Does Switching to E-cigarettes Improve Your Health?

Below the article about E-Cigarettes Improve your health?

The electronic cigarette is thrown into the spotlight recently with people like Johnny Depp and Kate Moss to support their cause. With the smoking ban strictly, it is not difficult to see why this new phenomenon, smoking is becoming one of the latest fads. These tubes are realistic looking like a real cigarette in shape and is light at the end. When you exhale, "white smoke" exhaling a cigarette-mail is replacing the more realistic market.

In a real cigarette is the nicotine that makes it so addictive. In fact, experts estimate that nicotine makes it more addictive than heroin, simply because it is the fastest chemical known to be effective if it is inhaled. In fact, it only takes 9 seconds for this chemical out of the mouth to have an effect on receptors in the brain that makes the chemical is as addictive to go.

Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals and that is what is so bad for you when it comes to smoking. Tar, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide are some of the harmful chemicals that are inhaled when smoking. These chemicals not only cause cancer, but they remain in the lungs, it may not work as possible.

It is easy to see why people choose a healthier alternative to the electronic cigarette. Inhalation of this device, you get a hit of nicotine but no other harmful chemicals. The "white smoke" you're breathing out is nothing more than water vapor. Since you are not breathing these pollutants, it is indeed possible to use the electronic cigarette in many public places.

Use the electronic cigarette for a healthy alternative. They are not in the 4000 harmful chemicals in their breath a real cigarette, but the rush of nicotine. Since you do not exhale water vapor, it is not only better for you, but that in your environment, it is particularly useful if you have kids.

Danger of Smoking

Today's article about danger of smoking.

Every year, 6,600 teens in Louisiana start smoking. And one of every four students in high school is a regular smoker.

Now the doctors who care for seriously sick smokers are doing something about it.

Why would doctors bring young teenage girls to the morgue to see jars of organs, and to a heart cath lab to see a choked off blood vessel in a woman who smoked? Well, it all started in a classroom at Chabert Medical Center in Houma, where a lung doctor and tobacco educator are serious about how crippling and deadly smoking is.

"What I see every day, when I'm counseling patients and caring for patients in the ICU, in those latter stages of lung cancer and emphysema, is quality of life. So many of them say, 'If I would have known, if only I had known.' It's just devastating to hear someone say that after smoking 20, 30, 60 years," said Dr. Andrea Girod Espinoza, an LSU health pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Chabert.

The girls had to guess what rat and insect poison, acetone polish remover, moth balls, ammonia cleaner, car exhaust and tar all have in common. The answer later.

They saw how many cigarettes pile up in a year of a pack a day smoker, who spend nearly $2,000 a year. They got the feeling of damaged lungs by breathing through a tiny straw after doing jumping jacks.

One of the stops on the tour for the girls is the baby nursery, and one of the things they learned is that when a pregnant woman smokes, all the nicotine and chemicals cross through the placenta and get into the developing baby. In fact, for the rest of the child's life, all the way into adulthood, its brain and body will be affected.

They also learned about smoking and one of a teen's biggest fears.

"So there's a special kind of acne that's associated with smoking that we know about and it's actually harder to treat than normal acne," Dr. Espinoza explained.

So what will happen now to these girls when friends entice them to smoke?

"I'm going to try to convince them to not smoke either. I'm going to give them some facts about how smoking is bad for you," said 12-year old Haley Terrebonne.

"My favorite part was when we looked at the babies because they was [SIC] pretty," said Key Howard, a 14-year-old who has a friend who smokes.

"I learned a lot about the organs and how smoking is definitely not good for you and how it can really kill you and give you a bunch of different cancers," said 14-year-old Monique Hebert.

And that table of products contain the same chemicals as in cigarettes.

"The 4,000 is the number of chemicals that are in every puff of cigarette smoke that a smoker will take. Many of these have been proven to cause different types of cancer," said Wendy Theriot, a tobacco control initiative cessation specialist with LSU Health Sciences Center at Chabert Medical Center in Houma.

Ways To Quit Smoking

It's about cultivating a novel ways to quit smoking.

Joseph Pandolfino wants to help smokers quit — by letting them smoke as much as they want.

Pandolfino’s company, 22nd Century Group in Clarence, is developing a genetically modified type of tobacco that has 95 percent less nicotine than so-called “light” cigarettes.

The idea is that, by drastically reducing nicotine levels in the cigarettes, smokers who want to quit will be able to continue smoking as much as they want during a six-week, prescription- only treatment program, while reducing their exposure to addictive nicotine.

“These look and taste just like conventional cigarettes,” said Pandolfino, 22nd Century’s founder and chief executive officer. “The only difference is they have 95 percent less nicotine.”

22nd Century executives said they think their products, which are still under development and need various government approvals before hitting the market, could offer smokers a new way to try to kick their unhealthy habit.

“It’s a completely different approach to smoking cessation,” said Henry Sicignano III, 22nd Century’s president. “We give people the cigarettes, which doesn’t alter the behavioral aspects of smoking.”

The company’s very low nicotine cigarette, called the X-22, is in the midst of clinical trials required by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, which has to approve the smoking cessation aid before it could be sold commercially. To win approval, the trials must show that the X-22 cigarettes can be an effective aid in getting smokers to quit.

So far, company executives said the results have been encouraging. A Phase II clinical trial conducted at the University of Minnesota using 22nd Century’s tobacco found that 43 percent of the participants managed to go four weeks without smoking, better than others who used nicotine lozenges or cigarettes with higher, but still reduced, nicotine levels. Those results still held six weeks after the trial ended, which is significant because most smokers who try to quit end up returning to their old habit.

About two of every five U. S. smokers try to quit each year, but only about 2 percent to 5 percent actually succeed in quitting in the long run. It typically takes eight to 11 tries before a smoker actually is finally able to give up cigarettes for good.

Pandolfino said the X-22 tries to strike a middle ground between quitting cold turkey and using products, such as pills, patches and lozenges, that give smokers reduced, but intermediate- level, exposure to nicotine.

Several studies have shown that

so-called “light” cigarettes, with lower tar and nicotine levels, accomplished little, because smokers compensated for the lower tar and nicotine levels by smoking more cigarettes and by taking longer and deeper puffs.

“It’s less of a shock than quitting cold turkey,” he said. “When you have intermediate nicotine levels, what happens is you compensate for it and you smoke more cigarettes.”

Read more from this source.

Any comment just leave it below. Thanks.

How the affect of health with tar cigarettes?

Today's article about how does tar in cigarettes affect health.

Tar cigarettes is referring to the toxic chemicals in cigarette manufacturing was added. Different ratings on the amount of cigarettes they were blurry, was based. Tar cigarettes with the highest concentrations over 22 mg tar per cigarette, while the low-tar cigarettes less than 7 mg each. Tar can be brown in solid form at the end of a cigarette found.

Coloring Effects
# Cigarette tar can show immediate health effects in terms of a smoker's appearance. The tar in cigarettes can stain smokers' teeth and turn them yellow and brown. In addition, cigarette tar can stain anything it touches brown, including a smoker's hands and clothing. Filters in tobacco cigarettes are intended to keep tar from exiting, but toxins still make it through and can leave a brown-yellow film behind.

Major Health Effects
# The tar in tobacco cigarettes is a major cause of lung cancer, emphysema and bronchitis. The toxins from the tar can damage lung cells that keep tumors from forming. Cigarette tar also damages cilia in the lungs, which protect the lining of the lungs. In addition to the discoloring of teeth, tar can cause periodontitis, a gum disease that can result in the loss of teeth.

Source...

Low Tar Cigarettes Safer During Pregnancy?

Are low tar cigarettes safer during pregnancy?

Pregnant smokers who switch to light cigarettes aren't doing themselves - or their babies - any favours. The labels on light cigarettes may say "low nicotine" or "low tar," but the claims are meaningless. All cigarettes have roughly the same amount of nicotine and tar. Cigarette companies have simply changed the design of some cigarettes so they produce fewer toxins when tested by machines in government laboratories. For instance, manufacturers put tiny vents in the filters so that the machines suck in fresh air as well as cigarette smoke. But when so-called low-nicotine or low-tar cigarettes are smoked by people instead of machines, any differences pretty much disappear.

When people smoke light cigarettes, they instantly adjust their smoking technique. Without even thinking about it, they puff more quickly and breathe more deeply. Many smokers also inadvertently cover the vents in the filters with their fingers, essentially turning their light cigarettes back into regular cigarettes. In the end, they get their full dose of nicotine, along with carbon monoxide, tar, and all of the other poisons that can harm a woman's health and threaten her pregnancy.

If you're worried about the dangers of regular cigarettes, switching to light or low tar cigarettes isn't the answer. You need to give up, and the sooner the better. The only safe cigarettes are the ones that don't get smoked.

Info from this source.

Tar Effects Teeth

Article about how tar can effect teeth.

Anyone that knows a smoker is aware of the affects cigarettes have on a personal teeth. The real culprit here is tar. Tar, when combined with nicotine stains the teeth yellow or brown. Cigarettes also give people chronic bad breath. All of this is obvious. There are, however, more serious effects from tar on dental health.
Periodontal disease is one possible effect that poses the most serious risks. The disease destroys the soft tissue and bone that attaches the jawbones because of bacterial infection. The outcome of the disease is loss of teeth after they loosen and eventually fall out. The early stages show bleeding gums and the pulling back of the gun from the teeth. It also causes the roof of the mouth to become swollen and inflamed. Effects of smoking the cigarettes are most known effects of the smoking, because the cigarettes are most famous type of tobacco, as well as partly because of horrifying diseases, which will result.
Any infection in the gums takes longer to heal in a smoker because the chemicals in cigarette smoke cause the weakening of the immune system. This could be especially dangerous is the infection spreads. Dental infections are among the most dangerous infections due to the close proximity to the brain. A smoker is far more prone to infections such as these than a non-smoker.
Smokers are also six times more likely to develop gum disease than a non-smoker. When gum disease is present, the gums become red and inflamed. The foundation of the teeth is also weakened in smokers, which also heightens the chances of tooth loss. Because the cigar smokers do not inhale smoke, and they are not in the danger of any cancer or heart disease, which affects the smokers of cigarettes. Effects of smoking the cigars are strongly felt in mouth & throat. Effects of smoking the cigars are not as newsworthy like those of the cigarettes, however they are not any nicer as well.
Smoking also effects the production of saliva, which also causes tooth discoloration. Saliva also cleanses teeth and the lining of the mouth and helps protect teeth against decay so when there is a problem with the production of saliva – like the problem caused by smoking for example – it means problems for the whole mouth.
Smoking also caused bacteria to get caught in plaque on teeth, which is another reason a smoker’s gums may become inflamed. This bacterium also causes problems for the jaw, which once again, may lead to tooth loss. Wonders of the modern technology also have allowed for the mechanical replacements, thus at least the smokers are now no longer have to mute for rest of lives. Unluckily, these mechanical replacements generally tend to sound as if a kids robot toy with laryngitis. Obviously, there is much more to these effects of the smoking, as well as others besides, than will easily get included here. Take time to learn yourself beyond this media blurbs. You will be happy that you did.

Gum Disease, Smoker’s Teeth

Talks about tar cigarettes.

The oral health effects of smoking cigarettes include an increased risk of periodontal disease, and mouth and throat cancers. Smoker's teeth are the characteristic yellow teeth caused by the deposits of cigarette tar on the tooth surface. Periodontal disease is the infection of the gums and bones that support and nourish the teeth. Mouth and throat cancers include cancer of the tongue, larynx and esophagus. The smoking facts reveal that oral health is profoundly affected by smoking cigarettes.

There are several ways in which the environment of the mouth is altered by cigarette smoking leading to the dramatic changes in oral health in smokers.

Cigarette smoking changes the factors that are necessary to maintain a good healthy mouth and throat and these changes in turn create the known oral diseases caused by smoking as well as the undesirable cosmetic effects.

Deposits of cigarette tar on the tooth surface:

Over time the grooves and pits of teeth become stained from deposits of cigarette tar. This discoloration becomes permanent and is so characteristic as one of the cosmetic effects of smoking cigarettes that the condition is recognized as smoker's teeth.

Reduction in the amount and nature of the saliva:

Good oral health is maintained by the production of proper amounts of saliva. The teeth are protected from infection by the special antibodies in saliva and its constant action of bathing and rinsing all dental surfaces.

Both these specific characteristics of saliva are diminished by smoking. Not only are the antibodies absent in the saliva of smokers but there is not as much saliva produced. This leaves your teeth and gums vulnerable to infection and since your immune system is compromised as well, when you do get infections in your mouth it can progress and become much more serious because of the reduced response of your immune system.

Smoking has been shown to be one of the main causes of gum disease. A heavy smoker is more than 6 times more likely to have periodontal disease than a nonsmoker.

Reduced nourishment to the tissues:

Nicotine is a powerful vaso-constrictor and results in decreased blood supply to all tissues. Oral health is profoundly affected by this reduced blood supply to the structures that support the teeth, like the gums and the bones. Gradually these tissues become so malnourished the tissue health cannot be maintained and teeth start to fall out.

There are more toothless grins among smokers than there are among non-smokers.

Contact with the Carcinogenic Ingredients in Cigarettes

Many of the ingredients in cigarettes are known to cause cancer. The constant contact of the oral tissues with these chemicals increases the likelihood of oral and throat cancers and the oral health risks of smoking increase with the amount smoked. The more you smoke the higher your chances of developing cancer of the tongue or one of the types of throat cancers such as cancer of the larynx (voicebox) or the esophagus.

Here are some smoking facts about oral and throat cancers:

• The risk for cancer of the larynx in smokers is ten times that of non smokers.
• The number one risk factor for cancer of the tongue and oral cancers in people over 50 is the use of tobacco and in fact 95 per cent of oral cancers occur in people over the age of 40
• 75 per cent of oral cancers occur in people who use alcohol, tobacco, or both alcohol and tobacco.
• Of all the people who are diagnosed with mouth and throat cancer this year only about 50 per cent will still be alive 5 years from now.

Yellow teeth, toothless grins, periodontal gum disease, and mouth and throat cancers are all among the oral health effects of smoking.

It is enough to make you sick and it doesn't look too pretty either.

Still Want To Smoke?

Talks about tar in cigarettes.

The experience of 400 cigarettes No wonder the human lung cancer! Consider this: The sticky Tar contains poison and remains in the lungs each time you smoke and your lungs need much calorie to remove these toxins from the blood! You will live shorter than you think! But think of your family and / or the lives of children!

How to quit smoking – without giving up cigarettes. Have you tried, and not leave again and again? Are you sick and tired of smoking all the time, but do not know how to stop? This amazing new courses and facilitate ease you gently Non smoking has become. How to quit – without giving up cigarettes. Lung Detox – Clean your lungs and stop smoking. More Than Just A Detox! Are you the physical and psychological benefits of not smoking, clean your lungs with tar and gunk a complete framework for doing so quickly.

Cigarettes Contain Heavy Metal

Above article bout cigarettes high in heavy metal. Read, click and try product from the bottom of this blog under sponsor links. ^_^

A senior official with the country's top tobacco watchdog has expressed doubts over the credibility of a study which suggests that some Chinese cigarettes contain too many heavy metals, saying simply comparing Chinese and Canadian cigarettes is not scientific.

A study released on Thursday by the International Tobacco Control Project shows that some Chinese cigarettes have significantly high levels of heavy metals, with some containing about three times the level of lead, cadmium and arsenic of Canadian cigarette brands.

The brands involved include Honghe, Hongtashan and Baisha, and the metal content in tobacco comes from the contaminated soil in which the tobacco leaf is grown, the study shows.

However, Wang Xiansheng, deputy director of the technology department of China's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, expressed doubts over the study's credibility.

"I don't think the research which simply compares Chinese- and Canadian-made cigarettes can be trusted and so far there are no standards on tobacco products' heavy mental concentration in China and the world," he said on Saturday.

Wang made no direct comments on the heavy metal content level in Chinese-made cigarettes.

An unnamed official with the general office of the Shanghai Tobacco (Group) Co told the Yangtze Evening News on Saturday that the high heavy metal concentration detected in the cigarettes comes mainly from tobacco leaves.

"It's related to many factors including the natural environment where they grow, so that's not under the control of the tobacco producer," the officer was quoted as saying.

Official documents show the heavy metal problem has caught the attention of the administration.

A document posted by the administration's website in 2009 says tobacco plants are prone to absorbing heavy metals from the soil they grow in and the heavy metal inhaled by people while smoking could harm their health.

"To work out technologies addressing the problem will help improve consumers' health and the competitiveness of Chinese-made tobacco products in the global market," the document says.

Experts warn that almost all of the heavy metals have known health effects: arsenic is a poison, cadmium can cause cancer and lead is toxic to the brain - and these metals get into smokers' bodies along with a cocktail of other toxins.

"The presence of such contaminants in an already deadly consumer product demonstrates the need for strong regulation of tobacco products. Smokers and non-smokers in China and elsewhere deserve to know what is in their cigarettes," said Richard O'Connor with the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, New York, who led the study.

Each year, 1 million smokers die from tobacco-related diseases in China, and another 100,000 die from exposure to secondhand smoke. If current trends continue, China's death toll from tobacco will reach 2 million a year by 2020, official statistics showed.

Worse, knowledge about the harm of cigarettes is far lower in China than internationally, the new study shows. Only 68 percent of smokers in China believe that smoking leads to lung cancer and only 36 percent believe smoking causes heart disease.

In addition, more than 70 percent of Chinese smokers wrongly believe that "light" or "low tar" cigarettes are less harmful, a previous survey showed.

"Weak cigarette package warnings are ineffective at educating the public about the serious consequences of smoking," said Wang Ke'an, director of the Think Tank Research Center for Health Development, a non-governmental organization based in Beijing.

The warnings on the back of cigarette packages in China are written in English and fewer than 10 percent of smokers in China understand them, he said.

Cigarette Smoking Facts

Article about fascinating cigarette smoking facts. Read, click and try product from the bottom of this blog under sponsor links. ^_^

The world’s view on smoking cigarettes has changed dramatically over the last century. The habit was once considered to be cool, sexy, good for your health, and widely enjoyed by many people. It was promoted by sportsmen, and advertised all over television. No one could be seen acting in a movie without a lit cigarette in their hand! Today, smoking is considered to be a nasty addictive habit that can kill you and those around you. You wont find them advertised anywhere – nor will you see anyone smoking inside a public building. It seems that these days smokers are considered to be anti-social and are often frowned at if seen smoking outside in crowded places. Below is a list of interesting facts about cigarettes.

1. Cigarettes are the single-most traded item on the planet, with approximately 1 trillion being sold from country to country each year. At a global take of more than $400 billion, it’s one of the world’s largest industries.

2. The nicotine content in several major brands is reportedly on the rise. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Health Department revealed that between 1997 and 2005 the amount of nicotine in Camel, Newport, and Doral cigarettes may have increased by as much as 11 percent.

3. In 1970, President Nixon signed the law that placed warning labels on cigarettes and banned television advertisements for cigarettes. The last date that cigarette ads were permitted on TV was extended by a day, from December 31, 1970 to January 1, 1971 to allow the television networks one last cash windfall from cigarette advertising in the New Year’s Day football games.

4. U.S. cigarette manufacturers now make more money selling cigarettes to countries around the globe than they do selling to Americans.

5. The American brands Marlboro, Kool, Camel and Kent own roughly 70% of the global cigarette market.

Cigarettes Contain Tar

Here’s thought about tar in cigarettes.

In solid form, tar is the brown, tacky substance that is left behind on the end of the cigarette filter. It stains a smoker's teeth and fingers brown and coats everything it touches with a brownish-yellow film.
Tar in cigarette smoke paralyzes the cilia in the lungs and contributes to lung diseases such as:

Emphysema

Bronchitis

Lung Cancer

Low Tar Cigarettes Are Safer True?

Here’s thought about it.

Even smokers, it turned out to be a common psychological 'health conscious' is. The right to exercise the right to munch on the right saw smoke and equality. Furthermore, for example, said the tobacco advertisers, clean air, mountain streams, sports, dance, movement started by the Southern tobacco products. People in the health care service boasts a stylish addition to good growth. They can also lead to the footprints of equal value, index, fresh, and their diet, energy, g protein, mg sodium relationship.

One sense with the intention of ancestors boast mature refined is with the intention of they appreciate with the intention of in a large amount gear the grave issue is the sum of the substance which they ingest. They appreciate with the intention of every person is exposed to a number of evil causing agents, representing instance, except with the intention of the likelihood of receiving evil is correlated to the quantity of persons agents. Similarly, countless cigarette smokers get with the intention of the hazards of smoking are correlated to the quantity of tobacco containing toxins with the intention of they ingest.

Unfortunately, this urbanity in the self-monitoring of come again? we eat, drink, as well as smoke has ended cigarette smokers straightforward targets representing the as a result called ’safer cigarette’. though the tobacco companies achieve not concede with the intention of some of their goods basis disease, they comprise but promoted low-tar brands. be in the region of tar yields comprise dropped next to in relation to 50% in the historical two decades, then in the United Kingdom tobacco companies boast argued representing the hardship representing them to be present acceptable to resume cigarette promotion in enjoin to hearten smokers to exchange to low-tar brands. The spokesperson tables of tar, nicotine furthermore carbon monoxide yields boast moreover optimistic the conception of the a lesser amount of dangerous cigarette next to advocating with the intention of smokers who cannot stop must exchange to lower-yielding brand.

On the face the relocate towards smoking worse tar docile cigarettes seems relatively promising. proviso nation are not capable to transfer up, next to smallest amount they are heart exposed to slighter amounts of the toxins to the same extent cigarettes boast mature steadily ’safer’. except comprise the cigarettes in fact mature safer? come again? perform the executive yield information mean?

The come back with to the formerly distrust is with the intention of cigarettes are perhaps not  any safer than they were some decades ago. in attendance is normal sign with the intention of intake of tar with nicotine has insufficiently to perform by in print levels. nation are choosing cigarettes based taking place FALSE information. The glitch is with the intention of executive estimates comprise insufficiently to achieve by what’s more the subject matter of tobacco in the cigarettes before the feature ancestors in reality smoke them. nation bottle with achieve fine-tune the volume, prize open with frequency of wheezing next breathe in extra before fewer of the smoke generated in reply to the vigor of the cigarette. except automated cigarette smoking apparatus are involuntary to smoke every one of cigarettes in just the similar route also achieve not adjustment the mode they smoke in reply to nibble also vigor factors. Clearly, hard along with promotion methods obligation be present altered proviso regulars are to ensue truly educated approximately come again? they are smoking.
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Better for Your Health?

Here’s thought about electronic cigarettes.

The new “electronic cigarette” has recently gained popularity among tobacco users throughout the world. Shopping mall kiosks, internet blogs, and advertisements have made the claim that the new “e-cigarette”smokeless cigarette is both a healthier and cheaper alternative to traditional cigarettes that also allows users to smoke indoors. Can this innovative smokeless cigarette device live up to all expectations? Or have we embraced the latest celebrity trend without scientific evidence that these "e-cigs" are in fact a true alternative to traditional tobacco?

We decided to see for ourselves and place an order from a popular internet promotion that gave free trials to customers interested in testing the smokeless cigarettes. When we received our order about a week later, we inspected the electronic cigarette closely, and it was easy to see that the device does in face look, and feel like a normal cigarette!

What these "e-cig" companies and some product users are claiming is that you can now enjoy a healthier smoking experience without the awful smell, second-hand smoke, or cancer causing chemicals from tobacco. They even claim you can still get your nicotine fix. Sounds almost too good to be true, right? That's what we thought as well. So we had our own Allen Richards, a lifetime smoker of 15 years, test these incredible claims. And the results, to say the very least, were shocking. Here are just a few of the advantages and benefits that the Premium E-Cigs has claimed on their homepage.

• Users can smoke anywhere, including airplanes and restaurants. 
• Cartridge's cost less than $2 and are equivalent to a traditional sized pack of cigarettes.
• Users get the same amount of nicotine as a regular cigarette.
• No tar, tobacco, carbon monoxide, or ash.
• "E-cig" users save over $1,000 each year.
• You won't "smell" like a smoker any longer.
• Different vaport flavors are available.
• No more second-hand smoke that's offensive to people around users. 
• Eliminate the potential of teeth staining cause my traditional cigarettes.

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.

Reason That Make You Quit

Above 4 reasons it will make you quit.

The Tobacco Control Act might be aimed at keeping those cancer sticks out of the hands of kids, but the legislation that kicks in this week will have some major adult effects too.

 

If you're one of the 46 million Americans who hasn't kicked the smoking habit, maybe this will put you over the edge (here's hoping anyway).

1. No more cheap small packs. Anything packaged with 20 or fewer cigarettes has been deemed too kid-friendly, and they're being kicked off the shelves.

2. No more false advertising. You might feel better reading the words "ultra light," but it's all in your head, not in your lungs. Cigarette companies are officially banned from using words like "ultra light," "mild," and "low-tar."

3. No more freebies. Love your Marlboro man cowboy hat? Put it on eBay because they won't be making any more of those free gifts with purchase.

4. No more in-your-face advertising. Whether the marketing of tobacco at sporting events made you crave a cigarette or not, the temptation is gone. Those ads are officially illegal.

If you're still smoking, does any of this make you want to stop?

Expert Shocked by High Nicotine

Above some info about it.

One of the leading tobacco experts in the world, Dr. Jeffrey Wigand is highly shocked with the high levels of nicotine and tar in the cigarettes consumed in New Zealand. He feels that smokers, who are exposed to such high levels of these dangerous chemicals, face a lot of risks.

He has been invited by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) to New Zealand to interact with Maori affairs select committee inquiry into tobacco.

Dr. Wigand is considered a hero for his actions, which lead to huge penalties on the tobacco Companies. A movie was made on him called The Insider in which Russell Crowe played the role of Dr. Wigand.  

He has also served as the former Head of Research and Development for a United States tobacco Company. When he first glanced at the high level of nicotine and tar to which an average New Zealand smoker is exposed, he thought it was a hoax.

A study found that from eight countries, New Zeeland has the highest amount of tar in cigarettes and is placed second behind South Africa for nicotine levels. Tar is considered to be a leading cause of lung cancer.  

The study was conducted by British American Tobacco (BAT) after testing 80,000 filters given by smokers from eight countries.

Dr. Wigand stressed that high levels of tar made it difficult for people, who are trying to quit smoking and this specially, hurt young people and adults severely.

He also termed the tobacco industry as an immoral industry as it harms and kills millions of people around the world.

Smoking Hazards

Let’s know the hazards of smoking.

One may think that with the amount of evidence out there linking cigarette smoking with various life-threatening, pain-inducing and socially alienating consequences, more people would kick the habit. But the fact is, giving up smoking is hard! The proof: the majority of smokers who try to quit end up relapsing shortly thereafter.

One factor to successfully becoming smoke-free is to build up the incentive to quit in the first place. Those who are still struggling with a smoking addiction may want to consider the following A to Z list of smoking hazards:

A- Aortic aneurism- swelling of the aorta

B- Chronic bronchitis

C- The big “C”- Cancer of the lungs, kidneys, pancreas, stomach, esophagus, bladder, pharynx, uterus, cervix, lips, tongue, throat and voice box (Sorry, were you going to use those?)

D- Death. Approximately 87% of all lung cancer deaths in the US are caused by cigarette smoking

E- Emphysema is common among heavy smokers between the ages of 40 and 60

F- Damage to the fetus, causing still or premature birth, low birth weight and SIDS

G- Gum disease and tooth decay, not to mention bad breath

Low tar and light cigarettes

Here’s the truth about low tar and light cigarettes.

Why do some smokers choose “low tar” and “light” cigarettes? Because they think these cigarettes may be less harmful to their health than regular cigarettes.

The Federal Trade Commission wants you to know that cigarette tar and nicotine ratings can’t predict the amount of tar and nicotine you get from any particular cigarette. That’s because how you smoke a cigarette can significantly affect the amount of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide you get from your cigarette. Research indicates that many smokers of “low tar” or “light” cigarettes compensate by taking deeper, longer, or more frequent puffs from their cigarettes. The amount of tar and nicotine a smoker actually gets also can increase if the smoker unintentionally blocks tiny ventilation holes in cigarette filters that are designed to dilute smoke with air.

When it comes to “low tar” and “light” cigarettes, the FTC wants you to know:

• The tar and nicotine numbers used in advertising and on packaging are determined using a smoking machine — a smoking “robot” so to speak — that smokes every brand of cigarette exactly the same way.
• The numbers do not represent the amount of tar and nicotine a particular smoker may get: First, people don’t smoke cigarettes the same way the machine does; second, no two people smoke the same way.
• Many lower tar cigarettes have filters with very small vent holes in the sides that allow air to dilute the smoke in each puff. It’s easy for smokers to cover the holes unknowingly; that results in them getting more tar and nicotine.
• It’s impossible to tell from the ratings the amount of tar and nicotine a smoker will get from any cigarette. Smokers of lower nicotine cigarettes tend to compensate for the lower nicotine by taking deeper and more frequent puffs than they would from a regular cigarette.
• The amount of tar and nicotine smokers actually get depends on how deep and how often they puff on the cigarette and whether they block the vent holes.
• Smoking “low tar” or “light” cigarettes does not eliminate the health risks of smoking. If you’re concerned about the health risks of smoking, stop smoking.

Dangers of smoking

Here are about dangers of smoking.

Cigarette smoking is a known health risk. While cigars and other smoking tobacco, such as pipes that are not as common as cigarette smoking, the dangers are the same. Some new evidence that smoking tobacco through a water pipe can be toxic ("Bong") as cigarettes and cigars. Most smokers are aware of the dangers and warnings on the packaging, it is difficult for an eye to the potentially fatal consequences of smoking cigarettes.

Most smokers at some point or the other hold on to the belief that they are immune to the dangers of cigarette smoking – ‘it won’t happen to me’, ‘I will quit soon’, ‘I am a light smoker’. However, the most serious consequences of smoking can strike at any time, irrespective of the number of cigarettes consumed in a day or for the period one is smoking. Individual susceptibility to the toxic compounds means that a light smoker smoking for less than a year may develop health related complications while a heavy, long term smoker may be unaffected.

It is accepted that smokers who start smoking from an early age, smoke for prolonged periods of their life or ‘heavy’ smokers will be more at risk. Smoking lighter offers a false sense of protection – light cigarettes (low nicotine and tar) are just as dangerous as heavier cigarettes. Tobacco contains nicotine which is highly addictive. It is this addiction that compels a smoker to continue smoking leading to prolonged periods of cigarette smoking and possibly even heavier daily consumption. Apart from the nicotine, burning tobacco also releases a host of other harmful substances like carbon monoxide (similar to fumes released by car exhausts) and cyanide (a well known, rapid acting poison).

Tar in Cigarette

Quit smoking..

An experiment with 400 cigarettes
No wonder why humans lung cancer!
Think about this: sticky tar contains poison and remains in the lungs each time you smoke and your lungs need much calorie to remove these poisons from the blood!
You will live shorter than you think!
But think of your family and / or the lives of children!