Tobacco smoke filled air is bad for cardiovascular health, and drinking alcohol at the same time only makes it worse, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Testing the theory that moderate alcohol consumption provides some heart-protection benefits, the UAB team said it wanted to take the idea further and look at the effects of smoking and breathing second-hand smoke along with drinking.
They reported that mice exposed to smoky air in a laboratory enclosure and fed a liquid diet containing ethanol, the intoxicating ingredient in alcohol, had a 4.7-fold increase in artery lesions. That compares to mice who breathed filtered air and ate a normal solid diet.
Artery lesions are a common problem in heavy smokers and a key sign of advancing cardiovascular disease. The results are published in the journal Free Radical Biology & Medicine.
The researchers reported mice solely exposed to the smoky air had a 2.3-fold increase in artery lesions when compared to mice who breathed filtered air. Mice solely fed a liquid diet containing ethanol had a 3.5-fold increase in artery lesions when compared to mice fed a normal diet.
The study points to a greater need to understand the negative biological impact of single or multiple risky behaviors, and the compounding effect of environmental hazards such as second-hand smoke, said Scott Ballinger, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UAB Department of Pathology and lead author on the study.
"Our study shows that exposure to cigarette smoke when combined with alcohol consumption caused the greatest degree of cardiovascular disease development compared to either action or exposure alone," Ballinger said.
"Because moderate alcohol consumption is commonly thought to be cardioprotective, these findings are important for smokers and non-smokers alike in terms of what you should and should not do to protect their health," said Shannon Bailey, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UAB Department of Environmental Health Sciences and a co-investigator on the study.
The mice experiments were performed over a five-week period. Blood-alcohol concentrations reached the equivalent of a 150-pound adult consuming 2 drinks per hour. Cigarette smoke exposure was similar to being in an automobile with a chain smoker with the windows closed.
In addition to measuring artery lesions in the study mice, the UAB team looked at other signs of advancing cardiovascular disease like DNA damage and oxidative stress in key heart tissues.
Like the artery lesions, these added measurements showed that taking in both smoky air and ethanol had the effect of basically nullifying any potential heart benefit from drinking alcohol by itself.
Contributors to the UAB study include researchers at the Institute of Toxicology and Environmental Health at the University of California, Davis. Grant support came from the National Institutes of Health.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
701 20th St. S., AB 1320
Birmingham, AL 35294-0113
United States
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Smoking May Affect Fertility Of Female Offspring
Smoking during pregnancy has many adverse effects on fetal development. A new study in mice by Andrea Jurisicova and colleagues at the University of Toronto, Canada, now adds the possibility that smoking before pregnancy or while breast-feeding might substantially decrease the fertility of female offspring to the long list of possible negative outcomes.
The authors found that female mice injected under the skin with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) -- environmental toxins found in cigarette smoke -- pre-pregancy or while lactating were found to have normal sized litters. However, their female offspring had markedly reduced numbers of resting and early growing follicles -- cell clusters that each contain a single egg. Further analysis indicated that the effects of PAHs on the number of follicles in female offspring were mediated through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr), which upregulated expression of the gene Harakiri that makes a protein that causes cells to die by a process known as apoptosis. The potential importance of these findings for women of child-bearing age was demonstrated by the observation that PAHs triggered similar molecular pathways in human ovarian tissue transplanted into immunocompromised mice.
The authors found that female mice injected under the skin with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) -- environmental toxins found in cigarette smoke -- pre-pregancy or while lactating were found to have normal sized litters. However, their female offspring had markedly reduced numbers of resting and early growing follicles -- cell clusters that each contain a single egg. Further analysis indicated that the effects of PAHs on the number of follicles in female offspring were mediated through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr), which upregulated expression of the gene Harakiri that makes a protein that causes cells to die by a process known as apoptosis. The potential importance of these findings for women of child-bearing age was demonstrated by the observation that PAHs triggered similar molecular pathways in human ovarian tissue transplanted into immunocompromised mice.
Smoking Before And After Pregnancy Harms Daughters' Fertility
Researchers have identified the chemical pathway by which a mother's smoking before and after pregnancy might reduce her daughter's fertility by as much as two-thirds.
Cigarette smoking during pregnancy has been shown in studies to affect the fertility of a woman's offspring, but this is the first study to offer an explanation of the biology behind the effect, the scientists claim.
A team at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto investigated the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a byproduct of smoking, on mouse fertility.
Researchers injected three groups of female mice with a low-dose mixture of PAH: One group received PAH before conception and again when they were providing milk for their pups; one group received PAH only before conception; and the third group received PAH only during lactation. A fourth control group did not receive PAH but were mated at the same time as the others.
The total amount of PAH given to each mouse over the three-week injection cycle was equivalent to 25 packs of cigarettes. The exposed mice did not have fewer pups in their own litters, but when researchers investigated the number of eggs in their female offspring, they found about 70 percent fewer follicles available to produce eggs.
Dr Andrea Jurisicova lead author, explained, "Mothers, mice in this case, exposed to PAHs, (environmental pollutants found in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, smoke produced by fossil fuel combustion, as well as in smoked food) before pregnancy and or during breast-feeding, but not during pregnancy, can cause a reduction in the number of eggs in the ovaries of their female offspring by two-thirds. This limits the window in which the daughter will be able to reproduce."
Dr Norman Edelman said, "This study now is providing a chemical pathway, which is very nice. The new data provides biological support for epidemiological results, such as the previously observed reduction in fertility among daughters of smoking women."
Although the findings do not define the length of time between quitting smoking and healthier fertility in offspring, Jurisicova noted that previous studies have shown that women who smoke have better results with in vitro fertilisation one year after they quit smoking. The mice in the current study conceived up to two weeks after their final PAH injection, which is approximately equivalent to three menstrual cycles in women.
The effect of a mother's cigarette smoking is not limited to her female children. A study published in the Jan. 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology suggested that the male offspring of mothers who smoke have lower sperm counts.
There is still more research to be done, Jurisicova noted.
She added, "We hope to continue studying the female offspring to see if they enter the mouse version of menopause earlier than mice whose mothers were not exposed to PAHs. We also hope to study if their reduced fertility passes on to subsequent generations, and if the granddaughters are predisposed to similar problems."
Cigarette smoking during pregnancy has been shown in studies to affect the fertility of a woman's offspring, but this is the first study to offer an explanation of the biology behind the effect, the scientists claim.
A team at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto investigated the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a byproduct of smoking, on mouse fertility.
Researchers injected three groups of female mice with a low-dose mixture of PAH: One group received PAH before conception and again when they were providing milk for their pups; one group received PAH only before conception; and the third group received PAH only during lactation. A fourth control group did not receive PAH but were mated at the same time as the others.
The total amount of PAH given to each mouse over the three-week injection cycle was equivalent to 25 packs of cigarettes. The exposed mice did not have fewer pups in their own litters, but when researchers investigated the number of eggs in their female offspring, they found about 70 percent fewer follicles available to produce eggs.
Dr Andrea Jurisicova lead author, explained, "Mothers, mice in this case, exposed to PAHs, (environmental pollutants found in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, smoke produced by fossil fuel combustion, as well as in smoked food) before pregnancy and or during breast-feeding, but not during pregnancy, can cause a reduction in the number of eggs in the ovaries of their female offspring by two-thirds. This limits the window in which the daughter will be able to reproduce."
Dr Norman Edelman said, "This study now is providing a chemical pathway, which is very nice. The new data provides biological support for epidemiological results, such as the previously observed reduction in fertility among daughters of smoking women."
Although the findings do not define the length of time between quitting smoking and healthier fertility in offspring, Jurisicova noted that previous studies have shown that women who smoke have better results with in vitro fertilisation one year after they quit smoking. The mice in the current study conceived up to two weeks after their final PAH injection, which is approximately equivalent to three menstrual cycles in women.
The effect of a mother's cigarette smoking is not limited to her female children. A study published in the Jan. 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology suggested that the male offspring of mothers who smoke have lower sperm counts.
There is still more research to be done, Jurisicova noted.
She added, "We hope to continue studying the female offspring to see if they enter the mouse version of menopause earlier than mice whose mothers were not exposed to PAHs. We also hope to study if their reduced fertility passes on to subsequent generations, and if the granddaughters are predisposed to similar problems."
Smoking And Depression Often Occur Together In New Mothers
Smoking and depression often go hand-in-hand for new mothers, according to a new study by Dr Robert Whitaker, a pediatrician and profressor of public health at Temple University.
He said, "While smoking and depression adversely affects a mother's health, the combination may also affect the health of her child."
For children, the potential consequences of maternal smoking include sudden infant death, asthma, ear infections and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, while the potential consequences of maternal depression include behaviour problems, language delay and childhood depression.
Dr Whitaker said that depression and addiction to tobacco should not be treated in isolation from each other as giving a mother who smokes a quit smoking helpline number is not going to be enough.
Data for the analysis came from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. In 20 U.S. cities, 4,898 mothers were surveyed at the time of delivery, from 1998 to 2000. In a follow up survey 15 months later, 4,353 (89 percent) of mothers reported their smoking behaviour and symptoms of a major depressive episode during the prior 12 months.
The follow up survey showed that the 12 month prevalence of a major depressive episode was 46 percent higher among smokers and that the prevalence of smoking was 33 percent higher among those who had a major depressive episode in the prior 12 months.
"Most recently, healthcare policy has focused on children's access to healthcare, but we also have to keep the mother's health in the discussion," Dr Whitaker said.
He said, "While smoking and depression adversely affects a mother's health, the combination may also affect the health of her child."
For children, the potential consequences of maternal smoking include sudden infant death, asthma, ear infections and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, while the potential consequences of maternal depression include behaviour problems, language delay and childhood depression.
Dr Whitaker said that depression and addiction to tobacco should not be treated in isolation from each other as giving a mother who smokes a quit smoking helpline number is not going to be enough.
Data for the analysis came from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. In 20 U.S. cities, 4,898 mothers were surveyed at the time of delivery, from 1998 to 2000. In a follow up survey 15 months later, 4,353 (89 percent) of mothers reported their smoking behaviour and symptoms of a major depressive episode during the prior 12 months.
The follow up survey showed that the 12 month prevalence of a major depressive episode was 46 percent higher among smokers and that the prevalence of smoking was 33 percent higher among those who had a major depressive episode in the prior 12 months.
"Most recently, healthcare policy has focused on children's access to healthcare, but we also have to keep the mother's health in the discussion," Dr Whitaker said.
MRI Shows Lung Damage In Passive Smokers
A special type of MRI scan that uses colours to show damaged and undamaged areas of the lung has been used to show that non smokers suffer injury to their lungs from being exposed to second hand cigarette smoke for a long period of time.
These are the results of a study that was presented today, 27th November, to the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), in Chicago by lead researcher, Dr Chengbo Wang, a magnetic resonance physicist from the Department of Radiology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in the US .
A colourful presentation of bright medical images showed the audience the extent of the damage deep in the lungs caused by inhaling second hand smoke. The damage is microscopic and not detectable with the usual medical imaging tools.
The researchers said this evidence should strengthen the case for authorities to tighten up regulations on second hand smoke.
Wang and colleagues used a special type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to locate the tiny structural changes deep in the lungs. As Wang explained to the press:
"Almost one third of nonsmokers who had been exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke for a long time developed these structural changes."
Although the MRIs they looked at belonged to adults said Wang, the findings will also have implications for the 35 per cent of American children who breathe in smoke at home every day.
The researchers enrolled a total of 60 adults aged from 41 to 79, of which 45 had never smoked. The non smokers were grouped according to low and high exposure to second hand smoke. High exposure meant the participant had lived with a smoker for at least 10 years, often during childhood. The remaining 15 participants, all smokers, constituted a control group whose MRIs were used for comparison.
The participants inhaled a mixture of nitrogen and helium containing helium-3, an isotope obtained from polarising the gas to make it visible on the MRI scan. The MRI equipment used in this study measured diffusion, or the movement of individual atoms. In this case it measured the distance travelled by the isotope helium atoms in 1.5 seconds once inhaled into the lungs.
The helium atoms moved further in the non smokers who had been exposed to second hand smoke than in the lungs of normal subjects, suggesting the presence of holes and expansions in the alveoli. Alveoli are tiny breathing sacs in which inhaled oxygen passes into the bloodstream.
The results showed that nearly one third of the high exposure non smokers had structural changes in their lungs that were similar to those found in smokers.
"We interpreted those changes as early signs of lung damage, representing very mild forms of emphysema," said Wang.
Emphysema is a lung disease where the alveoli collapse making it very difficult to get enough oxygen into the bloodstream and to remove waste carbon dioxide from the bloodstream. It is commonly found in smokers and a major killer in the US, where nearly 14,000 people die from it every year.
The researchers also found a puzzling result among the remaining two thirds of the high exposure non smokers. Here they found diffusion distances shorter than those in the low exposure group. Perhaps the reason is this group was beginning to suffer a narrowing of the airways caused by the early stages of chronic bronchitis, another lung disease that is common among smokers.
Acknowledging the need for more studies to be done to replicate the findings and look more careful into the causes of the lung damage they observed, Wang said that:
"To our knowledge, this is the first imaging study to find lung damage in non smokers heavily exposed to secondhand smoke."
"We hope our work strengthens the efforts of legislators and policymakers to limit public exposure to secondhand smoke," added Wang.
These are the results of a study that was presented today, 27th November, to the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), in Chicago by lead researcher, Dr Chengbo Wang, a magnetic resonance physicist from the Department of Radiology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in the US .
A colourful presentation of bright medical images showed the audience the extent of the damage deep in the lungs caused by inhaling second hand smoke. The damage is microscopic and not detectable with the usual medical imaging tools.
The researchers said this evidence should strengthen the case for authorities to tighten up regulations on second hand smoke.
Wang and colleagues used a special type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to locate the tiny structural changes deep in the lungs. As Wang explained to the press:
"Almost one third of nonsmokers who had been exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke for a long time developed these structural changes."
Although the MRIs they looked at belonged to adults said Wang, the findings will also have implications for the 35 per cent of American children who breathe in smoke at home every day.
The researchers enrolled a total of 60 adults aged from 41 to 79, of which 45 had never smoked. The non smokers were grouped according to low and high exposure to second hand smoke. High exposure meant the participant had lived with a smoker for at least 10 years, often during childhood. The remaining 15 participants, all smokers, constituted a control group whose MRIs were used for comparison.
The participants inhaled a mixture of nitrogen and helium containing helium-3, an isotope obtained from polarising the gas to make it visible on the MRI scan. The MRI equipment used in this study measured diffusion, or the movement of individual atoms. In this case it measured the distance travelled by the isotope helium atoms in 1.5 seconds once inhaled into the lungs.
The helium atoms moved further in the non smokers who had been exposed to second hand smoke than in the lungs of normal subjects, suggesting the presence of holes and expansions in the alveoli. Alveoli are tiny breathing sacs in which inhaled oxygen passes into the bloodstream.
The results showed that nearly one third of the high exposure non smokers had structural changes in their lungs that were similar to those found in smokers.
"We interpreted those changes as early signs of lung damage, representing very mild forms of emphysema," said Wang.
Emphysema is a lung disease where the alveoli collapse making it very difficult to get enough oxygen into the bloodstream and to remove waste carbon dioxide from the bloodstream. It is commonly found in smokers and a major killer in the US, where nearly 14,000 people die from it every year.
The researchers also found a puzzling result among the remaining two thirds of the high exposure non smokers. Here they found diffusion distances shorter than those in the low exposure group. Perhaps the reason is this group was beginning to suffer a narrowing of the airways caused by the early stages of chronic bronchitis, another lung disease that is common among smokers.
Acknowledging the need for more studies to be done to replicate the findings and look more careful into the causes of the lung damage they observed, Wang said that:
"To our knowledge, this is the first imaging study to find lung damage in non smokers heavily exposed to secondhand smoke."
"We hope our work strengthens the efforts of legislators and policymakers to limit public exposure to secondhand smoke," added Wang.
Tobacco Marketers Targeting Teens Near Schools
Joe Camel may be long gone, but that doesn't mean tobacco marketers have abandoned their efforts to get young people hooked on smoking.
A new Canadian study reports that tobacco marketers have found a way around tobacco advertising restrictions, reaching teens by marketing in retail shops located near high schools. The findings, published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, suggest the strategy is working.
"At the time of the study, we found that, compared to retail stores near schools with low smoking prevalence, stores near schools with high smoking prevalence had significantly lower prices per cigarette, more in-store promotions and fewer government-sponsored health warnings," said University of Alberta researcher and study co-author Candace Nykiforuk.
The tobacco marketing activity that takes place in stores - known as point-of-purchase (PoP) marketing - is a sophisticated strategy designed to counter positive public health initiatives such as tax increases on tobacco, policies restricting cigarette advertising, and anti-smoking legislation, says Nykiforuk. U.S.-based studies have estimated that three out of four adolescents visit retail shops at least once a week, which makes the retail store a powerful venue where teens can be exposed routinely to PoP marketing.
Nykiforuk was part of a team of researchers that looked at tobacco PoP activities in more than 400 retail stores located in 81 randomly selected school neighbourhoods across Canada, and just over 22,000 students in grades 10-11 were surveyed in the study. The majority of retailers located within the school neighbourhoods sold tobacco products, and approximately half of these retailers exhibited tobacco PoP promotional activities. Only a few stores had government-sponsored health warning signs.
Schools with a smoking prevalence greater than 20.6 per cent had more neighbourhood stores with in-store tobacco promotions and access to lower prices on cigarettes. "We also observed that schools with a lower smoking prevalence had more stores in the neighbourhood that posted government health warning signs about smoking," said Nykiforuk.
The researchers say the strength of this study is in highlighting the relationship between increased PoP activities in retail stores in the school neighbourhood and school smoking prevalence. "This suggests that PoP activities contribute to an environment that promotes student smoking," the study concludes.
However, Nykiforuk, a professor in the University of Alberta's School of Public Health, sees many possibilities to counter the tobacco industry's marketing tactics. "At the time of this study, there were few regulations on PoP in Canada. Since then, several provinces and territories have adopted or are planning to adopt legislation to regulate PoP. This is a great start, but we can do more.
"Schools should be encouraged to work with retailers in their area to address the posting of health warnings in stores and to support reduced access to tobacco. Legislators should think about stronger regulations that eliminate PoP advertising or prohibit the sale of tobacco in school neighbourhoods. And future research should consider the presence of school programs and policies that could influence smoking prevalence, as well as community variables."
A new Canadian study reports that tobacco marketers have found a way around tobacco advertising restrictions, reaching teens by marketing in retail shops located near high schools. The findings, published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, suggest the strategy is working.
"At the time of the study, we found that, compared to retail stores near schools with low smoking prevalence, stores near schools with high smoking prevalence had significantly lower prices per cigarette, more in-store promotions and fewer government-sponsored health warnings," said University of Alberta researcher and study co-author Candace Nykiforuk.
The tobacco marketing activity that takes place in stores - known as point-of-purchase (PoP) marketing - is a sophisticated strategy designed to counter positive public health initiatives such as tax increases on tobacco, policies restricting cigarette advertising, and anti-smoking legislation, says Nykiforuk. U.S.-based studies have estimated that three out of four adolescents visit retail shops at least once a week, which makes the retail store a powerful venue where teens can be exposed routinely to PoP marketing.
Nykiforuk was part of a team of researchers that looked at tobacco PoP activities in more than 400 retail stores located in 81 randomly selected school neighbourhoods across Canada, and just over 22,000 students in grades 10-11 were surveyed in the study. The majority of retailers located within the school neighbourhoods sold tobacco products, and approximately half of these retailers exhibited tobacco PoP promotional activities. Only a few stores had government-sponsored health warning signs.
Schools with a smoking prevalence greater than 20.6 per cent had more neighbourhood stores with in-store tobacco promotions and access to lower prices on cigarettes. "We also observed that schools with a lower smoking prevalence had more stores in the neighbourhood that posted government health warning signs about smoking," said Nykiforuk.
The researchers say the strength of this study is in highlighting the relationship between increased PoP activities in retail stores in the school neighbourhood and school smoking prevalence. "This suggests that PoP activities contribute to an environment that promotes student smoking," the study concludes.
However, Nykiforuk, a professor in the University of Alberta's School of Public Health, sees many possibilities to counter the tobacco industry's marketing tactics. "At the time of this study, there were few regulations on PoP in Canada. Since then, several provinces and territories have adopted or are planning to adopt legislation to regulate PoP. This is a great start, but we can do more.
"Schools should be encouraged to work with retailers in their area to address the posting of health warnings in stores and to support reduced access to tobacco. Legislators should think about stronger regulations that eliminate PoP advertising or prohibit the sale of tobacco in school neighbourhoods. And future research should consider the presence of school programs and policies that could influence smoking prevalence, as well as community variables."
Drinking And Smoking Don't Boost HPV-related Cancer Risk
Heavy smoking and drinking are known to cause head and neck cancer. Infection with human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16), a common strain of the sexually-transmitted HPV virus, is another known risk factor for head and neck cancer, which affects about 500,000 people each year worldwide.
New Brown University research, however, shows that alcohol and tobacco use doesn't further increase the risk of contracting head and neck cancers for people infected with HPV16. This finding, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is the strongest evidence to date that these major cancers have two distinct causes - and may represent two distinct classes of cancer - and would require different prevention and treatment strategies.
Karl Kelsey, M.D., a Brown professor of community health and pathology and laboratory medicine and the director of the Center for Environmental Health and Technology, said the research has public health policy implications.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that girls and young women receive the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer - HPV16 causes about half of all cervical cancer cases - boys and men cannot get the vaccine. An estimated 20 million Americans are currently infected with genital HPV and 50 to 75 percent of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at some point in their lives, according to the National Institutes of Health.
"Our current HPV vaccine recommendations should change," Kelsey said. "Head and neck cancers, regardless of their cause, are predominantly male diseases. If boys and men received the HPV vaccine, a lot of these cancers could be prevented."
Kelsey and his team took on the research to test the concept of multiplicative risk. If HPV infection increases the risk of head and neck cancer, and alcohol and tobacco use also increases the risk, would a combination increase that risk exponentially"
To find out, the team studied 485 head and neck cancer patients who were diagnosed at nine Boston-area hospitals between December 1999 and December 2003. The team also studied 549 cancer-free comparison subjects who were closely matched with the study group based on age, sex and town of residence.
All the test subjects were asked about lifetime smoking and alcohol consumption and also gave a blood sample, which was screened for HPV16 antibodies, a sign that they were exposed to this strain of the virus. The team then conducted a statistical analysis to estimate the effects of the different risk factors.
The results: Smoking and drinking didn't add to the risk of head and neck cancer for subjects exposed to HPV16. The strongest risk factors, by tumor site, were smoking for cancer of the larynx, alcohol with mouth cancer, and HPV infection with throat cancer.
"We have a profound bit of evidence that HPV16-associated head and neck cancer is a very different disease," Kelsey said. "Under a microscope, it looks like the same cancer you get from smoking and drinking. But how you get this form of the disease - and how you would prevent and treat it - is quite different."
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, which includes nearly all head and neck cancer, afflicts about 45,000 people each year in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society, and costs an estimated $3.2 billion to treat.
"There is a huge prevention message here, which is that we could protect a lot of people from cancer if men and boys could get the HPV vaccine," Kelsey said. "We should start testing this vaccine on men."
New Brown University research, however, shows that alcohol and tobacco use doesn't further increase the risk of contracting head and neck cancers for people infected with HPV16. This finding, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is the strongest evidence to date that these major cancers have two distinct causes - and may represent two distinct classes of cancer - and would require different prevention and treatment strategies.
Karl Kelsey, M.D., a Brown professor of community health and pathology and laboratory medicine and the director of the Center for Environmental Health and Technology, said the research has public health policy implications.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that girls and young women receive the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer - HPV16 causes about half of all cervical cancer cases - boys and men cannot get the vaccine. An estimated 20 million Americans are currently infected with genital HPV and 50 to 75 percent of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at some point in their lives, according to the National Institutes of Health.
"Our current HPV vaccine recommendations should change," Kelsey said. "Head and neck cancers, regardless of their cause, are predominantly male diseases. If boys and men received the HPV vaccine, a lot of these cancers could be prevented."
Kelsey and his team took on the research to test the concept of multiplicative risk. If HPV infection increases the risk of head and neck cancer, and alcohol and tobacco use also increases the risk, would a combination increase that risk exponentially"
To find out, the team studied 485 head and neck cancer patients who were diagnosed at nine Boston-area hospitals between December 1999 and December 2003. The team also studied 549 cancer-free comparison subjects who were closely matched with the study group based on age, sex and town of residence.
All the test subjects were asked about lifetime smoking and alcohol consumption and also gave a blood sample, which was screened for HPV16 antibodies, a sign that they were exposed to this strain of the virus. The team then conducted a statistical analysis to estimate the effects of the different risk factors.
The results: Smoking and drinking didn't add to the risk of head and neck cancer for subjects exposed to HPV16. The strongest risk factors, by tumor site, were smoking for cancer of the larynx, alcohol with mouth cancer, and HPV infection with throat cancer.
"We have a profound bit of evidence that HPV16-associated head and neck cancer is a very different disease," Kelsey said. "Under a microscope, it looks like the same cancer you get from smoking and drinking. But how you get this form of the disease - and how you would prevent and treat it - is quite different."
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, which includes nearly all head and neck cancer, afflicts about 45,000 people each year in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society, and costs an estimated $3.2 billion to treat.
"There is a huge prevention message here, which is that we could protect a lot of people from cancer if men and boys could get the HPV vaccine," Kelsey said. "We should start testing this vaccine on men."
EU "Fire Safer" Cigarettes Set To Get Green Light
European Union safety experts are due to back plans to make all cigarettes sold in the bloc self-extinguishing in a bid to combat thousands of fire related deaths and injuries.
Experts from all 27 EU member states are expected to endorse proposals by Consumer Protection Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva to make "fire-safer" cigarettes mandatory across the EU.
Kuneva believes the cigarettes, which stop burning automatically after a few seconds if not puffed due to small gaps in the cigarette paper which cut the circulation of oxygen, can hugely reduce the number of deaths from fires in the EU.
An official said, "Once she gets their approval, which is expected following talks and negotiations over the past number of months, she will be able to start implementing her plan."
Data from 14 of the EU's 27 countries shows that over 2,000 deaths a year are caused by cigarette related fires, with thousands more people injured and tens of millions of euros worth of damage caused.
"These cigarettes will also go some way to helping combat some of the forest fires which have been on the upsurge and we know cigarettes have played a part in some of them," another European Commission official said.
Commission officials have been working on developing an EU wide standard for the cigarettes, similar to one in the United States and Canada.
If approved the Commission can begin the process of making these cigarettes compulsory in the EU within the next few years.
Canada introduced legislation in 2005 and a number of U.S. states have followed suit including New York, New Jersey and California, while Australia said it intends to also bring in laws for fire-safer cigarettes.
"So, it would be more sensible and easier if we draw up a common standard to be used across the globe," the first official said.
Previously tobacco firms said chemical additives required for fire-safer cigarettes would cause more damage to smokers and complained that smokers would not like the new taste. However a spokesman for Philip Morris, maker of Marlboro and other brands, said his company backed the move in principle.
ANEC, an EU-wide consumers' lobby group for standardisation, said it also supported Kuneva's initiative.
Experts from all 27 EU member states are expected to endorse proposals by Consumer Protection Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva to make "fire-safer" cigarettes mandatory across the EU.
Kuneva believes the cigarettes, which stop burning automatically after a few seconds if not puffed due to small gaps in the cigarette paper which cut the circulation of oxygen, can hugely reduce the number of deaths from fires in the EU.
An official said, "Once she gets their approval, which is expected following talks and negotiations over the past number of months, she will be able to start implementing her plan."
Data from 14 of the EU's 27 countries shows that over 2,000 deaths a year are caused by cigarette related fires, with thousands more people injured and tens of millions of euros worth of damage caused.
"These cigarettes will also go some way to helping combat some of the forest fires which have been on the upsurge and we know cigarettes have played a part in some of them," another European Commission official said.
Commission officials have been working on developing an EU wide standard for the cigarettes, similar to one in the United States and Canada.
If approved the Commission can begin the process of making these cigarettes compulsory in the EU within the next few years.
Canada introduced legislation in 2005 and a number of U.S. states have followed suit including New York, New Jersey and California, while Australia said it intends to also bring in laws for fire-safer cigarettes.
"So, it would be more sensible and easier if we draw up a common standard to be used across the globe," the first official said.
Previously tobacco firms said chemical additives required for fire-safer cigarettes would cause more damage to smokers and complained that smokers would not like the new taste. However a spokesman for Philip Morris, maker of Marlboro and other brands, said his company backed the move in principle.
ANEC, an EU-wide consumers' lobby group for standardisation, said it also supported Kuneva's initiative.
New Studies Find Smoking Cessation Rates Double With Counselling And Free Nicotine Replacement Therapy
According to two new studies in the December issue of Tobacco Control, a peer-reviewed publication of the British Medical Journal, increasing the level of smoking cessation helplines and offering free nicotine patches are a successful and cost-effective way to reduce smoking rates. Both studies were conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Centref or Health Research in Portland and by the Oregon Health Department and Free & Clear in Seattle, a phone-based tobacco treatment programme.
One study found that the number of callers to the Oregon Tobacco Quitline increased from 6,426 to 13,646 annually, and their quit rates nearly doubled when Oregon became the first state in the country to promote Quitline services by combining one 30 minute telephone counselling session with a free two week supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy using earned or unpaid media to increase calls from smokers.
"Smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death and disease in the United States, with more than 430,000 Americans dying from smoking each year. The study shows that offering free nicotine replacement therapy as part of Quitline counselling can dramatically increase the number of smokers who quit and reduce the average cost per quit, " said Jeffrey Fellows, PhD, lead author and an investigator at Kaiser Permanente's CHR.
The second study looked at 4,600 smokers and is the largest randomised trial ever conducted on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative Quitline services and polices. Smokers in the study were randomly assigned to one of six levels of services when they called the Oregon Tobacco Quitline: brief counselling (one 15-minute call), moderate counselling (one 30-minute call and one follow-up call), or intensive counselling (one 30-minute call and four follow-up calls), all with or without NRT.
More than 21 percent of the smokers quit after receiving intensive counselling plus NRT, compared to 11.7 percent of the smokers who quit after brief counselling with no NRT. The study also found that satisfaction with Quitline services also increased with the more intense levels of service, rising to 92.5 percent satisfaction from 53.9 percent from those who just received brief counselling.
One study found that the number of callers to the Oregon Tobacco Quitline increased from 6,426 to 13,646 annually, and their quit rates nearly doubled when Oregon became the first state in the country to promote Quitline services by combining one 30 minute telephone counselling session with a free two week supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy using earned or unpaid media to increase calls from smokers.
"Smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death and disease in the United States, with more than 430,000 Americans dying from smoking each year. The study shows that offering free nicotine replacement therapy as part of Quitline counselling can dramatically increase the number of smokers who quit and reduce the average cost per quit, " said Jeffrey Fellows, PhD, lead author and an investigator at Kaiser Permanente's CHR.
The second study looked at 4,600 smokers and is the largest randomised trial ever conducted on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative Quitline services and polices. Smokers in the study were randomly assigned to one of six levels of services when they called the Oregon Tobacco Quitline: brief counselling (one 15-minute call), moderate counselling (one 30-minute call and one follow-up call), or intensive counselling (one 30-minute call and four follow-up calls), all with or without NRT.
More than 21 percent of the smokers quit after receiving intensive counselling plus NRT, compared to 11.7 percent of the smokers who quit after brief counselling with no NRT. The study also found that satisfaction with Quitline services also increased with the more intense levels of service, rising to 92.5 percent satisfaction from 53.9 percent from those who just received brief counselling.
India: Pictorial Warnings On Cigarette Packs
The central government is set to enforce pictorial warnings of oral cancer on all packets of cigarettes manufactured in the country by early 2008.
India, a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, had issued an order earlier this year stating that all cigarette packets will have warning labels like "Tobacco Kills" in both English and regional languages, and specifying: "Your smoking kills babies, Tobacco causes slow, painful death, or tobacco kills 2,500 Indians every day."
Manufacturers found flouting the rules would face up to two years in prison and a fine.
India has a poor record of implementing government leglistion on tobacco control. Smokers ignored an order, issued three years ago, against smoking in public places like playgrounds, clubs, restaurants and railway stations.
250 million people in India use tobacco, resulting in the death of over 900,000 people every year and it is estimated that ten million children below the age of 15 either smoke or consume tobacco.
Meanwhile, the tobacco industry argues that India does have strong tobacco control policies, namely, a ban on advertisements in public places and in media (TV, print and radio). They say the best form of discouraging people from smoking or chewing tobacco would be to educate them. They fear "pictorial warnings" would leave a bad taste in the mouth of the consumer.
But Gupta thinks otherwise. He said there are many countries like Thailand, Singapore and Brazil that have adopted strong tobacco control policies for many years, yet no reports have come forth showing a drop in tobacco generated revenues in these countries.
Gupta said, "These products are taxed at an extremely low level. Only by adopting comprehensive tobacco control strategies can the central and state government improve public health."
India, a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, had issued an order earlier this year stating that all cigarette packets will have warning labels like "Tobacco Kills" in both English and regional languages, and specifying: "Your smoking kills babies, Tobacco causes slow, painful death, or tobacco kills 2,500 Indians every day."
Manufacturers found flouting the rules would face up to two years in prison and a fine.
India has a poor record of implementing government leglistion on tobacco control. Smokers ignored an order, issued three years ago, against smoking in public places like playgrounds, clubs, restaurants and railway stations.
250 million people in India use tobacco, resulting in the death of over 900,000 people every year and it is estimated that ten million children below the age of 15 either smoke or consume tobacco.
Meanwhile, the tobacco industry argues that India does have strong tobacco control policies, namely, a ban on advertisements in public places and in media (TV, print and radio). They say the best form of discouraging people from smoking or chewing tobacco would be to educate them. They fear "pictorial warnings" would leave a bad taste in the mouth of the consumer.
But Gupta thinks otherwise. He said there are many countries like Thailand, Singapore and Brazil that have adopted strong tobacco control policies for many years, yet no reports have come forth showing a drop in tobacco generated revenues in these countries.
Gupta said, "These products are taxed at an extremely low level. Only by adopting comprehensive tobacco control strategies can the central and state government improve public health."
Monday, December 3, 2007
Smoking and Asthama
You may have family photo albums full of people smoking at every type of event, from birthday parties to company picnics. That's because smoking was once accepted pretty much everywhere - even in doctor's offices. But that changed as we learned more about the health problems it causes.
If you have asthma, smoking is especially risky because of the damage it does to the lungs.
When someone smokes, he or she may cough, wheeze, and feel short of breath. This is because smoke irritates the airways, causing them to become swollen, narrow, and filled with sticky mucus. These are the same things that happen during an asthma flare-up. That's why smoking can cause asthma flare-ups to happen more often. Those flare-ups may be more severe and harder to control, even with medicine.
If You Smoke
You may have started smoking because all your friends do or because you grew up in a house where lots of people smoked. Some people try smoking because they are curious or bored. No matter why you started, if you're thinking about quitting, it would probably help your asthma.
Smoking can undo the effect of any controller medicine you're taking. It also can force you to use your rescue medicine more often. It can also disturb your sleep by making you cough more at night and can affect how well you perform in sports or other physical activities. Worst of all, it can send you to the emergency department with a severe asthma flare-up.
If you decide to quit smoking, you don't have to go it alone. Seek the support of others who are also trying to quit. You also might ask your doctor about medication or different strategies that can help you crave cigarettes less.
If Other People Smoke
Even if you don't smoke, you may still run into smoky situations in restaurants, parties, or even at home if one of your family members smokes. Secondhand smoke is a known asthma trigger, so you'll want to avoid it as much as possible if you have asthma.
If you hang out with smokers or have a family member who smokes in the house, you are likely to have more frequent and severe asthma symptoms. You may have to take more medicine and your asthma may be harder to control. Finally, you may find yourself at the doctor's office or emergency department more often because of asthma symptoms.
There's not much you can do about other people's behavior, but you should let your friends and family know that what they are doing is making your asthma worse. Ask them not to smoke in your house or car. It's your air, after all.
Smoking Can Lead to Lung Cancer!
When your parents were young, people could buy cigarettes and smoke pretty much anywhere — even in hospitals! Ads for cigarettes were all over the place. Today we're more aware about how bad smoking is for our health. Smoking is restricted or banned in almost all public places and cigarette companies are no longer allowed to advertise on TV, radio, and in many magazines.
Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; that it can shorten your life by 10 years or more; and that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So how come people are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is addiction.
Once You Start, It's Hard to Stop
Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal.
People start smoking for a variety of different reasons. Some think it looks cool. Others start because their family members or friends smoke. Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start before they're 18 years old. Most adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become addicted. That's why people say it's just so much easier to not start smoking at all.
How Smoking Affects Your Health
There are no physical reasons to start smoking. The body doesn't need tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. In fact, many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually poisons that can kill in high enough doses.
The body is smart. It goes on the defense when it's being poisoned. For this reason, many people find it takes several tries to get started smoking: First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs, and some people feel sick or even throw up the first few times they try tobacco.
The consequences of this poisoning happen gradually. Over the long term, smoking leads people to develop health problems like cancer, emphysema (breakdown of lung tissue), organ damage, and heart disease. These diseases limit a person's ability to be normally active — and can be fatal. Each time a smoker lights up, that single cigarette takes about 5 to 20 minutes off the person's life.
Smokers not only develop wrinkles and yellow teeth, they also lose bone density, which increases their risk of osteoporosis (pronounced: ahs-tee-o-puh-row-sus), a condition that causes older people to become bent over and their bones to break more easily. Smokers also tend to be less active than nonsmokers because smoking affects lung power.
Smoking can also cause fertility problems and can impact sexual health in both men and women. Girls who are on the pill or other hormone-based methods of birth control (like the patch or the ring) increase their risk of serious health problems, such as heart attacks, if they smoke.
The consequences of smoking may seem very far off, but long-term health problems aren't the only hazard of smoking. Nicotine and the other toxins in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes can affect a person's body quickly, which means that teen smokers experience many of these problems:
- Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin — which is why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis.
- Bad breath. Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.
- Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to linger — not just on people's clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars. And it's often hard to get the smell of smoke out.
- Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can't compete with nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of smoking (like rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath) impair sports performance.
- Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking affects the body's ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as damage to tendons and ligaments, will heal more slowly in smokers than nonsmokers.
- Increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. And people with certain health conditions, like asthma, become more sick if they smoke (and often if they're just around people who smoke). Because teens who smoke as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.
Kicking Butts and Staying Smoke Free
All forms of tobacco — cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco — are hazardous. It doesn't help to substitute products that seem like they're better for you than regular cigarettes, such as filtered or low-tar cigarettes.
The only thing that really helps a person avoid the problems associated with smoking is staying smoke free. This isn't always easy, especially if everyone around you is smoking and offering you cigarettes. It may help to have your reasons for not smoking ready for times you may feel the pressure, such as "I just don't like it" or "I want to stay in shape for soccer" (or football, basketball, or other sport).
The good news for people who don't smoke or who want to quit is that studies show that the number of teens who smoke has dropped dramatically. Today, about 23% of high school students smoke.
If you do smoke and want to quit, you have lots of information and support available. Different approaches to quitting work for different people. For some, quitting cold turkey is best. Others find that a slower approach is the way to go. Some people find that it helps to go to a support group especially for teens. These are sometimes sponsored by local hospitals or organizations like the American Cancer Society. The Internet offers a number of good resources to help people quit smoking.
When quitting, it can be helpful to realize that the first few days are the hardest. So don't give up. Some people find they have a few relapses before they manage to quit for good.
Staying smoke free will give you a whole lot more of everything — more energy, better performance, better looks, more money in your pocket, and, in the long run, more life to live!
Smoking and your eyesight
How smoking acts on your eyes
Smoking causes harm to the tissues of the eye. Research has confirmed the direct, harmful effects of smoking on eyesight, particularly in the development of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Diabetes risk
If you have diabetes you need to pay even closer attention to your eyesight. Especially if you are a smoker. Out of all the trials and tests done on eyesight related nutritional supplements and other health remedies, we can show the links between these common conditions and the effects on our eyesight. And we know that smoking can make diabetes-related sight problems worse.
Stop those free-radicals!
Cigarette smoking increases free radicals which accelerate ageing and alters the body's ability to absorb or extract necessary vitamins and minerals from food. Smoking reduces appetite which may result in a poor diet. Poor nutrition also has an adverse effect on eye health. To put you back to rights, you should consider nutrition a key part of your health regime, check out the vitamins that will complement your nutritional supplementation, and work on that bad smoking habit. After all, your eyesight is probably the most important sense you have. Don't let yourself be blocked out of the world by your smoking habit, especially if you have problems that have proven links to worsening eyesight.
Health for all the family
Passive smoking, that is not smoking yourself but breathing in other people's smoke, is almost as harmful as smoking yourself. Keep healthy with nutritional supplements and vitamins and a clean way of life.
Smoking causes harm to the tissues of the eye. Research has confirmed the direct, harmful effects of smoking on eyesight, particularly in the development of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Diabetes risk
If you have diabetes you need to pay even closer attention to your eyesight. Especially if you are a smoker. Out of all the trials and tests done on eyesight related nutritional supplements and other health remedies, we can show the links between these common conditions and the effects on our eyesight. And we know that smoking can make diabetes-related sight problems worse.
Stop those free-radicals!
Cigarette smoking increases free radicals which accelerate ageing and alters the body's ability to absorb or extract necessary vitamins and minerals from food. Smoking reduces appetite which may result in a poor diet. Poor nutrition also has an adverse effect on eye health. To put you back to rights, you should consider nutrition a key part of your health regime, check out the vitamins that will complement your nutritional supplementation, and work on that bad smoking habit. After all, your eyesight is probably the most important sense you have. Don't let yourself be blocked out of the world by your smoking habit, especially if you have problems that have proven links to worsening eyesight.
Health for all the family
Passive smoking, that is not smoking yourself but breathing in other people's smoke, is almost as harmful as smoking yourself. Keep healthy with nutritional supplements and vitamins and a clean way of life.
The Young and the Hooked
Why Do They Smoke?
When young people are asked why they began smoking, they give two answers: to be like their friends, and to rebel against authority. Girls add a further reason: to keep their weight down. Tragically, by the time they graduate, most girls have tried—and failed—to quit. Most teens don't know until it's too late that smoking is dangerous to their health, and that nicotine is one of the most addictive of all drugs.
Preaching Doesn't Work
The reasons teens give for smoking provide important clues to what you can do to get them to stop, or to avoid smoking. Of course, it's important that they know the hazards of smoking—too many teenagers have never been told that smoking causes cancer and heart disease. But often teenagers don't think about their health. They think about fitting in, looking right, being accepted by their peers and rebelling against their parents. The more you tell them smoking is bad, the more rebellious they will feel doing it.
Tobacco companies know this. And they know that the teen market is their most important one—most people begin smoking in their teens. Cigarette ads pitch the typical smoker as adult, cool and fashionable. Smoking is shown in a party atmosphere where everyone is good looking and clearly has lots of friends.
Emphasize the "Grossness" Factor
One of the best strategies for combating this image is to stress tobacco's effect on personal attractiveness. Surveys show that teens, whether they smoke or not, are turned off by the bad breath, smelly clothes and hair, and yellow teeth of smokers.
Use Peer Group Pressure
Steering teens toward peer groups that don't smoke is another strategy. Teens need the approval of their friends. If their best friends are not smoking, teens are unlikely to take up the habit. Find extracurricular activities, such as sports, theater groups, scouting and so forth, and offer to support your teen's participation with transportation and attendance at functions. Support education programs that feature older teens who have quit smoking because of the health hazards and other undesirable effects. Start early—the average teen smoker begins at age 14.
Be a Role Model
Of course, if you smoke yourself, you're going to have an uphill battle. Children whose parents smoke are more likely to become smokers themselves. Why not quit now and get your teens to help you? They'll not only feel empowered by their role in improving your health; they'll also experience up close the struggle to kick the habit, hopefully before they become addicted themselves.
Smokeless Tobacco Killks Faster
Now that it's been scientifically determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health, the tobacco industry has been reviving snuff and chewing tobacco, two products that had fallen in popularity over the last few decades. There's a widely held myth that smokeless tobacco is a safe alternative to cigarettes, when actually it's just as dangerous as smoking.
How They Work
Snuff is a cured, ground form of tobacco that can be inhaled or chewed. Dry snuff is inhaled through the nose or placed inside the nostril, while wet snuff is held between the lips or between the cheek and gum. Chewing tobacco is available in several forms, including plugs, twists and loose leaf. In all cases, chemicals from the smokeless tobacco are absorbed into the blood stream through mucous membranes in the mouth. Because the nicotine in snuff and chewing tobacco is released gradually, their effects seem to last longer than those of cigarettes.
Since nicotine is a habit-forming drug, snuff and chewing tobacco users become just as chemically dependent as cigarette smokers. Smokeless products induce a higher blood-nicotine level, which is sustained for longer periods, since users tend to chew over a period of hours. As with cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco may cause heart disease and certain kinds of cancer. These products also have dangers of their own, including gum diseases, erosion of teeth and mouth lesions which can develop into cancer.
Use Increasing
Many cigarette users have switched to smokeless tobacco over the past several years because of the misconception that where there's no smoke, there's no danger. A study by the U.S. Surgeon General's office shows that smokeless tobacco is more popular now than at any time in the past 50 years and that adolescent males are the fastest growing group of users. If you or any of your friends are using smokeless tobacco you may want to quit smokeless tobacco once you realize the dangers are just as great as smoking cigarettes.
Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com for great information and products designed to help you quit smoking.
Shahrukh Khan Smokes -- A super star who wont live long thanks to his love for Smoking!
Guys smoking skills but some guys just dont want to listen and laugh at people who tell them dont light.They are the very people who light up almost anywhere. They dont care wheather they are at public place, with children at school or at home, in restaurants, loos and name the place they are everywhere.
Even a Actor like Shahrukh Khan is a fool who keeps lightings up cigarette anywhere and does not care wheather its harmful to the people around him. Its like a cigaratte at one end and a fool at another end. He is helping the other young actors to take over him as very soon he will die of cancer and new openings will be there in Bollywood. So Shahrukh Khan carry on smoking and help the industry for new openings as every one is bored to see the same people again and again.
So all your smokers ensure that you smoke somewhere in desert where no one is there and you will not kill anyone with your smoke but fall and die in that same desert as well as you can get whacked for smoking in public place.
The Effects of Secondhand Smoke
Ten years ago secondhand smoke was seen as a minor irritant that could make your job uncomfortable or ruin your dinner at a fancy restaurant. But recent studies now suggest that for some people secondhand smoke can be deadly. What's in Secondhand Smoke?
Secondhand smoke contains the same poisons in the smoke that smokers inhale—such chemicals as formaldehyde, arsenic, cyanide, radioactive compounds, benzene and carton monoxide. In fact, the smoke that the smoker doesn't inhale may contain higher amounts of these poisons. This is because the inhaled smoke is burned at a higher temperature that destroys some of the toxins, and it's filtered.
Secondhand Smoke Is a Killer
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that passive smoking—being in the presence of a spouse or coworker who smokes—causes about 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year. Passive smoking accounts for as many as perhaps 30,000 to 50,000 deaths annually from heart disease in nonsmokers.
Secondhand Smoke Is a Health Hazard
Passive smoking also causes a host of nonfatal health problems, such as burning eyes, hoarseness, throat irritation, sneezing, headache and nausea. Those with asthma, hay fever, sinusitis, emphysema and other health conditions are especially sensitive to the effects of cigarette smoke. Asthma and bronchitis are aggravated in people who are exposed to cigarette smoke, especially in children under 18 months of age. Children of smokers also have an increased chance of developing serious lung problems such as asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.
Taking Action
Fortunately, many companies are responding to the dangers of secondhand smoke. Smokers are asked to leave the building to smoke or to smoke in designated areas away from the workplace. Many cities have banned smoking from restaurants, workplaces and other public places.
What Can We Do?
To protect yourself, ask visitors not to smoke in your house. Ask to be seated in nonsmoking areas of restaurants and public transportation. Encourage hospitals, clinics and schools to be smoke-free. Let your legislators know that you stand behind regulations designed to protect the nonsmoker. Most of all, if you smoke, stop, for your family's sake. If others in your family smoke, help them to stop. You'll all breathe easier—in more ways than one.
Stop Smoking with Hypnosis : Basics
You’ve seen the stage acts where a hypnotist selects someone out of the audience and when he claps his hands, the unwilling participant struts around the stage clucking like a chicken. You’ve also seen movies where the hypnotist waves the pocket watch in front of the subject as he utters, “you’re getting sleepy … very sleepy.” Hypnosis is a little more than what Hollywood or Vegas make it out to be. Below is a brief overview.
Hypnosis is a naturally occurring altered state of consciousness in which the critical faculty is bypassed (mind in the conscious mode) and acceptable selective thinking established. Wow! That’s a lot of technical jargon! Simply put, this means that the reasoning, evaluating, judging part of your mind (conscious) is bypassed.
Hypnosis deals with the subconscious. Have you ever driven to work or home or anywhere, arrived at your destination but then had little to no recollection of the drive? Your reasoning, evaluating and judging parts of your mind were still intact and functioning (read: you safely arrived at your location) but your cognizant mind was bypassed. Hypnosis feels very much like that. It’s the same or similar feeling as when you day dream. People under hypnosis know exactly what they are doing.
What about control? Many people fear being hypnotized because they falsely believe they will have to give up control of their mind. Not true. Think about when you are so engrossed in a movie and you find yourself in tears. If you’ve ever watched Saving Private Ryan, the Titanic or the Passion of the Christ you know this scenario all too well. During these movies you were so involved that you actually felt emotion. You were literally in a hypnotic trance. Most importantly, though, you still had the power to emerge from that state if desired.
Your mind may be guided by a movie, self-hypnosis tape, or hypnotist, but you still have the power to resist. If you fully believe and acknowledge that you have the power to resist any control of emotions, then hypnosis is nothing to fear. Unfortunately, some people seem to give up partial control of their minds because they misunderstand who has the power. Unquestionably, someone can be fooled into believing that he has given up control in some forms of stage hypnosis or other experiments. That is likely what often happens in stage shows. But just because someone was tricked doesn’t mean it is right or that it will happen to you that way.
Think about it. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. You are the one who allows your mind to be placed into deep states. You are the one who has the power to resist any unwanted suggestions. It’s really a misnomer when people say they were hypnotized. What they really mean is that they allowed their mind to be hypnotized or they allowed a hypnotist to give suggestions that they chose to follow.
Just remember that no one controls your mind unless you first grant permission!
The Psychology of Quitting Smoking
Many experts believe smoking is only about 10% physical addiction and a whopping 90% psychological addiction.
Your body will recover fairly quickly from nicotine withdrawals (the worst symptoms usually abate in three days or less), but your psychological dependency on cigarettes can be much more difficult to defeat.
One way to combat this is to do a bit of self-analysis before giving up cigarettes.
Make a list with two columns. Label column one "Why I Started Smoking" and label column two "Why I Want To Quit Smoking."
In column one, list all the reasons you can remember as to why you started smoking in the first place. Was it peer pressure? Rebellion? Did you think it made you look cool? Did it make you feel like a grown-up? Really try to remember the exact reasons why you started smoking and write them all down.
Now look over that list. Do any of those reasons still apply in your life today? Probably not.
If you're like most people, you will see that your reasons for becoming a smoker are no longer valid, are often just silly, and are easily outweighed by the risks to your health and your family's well-being.
So let's move on to column two... Why do you want to quit smoking?
This one may seem obvious, but it can be a bit tricky. You really need to take some time and think hard about this. Don't just list the obvious health reasons. You've been reading the Surgeon General's warnings for years with little effect, so you need to come up with reasons that truly have meaning for you.
The things most people write down will NOT help you quit smoking...
- I don't want to get lung cancer.
- I don't want to have a heart attack or a stroke.
- I'd like to live long enough to see my grandchildren grow up.
Those are all good reasons to quit smoking, certainly... but they deal in "possibilities" rather than in specifics.
Sure you MIGHT get lung cancer, you MIGHT have a heart attack or a stroke, you MIGHT die young and miss out on seeing your grandchildren grow up...
...or you MIGHT NOT! You're not likely to break a strong psychological addiction based on what MIGHT happen. Your mind will work hard to convince you that it won't happen to you! Instead, list health problems that you are already experiencing.
Your list should point out things in your life that you are actively unhappy about and are STRONGLY MOTIVATED to change. In order to break your psychological addiction, you need an arsenal of new thoughts and desires that are stronger than your desire to smoke!
Here are the types of things you want to put in column two...
Why Do I Want To Quit Smoking?
1. Health Reasons
- I get so out of breath when I exert myself even a little bit. Just vacuuming the house makes me pant and gasp.
- My feet are always cold. This could be due to high blood pressure and poor circulation associated with smoking.
- I have a nasty wet cough and I have to blow my nose way too often. Mucus build-up is the body's reaction to all the toxins and chemicals in cigarette smoke and could be a precursor to serious respiratory disease. Even if I don't get cancer, I don't want to be one of those people who has to tote oxygen bottles around everywhere.
- I'm always tired. Could it be that my body is using up all its energy trying to eliminate the toxins and chemicals from cigarettes?
2. Vanity Reasons
- Smoking causes premature aging and drying of the skin. I don't want to look like a wrinkled up old prune!
- My fingers, fingernails and teeth are all tobacco stained. Disgusting! How embarrassing.
- When I get on the elevator after a smoke break at work, everyone wrinkles their nose and tries to edge away from me because I reek of cigarette smoke. I feel like a pariah. It's embarrassing to always be the big "stinker" on the elevator. I feel like I have no self-control.
- My breath is awful. Kissing me must be like kissing an ashtray. I spend a fortune on breath mints.
3. Financial Reasons
- If I save all the money I used to spend on cigarettes, I'll have enough to take a vacation in
- I could use the money to pay off my credit cards!
- I could donate money to my favorite charity or sponsor a child. My cigarette money could make the world a better place!
4. Family Reasons
- My family can stop worrying about me.
- My spouse will have to find something new to nag me about. Just kidding, honey!
- My children will be proud of me and (hopefully) they'll never start smoking themselves, having seen firsthand what a nasty destructive habit it is.
5. Cleanliness Reasons
- The walls used to be white. Now they're a nasty dirty-looking brown. I need to repaint... again!
- I stink, my car stinks, my house stinks, everything I own reeks of cigarette smoke. I can't even lend a book to a non-smoking friend because they can't stand the smell of smoke permeating the pages!
Do you see yourself in any of the items listed? You may have many more reasons of your own. Find as many compelling and emotional reasons to pursue smoking cessation as you can think of and write them all down. To quit smoking, you need YOUR reason to kick the nicotine habit.
If you can re-train your mind to think of smoking as a silly and self-destructive thing to do, then you're almost sure to succeed. And if you need something to do with your hands... try knitting!
Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com for great information and products designed to help you quit smoking.
Five Ways to Guarantee that You'll NEVER Quit Smoking
Brought to you by the Good-For-You-And-Your-Children Tobacco Company.
You’re hearing it from all directions: “Quit smoking!” But the heck with that! You’re going to smoke until the day you die, right? Here’s how to “fight back” against the tyrants and authority establishment that is trying to make you quit.
First, you must never believe that quitting smoking is possible. On the contrary, no one has ever quit smoking. Once you’ve had one puff, you’re hooked for life. Might as well just start smoking even if you only inhale some second-hand smoke. You see, if you believe you can quit smoking, then you might actually try to do something about it. Believing is the first, most important step to becoming an evil “non-smoker”. So don’t believe what you hear from anyone else. Don’t believe your own gut-instinct that tells you that you do have the ability to quit. You don’t! It’s impossible! Forget it!
Second, don’t set a date for quitting. The winners in life are the people who never plan their life. They just get lucky. Money falls from the sky whenever they need it. They get around to doing things “someday.”
The losers in life spend time planning their day, planning their goals and dreams; planning, planning, planning. Don’t do that! It’s a waste of your time. You don’t need to know when you are going to do anything. You’ll be just fine letting life “happen” to you. Free love, man! Peace!
Don’t set a date for quitting smoking. That way you’ll never know when you should put the cigarettes down for the last time. That way you can just smoke one right after the other, with no thought of when you want to become smoke-free.
Third, to guarantee you’ll never quit smoking, don’t talk to your doctor about quitting. He or she will just give you a load of hogwash. They think they know everything, those doctors. They say smoking will shorten your life, make you sicker more often, cause sexual dysfunction, give you heart and lung disease, plus a whole bunch of other unsubstantiated claims. Everyone knows that smoking never hurt anyone.
Your doctor would try to offer you his professional advice, and maybe even try to prescribe some “helpful” medications for quitting. They go to school for a million years and all of a sudden these doctors think they can help heal people! Imagine. Oh sure, studies may show that smokers who consult with their physician are more likely to quit, but then everybody knows that no one every quit smoking, right? (See the first method, above.)
Fourth, don’t exercise. Exercise is hard. You have to burn calories. You have to discipline yourself to move your muscles three or four times per week. You have to stop watching TV for 30 minutes. No way!
Stays seated and smoke another pack. Or two.
Exercise is good for you, they say. It can help you take your mind off smoking. It can relieve stress. But you have cigarettes to relieve stress, right?
Who wants to exercise when it gives you bulging muscles and a tone body? The “experts” will try to tell you that you might feel pretty good about yourself when you start to get in shape. You just might want to take better care of yourself and quit smoking. Your self-esteem will improve, your sleep will improve, your stamina will increase, your sense of purpose will rise, your weight will drop, your performance at work will improve. That’s what the “experts” say. Nonsense. You’re doing just fine right now, smoking your cigarettes on the couch, in front of the TV, right?
Finally, the fifth way to guarantee that you’ll never quit smoking is to just give up trying to quit. Don’t take any action toward quitting. It’s not necessary. Oh sure, you’ve tried to quit before. Did it work? Of course not. So forget it. It’s just not worth the effort. You’re a slave to cigarettes.
You don’t want to live five or ten years longer anyway, do you? No, quitting isn’t possible. Quitting requires that you actually try. So don’t try. Don’t make plans to quit. Don’t read about how to quit. Don’t talk with your doctor. Don’t learn from other smokers who quit. Don’t try to quit cold turkey or to gradually reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke. Don’t do any of that weird deep breathing stuff. Don’t drink plenty of water. Don’t exercise. Don’t eat healthier foods. Don’t try to find a quitting buddy. Don’t remove all the ash trays and lighters and matches and cigarettes from your home and office and vehicle. Don’t talk to strangers!
Face it, you’re a smoker. You love smoking. You love the coughing and hacking. You love freezing to death when you have to smoke in the designated smoking area outside. You love being stared at every time you light a cigarette in public. You love spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year on your habit. You love smelling terrible. You love having bad breath. You love paying more for your insurance. You love spending time in the hospital.
Remaining a smoker is easy, now that you know the five simple ways to guarantee that you never quit smoking. Get started today (or whenever you feel like it—or never—see step 5)
Brought to you by the Good-For-You-And-Your-Children Tobacco Company.
Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com for great information and products designed to help you quit smoking.
An Honest Look at How Smoking Affects Everyone Around You
Last week I was driving to the post office to ship some customer orders. I noticed a foul odor blowing out of my car’s air vents and I looked up at the car 5 car-lengths in front of me. Sure enough, I saw a hand reaching out through the driver’s window flicking the ashes from a cigarette. That was followed by a plume of smoke, headed straight for my car. I quickly reached down and closed the outside air vent.
Perhaps you believe that your smoking habit is just YOUR problem. Did you ever stop to analyze why non-smokers are so outspoken about smoking in public? The secondhand smoke issue is highly charged and still debated. But there’s more to the issue of how your smoking affects other people. This article is an honest look—a chance for you to evaluate the impact your smoking has on everyone around you. I encourage you to read the articles referenced in the endnotes for additional details.
SMOKING AND THE UNBORN CHILD
The evidence continues to mount. Smoking during pregnancy does affect your unborn child. Developmental growth and birth weight in babies of smoking mothers is lower than babies of non-smoking mothers. These same “smoking” babies are more likely to be shorter in height, slower at reading and lower in “social adjustment” than children of nonsmoking mothers.
Statistics show that infant mortality—the death of the baby either at birth or through a miscarriage—is 50 percent higher when the mother smokes. That means nonsmoking parents experience half as many infant mortalities. The good news is that if you stop smoking by the fourth month of pregnancy, you can significantly reduce these dangers. (1)
“Women who smoke while pregnant pass NNK, a very potent carcinogen, to their babies still developing in the womb. Earlier research showed that offspring of animals treated with NNK developed tumors of the lung, trachea, liver, and other organs.” (2)
A recent study even suggests that individuals, whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, were predisposed to take up smoking themselves. If you smoke while pregnant, you may be encouraging your child to smoke, years from now! (3)
SMOKING AND CHILDREN
Newborn babies exposed to their mother’s smoking through breast feeding and environmental tobacco smoke show significantly higher levels of urinary cotinine. Cotinine is a major metabolite of nicotine, and is used as a marker for recent cigarette smoke exposure.
A study examined 507 infants, finding urinary cotinine levels during the first 2 weeks of life were significantly increased in infants whose mothers smoked. Breast-fed infants had higher cotinine levels than non-breast-fed infants, but this was statistically significant only if mothers smoked. Urinary cotinine levels were 5 times higher in breast-fed infants whose mothers smoked than in those whose mothers smoked but did not breast-feed. Babies definitely receive the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes through both breast feeding and environmental exposure. (4)
Children of smokers are also 2 ½ times more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), or crib death. One study found that nearly 60 percent of all SIDS cases could be prevented if smokers stopped smoking around babies and pregnant women. (5)
A meta-analysis of studies conducted after 1965 showed significant risk to children exposed to secondhand smoke of numerous ailments including asthma, tonsillectomy, lower respiratory tract infections, plus many others. Children were also at risk of death due to fires caused by cigarettes. (6)
One study reveals an incredible statistic: Children of smokers are nearly three times as likely to smoke as children of non-smokers. Parents, have you ever thought of yourself as a drug pusher? (7)
SECONDHAND SMOKE
Does secondhand smoke cause cancer or other illness? Do we have to ask? This issue has divided the pro- and anti-smoking lobbies for many years. However, a study by the National Cancer Institute(NCI) released in November 1999, presents conclusive evidence, including 18 epidemiological studies linking secondhand smoke to coronary heart disease.
Donald Shopland, coordinator of NCI’s Smoking and Tobacco Control Program, notes that the report estimates that each year in the
Read the full 430 page report here:
http://rex.nci.nih.gov/NCI_MONOGRAPHS/MONO10/MONO10.HTM
OTHER EFFECTS OF SMOKING
Besides the obvious effects of smoking presented above, there are many other effects that you probably never considered.
First, smoking stinks. Never mind the health risks. The offensive odor intrudes on the noses of people all around you, from your family and co-workers, to patrons at public places such as restaurants and sporting events. While you may feel it is your right to smoke in public places, consider how you would feel if your next door neighbor suddenly opened a chicken farm in his back yard. The stench can be sickening. The issue is not so much a rights issues as much as it is a consideration issue. Treat the people around you with respect, the way that you’d expect them to treat you.
Aside from the smell of smoke, there’s also the issue of cigarette butts carelessly discarded along roadways and other public places. While most smokers would probably never consider tossing a used cup or hamburger wrapper out their car window, many don’t give a second thought to flicking one cigarette butt after another out the window. Don’t think one little butt matters? Consider that it takes one to five years for a cigarette butt to disintegrate, or biodegrade. (9)
What’s that? You only throw out perhaps one cigarette butt per pack. Ok, let’s examine that. You litter one butt for every 20 you smoke. That’s 5% of your cigarettes. Not much, right? Consider that the worldwide consumption of cigarettes is somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,050,000,000,000 per year. If “only” 5% of cigarette butts were discarded improperly, that means 302,500,000,000 butts are littering every street corner, parking lot, public park, and beach in the world. The next time you stop in your car at a stop light, look down next to your car. You’ll probably see dozens, if not hundreds of butts.
What do improperly discarded butts lead to, among other things? Yes, fires! Thousands of fires are started each year by carelessly discarded cigarette butts. Thousands of innocent victims are killed each year as a result of these fires. These fires and deaths are easily prevented if only you would take a moment to properly discard your butts.
How else does your smoking affect other people? Consider that your smoking habit costs hundreds or thousands of dollars per year. Add this amount up over 20 or 30 years, plus tack on the interest that money could have earned and you have wasted perhaps $100,000 or more! Just think what that money could have done for you and your family. One cigarette at a time, and no one notices. But if you pulled $100,000 out of your bank account, you’d be called a thief!
The financial costs don’t stop at the cigarettes alone. You’re also probably paying double or more for your health insurance. You’re also much more likely to incur doctor visits and medical expenses than are non-smokers. This costs you both for the treatment as well as the lost wages from your time off from work. The value of your car and home may also be reduced, due to the odor and filth of cigarettes.
Have your personal relationships been affected? Smoking can be very offensive to non-smokers. Many non-smokers won’t consider a smoker as a possible spouse. If you’re in sales, smoking may be killing deals because you smell bad, or have offensive breath. People buy you, not just your product!. Your career may even be stunted due to excessive smoke breaks. Smokers waste many hours each week taking breaks to satisfy their habit. Don’t think that your regular absences go unnoticed by your colleagues and your boss. While you’re outside relaxing, your co-workers are inside working. If you were the boss, to whom would you give a raise or promotion?
Your smoking also cheats your family and friends. When you die early (the average smoker will die eight years earlier than a non-smoker), you rob your family and friends of—you! If you are unfortunate enough to get sick at a very early age, you also threaten your children’s normal childhood, and seriously impact your spouse’s life. Consider your children, spouse, family and friends when you smoke next.
Finally, don’t forget that smoking cheats YOU! All of the foregoing information affects you. When you smoke, you are slowly robbing yourself.
The point of all this? Your smoking habit has far reaching consequences. Quitting smoking can erase these negative consequences and improve your life and the lives of so many other people around you. Start making plans today to quit smoking.
Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com for great information and products designed to help you quit smoking.
20 Quick Tips to Help You Quit Smoking
1. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can quit. Think about some of the most difficult things you have done in your life and realize that you have the guts and determination to quit smoking. It's up to you.
2. After reading this list, sit down and write your own list, customized to your personality and way of doing things. Create you own plan for quitting.
3. Write down why you want to quit (the benefits of quitting): live longer, feel better, for your family, save money, smell better, find a mate more easily, etc. You know what's bad about
smoking and you know what you'll get by quitting. Put it on paper and read it daily.
4. Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit. Ask them to be completely supportive and non-judgmental. Let them know ahead of time that you will probably be irritable and even irrational while you withdraw from your smoking habit.
5. Set a quit date. Decide what day you will extinguish your cigarettes forever. Write it down. Plan for it. Prepare your mind for the "first day of the rest of your life". You might even hold a small ceremony when you smoke you last cigarette, or on the morning of the quit date.
6. Talk with your doctor about quitting. Support and guidance from a physician is a proven way to better your chances to quit.
7. Begin an exercise program. Exercise is simply incompatible with smoking. Exercise relieves stress and helps your body recover from years of damage from cigarettes. If necessary,
start slow, with a short walk once or twice per day. Build up to 30 to 40 minutes of rigorous activity, 3 or 4 times per week. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
8. Do some deep breathing each day for 3 to 5 minutes. Breathe in through your nose very slowly, hold the breath for a few seconds, and exhale very slowly through your mouth. Try doing your breathing with your eyes closed and go to step 9.
9. Visualize your way to becoming a non-smoker. While doing your deep breathing in step 8, you can close your eyes and begin to imagine yourself as a non-smoker. See yourself enjoying your exercise in step 7. See yourself turning down a cigarette that someone offers you. See yourself throwing all your cigarettes away, and winning a gold medal for doing so. Develop your own creative visualizations. Visualization works.
10. Cut back on cigarettes gradually (if you cut back gradually, be sure to set a quit date on which you WILL quit). Ways to cut back gradually include: plan how many cigarettes you will smoke each day until your quit date, making the number you smoke smaller each day; buy only one pack at a time; change brands so you don't enjoy smoking as much; give your cigarettes to someone else, so that you have to ask for them each time you want to smoke.
11. Quit smoking "cold turkey". Many smokers find that the only way they can truly quit once and for all is to just quit abruptly without trying to slowly taper off. Find the method that works best for you: gradually quitting or cold turkey. If one way doesn't work do the other.
12. Find another smoker who is trying to quit, and help each other with positive words and by lending an ear when quitting becomes difficult. Visit this Bulletin Board and this Chat Room
to find a "quit buddy."
13. Have your teeth cleaned. Enjoy the way your teeth look and feel and plan to keep them that way.
14. After you quit, plan to celebrate the milestones in your journey to becoming a non-smoker. After two weeks of being smoke-free, see a movie. After a month, go to a fancy restaurant
(be sure to sit in the non-smoking section). After three months, go for a long weekend to a favorite get-away. After six months, buy yourself something frivolous. After a year, have a party for yourself. Invite your family and friends to your "birthday" party and celebrate your new chance at a long, healthy life.
15. Drink lots of water. Water is good for you anyway, and most people don't get enough. It will help flush the nicotine and other chemicals out of your body, plus it can help reduce cravings by fulfilling the "oral desires" that you may have.
16. Learn what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, arrival at work, entering a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers or if that's impossible, plan alternative ways to deal with the triggers.
17. Find something to hold in your hand and mouth, to replace cigarettes. Consider drinking straws or you might try an artificial cigarette called E-Z Quit found here:
http://www.quitsmoking.com/ezquit.htm
18. Write yourself an inspirational song or poem about quitting, cigarettes, and what it means to you to quit. Read it daily.
19. Keep a picture of your family or someone very important to you with you at all times. On a piece of paper, write the words "I'm quitting for myself and for you (or "them")". Tape your written message to the picture. Whenever you have the urge to smoke, look at the picture and read the message.
20. Whenever you have a craving for a cigarette, instead of lighting up, write down your feelings or whatever is on your mind. Keep this "journal" with you at all times.
Good luck in your efforts to quit smoking. It's worth it!
Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com for great information and products designed to help you quit smoking.
2. After reading this list, sit down and write your own list, customized to your personality and way of doing things. Create you own plan for quitting.
3. Write down why you want to quit (the benefits of quitting): live longer, feel better, for your family, save money, smell better, find a mate more easily, etc. You know what's bad about
smoking and you know what you'll get by quitting. Put it on paper and read it daily.
4. Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit. Ask them to be completely supportive and non-judgmental. Let them know ahead of time that you will probably be irritable and even irrational while you withdraw from your smoking habit.
5. Set a quit date. Decide what day you will extinguish your cigarettes forever. Write it down. Plan for it. Prepare your mind for the "first day of the rest of your life". You might even hold a small ceremony when you smoke you last cigarette, or on the morning of the quit date.
6. Talk with your doctor about quitting. Support and guidance from a physician is a proven way to better your chances to quit.
7. Begin an exercise program. Exercise is simply incompatible with smoking. Exercise relieves stress and helps your body recover from years of damage from cigarettes. If necessary,
start slow, with a short walk once or twice per day. Build up to 30 to 40 minutes of rigorous activity, 3 or 4 times per week. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
8. Do some deep breathing each day for 3 to 5 minutes. Breathe in through your nose very slowly, hold the breath for a few seconds, and exhale very slowly through your mouth. Try doing your breathing with your eyes closed and go to step 9.
9. Visualize your way to becoming a non-smoker. While doing your deep breathing in step 8, you can close your eyes and begin to imagine yourself as a non-smoker. See yourself enjoying your exercise in step 7. See yourself turning down a cigarette that someone offers you. See yourself throwing all your cigarettes away, and winning a gold medal for doing so. Develop your own creative visualizations. Visualization works.
10. Cut back on cigarettes gradually (if you cut back gradually, be sure to set a quit date on which you WILL quit). Ways to cut back gradually include: plan how many cigarettes you will smoke each day until your quit date, making the number you smoke smaller each day; buy only one pack at a time; change brands so you don't enjoy smoking as much; give your cigarettes to someone else, so that you have to ask for them each time you want to smoke.
11. Quit smoking "cold turkey". Many smokers find that the only way they can truly quit once and for all is to just quit abruptly without trying to slowly taper off. Find the method that works best for you: gradually quitting or cold turkey. If one way doesn't work do the other.
12. Find another smoker who is trying to quit, and help each other with positive words and by lending an ear when quitting becomes difficult. Visit this Bulletin Board and this Chat Room
to find a "quit buddy."
13. Have your teeth cleaned. Enjoy the way your teeth look and feel and plan to keep them that way.
14. After you quit, plan to celebrate the milestones in your journey to becoming a non-smoker. After two weeks of being smoke-free, see a movie. After a month, go to a fancy restaurant
(be sure to sit in the non-smoking section). After three months, go for a long weekend to a favorite get-away. After six months, buy yourself something frivolous. After a year, have a party for yourself. Invite your family and friends to your "birthday" party and celebrate your new chance at a long, healthy life.
15. Drink lots of water. Water is good for you anyway, and most people don't get enough. It will help flush the nicotine and other chemicals out of your body, plus it can help reduce cravings by fulfilling the "oral desires" that you may have.
16. Learn what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, arrival at work, entering a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers or if that's impossible, plan alternative ways to deal with the triggers.
17. Find something to hold in your hand and mouth, to replace cigarettes. Consider drinking straws or you might try an artificial cigarette called E-Z Quit found here:
http://www.quitsmoking.com/ezquit.htm
18. Write yourself an inspirational song or poem about quitting, cigarettes, and what it means to you to quit. Read it daily.
19. Keep a picture of your family or someone very important to you with you at all times. On a piece of paper, write the words "I'm quitting for myself and for you (or "them")". Tape your written message to the picture. Whenever you have the urge to smoke, look at the picture and read the message.
20. Whenever you have a craving for a cigarette, instead of lighting up, write down your feelings or whatever is on your mind. Keep this "journal" with you at all times.
Good luck in your efforts to quit smoking. It's worth it!
Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com for great information and products designed to help you quit smoking.
11 Ways to Keep Your New Year's Resolution to Quit Smoking
Every year about this time, people begin thinking about the new year and the changes it will bring. Some people make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get a better job, get married, or simply to get a life. Millions of Americans will also make the resolution to quit smoking.Nearly 48 million Americans aged 18 years and older smoke. Of these, fully 70%--nearly 34 million smokers--want to quit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. This year 1.3 million of these smokers will quit successfully. Why do tens of millions want to quit but only a fraction actually succeeds? The answer is that most people just don’t know how to go about quitting.
Follow the 11 simple steps outlined below to assure your quit-smoking success.
1. Decide Right Now to Believe that You CAN Quit Smoking
Studies of smokers who successfully quit smoking show that one of the most important traits of a successful quitter is their belief that they have the ability to quit smoking.
Do you believe that you can quit? If you don’t, you will have a much harder time trying to quit. The best action you can take right now to start the quitting process is to fix in your mind the belief that you have the ability to quit smoking. You might say that you can’t change your belief, but you can.
Believing you can quit is so important because your belief will guide everything you do in your attempt to quit. The way you think, the research you do, the steps you take, the people you talk to, the help you seek--all these will be influenced by the belief you have in your ability to give up cigarettes.
If you don’t truly believe you can quit, you’ll probably find yourself saying, "What’s one little cigarette? I’ve got a headache. I just can’t quit like other people." If you believe you can quit, instead you’ll be saying "My head is hurting from withdrawal, but I can make it through this. I know the headache and other withdrawal symptoms will go away in a few days. My life is more important than a stupid cigarette."
Believing shapes everything you do. So does not believing. If you believe something strongly enough your mind will give you the correct thoughts to help your body take you in the direction of your belief.
Can you imagine what life would be like if Thomas Edison hadn’t believed that he could invent the incandescent light bulb? If Edison had begun his search for the solution without really believing he could create a light bulb that worked, he would have quit long before finding the answer. Edison tested more than 10,000 combinations of materials before finding the right one to create a light bulb! You must believe that you can quit smoking, even if it takes 10,000 attempts.
Fixing in your mind a belief that you can quit smoking may sound impossible if you now believe that you don’t have the ability. Here are some tips to help you change your beliefs:
- Realize that your old belief was founded on old ideas and circumstances and that your new belief is based on new information and your newfound desire to quit smoking now.
- On 3X5 cards, write out several positive statements about your ability to quit. Read your cards three times a day: morning, noon and bedtime. Some statements to use: "I believe that I have the ability to quit smoking," "I am a non-smoker," "I no longer need cigarettes in my life," "I happily quit smoking," "It’s easy to quit smoking," "I am a powerful, self-directed person," "I control my own life." Make up some of your own statements. Make them positive, as if you have already completed the task.
- Post a sign on your bathroom mirror with one of the above statements on it.
- Repeat the above statements to yourself, whenever you have a free moment.
- Use visualization techniques (see Step 7 below) to visualize yourself mastering your smoking habit and winning the fight.
- Ask your family and friends to encourage you with positive statements about your ability to quit smoking (See Step 5 below).
Successful people in all walks of life become successful through planning. The same is true for smokers who successfully quit smoking. You must create a plan that you will follow daily, so that you quit smoking purposefully, not haphazardly.
Put your plan on paper. Write each of these steps in your plan:
- Study this report and write down how you will mentally prepare yourself to quit smoking. Don’t try to quit until you feel you are ready.
- Decide on a specific date that you will quit. Write down your "quit date." Make sure your quit date comes after you have completed step "a" above. Also, choose a quit date that occurs during a relatively low stress time. Don’t try to quit during a stressful time at work or during the break-up of a relationship, for example.
Quitting on a specific date is preferable to slowly reducing the number of cigarettes that you smoke. By going "cold turkey" you won’t have to keep track of how many cigarettes you smoked yesterday and how many you will smoke today. You will also remove the temptation to cheat and smoke too many. By using this report to prepare yourself for your quit date you will be ready to quit, and going cold turkey won’t be so difficult. - Write down all the things you will enjoy doing after you quit smoking (long walks, eating out without being restricted to the smoking section, taking a vacation with the money you will save, etc.). This step is very important, so spend extra time dreaming up your "smoke-free future."
- Write down the times and occasions when you are most likely to smoke. Write down what "triggers" your desire to smoke (See Step 8 below). You may be surprised to find that you have organized your day around smoking.
- Write down five to ten things you will do instead of smoking, whenever you feel a cigarette craving coming on. For example, you might drink a glass of water, go for a short walk, type a letter, do some filing, call a friend, read a book, or mow the grass. Plan how you will distract yourself. Try to distract yourself with something healthy and/or beneficial. Match the distractions you’ve created in this step with the times and occasions your wrote down in step "d" above.
- Write down the names of three people whom you trust to support your efforts to quit smoking. Contact them and ask for their support. Make sure you tell them that you want only positive support. Ask them to call you each day and give you positive encouragement. Also, ask them if you can call them if you need help.
- Write down a list of all the items that you use when smoking: cigarettes, lighters, matches, ashtrays, etc. Make notes about where every single item is. Then on your "quit date" track down each item and throw them away. Don’t forget to clean out your car and your office at work.
- Write down a list of rewards that you will give yourself. Be sure to reward yourself as you go longer and longer without smoking. For example: End of Day One -- long, hot bubble bath. End of Week One -- see a Movie. End of Week Three -- dinner at an exclusive restaurant. End of Month Two -- take a day off from work. End of Six Months -- take a weekend getaway. End of Year One -- take a 7-day vacation. Whenever possible, write down the specific date that you will reward yourself. By the way, these rewards won’t cost you much, if anything, because you’ll be saving hundreds of dollars by not smoking!
- Make an appointment to see your doctor (See Step 6 below).
You can’t win the battle if you don't start the battle. The problem with too many unmet goals and plans is that no action was ever taken to start down the road to achieving the goal or plan. If you created your "Quit Plan" in Step 2 above (you did create a "Quit Plan", didn't you?) you now have a plan for quitting. What is step "a" of your Quit Plan? Have you done it yet? Do it now! You must put your plan into action.
If you ever studied physics in high school you’ve probably heard of inertia. Inertia is the characteristic of an object (you) wanting to maintain its current state. In other words, objects at rest (doing nothing, not moving) tend to want to stay at rest. An object in motion tends to want to stay in motion.
Anytime you have to slam on your car’s brakes you experience inertia. When your car slows down rapidly, what happens to you and your passengers? Your bodies lunge forward before they are (hopefully) restrained by a seatbelt. If not restrained you could go right through the windshield. The point is this: if you begin taking action--even the smallest action--to quit smoking, you'll start a chain reaction, carrying you forward to the next step in your quit smoking action plan. Getting started on your plan is difficult, but once you get started it’s hard to stop. So get started today!
While most of the media attention surrounding the smoking addiction focuses on chemical addictions to nicotine, you are in reality "multi-addicted." You are addicted to the feel of the cigarette in your hand and mouth. You are addicted to the actions of lighting your cigarette, moving your cigarette up to your mouth, flicking ashes from the cigarette and holding your cigarette between your fingers. You've also become addicted to the visual appeal of cigarettes: the flame, the smoke, even a dirty ashtray. You’re also addicted to the deep inhalations and exhalations you take as you puff on your cigarettes. You may have become addicted to smoking buddies at your workplace. All these stimuli serve to meet some physical, psychological or emotional need within you.
Part of preparing yourself mentally is understanding, studying and attacking your addictions. Think about the pleasures you derive from smoking. Does it make you feel "cool"? Do you get a lift or relax? Do you need to have something in your mouth or hands? Do you enjoy breathing deeply when you smoke? Do you feel a compulsion to head out to socialize with your smoking buddies every morning at 10:30?
Think through how you feel when you smoke. Are you happy, sad, soothed, or more alert? The next time you smoke a cigarette, notice all these things. Jot down your observations, then re-read them regularly. Study your own addiction so you understand what you must overcome. As Socrates said, "Know thyself."
5. Get Help and Support from Family and Friends
Sometimes our family and friends can be our worst enemies when we are attempting something very difficult or "different." If your family or friends don’t smoke, they may not understand your desire to quit. Nor will they understand the extreme difficulty of overcoming your addiction.
If your family and friends do smoke, they may have attempted to quit themselves, but failed. Or they may not want to quit at all, thereby placing pressure on you not to quit also. Human nature causes people to try to "hold others back" when someone close to them begins to move in a direction different from the norm. If you quit, you will place pressure and the spotlight on family and friends who are still smoking.
Your challenge will be to let others around you know that you are doing this for YOU. Let them know that if they will not encourage you, then they should "keep quiet while you quit." But by all means encourage others to encourage you.
Ask your family and friends to give you positive encouragement. Make sure they know that you do not want them to point out your faults, mistakes and slips. Ask them to praise your victories, large or small. Ask them to be understanding during the times that you may be less than friendly or patient. Ask them to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.
Research shows that smokers who quit with assistance and support from a physician have higher rates of success. Even patients who received only minimal instruction and encouragement from their doctor showed improved "quitting" results.
Your doctor can give you the medical facts regarding the effect of cigarettes, plus tell you the benefits of quitting cigarettes. Also, he or she may prescribe some of the latest prescription-only quit-smoking medications.
Your doctor can also help you determine steps you can take to give up cigarettes and improve your health. Part of improving your health involves changing your diet and exercising. A doctor can test your current physical fitness and give you a plan for getting more fit (See Step 9 below).
Contact your doctor today. If he or she can't or won't help you, ask for a referral to a doctor who can and will help you.
7. Visualize Your Way to Quit Smoking Success
Your mind is a powerful "device." This device can be used for positive or negative purposes. You win or lose in life based on the way you "run" your mind. Much of running your mind involves visualizing--visualizing what has already happened in your life, as well as what may happen, good or bad.
Visualization is very similar to what our teachers and parents may have called "day dreaming." Children excel at day dreaming and playing "make believe." As we grow older, we tend to suppress our daydreams because of pressures to conform to society’s practical approach. Day dreaming or visualization allows us to create bright, fun, fantastic futures for ourselves. Unfortunately, visualization for adults becomes scenarios of unfounded fears, drudgery, regretful memories or just plain darkness.
You never lose your ability to visualize. Instead, you change your visualization to "practical" and logical thoughts. And often, adults do have vivid visualizations but of the negative doom and gloom, "the worst thing that can happen" variety. How often have you let your mind race with pictures of disaster and destruction? You see yourself lashed to a whipping post, being beaten by an IRS auditor, or you see your doctor telling you the pain in your head is a malignant brain tumor.
Your mind can just as easily show you a refund check from the IRS or a "clean bill of health" from the routine physical.
The problem and the opportunity with visualization is that your mind doesn’t know truth from fiction when it evaluates the visions in your mind. Your mind simply accepts the visualization as reality.
An example of this is the effect a scary movie may have on you. When the movie Jaws came out in 1975 many people were so frightened by it that they would go nowhere near a beach or lake. Some people were even afraid to take a bath or shower. The mental images of this monster shark took over the mind’s rational ability to think and allowed people to imagine sharks coming out of the showerhead. For these people the experience was so real that they changed their actions in the physical world. This is an extreme example, yet it is typical of the way that imagination and visualization can affect your physical existence.
In your mind you can create many different scenarios for yourself. You can visualize good or bad events. Your mind tends to act on these visualizations. Whatever you imagine, your mind will accept as real. In time your mind will work to "fulfill" your thoughts, creating them in reality. Think negative thoughts, create negative results. Think positive thoughts, create positive results.
Much has been written on visualization, and you should seek some more in-depth information on visualization techniques.
Here are some quick tips for using visualization to help you quit smoking:
Visualization often begins with affirmations--positive statements you make to yourself. State your affirmations positively and as if you already have what you are affirming. If possible, state your affirmations aloud, five to ten times.
Some examples of positive affirmations include: "I enjoy breathing easily and deeply," "I am free from any desire to smoke," "My hands and teeth are clean and smoke free," "I enjoy being around non-smokers," and "I am relaxed and calm."
Write down some goals for yourself, relating to smoking. For example, "I will quit smoking by the last day of March," or "My body no longer desires nicotine," or "I will take a vacation to Mexico next year with the money I save by not smoking."
To create deep visualizations that can profoundly affect you, relaxation is very important. To relax you should sit in a comfortable chair and close your eyes. Begin breathing long, deep breaths. Imagine yourself at the top of a staircase. Count down from ten to one, breathing once per number. As you count down, imagine yourself walking or even floating down the stairs. In between breaths repeat statements like "I’m getting very relaxed," and "going deeper."
Once you reach the count of "one" (and the bottom of the steps), let your mind wander for a minute or two. Then begin focusing on the affirmations and goals you have created for yourself. Don’t be concerned if you don’t immediately see anything. You may only see cloudy or fleeting images. That’s okay. With practice your visualizations will become more vivid.
Focus on controlling the images, however faint they may be. If you have set a goal to quit smoking by the end of March, see yourself throwing all your cigarettes and ashtrays away on March 31. Try visualizing a package of cigarettes, then make it "explode." Visualize your lungs as very clean and healthy. Visualize socializing with non-smokers. Visualize yourself effortlessly running a marathon. Visualize your friends and loved ones honoring you at a quit-smoking banquet. Create your visualizations from the goals and affirmations you have written down.
Don’t "push" your visualization. Lee Pulos, author of The Power of Visualization
Pulos suggests doing your visualizations in an enthusiastic, excited state as if you have already achieved your goal.
Your next step toward self-knowledge and quitting is learning what triggers your smoking. A trigger is anything that instantly engenders within you a desire to smoke. For example, the end of a meal may be a signal (trigger) to your mind and body that it's time for a cigarette. In part "d" of Step 2 above you wrote down what triggers your desire to smoke. After reading the following, go back to your written plan and add to it if necessary.
Common triggers include people, places, events and stress.
People: when you are with other smokers you are more likely to light up. Also, certain people may put you under stress, encouraging you to reach for a cigarette.
Places: certain places are synonymous with smoking, such as bars or restaurants. Your smoking may also be triggered when you are in a place where you have smoked before or a place where you smoke regularly, such as a designated smoking area at your office.
Events: stressful or extraordinary events such as a family member’s illness or death can trigger stress, which consequently triggers your smoking. You may also tend to light up at sporting events, parties, or as mentioned earlier, the end of a meal.
Stress: As mentioned above, stress can be a trigger, causing you to reach for a cigarette. Cigarettes do have a legitimate calming effect on many smokers, encouraging the use of cigarettes as tranquilizers.
Stress is caused by numerous things in our lives and is most likely a daily influence in your life. Part of your job when giving up cigarettes is learning how to deal with your stress in some way other than smoking. Step 9 below discusses exercise as a stress reliever and quit-smoking method. Meditation and visualization (Step 7 above) are also good stress relievers. Plan how you will reduce stress in your life.
As previously mentioned, exercise is an excellent method for reducing stress. Exercise also can play an important role in helping you to quit smoking.
Research shows that smokers who take up a regular exercise program have a much higher quit-smoking success rate. The higher the level of activity, the higher the success rate. Smoking and exercise simply aren’t compatible. A Gallup Poll found that smokers who exercised were twice as likely to quit smoking versus smokers who did not exercise.
Cigarettes do alleviate stress for many smokers. When you give up cigarettes, your stress level likely will rise. Exercise is an excellent stress reliever and can replace your dependence on cigarettes for stress relief.
The many positive effects of exercise are too numerous to mention or explain here. However, here is a list of some of the most common benefits of exercise:
- Reduced stress
- Increased stamina
- Increased feelings of well being and improved health
- Weight loss
- Improved muscle tone and physical appearance
- Increased self-esteem and sense of accomplishment
- Improved sleep
- Improved performance at work
- Improved attitudes and disposition
To get started exercising you need to choose one or two activities that you enjoy. Common exercises include walking, jogging, biking, swimming, tennis, basketball, etc. You may even decide to undertake regular, strenuous yard work for your neighbors.
Try to exercise 20-30 minutes at a time, three to four times per week. If you are out of shape, give yourself time to work up to this regular exercise schedule. Consult your doctor before beginning your exercise program.
For many people, exercise is drudgery. Be sure you pick an exercise that you enjoy, and consider exercising with a buddy. Your buddy can encourage you to "keep moving" when you want to stop. You’ll also be more likely to exercise when another person is depending upon you to be there. The next Step discusses quitting smoking with a "Quit Buddy." Your exercise buddy also may be your "Quit Buddy."
Chances are you know another smoker who wants to quit. Suggest to that smoker that you help each other "douse the flames" forever. Studies show that smokers who partner with a Quit Buddy to provide mutual support are more successful when giving up cigarettes than are smokers who try to quit on their own.
If you can’t readily find a Quit Buddy, try contacting some of the resources listed at the end of this report. Also, many local hospitals and churches have quit-smoking programs and you may be able to find a Quit Buddy or even a Quit Group there.
Quit Buddies can provide support by way of daily or even hourly phone calls. Make yourself available to your Buddy whenever he or she needs help making it through the tougher moments. Provide positive encouragement when your Buddy succeeds. Do your best to ignore any relapse your Buddy may have. Don’t try to "shame" or coerce your Buddy into quitting. Studies show that negative feedback does not improve quit-smoking success rates.
Plan outings and activities together. As previously mentioned, you might exercise with your Quit Buddy. Sign contracts with each other stating that you will quit smoking and provide your Buddy with support while they quit.
Many smokers who have successfully given up cigarettes have made several attempts to quit before they finally kicked the habit. You should know going in that quitting may be a lengthy, or even life-long, process. There is no failure as long as you follow Step 1 above (Believe). If you believe you will quit, you will! It may take three or four attempts before your quitting "sticks." If you quit for a short time then resume smoking, you are one step closer to quitting for good. Just quit again. Keep doing it Until. Until you win, until you quit for life.
You may find that after a first or second attempt to quit you have reduced the number of cigarettes that you smoke each day. That's great! You are no longer as dependent! Now, go for the gold!
Conclusion
The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to decide or "resolve" to quit smoking. Use this report to formulate your quit smoking plan. Share the report and your plan with your family, friends and other smokers.
Please let me know about your quit-smoking successes (and troubles). I would like to learn from you about the effectiveness of this report as well as effective tips and methods that you create yourself. Here’s how you can reach me:
Fred H. Kelley
QuitSmoking.com
Email: fredk@quitsmoking.com
Web: http://www.quitsmoking.com
Phone: 770-346-9222
Fax: 770-475-5007
Mail: 3675 Glennvale Ct.
Cumming, GA 30041
For more information consult the following resources:
American Cancer Society
1599 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 32329
404-320-3333
American Cancer Society
19 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
212-586-8700
American Heart Association
7272 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75231
214-373-6300
American Lung Association
1740 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
212-315-8700
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 10A24
Bethesda, MD 20892
800-4-CANCER, or
800-422-6237
Office on Smoking and Health
U.S. Dept. of Health Services
5600 Fishers Lane
Park Building, Room 110
Rockville, MD 20857
301-443-1575
QuitSmoking.com
3675 Glennvale Ct
Cumming, GA 30041
770-346-9222
http://www.quitsmoking.com
Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com for great information and products designed to help you quit smoking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
