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Smoking Cessation Tips
By Eric Hartwell
"Smoking cessation (stopping smoking) represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives.” As stated by the US Surgeon General.
The decision to quit smoking and staying a non-smoker is one of the hardest things to do. In order to ensure that you have the best chance of quitting, it is helpful to know what your options are and where to go for help.
Mark Twain, often quoted for his witticism and accurate life analysis said, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it a thousand times." Why is it so difficult? Nicotine.
Tobacco contains nicotine naturally. It is as addictive as cocaine or heroin and, through time, the physical and psychological effects of nicotine take its toll on the body. In order to be a success at quitting smoking, both the physical and psychological aspects must be overcome.
Nicotine gets absorbed into the body through cigarette smoke. The heart, blood vessels, your metabolism, your brain and hormonal system are all affected by nicotine. If a woman smokes during pregnancy, traces of nicotine can be found in amniotic fluid, the umbilical cord blood, breast milk and in the cervix mucous secretions.
Nicotine lingers in the body for 3 to 4 days after stopping smoking.
Nicotine affects the smoker with a pleasant sensation, leading to the desire to smoke more. Nicotine also acts as a depressant and interferes with synapse responses in nerve cells. The nervous system adapts to this influx of nicotine, increasing the tolerance of the smoker and subsequently the number of cigarettes smoked. By smoking a cigarette, nicotine enters the brain more quickly than any other intravenous drug.
When a person quits smoking, the body and brain react to the absence of the drug. This is both a mental and physical process. Behavior modification must be implemented due to the giving up of the habit of smoking. Physically, the body reacts through dizziness, sleep disturbance, headache, tiredness and increased appetitie. Psychologically, the brain and hormonal levels are affected, altering mood and can exact feelings of depression, frustration, anger, irritability, difficulty concentrating and restlessness. These symptoms will often lead the smoker to reconsider quitting in order to balance their body functions again, resulting in a vicious cycle of quitting over and over again. The symptoms above can last from a couple of days to a few weeks.
About 50% of smokers who never quit will die of a smoking-related illness. It is no secret that smoking causes lung cancer but it is a factor in other cancers such as cancer of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, cervix and some leukemia cancers. The Surgeon General has recently added pneumonia to this list of diseases caused by smoking.
Progressive lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis are many times a result of smoking. These are fatal diseases, with long incubation periods and often people in their 60s and 70s will contract these chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDs).
Heart attacks, peripheral vascular disease and cerebrovascular disease are all intensified health risk possibilities if you smoke.
Eric Hartwell oversees "The World's Best Homepage" intended to be a user-generated resource where YOUR opinion counts. Anybody can contribute and all are welcomed. Visit us to read, comment upon or share opinions on health and visit our associated site articles for free.
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