Why you need to quit smoking

Story by  Eman Sakina | Posted by  Aasha Khosa • 1 Years ago
A scene from a popular Hindu film
A scene from a popular Hindu film

 

Eman Sakina

Smoking is an unhealthy behavior that can become an addiction. Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream.
 
Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have been rolled into a small rectangle of rolling paper to create a small, round cylinder called a cigarette. Smoking includes all forms of smoking, such as cigar smoking, cigarette smoking, pipe smoking, and exposure to second-hand or passive smoke. All forms of smoking are harmful and there is no form of safe or safer smoking. For example, smoking mentholated, natural, or low-tar, low-nicotine cigarettes does not lower the risk of serious complications of smoking.
 
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Smoking causes or worsens many diseases and damages almost every tissue and organ in the body. It causes the vast majority of cases of lung cancer and or exacerbates many other diseases, such as lung diseases, diabetes, cancer, and diseases and conditions of the cardiovascular system including hypertension, blood clots, high cholesterol, and stroke. Smoking also increases the risk of certain complications of pregnancy and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
 
Smoking tobacco exposes you to over 4,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic. Toxins found in cigarettes include formaldehyde and cyanide. Another harmful substance in cigarettes and tobacco is nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive drug with serious side effects. Smoking also exposes you to carbon monoxide, which lowers the level of oxygen in the blood. People close to a smoker are exposed to the same toxins and can experience similar complications of smoking due to the inhalation of secondhand smoke.

Because of the addictive nature of smoking, quitting is a difficult challenge. However, quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for yourself, your health, and your family and friends.
 
Despite the prevalence of smoking, the factors that lead a person to start smoking are difficult to understand. In many cases, smoking is started at a young age due to peer pressure, tobacco advertising, or the concept that smoking is acceptable behaviour. Many people who start smoking have a family member or close friend who smokes. Nowadays it may be seen even in school students smoking even in classes or after the school gets over. Some friends challenge other friends to smoke and consider it a sign of maturity, and fashion and some show off. But they remain unaware of the harmful consequences which they are deliberately inviting for themselves as well as for their loved ones. 
 
Once started, cigarette smoking and chewing tobacco are difficult to stop. It is a well-known fact that smoking and chewing tobacco are behaviours that can become addictions due to the presence of nicotine and other chemicals generated from smoking. Like many other addictive substances, these chemicals trigger a series of biochemical reactions and pleasant sensations to which you can quickly become accustomed. Regular tobacco users eventually develop a need to experience these sensations to feel normal, which makes quitting a difficult challenge.

Symptoms of smoking and related diseases, disorders, and conditions include:
 
  • Bad breath and yellowing of the teeth
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Frequent or recurrent lung infections and other diseases, such as influenza, common colds, bronchitis, and pneumonia
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure) and rapid heart rate
  • Loss of taste and smell
  • Low oxygen levels in the blood
  • Low tolerance for exercise and fatigue
  • Nicotine-stained fingers and teeth
  • Premature aging and wrinkling of the skin
  • Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing
  • Smoker's cough (an ongoing loose cough that produces phlegm) and hoarse voice

Quitting smoking is a very challenging undertaking that often requires several attempts before you can successfully and permanently quit. If one method doesn't work, try another—the important thing is to just keep trying! Different people choose different strategies to quit. The best way to quit smoking is through a multifaceted smoking cessation program that includes perseverance, the support of the people close to the smoker, the use of new prescription medications that reduce the urge to smoke, and often nicotine replacement therapy. In the end, just remember ‘Precaution is better than cure.