Tips To Quit Smoking Habit!

Yes, smoking is having several immediate effects on body.
Brain: Nicotine which is present in the cigarettes it directly affects the brain. Nicotine activates the receptors of brain and causes addiction. Cigarette smokers showed higher rate of behavioral problems and suffer the following immediate effects:
Disturbs brain chemistry: In the brain, dopamine receptors are present. The number of dopamine receptor vary in smokers and non smokers. The number of dopamine receptors in non smokers are less as compared to smokers. Dopamine is released during the activities like drinking, eating and copulation. The initial increase in dopamine activity from nicotine results at first enjoyable feeling for the smoker, but the consequent decrease in dopamine leaves the smoker hankering more cigarettes.
Increase Stress: Smoking does not alleviate from the stress it is just returning to the undisturbed condition which the non smokers experience all the time.
Persistent cough: The respiratory tract is lined by the cilia which are thread like structure helps in filtering the air. By repeated smoking, the cilia come in contact with the fumes which in turn inactivate the cilia. Now the foreign particle irritates the mucosa lining and which secrets mucus. The mucus is sticky in nature so foreign particle sticks to it and in the form of sputum we spit it.
Decreases physical activities: Decrease in the physical activity is one of the major immediate effect of smoking. For physical activities like swimming, playing, exercise more amount of oxygen is required. But while smoking carbon monoxide is released which is absorbed faster than the oxygen, so sufficient oxygen is not reached to every cell because of which the person get exhausted very soon.
Increases heart rate: Due to nicotine consumption the heart rate increases as compared to the non smokers. If heart will beat for more times than normal, stress will come on the heart and may suffer from heart attack.
Increases blood pressure: Blood pressure is a measure of tension on the walls of arteries. Higher blood pressure requires that the heart pump harder in order to
beat the opposing pressure in the arteries. This increased work, much like that related to increased heart rate, can wear out a heart faster.
Periodontal disease: The inflammation extends deeper and damages the gums and the bone. As disease advances the pocket formation takes place and leads to loss of tooth. It happens because of smoking the plaque formation takes place which later on causes periodontitis.
Halitosis: Due to smoking the beneficial bacteria present in the saliva gets killed. The other bacteria undergo putrefaction process where it releases gases that cause bad breath (Halitosis).

Skin is the largest part of our body it consist of three layers
Epidermis: the outermost dead layer of the skin.
Dermis: The middle layer present just below the epidermis is called as the living region of the skin as it contains blood vessels, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, hair follicle and nerve endings.
Subcutaneous layer: It is the innermost layer which contains fats and helps in maintain body temperature..
The dermis is the important portion as it contains blood vessels which supplies blood to the cells of the skin. The skin remains healthy if proper amount of oxygen and nutrients reaches to the body. The person who is a non smoker looks young even at the age of 60 while the person who smokes in them the ageing appears at the age of 40.
Smoking effects the skin as cigarettes contains toxic substances. The major harmful substance released while smoking is Carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide gets absorbed 200 times more rapidly than oxygen. Usually hemoglobin carries oxygen and nutrients to skin but in smokers the amount of carbon monoxide and other toxic substances gradually increases. So in smokers later the carbon monoxide and the toxic substances are carried by the hemoglobin to the skin. Gradually the damage of the skin cells occur which affects the skin. Due to smoking the premature wrinkling starts as skin cells are lacking oxygen and nutrients. The cheeks become hollow due to continuous sucking. The dark circles surrounding the eyes increases and the whole face look very dull and unattractive. The lips become black due to blowing off the smoke out. Smoking stains the teeth and causes infection in the gums and they suffer from halitosis and xerostomia. Smoking effects face by captivating all the facial charm.
Smoking may cause the skin infection called as Psoriasis. The exact cause and treatment is not yet known. In a long term it may also cause psoriatic arthritis.
The skin provides Vitamin C to the cells. Vitamin C acts as antioxidants. It is water soluble, unstable vitamin and not manufactured by our body. It’s one of the function is to preserve collagen in the skin which gives shiny and youthful appearance to the skin. While smoking free radicals are released this damages the cells and also breakdown the preserved collagen. The function of Vitamin C is to donate the electrons to the free radicals and neutralize them. But smoking deprives of Vitamin C. This damages the cells and results in premature wrinkling near mouth and eyes.

Before starting with the medical effects of Smoking we will just see what does the cigarette contains and how the contents are harmful to the body.

Many people suffer from Cancer because of smoking. Doctors recommend quit smoking when they see a patient already suffering from any kind of Cancer. Cigarette smoking alone is directly responsible for approximately 30% of all cancer deaths annually in the United States (1).Cigarette smoking also contributes to lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and the development of low birth weight babies (2). Quitting smoking can significantly reduce a person’s risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and diseases of the lung, and can limit adverse health effects on children.
Cigarette smoking causes 87% of lung cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women (1). Smoking is also responsible for most cancers of the:
• larynx
• oral cavity
• esophagus
• bladder
In addition, it is highly associated with the development of, and deaths from, kidney, pancreatic, and cervical cancers (2,3).
Many people find it very hard to quit smoking. It seems that it saves one from stress and releases the stress and helps one to go off to sleep. After quitting smoking one finds that he or she cannot sleep and feels restlessness. It’s difficult to eat because there is a lack of appetite for some, after quitting smoking.
How to quit smoking cigarettes is a big question for the people who are too much dependent on smoking. Doctors and therapists say that meditation is good for quitting smoking.
The first few days of quitting smoking, drink LOTS of water and fluids to help flush out the nicotine and other poisons from your body. Remember that the urge to smoke only lasts a few minutes, and will then pass. The urges gradually become farther and farther apart as the days go by.

The effects of quitting smoking are sometimes very grave and usually depend on how the person’s smoking habits were and even how strongly a person wants to quit smoking. Mostly the effects are that the person craves to smoke and he is given something else instead of a cigarette. Quitting smoking many a times gives a hard time to the smokers, who are used to smoking for a long time. The side effects are short lived if the person is determined to quit smoking. Here are some side effects of quitting smoking.
For the first few days after you have said goodbye to cigarettes, the most conspicuous side effect is the change in the system appears in the form of a dipping blood sugar level. The ostensible symptoms come to happen basically due to the lessening of the total blood sugar amount. Other side effects of quitting smoking are Dizziness, concentration lapse and other behavioral changes. Also, you may experience a sudden hankering for sweet food. The symptoms associated with the going down of blood sugar resemble the lack of oxygen in the system of any and every living being. This means that you have to encounter with a situation where you lack enough oxygen. This prevents the brain from working at its maximum capacity. This is where the symptoms like light-headedness and nausea originate. Well, once when you take up smoking, you should remember that it will have more than side effects on when you start quitting smoking.
Some side effects are really very heart breaking, many people get lung cancer because of smoking. But the time the doctor or the therapist tries to help the smokers they mostly give up thinking about their life. Only the positive ones who are strong enough can quit smoking and can overcome the side effects of smoking.
These days’ people don’t really see to what they eat or drink, whether they had a good night sleep or no. So when they take up smoking and then try to quit, the side effect show a lot on their bodies. One should always take care of meals and what one drinks while quitting smoking. It is important to look after your health in order to sustain the change that is going to take place when you quit smoking.
Thus it’s important for one to quit smoking. One should understand that occasional smoking is alright, but making it a habit is injurious to health and has a bad side effect in the longer run.

Passive smoking could be defined as “accidental or inadvertent smoking”, because of inhaling or intake of second hand smoke. Tobacco smoke is so lethal that it contains around 300 chemicals that are carcinogenic, meaning “cancer causing”. Also known as indirect smoking, this way of smoking is equally lethal and deadly as that of direct smoking. Research proves us, that even exposure to tobacco burning, could lead us to heart diseases, lungs cancer and other major health related problems. The dangers that are associated with passive smoking seem to prohibit smoking in public places like hotels, gardens, airport, railways and places of historical importance like museums and national monuments.
Studies conclude that passive smoking, is equally harmful. Those who don’t smoke but have their partners smoking, tend to develop greater risk of lung cancer and heart diseases. They seem to be associated with the same ailments like that of active smokers. The California Environmental Protection Agency has also concluded that, it leads to female diseases like the Breast cancer and risk of Premature pregnancy.
Other ill effects of passive smoking could be Risk of Asthma, lung infection and problems associated with blood circulation. A recent study concluded by the World Health Organization states that non smokers seem to be effected with the same level of carcinogens like active smokers. Passive tobacco smoke has instant effect on blood veins and arteries leading to chances of getting a heart attack.
Tobacco smoke seems to be a greater air pollutant as compared to fuel driven automobiles. A latest research that was done by the National Cancer Institute proved that tobacco smoke caused more pollution than a diesel engine at an idling mode. This research was done with respect to “particular matter” (PM) emission test.
It would be surprising to know that passive smoking could cause cancer even to our loving pets. According to the latest findings by University of Massachusetts, cats who had their owners smoking had developed symptoms of “feline lymphoma” a type of cancer found very rarely among cats.
This fact comes even with a bigger surprise; a study by Colorado State University concluded that, even dogs were infected to canine lung cancer, because they were exposed to tobacco smoke. However most scholars believe that average level of exposure to indirect tobacco smoke could have temperate chances of developing cancer.
Even though scientific research proves existing connectivity between passive smoking and health related issues, the magnitude of this risk still remains a big question mark?
Recent surveys by National Cancer Institute have stated that there has been widespread public awareness about passive smoking. It also reports that passive smoking is a major health concern among people. It has been concluded that passive smoking is more pervasive than we actually thought. Thus this issue has not just become public nuisance but also cause of many health problems.

Secondhand smoke is a poisonous side-effect of smoking tobacco by which everyone are affected who is exposed to it. It is also known as ETS i.e. Environmental Tobacco Smoke. Secondhand smoke is a mixture of side stream smoke approaching from the burning of tobacco and the typical smoke that is breathe out by the smoker. It includes over 4000 constituents of chemicals, a huge amount of which are the inducers of illnesses of respiratory system and about 40 are suspected carcinogens.
ETS are not filtered, so the intensity of carcinogens is much more as compared to smoke breathed openly by an active smoker. Cigarette smoking generates smoke from two main places, mostly from the cigarette’s tip and from the remaining cigarette as the warm vapors enlightened by way of cigarette. It involves highest levels of carbon monoxide, tar, nicotine and several other carcinogens. Thus, a continuous contact with ETS is in fact more harmful than directly smoking for the same period. The following are the effects of contact to secondhand smoke:
• Immediate effects:
Direct effects of secondhand smoking include eye irritation, sore throat, nausea, dizziness, cough and headache.
• Long-term effects:
-Lung cancer: Secondhand smoke is the main reason of lung cancer amongst non-smokers. It has been revealed by studies that people who were in contact with secondhand smoke happened to be three times more facing lung cancer.
-Cardiovascular problems: Secondhand smoke can stimulate long-term and short-term damage to the heart by lessening its functional capacity and decreasing the capacity of blood to clutch oxygen. Chemicals present in secondhand smoke can harden or block the arteries, leading to problems like hypertension, heart attack and atherosclerosis. Secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart attack more by two times.
-Stroke: Non-smokers who are in contact with secondhand smoke have additional risk of stroke as compared to non-exposed people.
-Asthma: People who are exposed to secondhand smoke have two times more the risk of getting asthma than non-exposed people.
-Breast cancer: Secondhand smoke increases the risk of breast cancer amongst women.
• Effects on fetus:
If a woman smokes during her pregnancy then she can face various severe consequences on the growing fetus.
¬- Generally babies are born prematurely and low weight to women doing smoking at the time of their pregnancy.
- Their organs, mainly the lungs, are small as compared to other babies and they are more inclined to death.
- They may remain ill for all their life and most probably they are likely to get addicted to tobacco in their later life.
• Effects on children:
Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to get affected with asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and further respiratory problems.
Secondhand smoking also increases the chances of developing cancer in children during their middle age.
Thus, secondhand smoke has harmful and threatening effects on individual’s health.