It is a well known fact that smokers live an average of 15 years less than non-smokers. Since smoking is an addiction, not easy to give up, the tobacco used for smoking being the high yield business is being cultivated increasingly in agricultural land of poor countries, as observed in the third edition of The Tobacco Atlas brought out by the American Cancer Society and the World Lung Foundation. Tobacco is the only consumer product that harms every person exposed to it and kills half of its regular users. Approximately 650 million smokers are alive today – 10% of the current world population – will eventually succumb to tobacco-related disease and die at an earlier date than their normal death if they had not been smoking.
The risk of dying from lung cancer is more than 23 times higher among men who smoke cigarettes and about 13 times higher among women smokers, when compared with non-smokers. Tobacco causes up to 90% of lung cancer cases and is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. It is silent killer too. Exposure to second-hand smoke kills 2,00,000 workers every year and at home, it kills thousands of infants, children, foetuses and adults. The passive effects increase their risk of getting heart disease by 25 to 30% and lung cancer by at least 20 to 30%. In spite of these facts, global tobacco production has almost doubled since the 60s increasing 300% in low and middle resource countries while dropping over 50% in developed countries.
In 2006, world tobacco production totalled nearly 7 million metric tonnes, with 85% of the toxic leaf grown in underdeveloped countries. Tobacco is grown in more than 120 countries on almost million hectares of agricultural land, as much land as the world’s banana plantations. It is welcoming fact that higher educated men are abandoning tobacco addiction but poorer and less educated men are still pursuing.
The facts cumulatively make us aware how much this addiction costs us. We need to kick the butt. All over the world, we need to propound the concept of creating a smoke-free environment. We need to explore out innovative ways to fight against the rampant problem of nicotine addiction. To lessen the passive affects of smoking, we need to enforce ban over it at public places.
It has been emphatically noticed that it is not difficult to kick the butt in case we develop strong determination to do so. We must do it to remain happy. We may give up but slowly and slowly. We should commit to ourselves that their quantity of use will not go up once that is reduced.
The effects of addiction on society vary considerably between different substances that can be smoked and the indirect social problems that they cause, in great part because of the differences in legislation and the enforcement of narcotics legislation around the world. As tobacco is also not an illegal drug, there is no black market with high risks and high prices for consumers.
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.
God has gifted to us a smart body. 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.
But smoking has bad effects on us. Smokers not only develop wrinkles and yellow teeth, they also lose bone density, which increases their risk of osteoporosis, 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 do smoke also.
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.
Smoking is one hard habit to break. If nicotine patches and gum doesn’t work, perhaps you should try something else like an alternative form of healthcare like acupuncture.
Acupuncture is an ancient practice involving the use of needles. This instrument is inserted into the skin to allow you energy or Qi to start flowing freely around your body and thus help you quit smoking.
When you go visit an acupuncturist for the first time and tell him or her that you want to quit smoking, after answering some questions, the specialist will carry out an examination of your ears and search for areas where the energy is low.
Once these spots are identified, these sharp needles are then inserted. Usually 5 needles are placed in various acupoints.
The treatment is finished after an hour and when the needles are removed, you are advised to wear ear magnets so your session continues even when you leave the clinic. While acupuncture itself is a painless procedure, some smokers have claimed that they felt a prick or get sleepy.
Most smokers will have to come to the clinic 4 to 6 times before seeing any significant results. Just to give you an idea, one study shows that the respondents reported a decrease in the number of cravings to smoke just after one or two sessions. Seven out of 10 of the respondents were able to kick the habit after 5 or 6 sessions.
Because the number of test subjects is small, there are some who doubt the effectiveness of acupuncture. This is because although there are positive signs with regards to the short term effects of this technique, its effects were not sustained. This is why some medical journals have stated that it is unclear what acupuncture can do in smoking cessation.
But you have to remember that acupuncture is not permanent. It merely starts something that you have to finish on your own. Some smokers who go 2 or 3 times a week to the clinic will need to come back for follow up sessions in the future.
At the same time, you have to find ways to prevent yourself from picking up a cigarette. You can do this by staying away from people who smoke since you will be tempted to ask for a stick. You can create your own personal mantra which you repeat to yourself every time you have an urge.
Remember that this craving is only short term and will last only for a few minutes. You have worked so hard to leave this behind so stick to the path and stay smoke free.
Acupuncture treatment for smokers should only be done by a license professional. You can do some research online to find out if they are accredited by the National Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, ask how long they have been in the profession, find out how many smokers they have helped and how much will they charge.
Once you have found one, you have to commit yourself to the program because both you and the acupuncturist have to work together to give up this habit.
Acupuncture can help smokers in the same way that it has helped addicts and alcoholics quit their addictions. You just have to try it even if you may not believe in it.
Be Happy - Acupuncture Can Help You Quit Smoking.
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