In Canada, smoking costs the lives of more than 37,000 people a year. Proportionally, smoking causes more deaths than suicide, homicides, HIV, and cumulative road accidents. So, "Why is it beneficial to quit smoking? "Simply because this decision can save your life, or, at the very least, prolong it.
In addition, smoking causes a multitude of health problems. But, by quitting smoking, you can avoid many. Here is a list of the formidable conditions to which smoking has been closely associated:
Lung cancer and other respiratory disorders,
A heart attack and a stroke,
Cancer in various forms, including the mouth, throat, stomach, bladder, cervix and kidney,
Oral problems like a gum disease,
Fertility problems.
Your second breath
Once a smoker abandons tobacco, improvements appear very quickly in his general state of health.
For example, within 20 minutes of withdrawal, the heart rate and blood pressure return to a level close to that before the last cigarette.
Within 8 hours, the level of carbon monoxide in the body returns to normal.
In less than 48 hours, the risk of suffering a heart attack begins to decrease.
After only 72 hours, you begin to breathe easier. You will also feel less tired and you will not be so quickly out of breath, especially when you are exercising.
And, a year later, your susceptibility to heart disease will have dropped by 50%.
Smoking cessation, among other things, makes it possible to better appreciate the taste and smell of food, to have a cooler breath, clothes, a car and a home that no longer smell of cold tobacco.
Quitting smoking has even more beneficial long-term effects. For example, after 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer will be halved. Also, your risk of succumbing to a heart attack will be the same as that of a person who has never smoked.
To learn more about the benefits of quitting, read about Quit Smoking Magic.
The costs of second-hand smoke for health
Smoking affects both the health of smokers and the health of the non-smokers around them.
Research shows that even second-hand smoke increases the risk of contracting certain cancers, heart disease and lung disease. Each year in Canada, more than 800 non-smokers will die from cancer or heart disease caused by second-hand smoke. It takes only 8 minutes for your body to respond to second-hand smoke - it does not take much to harm you. If you are pregnant, your child is also at risk. Smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy would result in lower than normal weight in the newborn, increased risk of spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, and sudden infant death.
Young children and second-hand smoke
Second-hand smoke contains more than 70 toxic substances that can cause cancer. It is therefore obvious that air saturated with second-hand smoke poses many risks to the health of young children.
Below is a list of various conditions and disorders that affect children exposed to second-hand smoke:
asthma
Infections of the ear
Respiratory infections (eg, croup and pneumonia)
leukemia
tonsillitis
Delayed growth
An abnormal cholesterol level
Asthma, a chronic bronchial disease that is characterized by tightening inflammation and swollen airways, is becoming increasingly common among children in Canada - their numbers have quadrupled over the past 20 years. Second-hand smoke can trigger a seizure in children with asthma, and an acute asthma attack may require hospitalization and may be fatal in some cases.
In addition to the risk posed by second-hand smoke, a tertiary smoke phenomenon has recently been identified as a hazard to lung health: residues of tobacco smoke pollutants that persist well after consumption of tobacco smoke Tobacco has ceased. The slight smell of tobacco that permeates your clothes and furniture reveals the presence of carcinogenic toxins.
All these dangers, threatening both smokers and their loved ones, undoubtedly reinforce the message - to quit smoking is to act for the good of everyone. Read the section below for important information on tobacco abstinence.
Continue Reading: Stop smoking - methods that can help
In addition, smoking causes a multitude of health problems. But, by quitting smoking, you can avoid many. Here is a list of the formidable conditions to which smoking has been closely associated:
Lung cancer and other respiratory disorders,
A heart attack and a stroke,
Cancer in various forms, including the mouth, throat, stomach, bladder, cervix and kidney,
Oral problems like a gum disease,
Fertility problems.
Your second breath
Once a smoker abandons tobacco, improvements appear very quickly in his general state of health.
For example, within 20 minutes of withdrawal, the heart rate and blood pressure return to a level close to that before the last cigarette.
Within 8 hours, the level of carbon monoxide in the body returns to normal.
In less than 48 hours, the risk of suffering a heart attack begins to decrease.
After only 72 hours, you begin to breathe easier. You will also feel less tired and you will not be so quickly out of breath, especially when you are exercising.
And, a year later, your susceptibility to heart disease will have dropped by 50%.
Smoking cessation, among other things, makes it possible to better appreciate the taste and smell of food, to have a cooler breath, clothes, a car and a home that no longer smell of cold tobacco.
Quitting smoking has even more beneficial long-term effects. For example, after 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer will be halved. Also, your risk of succumbing to a heart attack will be the same as that of a person who has never smoked.
To learn more about the benefits of quitting, read about Quit Smoking Magic.
The costs of second-hand smoke for health
Smoking affects both the health of smokers and the health of the non-smokers around them.
Research shows that even second-hand smoke increases the risk of contracting certain cancers, heart disease and lung disease. Each year in Canada, more than 800 non-smokers will die from cancer or heart disease caused by second-hand smoke. It takes only 8 minutes for your body to respond to second-hand smoke - it does not take much to harm you. If you are pregnant, your child is also at risk. Smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy would result in lower than normal weight in the newborn, increased risk of spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, and sudden infant death.
Young children and second-hand smoke
Second-hand smoke contains more than 70 toxic substances that can cause cancer. It is therefore obvious that air saturated with second-hand smoke poses many risks to the health of young children.
Below is a list of various conditions and disorders that affect children exposed to second-hand smoke:
asthma
Infections of the ear
Respiratory infections (eg, croup and pneumonia)
leukemia
tonsillitis
Delayed growth
An abnormal cholesterol level
Asthma, a chronic bronchial disease that is characterized by tightening inflammation and swollen airways, is becoming increasingly common among children in Canada - their numbers have quadrupled over the past 20 years. Second-hand smoke can trigger a seizure in children with asthma, and an acute asthma attack may require hospitalization and may be fatal in some cases.
In addition to the risk posed by second-hand smoke, a tertiary smoke phenomenon has recently been identified as a hazard to lung health: residues of tobacco smoke pollutants that persist well after consumption of tobacco smoke Tobacco has ceased. The slight smell of tobacco that permeates your clothes and furniture reveals the presence of carcinogenic toxins.
All these dangers, threatening both smokers and their loved ones, undoubtedly reinforce the message - to quit smoking is to act for the good of everyone. Read the section below for important information on tobacco abstinence.
Continue Reading: Stop smoking - methods that can help
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