Saturday, April 20, 2013

SMOKING AND TOBACCO

There are over 6 billion people in the world today and reportedly more than 2 billion smokers.  Tobacco use has been and continues to be a major threat to the health of people worldwide.  It is no wonder one of the most profitable public companies in the world is Phillip Morris who made $7.5 billion dollars in profit in 2010.

I am writing this article today to reach out to the thousands of people worldwide that are considering picking up the habit of smoking tobacco.  I urge you to consider the facts about smoking and understand the realities of nicotine addiction before you enter into a lifetime of misery and addiction.

Cigarette smokers suffer from an addiction to a drug that is found in tobacco.  Nicotine, a byproduct found in tobacco plants creates a chemical addiction in those who inhale, suck on, or ingest into their bodies in one form or another.  If you are a smoker, you will find yourself reaching for a cigarette about every 30 minutes.  That is the time it takes for your mind and body to go into nicotine withdrawal.  And it can take as little  as one cigarette to become addicted.

Most smokers believe that they enjoy smoking cigarettes, but the fact is they have an addiction and the joy they feel when inhaling a cigarette is only a response to satisfying withdrawal from the addiction to the drug nicotine.

There are roughly 4 billion people in the world who don't smoke, and don't crave a cigarette every 30 minutes.  They do not find smoking pleasurable or necessary.  Only when you become addicted to nicotine do you believe you are experiencing pleasure from smoking.  The reality is you do not experience pleasure in any way, it does not relive boredom, stress or any other contrived side effect that the tobacco companies lead you to believe.  It in fact causes serious diseases that will kill nearly half a million people in the United States alone this year.

While tobacco has been on a steady decline in the United States over the last 50 years, it has increased in other parts of the world where people are less knowledgeable about tobacco use and the ill effects it has on the body.  The less you know about the effects of tobacco use, the more inclined you are to begin smoking.  Tobacco companies are targeting these people who are not aware of the dangers of smoking in hopes of bringing them into their world of nicotine addiction.

Do not fall for the trap.  There is nothing cool or glamorous about sucking smoke into your body and blowing it out.  It is an illusion created by the most powerful companies in the world, the tobacco companies.   Once someone becomes addicted to smoking, it is incredibly difficult to quit.  While many are able to quit, there are millions of people around the world who are helplessly caught in a never ending trap that will take them from this earth before their time.

If you are just beginning smoking, you will find that the first cigarette you smoke tastes terrible.  It makes you dizzy, hurts your throat and there is absolutely no enjoyment from smoking.  But if you are determined to smoke another and then another you will find yourself quickly addicted and reaching for yet another about every 30 minutes.  It's hard to believe anyone would continue after the first, but that is the power of the advertising and brainwashing that the tobacco industry has had on our brains.

Nicotine is poison.  If you were to take enough nicotine in on sitting it would kill you.  But in smaller doses it just creates an addiction so that you keep reaching for it.  Tobacco companies are well aware of this and tailor their product to give you just enough nicotine to keep you addicted without killing you instantly.  Of course in time they will kill you.  It may take 5, 10, 15 years or longer, but eventually that company you have been paying thousands of dollars a year for your smokes will take you life.   But don't worry, each day thousands more people will begin smoking.  So if your worried about the tobacco companies going out of business, you need not. 

One tobacco company executive was once quoted as saying the following:

“WE DONT SMOKE THAT SHIT, WE JUST SELL IT. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SMOKE TO THE YOUNG, THE POOR THE BLACK AND STUPID”.

RJ Reynolds tobacco company executive

Tobacco companies prey on our stupidity.  It is time that we fight back and don't pay another dime to the people trying to kill you. 

If you have already started smoking, now is the time to stop.  The longer you smoke, the more difficult it is to break the addiction. 

Please read my other articles on this blog about smoking and the effects it has on your body.  If you smoke now you must quit.  If you need help I hope that you find it on my site.  There are many articles that will give you the facts and remedies to end your addiction to nicotine.

If  you don't smoke, don't start.  If you smoke, stop. 


Resources
http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/industry/tobacco_companies/profits/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/index.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_in_the_world_smoke
http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/industry/tobacco_companies/global_market/



 

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

BEST AND WORST CIGARETTES

Have you ever wondered why you keep reaching for that cigarette?  You know they are bad for you and cause all kinds of health problems but you continue to smoke them.  The reason is that you are helplessly addicted to nicotine and your friends at the tobacco companies are making sure that you stay addicted.
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A few years back a scientist conducted a study on the addictive properties of various brands of cigarettes.  His name is James Pankow and the study was conducted at the Oregon Health and Sciences University.  The study measured the amount of free base nicotine levels in various brands of cigarettes.  Free base nicotine is a potent form of nicotine that is naturally occurring in tobacco and is absorbed much more rapidly by your lungs and brain.   Think of it as crack nicotine.

The study measured the percent of free base nicotine in the first 3 puffs of a cigarette.   Below are the results of the 11 brands studied.  

AMERICAN SPIRIT              29%
GAULOLSES BRUNES         25%
MARLBORO                          9.6%
VIRGINIA SLIMS                  7.5%
GAULOLSES BLONDES       5.7%
CAMEL TURKISH GOLD     5.2%
WINSTON                               5.0%
DORAL 100'S                          4.1%
KAMEL REDS                        3.4%
CAMEL                                    2.7%
GPC                                          1.6%

Unfortunately in most cases the specific type of cigarette by brand was not cited but this gives you an idea of the amount of free base nicotine in your particular brand.  American Spirit which has been marketed as a more natural cigarette contains by far the highest levels and thus you can conclude is the most addictive type of cigarette on the market based on this study.

While any amount of nicotine will cause addiction, it is clear that the more nicotine you absorb into your body, the greater your addiction will be. 

Remember, if you abstain from smoking or placing nicotine in your body for 72 hours, you will have removed all nicotine and you will no longer be physically addicted to nicotine.

Good luck on your journey to quit smoking.   Do yourself a favor and make that cigarette your last.

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source: Journal reference: Journal of Chemical Research in Toxicology (DOI: DOI: 10.1021/tx0340596)

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

BENEFITS OF QUITTING SMOKING

There are varying opinions on the benefits of quitting smoking.  Some reports say that no matter when a person quits they will almost immediately cut their risk of dying from a smoking related disease.  Other reports believe that even smoking one cigarette decreases your lifespan.  The answer is probably in between but I have seen countless instances of former smokers who have quit and gone on to live very long and healthy lives well into their 80's and 90's.

It is my opinion that as long as you quit smoking before you contract a smoking related illness, your body will eventually revert back to that of a non smoker.  The key here is that you have to quit before you contract one of those deadly smoking related diseases.

The speed at which your body heals when you quit smoking is amazing.  While your addiction takes time to cure, the benefits of quitting are visible instantly.  When you quit smoking, keep this with you and take note of all the benefits you are experiencing as a non smoker. 

After you put out that last cigarette you will begin to see the following benefits:

20 minutes after quitting
Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
    (Effect of smoking on arterial stiffness and pulse pressure amplification, Mahmud A, Feely J. Hypertension. 2003:41:183)
12 hours after quitting
The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
    (US Surgeon General’s Report, 1988, p. 202)
2 weeks to 3 months after quitting
Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
    (US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp.193, 194,196, 285, 323)
1 to 9 months after quitting
Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) start to regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.
    (US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp. 285-287, 304)
1 year after quitting
The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker’s.
    (US Surgeon General’s Report, 2010, p. 359)
5 years after quitting
Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half. Cervical cancer risk falls to that of a non-smoker. Stroke risk can fall to that of a non-smoker after 2-5 years.
    (A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease - The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease Fact Sheet, 2010; and Tobacco Control: Reversal of Risk After Quitting Smoking. IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, Vol. 11. 2007, p 341)
10 years after quitting
The risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who is still smoking. The risk of cancer of the larynx (voice box) and pancreas decreases.
    (A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease - The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease Fact Sheet, 2010; and US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp. vi, 155, 165)
15 years after quitting
The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker’s.
    (Tobacco Control: Reversal of Risk After Quitting Smoking. IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, Vol. 11. 2007. p 11)


    Good luck on your quit smoking journey.  You will succeed and you  will notice all of these above benefits.  Stay committed and enjoy  your new life as a non smoker.
     
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