Health Care and Smoking

Some info about it.

Have you ever smoked? Ever sneak a cigarette when you were a teen, behind the school or someplace where your parents didn’t see you and your friends thought you were cool? How about now as an adult? Are you a social smoker, only lighting up when it’s acceptable at a club or restaurant, or perhaps at someone’s home or a party? Ever meet some guys at a cigar bar for some male bonding involving thick tobacco smoke and good times? Way back in the days before smoking was seen as a major health issue, it was deemed cool to smoke. Most of the major Hollywood stars smoked on screen, and the public emulated those images.  When you smoke, how does that make you feel? Are you in control, or is the nicotine in control of you? Have you tried to quit; and if so, how many times?

According to the National Institutes of Health and Medline Plus, tobacco use is the most common preventable cause of death. About half of the people who don't quit smoking will die of smoking-related problems. Quitting smoking is important for your health and provides many benefits. Soon after you quit, your circulation begins to improve, and your blood pressure starts to return to normal. Your sense of smell and taste return and breathing starts to become easier. In the long term, giving up tobacco can help you live longer. Your risk of getting cancer decreases with each year you stay smoke-free. Quitting is not easy. You may have short-term effects such as weight gain, irritability and anxiety. Some people try several times before succeeding. There are many ways to quit smoking. Some people stop "cold turkey." Others benefit from step-by-step manuals, counseling or medicines or products that help reduce nicotine addiction. Your health care provider can help you find the best way for you to quit.

There are some very ugly facts about smoking, according to Smoking-Cessation.org. Here’s how smoking affects your body internally:

A. Smokers have a limited sense of smell.
B. Both active and passive smokers are at a greater risk of developing chest infections.
C. Smokers are at greater risk of developing cancer, especially in the throat, lungs.
D. People with asthma who are exposed to smoke may experience significant worsening of their condition.

Each cigarette you smoke shortens your life by 14 minutes...do the math. That's over 4 hours per pack! According to Smoking-Cessation.org, you can eat salad and broccoli till your face turns green, exercise more than Madonna, watch your carbs and your calories, but if you don't stop smoking you're destroying your insides. Did you know that smoking is the leading cause of blindness? Smoking is one of the most common causes of visual impairment and blindness in wealthy countries. The blood vessels in the retina are sensitive, and can be easily damaged by smoke. Substances in cigarettes cause a kind of chemical inflammation in the ocular conjunctiva, giving rise to a bloodshot appearance in the mucous membrane of the eye, as well as an itchy sensation.

Smoking can cost you your eyesight, according to Smoking-Cessation.org. Macular degeneration is the deterioration of the retina of the eye, resulting in the gradual loss of eyesight. Today, macular degeneration is the most common form serious visual impairment and blindness in the wealthy countries of the world. The condition affects heavy smokers twice as much as non-smokers.
Unfortunately, the risk of macular degeneration is only slightly reduced after giving up smoking. In addition to macular degeneration, smokers also run an increased risk of cataracts. According to a major American study, smokers are 60 per cent more likely to suffer from age-related cataracts. This applies particularly to the form of cataract that appears on the inner surface of the lens of the eye. Cataracts of this type (posterior subcapsular cataracts) affect smokers 2.6 times more than non-smokers. Additionally, smoking affects these parts of your mouth:
A. Lips.
B. The floor of the mouth, under tongue.
C. The tongue.
D. The palate.
E. The root of the tongue.

Smoking causes oral cancer. According to Smoking-Cessation.org, smoking is dangerous for your teeth and gums. The teeth may fall out, as smoking can cause periodontal disease. Smoking delays the healing of wounds, and stains the teeth, gums and fillings. The worst consequence is the increased risk of mouth cancer. Periodontal disease is a condition where the tissues that support the teeth - the gums and the bone - slowly deteriorate, and the teeth become loose and finally fall out. Anyone can suffer from periodontal disease, but smoking increases the risk. Heavy smokers are six times more likely to suffer from periodontal disease than non-smokers. The risk of contracting periodontal disease depends on how much you smoke. If you smoke 30 cigarettes a day, you are six times more likely to contract periodontal disease than a non-smoker. If you smoke 10 cigarettes a day or less, the risk is still three times higher than for a non-smoker. If you smoke, the risk of contracting cancer of the mouth is four times higher than for a non-smoker.

Smoking kills your looks. The appearance of wrinkled, pale and grayish skin is four to five times more frequent in smokers than non-smokers. In 1971 an extensive study showed that the facial skin of long-term smokers was so terribly wrinkled that they looked as if they were 20 years older. Talk about not aging well! Smoking causes the microscopic muscle fibers in the walls of the blood vessels to contract. This is why smokers have pale skin. Some smokers even say their fingers become cold when they smoke. A single cigarette can reduce the blood supply to the skin for more than an hour. Giving up smoking will improve the blood supply to the skin and give previously pale skin a more 'natural' appearance. A smoker's skin is also wrinkled because its vitamin A content is low compared with that for a non-smoker. Vitamin A protects the skin against strong chemical substances that may damage or destroy it.

According to the American Heart Association and AmericanHeart.org, about 23 percent of adult men and 19 percent of adult women smoke. This figure is down considerably from 42 percent in 1965. Changes in smoking habits during the late 1960s, the 1970s and the 1980s have very likely contributed to the drop in cardiovascular deaths that occurred at the same time in the United States.