Effects of Smoking
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- Quit Smoking Yesterday
Effective stop smoking program to get your health back. Don't light up another! - Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking
Information from the Department of Health and Services. Smoking & Tobacco Use.
Smoking is one of the leading causes of many respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in the world. Yet, still many of us are indulging in smoking cigarettes and tobaccos. The major factor of the rampant increase of smokers is because of too much stresses in their lives, peer pressure, or merely going with the trend. Unfortunately, many of us, especially the smokers, don’t know the harmful effects of smoking. Let’s look into the harmful effects of smoking as we go along.
Risks and Effects of Smoking
Did you know that every cigarette you consume is equals to six minutes of your life? Cigarette smoking is really dangerous to a person’s body. The smoke of the cigarette contains almost 4,000 chemicals, and the majority of these chemicals are toxic to the body. Let’s name some of these harmful chemicals. Nicotine, which is the primary chemical in cigarettes, gives a relaxing effect to the person inhaling it. This chemical causes the addictive effect in smoking cigarettes. But did you know that it can travel so fast (10 seconds) to the brain and be deposited on the tissues and cells as well as to other parts of the body. On the other hand, carbon monoxide, a toxic gas, attaches to hemoglobin, preventing the cell to carry large amount of oxygen. This may cause decreased perfusion to the tissues and organs of the body, thus, bringing fatigue to the smoker’s body. Carcinogen (benzo-a pyrene) damages the genes of the body that is responsible for cell growth, causing them to proliferate abnormally (tumors). Smoking also affects the function of the immune system, and that’s why smokers are prone to infections. Smoking also creates plaque deposits in the lining of the blood vessels, causing atherosclerosis. This may lead to cardiovascular diseases like myocardial infarction or heart failure. The most common effects of habitual smoking are COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. The two leading COPDs are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. These are irreversible conditions and may require palliative measures when diagnosed later in life and treatment is provided.
Quit Smoking
A smoker’s body tends to deteriorate depending on the duration of smoking. There is a big chance that you will not acquire these harmful effects if you quit smoking. Because of its addictive effects, many smokers find it hard to quit smoking. Having control of your life is the essential factor that will help you quit smoking. Let’s not put our lives to waste. Take into consideration the harmful effects of smoking and think twice before lighting your next cigarette!
Effects of Smoking
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Please Stop Killing Yourself
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Comments
Yeh, I was hesitant to add those pictures at first, but I really want to drive home just how dangerous it is to smoke. I hope you seriously re-consider. Others have done it and so can you.
my dad smokes and wow mow i really want him to quit, but he dosent know that i know that he is ugh he is so stupid
Have you tried showing him some of these photos? Does he want to quit? He needs to WANT to quit before you can get him to quit.
my mum smokes she doesnt stop though i pity her
It can get even scarier! I gave up smoking 15 years ago and still contracted terminal lung cancer! I had the big operation... (not successful) the nuking (intense radiotherapy) and was given two years left on the planet... the good news is- that was nearly 4 years ago now. I have been surviving on natural health remedies.
These remedies have managed to stop the cancer from being any more invasive and stop the spread My doctor says I am a walking miracle. I have good days and bad days but I have a positive mental attitude regardless. Cheers Stratplayer1
Oh, that is great news. I have a friend who is 45 and was just diagnosed with lung cancer last year. It's the size of a golf ball and his voice has even changed. He let it go too late. He used to be a smoker for about 5 years but gave it up in his 30s. Unfortunately the damage has already been done. According to stats, the survival rate with more than 5 years is very low for those with lung cancer. I really pity him and suggest he try some health farms in China. Poor guy also doesn't have any medical insurance.
Smoking has killed several members of my family, including both of my maternal grandparents, and most recently my mother. I've never smoked, but if I had, I would hope watching my mother die the way she did would have cured me of that addiction real quick. The good news is that one of my sisters, she's 44, quit shortly after our mother died. I pray it's not too late for her to regain several good years.
Smoking is a real addiction that can be as bad as cocaine. I hate to admit it but I am a smoker and of all things my dad died in 1971 from lung cancer that was caused directly from smoking.
I really have tried to kick the habit several times and you would think that after watching my dad die from it when I was sixteen years old would be enough to make me quit.
Oh well, maybe you guys can say a little prayer for me. thanks, paul.
PS Geeez, those pics are horrible and really get your attention.
I have mixed fag and pot since high school days .Now i am 40 .of la I am seing my legs change.I am scared stiff.I think I need devine intervention although I ju st quit the other day
Hey all, I just wanted to start off by saying, i'm 23 years old, I smoked for 7 1/2 years...god to think of how stupid I was that day at my friends house, putting that damn ciggarette to my lips, ugh, anyways, I havent smoked a ciggarette in well over a year. My mom, she has been smoking as long as I can remember, on and off, but now it's ALL the time!! Her mother died of Lung Cancer. My mom was my age when she saw her mother die of that ugly disease...it just scares me so much to think of watching my mom die slowly like her mother, I dont know what to do, I try to talk to her but it seems hopeless, I love her with all my heart, and I want to have as many years with her as I possibly can, I dont want it shortened by a F***ing ciggarette!
Why don't you print up this hubpage in color and leave it on the table for her to see. Maybe she needs to see some shocking photos.
If she still wont quit, get her to have medical checkups once or twice a year so that if cancer does start, it will be picked up early.
I hope you can convince her.
this site is one on the best sites for smoking. I'm learning about smoking right now and the viedo of brian and his family really shows what happens to you when you smoke.Its really sad.
nikoman... Thanks, that's all i gotta say
Bless..
Chris
I keep trying to give up, my best attempt so far was 6 months (on Zyban). I hate myself for keeping on falling back into it. My latest attempt only lasted a couple of months (on Champix), but I have still not given up on giving up.
BTW, did you realise cigarettes have cyanide in them, and this is to stop you coughing when you smoke them so you happily smoke more ?
Oh, so that's what the cyanide is. Thanks for your comments.
Hi there Nikoman, great website. My son is researching the effects of smoking and we came across yours. I have a message for mistyhorizon2003, it's great to hear that you haven't given up trying to quit. I work for a graphic design company who has a client called THOR Laser. The owner is James Carroll who has developed a product that is having a very successful rate of stopping smokers by using cold laser therapy. He is an expert in this field and they don't only develop equipment but work in the therapy community, speak at conferences and provide training. There are some quick start companies out there that are only in it for the money, and don't care about the consumer so be careful, but I believe James is the guy to approach about finding clients in your area who are trained professionals. You want to make sure the equipment is safety approved and operator is a trained medical professional. Their website and video is here http://www.thorlaser.com/smoking/ I really hope you find the solution to giving up so thought if you haven't tried this, it could be a real possibility. People with 42 years of smoking have kicked the habit just with a few therapy sessions. All the best from Ian (The link was incorrect so that re-posted sorry)
Thanks for your insight Ian! Much appreciated.
man o man...dont know what to say after seeing those pictures and video but one thing is for sure i have been smoking for about 8 years now i started when i was in my teen but now....hope fully it will help after seeing this i have put the picture as my wallpaper ....
That's where many get hooked on smoking when they are still in their teens. When peer pressure, drinking and dining out is at its peak.
Go for it Ganesh!
I quit smoking for the LAST TIME six months ago. I have either quit or attempted to quit 'officially' seven other times in my life. This time it 'took' thank God, and I am now proudly a non-smoker.
Thank God, indeed.
Thank you for this important hub and reminder for me to remain 'smoke-free'.
R. Martin Basso
I've only been smoking for a year, actually I started on a church trip to six flags of all things! But I've been trying to clean up my life and have quit everything else because God really interviened in my life so now im alcohol drug and sex free but of all those things the one thing i have not been able to concor is smoking! It is absolutely ridiculous. Because i never wanted to quit for ME, and my parents don't know, so thankyou because this has really put the desire and need in my heart to get rid of this discusting habbit.
I started smoking cigars when i first turned 16, 6 months after that i started smoking cigarettes. I have tried cutting the habbit but its terrible, i also chewed tobacco the first 6 months of smoking too. I'm now 17 and getting worried about my health effects in my future life. I heard about this E-Cigarette that is smoke free, is this a safe alternative to help you quit smoking?
The eCigarette (here is the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-cigarette) basically delivers only nicotine to your body without the harmful smoke of a traditional cigarette.
I don't have experience with this or know anyone that has tried it. But as long as you remain addicted to nicotine and "think" that smoking relieves stress, boredom etc., then you will always be thinking in the back of your head about when to get your next nicotine fix.
I see the eCigarette as just another temporary solution.
if only they would start using this sort of thing in schools which is when most of us start. real life footage and real life storys. Not just drawings in a textbook. try to prevent the problem rather then trying to solve it!
hi i just would like too say your video meant a lot too me !
my mom.. she smokes i tell her everyday too please stop.. and tell her how it will efftect her body any everything.. but she can't help it..
she wants too stop.. but she can't shes too addicted too the Nicotine.
and when i saw the picture of Bryan and.. how he looked like after.. i started too cry.. i just don't want someday.. for my mom too die.. even my sister... i already lost my grampa.
Cigaretts all need too be gone. for real.
thats mine.. up there ^^ i made an account. soo yess, im soo scared shes gunna be gone one day. just because of a stupid cigarette ):
its really scary.. goddamn I think i have cancer right now but im still smoking
Oh! my god. Its really discasting and scary photos. I bad to say but its will add it tat i smokes and i started it when i was jus 15 and now i m 19 yrs old. I tried many a times to kick off the habit but i could not help myself in the matter. Now i have been given a last chance by my girl frnd, i dont want to leave her but she told me that "leave me or leave cigerette". Now its great way which sticked to my mind, I will keep the print page of thiese pic. in my pocket .
Wow, If only pictures, could be enough to make people stop, think of the many loved ones we'd still have with us. As becoming a recent non-smoker, I don't want to preach to others, but why throw away all that money, to kill yourself quicker, it doesn't make a bit of sense. Once again, I wish more smokers could see those horrific pictures, maybe it would then sink in.
dear nikoman, i really2 want to stop smoking bu ti if find it too difficult. i'm fully aware of the effects on smoking but it doesn't scared me that much..please help me..i wanna quit.
wow i never actually new that that was what smoking could do to someone. Those pictures were terrifying.
if u smoke please please stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a POWERFUL argument to quit. Hopefully it will help some people out there to overcome the psychological addiction to smoking. Nice work!
it is very tough.
Unfortunately I started at fourteen, when I was invincible and sure nothing would ever happen to me. The idea that others will have the problems is so typical of teenagers and many times when we finally grow up the damage has been done.
Thanks for the strong arguments.
that is very nasty thoese pictures
Wow! Thats all I can say...Im glad I quit.
My mother just died of lung cancer in april 2009, I tried to get her to quit after her mother died from it, but her love for smoking took her at the age of 57!!! If that is a 20 year difference what would it be for me had I not quit. THINK ABOUT IT PEOPLE!
Oh, so sad to hear this Jackie. Hang in there, and hope your family is holding together.
Today is August 22, 2009 and I am soooo ready to quit smoking !!! I am so sick and tired of beating myself up everyday for .I am down to three a day but want to be a non-smoker so bad. I am really going to do it this time !! Wish me luck and congatulations to all have succeded.
Well i started in my teens also I have quit and started so many times,I find quitting easy,but staying off them is my downfall,and I smoked a pile of them in my 20,s,Scary always something makes me start again,I had no respect for myself for a long time,and not much of a social life,they say starting and stopping is actually worse,well if thats the case I guess Im screwed,and yes unfortunantly Im smoking again,,HELP
hi, do you have a detailed info on what happens to our body when we smoke. like in 3 months this is the risk, in 1 year, in 5 years these are the things that happen. i just really need it for my research.thank you.
This is one disturbing collection of images you showed us there. I can very well imagine how glad people that do not smoke must be seeing things like this ... as a smoker who just quit a few days ago those pictures may well serve to keep my hands from cigarettes.
This is a good hub of stop smoking love the scary image.
i used to smoke andim fourteen i saw this site thank you for this info it made me think twice
Om Paramapoonya says:
2 years ago
OMG these pictures are so scary! And worse than that, I'm smoking right now :(