Smoking..The facts

Smoking is the greatest single cause of illness and premature death in the Britain. This article gives reasons why smoking is so harmful. It also lists the benefits of stopping, and where to go for help.

About 106,000 people in the Britain die each year due to cigarette . Smoking-related deaths are mainly due to cancers or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (blocked arteries) and heart disease.
About 50% of all smokers die from smoking-related diseases. If you are a long-term smoker, on average, your life expectancy is about 10 years less than a non-smoker. Put another way, in Britain about 8 in 10 non-smokers live past the age of 70, but only about half of long-term smokers live past 70. The younger you are when you start smoking, the more likely you are to smoke for longer and to die early from cigarette smoking.
Most smoking-related deaths are slow and painful. For example, if you develop COPD you can expect several years of illness and distressing symptoms before you die.
Smoking increases the risk of developing a number of other diseases (listed below). Many of these may not be fatal, but they can cause years of unpleasant symptoms.

Cigarette smoke contains the following.

Nicotine

Nicotine is a drug that stimulates the brain. If you are a regular smoker, when the nicotine levels in your bloodstream falls, you usually develop withdrawal symptoms such as craving, anxiety, headaches, irritability and difficulty with concentration, or just feeling awful. These symptoms are relieved by the next cigarette.

So, most smokers need to smoke regularly to feel 'normal', and to prevent nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Tar

which contains many chemicals

These deposit in the lungs and can get into the blood vessels and be carried to other parts of the body. Cigarette smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, including over 50 known carcinogens and other poisons.

Carbon monoxide

This chemical affects the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

Which diseases are caused or made worse by cigarette smoking?

• Lung cancer. About 30,000 people in the Britain die from lung cancer each year. More than 80% of cases are directly related to cigarette smoking.

• (COPD). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease .About 25,000 people in the Britain die each year from this serious lung disease. More than 80% of these deaths are directly linked to cigarette smoking. People who die of COPD are usually unwell for several years before they die.

• Heart disease is the biggest killer illness in the Britain. About 120,000 people in the Britain die each year from heart disease. About 1 in 7 of these deaths are due to cigarette smoking.

• Sexual problems. Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to become impotent or have difficulty in maintaining an erection in middle life. This is thought to be due to damage of the the blood vessels to the penis caused by smoking.

• Other cancers - of the mouth, nose, throat, larynx, gullet (oesophagus), pancreas, bladder, cervix, blood (leBritainaemia), and kidney are all more common in smokers.

• Ageing. Smokers tend to develop more wrinkles on their face at an earlier age than non-smokers. This often makes smokers look older than they really are.

• Circulation. The chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of the blood vessels and affect the level of lipids (fats) in the bloodstream. This increases the risk of atheroma forming (sometimes called 'hardening' of the arteries). Atheroma is the main cause of heart disease. It is also the main cause of strokes, peripheral vascular disease (poor circulation of the legs), and aneurysms (swollen arteries which can burst causing internal bleeding). All of these atheroma-related diseases are more common in smokers.

• Other conditions where smoking often causes worse symptoms include: asthma, colds, flu, chest infections, tuberculosis, chronic rhinitis, diabetic retinopathy, hyperthyroidism, multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis, and Crohn's disease.

• Fertility is reduced in smokers (both male and female).

• Menopause. On average, women who smoke have a menopause nearly two years earlier than non-smokers.

• Smoking also. Causes gum disease and tooth loss

Smoking when pregnant.

• Poorer long-term growth, development, and health of the child. On average, compared to children born to non-smokers, children born to smokers are smaller, have lower achievements in reading and maths, and have an increased risk of developing asthma.

• Congenital defects in the baby - such as cleft palate.

• Miscarriage.

• Complications of pregnancy, including bleeding during pregnancy, detachment of the placenta, premature birth, and ectopic pregnancy.

• Low birth weight. Babies born to women who smoke are on average (8 oz) lighter than babies born to comparable non-smoking mothers. Premature and low birth weight babies are more prone to illness and infections.

• Stillbirth or death within the first week - the risk is increased by about 30%

The effects of smoking on other people.

Children

Children Have an increased risk of dying from cot death (sudden infant death syndrome) and are at more risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer as adults, and are more likely to become smokers themselves when they get older. On average, they will do less well at reading and reasoning skills compared to children who live in a smoke free environment. They will be more prone to asthma and ear, nose and chest infections. About 17,000 children under five years old in the UK are admitted to hospital each year due to illnesses caused by their parents smoking.

Passive smoking of adults.

You have an increased risk of lung cancer and heart disease if you are exposed to other peoples cigarette smoke for long periods of time. Cigarette smoke can make asthma and other conditions worse

The benefits of stopping smoking?

The benefits start straight away. You reduce your risk of getting serious disease no matter what age you give up, the sooner you stop, the greater the reduction in your risk.
If you stop smoking before the age of about 35, your life expectancy is only slightly less than people who have never smoked. If you stop smoking before the age of 50, you decrease the risk of dying from smoking-related diseases by 50%. But, it is never too late to stop smoking to gain health benefits. Even if you already have COPD or heart disease, your recovery rate is much improved if you stop smoking.

When you stop smoking you will notice........

On a brighter note

• Help is available if you want to stop smoking but are finding it difficult.

• Many people have given up smoking. In 1972 just under half of adults in the Britain were smokers. By 1990 this had fallen to just under a third. At present, just over a quarter of Britain adults are smokers.

• Stopping smoking can make a big difference to your health. It is never too late to stop smoking to greatly benefit your health, if you stop smoking in middle age, before having cancer or some other serious disease, you avoid most of the increased risk of death due to cigarette smoking.

• Chest infections and colds become less common.

• The smell of stale tobacco goes from your breath, clothes, hair, and face.

• Foods and drinks taste and smell much better.

• You will save well over £1000 per year if you smoked 20 a day.

• You are likely to feel good a lot fitter and healthier.

 CHAMPIX is the newest treatment option available to smokers with a much greater success rate than any of those available before. Champix works by stimulating the same receptors in the brain that nicotine does, whilst at the same time preventing any nicotine which enters the body from getting to these receptors. This means that the withdrawal symptoms, as well as the rewarding effects that nicotine would usually have on the brain, are stopped making it far easier to give up than with NRT or Zyban. The success rate of this method of treatment to aid with smoking cessation is around 44%, which is far higher than any other treatment currently available for this condition.