Smoking
What is in tobacco smoke?
Tobacco smoke is made up of many components: the main ones are nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide.
Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, partly because it produces its effects so quickly. It reaches the brain seconds after you puff on a cigarette. Many people find cigarettes just as hard to give up as heroin or cocaine.
Tar is made up of hundreds of chemicals; many of these cause cancer.
Carbon monoxide is a gas formed when tobacco is burned, the same gas found in your car exhaust. Carbon monoxide lowers the amount of oxygen carried in your blood, and therefore the amount your body gets.
What do I risk by smoking?
There are still about 6,000,000 Canadians who smoke cigarettes. Each year, at least 35,000 of them die early because of their smoking. Smoking: is the main cause of lung cancer; increases the risk of cancers of the colon, mouth, throat, pancreas, bladder, and cervix; causes most cases of chronic bronchitis and emphysema; is a major cause of heart disease and stroke; greatly increases the risk of stroke for a woman who takes birth control pills; increases the risk of medical problems for a woman during pregnancy, and increases the risk that her baby will be underweight or will die in infancy. The more you smoke and the longer you smoke, the greater the chance of serious trouble.
What about pipes, cigars, smokeless tobacco?
All forms of tobacco increase your risk of disease and early death.
Is there any good news?
Yes - if you quit. Research shows the health benefits are almost immediate. And the longer you've quit, the better your health gets: Within 24 hours: your blood pressure and pulse rate start to return to normal; the carbon monoxide level in your blood decreases; your chance of having a heart attack goes down. Within a year your risk of a heart attack is cut in half. Over a longer time, your risk of stroke and lung cancer continues to drop until you are at about the same risk as people who have never smoked.
What should I know about quitting?
If at first you don't succeed, keep trying. Many, smokers quit more than once before they finally give up cigarettes for good. Many try several times. In fact, only one in five makes it on the first try.
Here are a few things to be aware of: withdrawl symptoms are normal. You might feel nervous, irritable, and hungry. You might also have headaches, and trouble concentrating or sleeping. Many people describe withdrawl as feeling like a mild case of flu. These symptoms usually disappear within a few days to a few weeks. It probably will take longer for you to get over wanting a cigarette, but that will get easier as time goes on.
Cutting down instead of quitting is not a good idea. Many people just change the way they smoke - by taking more puffs or longer puffs - to get the same effect from fewer cigarettes.
Many people worry they will gain weight when they quit. Only about one-third of people who quit gain weight, and that gain is usually only a kilogram or two. Cutting down on snack food and exercising more can get your weight back to where you want it.
Most quitters stop smoking on their own - sometimes with the help of pamphlets, books, guides, or videos. If you think that you need more help, ask your doctor or talk to your local health agency. It's important to remember that no single method works for everyone, and that you may try several different approaches before finding the one that works for you.
Everyone trying to quit has to find a personal reason for giving up smoking. Anyone who really wants to quit can do it.
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