I have decided to give a dose of motivation to support their efforts.

Here go the doses….

oThere are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, many of them toxic.

oThe ingredients in cigarettes affect everything from the internal functioning of organs to the efficiency of the body’s immune system.

oToxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body, causing damage in several different ways.

oNicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body, even in breast milk.

oCarbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing affected cells from carrying a full load of oxygen.

oCancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly.

oThe carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene binds to cells in the airways and major organs of smokers.

oSmoking affects the function of the immune system and may increase the risk for respiratory and other infections.

oOne is oxidative stress that mutates DNA, promotes atherosclerosis, and leads to chronic lung injury.

oOxidative stress is thought to be the general mechanism behind the aging process, contributing to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and COPD.

oThe body produces antioxidants to help repair damaged cells. Smokers have lower levels of antioxidants in their blood than do nonsmokers.

oSmoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation, another damaging process that may result in oxidative stress.

Believing on the strength of truth, shall I take that you are convinced and motivated enough to stick to your quit smoking program? I hope you will remember these facts when nicotine craving kicks you next time. Even if they don’t help you…then the last hope would be Chantix medication! I hope I don’t need to elaborate on what is Chantix! Well let me give a short brief for the new beginners who have just joined our anti- smoking campaign. Chantix is an FDA approved anti-smoking medicine which helps to quit smoking easily, without falling in the pit of withdrawal symptoms………that should make it easy, isn’t it!!!

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Posted in anemia

Alcohol And Drug Abuse Relapse Is A Choice

Comments: 0February 9th, 2011 by admin



Nothing quite highlights the hypocrisy of our legal system like the condoning of celebrity excess as being due to “relapse.” That is nonsense. Lindsay Lohan did not relapse – Ms. Lohan is an arrogant young woman who does what she wants and believes, apparently correctly, that she can get away with it because she is a celebrity with a convenient “disease.”

But drug and alcohol abuse is a choice, certainly at 21. Other behaviors are also choices: smoking; uncontrolled Type II diabetes; un-medicated Bi-Polar Disorder – all are choices. “Relapse,” real or faked, is a choice.

There is not a single documented case of anyone ever walking down the street, being grabbed by a bottle, dragged into an alley, and forced to consume the contents against their will. Or light a cigarette. Or consume pancakes with maple syrup. Or skip their medications. Let’s get a grip here, folks.

No single myth contributes more to the continued abuse of drugs and alcohol than the unfounded idea that addiction is an uncontrollable disease with which, like with cancer, or malaria, you can expect spontaneous relapses. Hogwash! Relapse is an active event that the drunk, smoker, addict, diabetic, or manic-depressive initiates.

Saying so annoys a lot of people, mostly those who want to excuse their behavior because it “wasn’t their fault,” and those who want to reserve that excuse for the next time they want to make a bad choice. But it’s still just an excuse.

Is it difficult to change an ingrained behavior? Certainly it is. Is it tempting to return to it even long after it’s been left behind? Of course. It can be tough to avoid relapse. Each of us who’s had a problem tend to remember the benefits while memories of the liabilities fade, whether our habit of choice involved alcohol, nicotine, manic highs, pecan cinnamon rolls, or any other self-destructive habit. But excusing a return to these bad old days shouldn’t be aided by pretending it isn’t a voluntary choice.

We all spend a lot of our life avoiding bad habits we first cultivated then left behind and then returned to. We all relapse in many forms over the years and spend a lot of time kicking ourselves for it. Usually, extracting ourselves is something we manage with only occasional help, and assisted mostly by the realization that we actually can.

That’s the reason why those who succeed, without merely substituting one obsession for another, tend to also prevail over a number of bad habits. Former alcohol abusers turn out to be ex-smokers, too, who are no longer overweight. Figuring out that you can change a behavior teaches you that all behaviors can be successfully modified. You are not powerless.

Occasionally society helps us along with negative consequences for bad behavior. DUI/DWIs are no longer acceptable, unless you are a starlet of course, but even that is beginning to change. The problem remains, however, if we are all excused from accountability for the short-term results of our behaviors, why would we worry about the long-term ones? And if we have a “disease” over which we are truly powerless, why would we even try to change? Obviously it’s futile. And just as clearly, we have a ready-made excuse when we decide to revert to our old, self-destructive habits.

Instead of actively embracing this disempowering “disease” model, our legal system and our society in general, needs to decide that change is possible and that relapse, while regrettable, is a voluntary choice. Only when we empower people to change, will we begin to see some real behavioral changes in those struggling to become ex-drinkers, ex-smokers and ex-addicts.

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Posted in Alcohol

5 Answers to the Most Common Questions About Smoke Cessation

Comments: 0June 11th, 2010 by admin



What happens to your weight when you quit smoking?

Answer:
Nicotine in cigarette smoke means that your metabolism is a bit inflated. Most will gain up to 4-5 pounds when they quit smoking. About 20% is not gaining weight at all, and a few loses weight during the smoke cessation. About 10% experience to gain more than 10 pounds. Weight increase is usually because you miss having something in your mouth and thus eat more and you are perhaps less physically active. To avoid gaining weight when you quit smoking, try to avoid too many delights.

Remember: Not all non-smokers are thick, and not all smokers are thin!

What happens to fitness when stopping smoking?

Answer:

Sport can not compensate for the damage incurred by smoking. Smoking on health can not be removed by exercise, diet, medication, etc. It is only a cessation, which can eliminate the risks of smoking.

Smoking affects your conditioning, since the carbon monoxide in the blood binds to the red blood cells. This means that the amount of oxygen that can be transported around the body, will be reduced, and it is equal to a worse condition. Although you can be in good shape, even if you smoke, you will never be in as good shape as you if you do not smoke. Many will feel an improvement of conditioning the first days after a smoking cessation – even if they have always grown sport.

What happens to taste and smell?

Answer:

Nerve cells, which ensures that you can smell and taste, are burdened by substances in the smoke. It dampens their signals and thus your ability to taste and smell.

You experience a whole new world after a cessation. The food tastes better, and you detect new odors, including the irritating smell of others smoking and the smell of smoke that hangs in clothes and furniture.

This happens because your normal senses are come back. THis happens already the first days after a cessation.

How soon after a cessation does the risk of disease disappear?

Answer:
20 min after quitting: Blood pressure and pulse normalized, and blood circulation increases.
8 hours after: the content of carbon monoxide in the blood are halved, and your conditioning improves.

24 hours following: the risk of heart attack decreases.

48 hours: Carbon monoxide in the blood is gone. Smell and taste perception starts to become normal. 4 weeks after: cough and shortness of breath disappears. Lungs is better to fight infections.

1 year after: the risk of getting heart disease is halved.

5 years after: the risk of getting a cardiovascular disease is almost the same as for someone who never smoked.

10 years after: the risk of lung cancer has declined by 50%.

15 years after: the risk of getting lung cancer is almost the same as for those who have never smoked.

Will tobacco cough ever disappear?

Answer:
Your cough is caused by the damage caused to your lung tissue. You will probably see significant improvements within the first month, then you no longer have to cough up the tar that would otherwise end up in your lungs when you smoke. But it may take time for the body to repair the damage, even if you are totally smoke-free. Cigarette cough will disappear, but how soon depends on how much damage has been done on lung tissue, and how good your body has to repair itself.

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Posted in anemia

Discover The Benefits Of A Drug Rehab Program

Comments: 0February 18th, 2010 by admin



You already know that a drug addiction is not a good thing. Whether it is prescription drugs where the addiction came on accidentally as a result of legally prescribed medications to treat something, or whether it is the illegal street drugs that are purchased on back alleys or dark basements, drug addiction is something that needs to be addressed.

Frequently, the addicted person cannot see the addiction, or writes it off to just being one of those things that they require in their life. But addiction to anything, whether alcohol, drugs, cigarettes/nicotine, or virtually anything else is not healthy, and in the case of alcohol and drugs, can be life threatening. If you love someone who is an addict, the best thing you can do for them is to get them into an alcohol rehab program or a drug rehab program for their own benefit.

The hardest thing about the whole process is to get the addict to realize, understand, and accept the fact that they are an addict. The vast majority of addicts do not realize this, and until they realize it, you are going to be pushing and pulling them into rehab, instead of them going willingly. There are alcohol and drug counselors who can help you with this task by talking with that person, and these services are often city, state, or county sponsored and are therefore at minimal or no cost.

There are multiple levels to a drug rehab program or an alcohol rehab program. Some programs merely scrape the surface and focus on detox, where they work to get the chemicals out of the body of the addict. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, it is often not the whole story. Other programs take the next step, which includes detox but also includes getting to the underlying reason why the addict feels that the alcohol or drugs are necessary. It might be due to the collapse of a marriage, loss of a job, a dire financial situation, or a host of other reasons, but the trained professional will work with that person to help them understand that the alcohol or drugs are not a solution to the problem, and in fact make the problem even worse.

If someone you love is addicted to drugs or alcohol, you need to get them to talk with a counselor about it, with the end goal being to get them into a good alcohol rehab program or drug rehab program. There is virtually nothing worse than watching someone you love destroy their own lives, and if they cannot see the damage they are doing, then it is something that you can do for them for their ultimate good.

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Posted in Alcohol