8 Reasons To Motivate You To Quit Smoking

Cardiovascular Diseases

Cigarette and tobacco smoke, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity, and diabetes are the six independent risk factors that for coronary heart disease that you can control or have some control over. Cigarette smoke is bad in itself and can be speed up the effect of the other five risk factors while it is doing its own damage to your body. It increases the tendency for blood to clot. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives greatly increase their risk for coronary heart disease and stroke. Smoking is also a risk factor for stroke. Inhaling Cigarette smoke damages the cerebrovascular system in many ways. It not only increases the risk for stroke but increases the risk for stroke after the initial stroke. Non-smokers aren't as likely to have repeat strokes as smokers. It increases the risk for aortic aneurism. It also increases the risk for peripheral artery disease.

Addiction

Smokers generally put up a wall of denial between their smoking habit and the harsh realitiy of the damage they are infliction on their body with every cigarette they smoke. They tell themselves lies that allow them to smoke with a level of comfort. They tell themselves things like " I m young and I have time to quit" or " cancer does not run in my family" or " bad things like that happen to other people".The fact that smoking is a slow killer supports the framework for their wall of denial for many years. Eventually that wall crumbles and smoking becomes a fearful, and anxious activity. This is generally the time smokers sought out ways to quit smoking.

Pollution

Trillions of cigarettes filters, filled with toxic chemicals from tobacco smoke, make their way into our environment every year as discarded waste. Cigarette filters appear to be made of a cotton like substance. They are actually made of very thin fibers of the plastic cellulose acetate. Cellulose acetate takes between 18 months to 10 years to decompose.

Second Hand Smoke

Second hand smoke contains more than 50 cancer causing compounds. 11 of which are group 1 carcinogens. The smoke off a lit cigarette contains more toxins than the smoke being inhaled. Second hand smoke is responsible for 3,000 deaths per year due to lung cancer in non-smokers. It is estimated that 22,000-69,000 adult non-smokers die each year from heart disease from second hand smoke. Children who breathe second hand smoke are more likely to suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis, lung diseases. They also have more ear infections, are more likely to develop asthma, and have more asthma attacks.

Cancer

There are 4000 chemicals in found in cigarettes. 43 of which are carcinogens or chemicals that cause cancer.

Some well known carcinogens in cigarettes include

• Arsenic, or rat poison
• Ammonia, or toilet cleaner
• Benzene, which is found in oil and coal
• Hydrogen cyanide, or gas chamber poison
• Acetone, or nail polish remover
• Formaldehyde which is used to preserve dead bodies

Smoking Also hinders the livers ability to process these toxins. Smoking cigarettes can cause many types of cancers. Lung cancer is the most common form of cancer caused by smoking cigarettes. 90% of lung cancer in men is caused by smoking and 80% of lung cancer in women is caused by smoking. Some other forms of cancer that can be attributed to smoking is Cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, bladder, stomach, cervix, kidney, and pancreas.

Mortality

Each cigarette a person smokes takes 5 to 20 minutes off of their life. Men who smoke increase their risk of death from lung cancer by more than 22 times and from bronchitis and emphysema by nearly 10 times. Women who smoke increase their risk of dying from lung cancer by nearly 12 times and the risk of dying from bronchitis and emphysema by more than 10 times. Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-aged men and women. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths. Since 1960 deaths from lung cancer among women has increased 400%.

Quitting Smoking

The first step in the recovery process from nicotine addiction is breaking through that wall of denial and put smoking in the proper light.

There are several products that can help you with nicotine withdrawal after you quit smoking.

• Nicotine gum
• Nicotine inhaler
• Nicotine lozenge
• Nicotine nasal spray
• Nicotine patch
• Nicotine antibacterial hand soap
• Varenicline which is a prescription stop-smoking medication without nicotine
• Bupropion as well doesn't contain nicotine

Halitosis

Smoking Cigarettes inhibits saliva flow and dries the mouth resulting in dry mouth. Without enough saliva flow to wash the mouth, bacteria growth increases. Dry mouth can lead to gum disease. Pockets are created in the gums making the area more vulnerable to odor-causing bacteria. Smoking makes any existing sinus conditions worse leading to foul smelling breath. Unpleasant smelling substances in cigarettes such as tar and nicotine are left on the inside of the cheeks, tongue, and teeth. This residue build up in the mouth results in bad breath.

Interesting Statistics

• Every 3 days smoking kills as many people that were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack
• Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the united states killing more than 400,000 americans each year.
• One in every five deaths is smoking related
• 25.2% of men are smokers
• 20.7% of women are smokers