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Why is it difficult to Quit Smoking ?
The effects of smoking will vary
from person to person and depend on such things as: person's
susceptibility to chemicals in tobacco smoke, the number of
cigarettes smoked per day, the age when the person began
smoking, the number of years of smoking. Every puff on a
cigarette puts 4,000 different chemicals into the body. Tobacco
smoke is a cocktail of more than 3,700 substances, many of which
are pharmacologically active, toxic, mutagenic (causing
mutations) and carcinogenic( cancer causing), and include:
Nicotine Nicotine is among
the most toxic of all, acts with great speed. Nicotine is the
pharmacological agent in the tobacco smoke that causes addiction
among smokers. Its immediate physiological effects include
increased heart rate and blood pressure, constriction of
coetaneous blood vessels, and muscular, hormonal and metabolic
effects and may contribute with carbon to increased platelet
stickiness and aggregation and damage to the lining of the blood
vessels, suggesting a potential role in causing coronary
disease.
Tar Tar describes the
particulate matter inhaled when the smoker draws on a lighted
cigarette, and is composed of carbon monoxide, which interferes
with uptake of oxygen in the lungs, oxides of nitrogen, that
causes lung damage, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, nitrogen dioxide
and formaldehyde, has a direct, deleterious effect on the part
of the natural lung clearance mechanism in humans, metals like
nickel, arsenic, cadmium chromium and lead, are causally
associated with cancer in humans.
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Tobacco use (Cigarette smoking)
remains the single most preventable cause of cancer deaths
(nearly one-third) in this country each year. Smoking is the
most common risk factor for the development of lung cancer. It
is also associated with many other types of cancer, including
cancers of the esophagus, larynx, kidney, pancreas, and cervix.
Coronary artery disease, cerebro-vascular disease, hypertension
may be contributed by smoking. Smoking is the single most
important risk factor in the development of chronic bronchitis,
asthma. Smoking during pregnancy can have adverse effects on the
unborn child, such as premature delivery, low birth weight
babies, spontaneous abortions. Smoking is a risk factor for
osteoporosis and increases bone fractures.
Smoking cessation has major and immediate health benefits for
men and women of all ages. Benefits apply to persons with and
without smoking-related disease.
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The health benefits of smoking
cessation (quitting) are immediate and substantial. Quitting
smoking makes the skin look brighter and younger, losing that
smoker's dullness, due to improvement in oxygen circulation.
Within a month of cessation, blood pressure returns to the
normal level, and lung function improves. There occurs an
improvement in breathing . Risk of heart disease, stroke, lung
cancer drops to half Smoking cessation reduces the risk for
developing infections, such as pneumonia, bronchitis. Women who
stop smoking before becoming pregnant, or who quit smoking in
the first three to four months of pregnancy, have infants with
the same birth weight as those born to women who have never
smoked. People who quit smoking live longer than those who
continue to smoke.
To quit smoking, one must be ready emotionally and mentally. It
may take several tries before one is successful. Some people are
more ready to quit than others. The vast majority of smokers
quit without external assistance. Few are found to require
assistance like attending a quit program to stop smoking.
Smoking cessation (stopping smoking) represents the single most
important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and
quality of their lives. However, quitting smoking is not easy.
The first few days after quitting can be the hardest. It
normally takes at least 8-12 weeks before a person starts to
feel comfortable with their new lifestyle change of being an
ex-smoker. Some of the reasons that make quitting smoking
difficult are:
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Addiction
Nicotine, found in tobacco, is highly addictive. Over time, the
body becomes physically and psychologically dependent on
nicotine. When smoke is inhaled, nicotine is absorbed quickly
into the bloodstream and carried throughout the body. Nicotine
creates a chemical dependency, so that the body develops a need
for a certain level of nicotine at all times. When smokers try
to cut back or quit, the absence of nicotine leads to withdrawal
symptoms when the body tries to adjust to being without
nicotine. Withdrawal is both physical and mental. Withdrawal
symptoms can include any of the following- dizziness,
depression, feelings of frustration and anger, irritability,
tingling in the hands and feet, trouble sleeping, difficulty
concentrating, restlessness, headache, cough, tiredness,
intestinal disorders (cramps, nausea), increased appetite.
Tension and craving build up during periods of withdrawal,
sometimes to a nearly intolerable point. These symptoms can lead
the smoker to again start smoking cigarettes, in order to
alleviate these symptoms. |
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Some of the
behavioral aspects of smoking, in addition to addiction also make it
hard to quit smoking
• Stimulation It helps to wake up, get organized, and get going.
• Pleasure Smoking gives a feeling of pleasure and well being.
• Relaxation Smoking provides relaxation during times of discomfort
making it particularly difficult to quit smoking, when things are
going poorly. Many smokers find it difficult to quit smoking, and it
may take two or three attempts before they are finally able to quit.
Relapse rates are most common in the first few weeks or months after
quitting.
A new research report, shows that women, particularly older women,
find it more difficult to quit smoking than men. Smoking is an
addiction which, apparently women find harder to fight than men. A
variety of gender-specific factors make it difficult for women to
quit, one example may be that a woman's menstrual cycle affects
withdrawal symptoms, making it difficult to quit. Research suggests
that a woman's emotional state may influence her smoking more than a
man's. Women experience higher rate of depression upon quitting
smoking than men. While both genders show the same withdrawal
symptoms, there are major differences in their vulnerability to
relapse. The study shows women are more likely to start smoking
again because of psychological side effects brought on from
quitting, while men succumb to biological triggers, such as exposure
to the smell of cigarette smoke.
For people who find it difficult to quit smoking on their own, may
benefit by attending a quit course, referred to as cessation
clinics, which generally provide trained counselors who assist
intending quitters with skills to help them quit successfully.
Nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), in the form of both the patch
and gum are intended to aid heavily dependent smokers in quitting
smoking. NRT provides a replacement dose of nicotine, helping to
ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms such as craving and mood changes
when the smoker stops smoking. Acupuncture is intended to provide
relief from withdrawal symptoms.
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Article Contributed By: Shaonli
Dasgupta
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