Here are some quick answers to the frequently asked questions (FAQ) you will inquire, will want to know before you actually make the decision to stop smoking. It is easier to quit smoking when the uncertainties are dispensed with.
Q1: Does cigarette smoking causes diseases? Is it proven?
Absolutely. Medical practitioners have proven scientifically that smoking is one major cause for cancers of the lung, mouth, throat, oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix and breast, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and blood vessel disease - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Q2: How fast will smoking harms a smoker’s body?
It is very fast, just within a few minutes of smoking one cigarette.
There are several causes:
· Nicotine in the smoke will increase the heart rate, raise the blood pressure and interfere with both blood and air flow in the lungs.
· Tar will damage and destroy the tiny hairs in the lung passage. The purpose of such hairs is to clean out dirt and germs that are present in the lung passage.
· Carbon monoxide in the smoke will reduce oxygen in-take to the rest of the body, including the heart and the brain.
· Tar and other cancer-causing substances are stored in the airways and lungs.
Q3: Is smoking addictive?
Anyone can become addicted; even it’s just a few sticks of cigarettes. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Nicotine takes only 10 seconds to reach the brain to dominate it and claim control over the smoker’s mind and body. The new smoker suddenly found that he/she requires to smoke more to sustain the nicotine level in the body. If he/she doesn’t smoke, withdrawal symptoms (such as dizziness, tiredness, tingling in the hands, headache) will kick in. Withdrawal symptoms cause great discomfort and pain and therefore made quitting very difficult.
Q4: Doesn’t the filter inside the cigarette reduce the risks of smoking?
No. The cigarette filter may stop some tar from entering your body. However, they cannot eliminate the poisons in the smoke.
Q5: Is smoking “low-tar”, “light” and “mild” cigarettes any safer?
No. These products misled many to assume that “low tar”, “light” and “mild” cigarettes are safer alternatives. They actually contain the same number of poisonous chemicals found in an ordinary cigarettes. Studies show that there is no difference in smoking low-tar and normal cigarettes.
Research also demonstrated that smokers tend to adopt certain techniques to ensure they inhale enough nicotine to feed their addiction. They would block ventilation holes, inhale more deeply, puff more rapidly, or worse, smoke more. Such techniques actually increase their health risk.
Q6: How does nicotine in cigarettes increase the risk of heart attack?
Cigarette smoking may increase the risk of developing hardening of the arteries and heart attacks in several ways. Firstly, carbon monoxide can damage the inner walls of the arteries, increasing the risk of fatty buildups in them. Slowly but surely, this causes the blood vessels to narrow and harden. Nicotine may also contribute to this process. Smoking also causes several changes in the blood that make clots — and heart attack — more likely.
Q7: What are the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal?
The symptoms include but not limited to:
- irritability
- impatience
- hostility
- anxiety
- depressed mood
- difficulty concentrating
- restlessness
- decreased heart rate
- increased appetite or weight gain
Q8: How long does nicotine stay in the body?
85–90 percent of nicotine in the blood is metabolized by the liver and excreted from the kidney rapidly. The estimated “life” for nicotine in the blood is about two hours. However, smoking represents a multiple dosing situation with considerable accumulation during smoking. So, blood nicotine can persist at significant levels for 6 - 8 hours after the last puff.
Q9: Does menthol reduce adverse effect of smoking?
No. Menthol merely made it tastier to some. Menthol does not make the smoke any less hazardous.
Q10: Is it better to puff cigarette without inhaling the smoke?
No. Nicotine and other chemicals in the cigarette smoke are absorbed through the mouth, nose and even the skin. Smoke expelled from your mouth and nose will stay in the surrounding air. This mean the polluted air goes straight back into the lungs when the smoker takes his/her next breath.
Q11: What can possibly happen to the baby when a pregnant woman smokes?
Nicotine and other chemicals in the cigarette smoke are absorbed through the mouth, nose and even the skin. These chemicals landed in the mother’s bloodstream, and will pass from the mother’s to the baby’s blood. Read article, Stop Smoking During Pregnancy, here.
The baby may be born underweight, premature or dead. It has a higher risk to develop lung infection and other diseases. Some will die in the first year. If the baby survives, it may suffer from certain physical and mental deficiencies as it receives less oxygen. The smoke inhaled by a pregnant woman, whether directly or passively, will reduce the amount of oxygen to the placenta.
Q12: How can a smoker stop smoking if the people he/she lives with or work with are smokers too?
Communication is the best approach. The smoker can talk to his/her family, friends and colleagues of his/her intention to quit and suggest they all quit together. If they agreed, he/she will have additional support during the quitting process. If his/her family, friends and colleagues are not agreeable, the smoker should seek their assistance and support by not offering him/her cigarettes or smoke in his presence.
Q13: What is “passive” smoking and why is it harmful?
A passive smoker is someone who breathes in the smoke that comes from another person’s cigarette. This smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Passive smokers suffer the same health risks as smokers.
Passive smoking can trigger severe attacks in people with asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, colds and allergies .
The smoke breathed in by the passive smoker may contain up to:
- 3 times more tar
- 3 times more nicotine
- 5 times more carbon monoxide
- 50 times more cancer-causing chemicals than the smoke inhaled directly from the cigarette tip
In June 2006, the Surgeon General’s report on The “Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke”was released. This report concluded that second hand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and non-smoking adults. In addition, the report determined that no risk-free level of exposure to second hand smoke exists and that only eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects non smokers. The report determined that other approaches, including separating smokers from nonsmokers and ventilating buildings, are not effective.
More information on harmful chemicals in a cigarette to click here.
Q14: Is passive smoking harmful to young children?
Yes, especially if young children are within close proximity with their smoking parent(s). These are the harmful effects to the children:
- Slow down in the growth and development of the lungs.
- Susceptible to coughs, cold and infections.
- Asthma can worsen for sufferer. Non-sufferer may even develop asthma.
- Develop ear, nose and throat problems
- Likely to become smokers.
Q15: Is there any benefit to quit if the smoker has been smoking for a long time?
Absolutely. The health risks will decrease when a smoker stops smoking.
- Heart rate and blood pressure, which are abnormally high will begin to return normal just one day after stopping.
- Breathing will become easier.
- Energy level will improve.
- Sense of taste and smell will heighten.
- Risk of heart diseases reduces by 50% compared to a smoker, within ONE year.
- Risk of lung cancer and many other cancers will reduces by >50% compared to a smoker within 5 – 10 years.
Research shows that people 60 to 64 years of age who quit smoking are 10 percent less likely of dying during the next 15 years than regular smokers.
- Those who quit before 50 years old will see even greater benefits for their health.
- The risk of dying in the next 15 years is half that of a person who smokes.
You can read a more comprehensive article on Benefits When You Stop Smoking here.
Q16: Can smoking cause balding?
Yes. According to epidemiological studies, smoking can lead to premature greying and hair loss. See article on Smoking Can lead to Early Balding.
Q17: Can smoking cause smoking?
Yes. A recent joint research conducted between November 2007 and February 2008 by 2 hospitals in Scotland and Singapore confirmed that. Read article on Smoking Causes Blindness.
Q18: Can smoking cause PMS?
According to Dr Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and her colleagues, smoking increases the risk of moderate to severe PMS and provides another reason for women especially adolescents and young women, not to smoke. Check out main article Woman Smokers likely to get PMS
What is the best way to quit smoking?
There is no single best way to quit smoking. Different methods work for different folks. The most common denominator is the desire, the determination and the commitment to quit. If you think you like to quit smoking. Start the process now by finding out how to quit smoking painlessly. You don’t have to suffer any withdrawal discomfort for doing good to your body. Click here to find out now!
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