The simple fact is that you know smoking is not good for you. In fact, nobody has to tell you to quit; you know you ought to quit. The irony is that when more people tell you to quit, you naturally want to quit less.
The truth is that nobody can force you, make you quit and chances are you have already tried more than once to quit. Let me guess, did you smoke the ‘just one’ cigarette?
Before you knew it, you probably started at ground zero again. This cycle can go on and on and many smokers would give up or at least, for a period of time.
Now, if you’re thinking about quitting again. You have definitely made the right choice by not giving up. Besides, did you know that most ex-smokers tried to quit an average for five times before they truly give up the habit?
Tobacco and Its Health Effects
The reason why people who care about you ask you to quit smoking is because they know smoking is bad for your health. Thought it may be irritating at times, you know that they have a point.
I mean of course sure, being pestered all the time is not healthy either but, cigarettes is the number most preventable cause of death in the world and is also the leading cause of illness and death in many other countries.
Emphysema – an abnormal accumulation of air in tissues can damage the air sacs in your lungs, which is difficult for oxygen to be released into the bloodstream from the lungs. On the other hand, chronic bronchitis causes inflammation and irritation to the air ways of your lungs due to cigarette smoking.
Affecting Others with Your Smoking
It’s also not news that people around smokers suffers detrimental effects of smoking from inhaling your smoke.
Secondhand smoke causes many illnesses such as chronic bronchitis, heart disease, asthma and cancer. More than 100,000 people die worldwide because of secondhand smoke.
What’s surprising is that smoke of those who smokes questions whether secondhand smoke brings illness and it may be a lies by public groups who are anti-smokers.
However, many evidence and facts have proofed that secondhand smoke does kills. So make the right choice today by deciding to quit for once and for all.
Tony James is an ex-smoker for 11 years and is currently helping smokers to quit smoking with ease without irritation, discomfort of cravings or withdrawal symptoms.
Mark Twain said, “Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it a thousand times.”
He sure had a way of getting to the heart of the matter in a witty way, didn’t he? What long-term smoker has not stopped smoking multiple times? It’s easy to quit. Remaining smoke-free is the hard part.
Once I quit for five years. One moment of weakness, and I was right back in the game, chasing that dragon. Nicotine is powerful stuff, and once your brain is wired for it, you are toast. My best advice would be to never start smoking. You weren’t born addicted to nicotine unless your mother smoked while she was pregnant, as was the case with me. Don’t do this to yourself.
If you’re already addicted and want to quit, I can tell you about the different methods. Any method is as good as the next, but the thing to remember is that once you quit, smoking is no longer an option. It’s just not something you do. If you do it once, you will be hooked again. You’re always hooked. Recovered alcoholics never touch the stuff for that reason. It is exactly the same with nicotine. Once it gets its hooks into you, it does not let go.
Of all the ways of quitting smoking, the one that worked best for me was cold turkey. That was the time I quit for five years. Those first 3-5 days were pure h-e-double-hockeysticks. I never wanted to have to go through that again, and I was proud of myself for having done it. That’s why I stayed off the cigs for so long.
Hypnosis actually works pretty well for me. It makes it easier to get off the cigarettes, but it wears off. Usually hypnosis lasts about ten days for me. I think if you listen to the CDs regularly your results might be better.
Acupuncture does diminish the cravings, but it is very expensive.
Medication works until you go off it. The downfall here is that the medication re-wires your brain and the next time you try to quit will be harder, should you stumble.
Nicotine replacement is the way to go if you’re a hard-core addict like me. It at least minimizes the damage though it is not perfectly safe. Nicotine is a carcinogen. Anyway, of all the nicotine replacement products, the electronic cigarettes are the best. You get 99 percent of the pleasure of smoking with these things and none of the 400-degree smoke blasting into your lungs. They’re also cheaper than the gum, which tastes like doodie anyway.
I hope you enjoy better long-term success at quitting than I have. If you don’t smoke, I hope you never do. If you must smoke to feel normal (like me), give electronic cigarettes a try.
By the way, I know a great little spot where you can .
You might also be interested in learning more about how I just .
The electronic cigarette is simply a substitution for the ordinary tobacco cigarette, without the horrible chemicals that go with smoking. You will be successful and obtain the gift to quit smoking along with the electronic cigarette. Smokers are aware of how demanding that can be. What is an electronic cigarette, does it perform, I will respond to that and a great deal further.
Electronic cigarettes seem the same as a conventional cig, they visibly smoke similar to the normal type to boot. You can inhale, and puff out the smoke. It’s not actually smoke it is a water mist. The electronic cigarette has a rechargeable battery within and a small cartridge that contains water, nicotine, flavours and propylene glycol. The water mixture is what makes the water-vapour, or pretend smoke. Not like a regular cig, you do not require a lighter to light it.
Holding a cig is piece of your drive to smoke. The electronic cigarette is gripped in the same mode. You inhale in the same respect. You make use of the cig in the same fashion. So you are gratifying the yearning to clutch a cig. This will assist you to cease smoking.
As you smoke the electronic cigarette, you observe the vapor, exceedingly similar to bona fide smoke. With this manner of cigarette you may smoke everyplace you need to. There is no second hand smoke to disconcert other individuals. Since it isn’t a real cigarette, no-one can order you to put it out.
I comprehend 1st hand that tobacco products are dear and they keep raising the pricings. Did you realize that the electronic cigarette only costs 1/4 what regular cigarettes cost. You will not merely feel healthier about smoking an electronic cigarette, but you will be depositing the funds you put away into the bank. You can do lots with that money.
Nicotine is the chemical in the conventional cigarette that is a drug, and keeps us coming back for more. One thing the electronic cigarette has is the nicotine, which is what the brain desires. This cigarette doesn’t have the harmful toxins, or the tar that are destroying our lungs past mending.
An electronic cigarette cartridge will carry on as long as almost ten or twelve conventional cigs. Given that you don’t burn these cigs, you will no longer burn holes everywhere, and you will not have to be bothered the risk of setting the house on fire. A different benefit about the electronic cigarette is you need not have to look at yellowed teeth or fingers that the smoke leads to. Your body should begin to feel better, not as drained as before.
Now that you understand a little regarding the electronic cigarette, and the tobacco cigarette, did this enthuse you to give up, and utilize the electronic cigarette as a valuable tool. I adore the fact that you can smoke the it anyplace and not disconcert anyone. It plus has the nicotine in it, so that need not be an issue when trying to refrain. Only you can make the judgment to stop.
How to quit smoking cigarettes – tips on how to quit smoking cigarettes
Do you really want to quit cigarettes? But, don’t know how to quit smoking. All tobacco products including cigarettes are often difficult to quit, once the addiction is established. There are many social, financial, reasons behind your smoking habit. So, it is recommended you to quit your smoking habit as soon as possible for your good. It’s possible to quit successfully, here are some tips on how to quit smoking cigarettes:
Try to make a perfect plan for quitting smoking cigarettes and choose a quitting date. Do consult to your doctor before making one such plan, most doctors recommend you to take an antidepressants medicine for two weeks before quitting.
Share your plan to every one you know and try to tell them that you are going to quit and on what day. This action will make your will power stronger and also encourage you to keep your word. Therefore, it is recommended that, try to gather as much support as you can. Try to convince your spouse or partner or a friend to quit with you, by joining a support group online or find someone in your area.
Want to quit smoking cigarettes?
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Make some changes before or on your quit day by removing all smoking paraphernalia, throwing away any leftover cigarettes, ashtrays and lighters, cigars and all smoking related stuff.
Do not sit at the same place, go for varieties means try to keep yourself busy by going for a walk, restaurants where smoking is not allowed, play a sport, work on hobbies.
Give yourself a reward at every milestone you complete by using the same money you would have otherwise spent on cigarettes.
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Paul was aware of all the conventional reasons to stop smoking.
I mean, how could you not be, even in the late 1970s, when he and I first met in a midsized city in southern Oregon. By that time, science had already established the dangers of smoking, and information on how to quit cigarettes was everywhere.
I was a working journalist back then, and Paul (not his real name) drove cab. We quickly became good friends. Over the years, Paul and his partner, Sarah, and my then-partner, now-wife, Mary, and I spent a lot of good times together.
The explanation for this writer/cabbie pairing can be found in the folds of community theater. If you have ever been a member of an amateur theater group in a small town, you know what I mean. Cultural lines are blurred there, if not eliminated altogether. Lifelong friendships are formed.
And sometimes love affairs bloom while the seeds of divorce are sown, and marriages are made or broken.
Paul, in fact, had been married and divorced four times when I met him. In a way that I can’t fully explain, it was part of his charm. He would joke in his low-key way about each of his three grown daughters, and in time we in the group came to use the nicknames he had for each of them, names that had a certain fondness attached to them, even though they can’t be repeated here (they had to do with how the girls were conceived).
It’s not that Paul kept the names a secret from his daughters – that would have required a duplicity he was not capable of. The daughters knew full well what those nicknames were, and they were able to laugh with him. How could you ever become angry with Paul? It was almost impossible.
But if Paul was a loser in the game of love, he was brilliant onstage. This son of a Protestant minister had a lean figure, a deep voice, an aquiline nose and a profile to die for. He could not be called handsome in the Hollywood sense, but when he walked onstage, the effect was striking.
Onstage he was able to draw on the power of whatever demons and angels were residing in his soul. He acted from the inside out.
Paul and I were in several shows together. He was always the star, whether he had a leading role (Henry Drummond in “Inherit the Wind”) or a minor one (Leo Herman, aka Chuckles the Chipmunk, in “A Thousand Clowns”).
Had circumstances been different, had not one of his devils controlled and ultimately destroyed him, he might have been a professional.
As it was, he simply succeeded in being the most gentle person I have ever known.
I think, if Paul had stated his philosophy of life, it would have gone something like this:
“I will judge no one or no one thing. I will accept the flow of life as it comes and not try to change any of it. I will let it take me where it will, neither accepting nor rejecting it. Nothing is good or bad, it simply is. I am merely a passenger, and I will enjoy the ride.”
Cigarettes entered Paul’s life because he allowed them in, probably with no questions asked. How many decades did he end his day with a cigarette, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly? How many times did he light up first thing in the morning almost before his feet touched the floor? I don’t know.
Yes, he knew all the reasons to stop smoking. He knew all about the information on how to quit cigarettes. He had seen the statistics; he had known people who died of lung cancer, or emphysema. He had seen the x-rays of blackened, rotting lungs oozing slime.
He had even tried a time or two to quit. He tried will power, he tried the gum, he tried the patch, but nothing ever came of any of it.
In the final analysis, he embraced this particular devil. The fact was, he enjoyed smoking, he loved to smoke. Cigarettes took him to a place he could not get to any other way. A place where he felt safe, free from all the gathered turmoil of the world. It was a place he could not, and would not, trade for anything, even for his life.
Paul’s unspoken message to his friends, his family, to the world, and to himself was, “This is where life has taken me. I accept it. One way or another I am going to die. We all are. So, given the choice, why shouldn’t I die on my terms? No reason. So that is what I’m going to do.”
And that is what he did.
Not long before Paul died, when everyone in the theatre group, including Paul, knew his days were numbered, we staged a roast in his honor.
When Paul, emaciated and stooped, walked into the theatre the evening of the roast wearing a bright blue cowboy outfit, the house came down. It was one of his grandest entrances, and it was a perfect Act 1, Scene 1, for what was to follow. Despite the sobering subtext, it was an evening of rollicking good humor.
But at the very end of the evening, I, as emcee, injected the only serious note:
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have known Paul for 20 years, and in that time he has become my brother. He is family.
“And in all that time I have never known him to be anything other than who he is.
“There is a beauty in that. There is an innocence in that. But most of all, there is a purity in that.
“And so I’m glad that you’re all here tonight. Because it gives me the chance to say publicly what I’ve always said in my heart:
“Paul, I love you madly.”
A few months later we scattered Paul’s ashes on a nearby mountaintop.
That was almost 20 years ago. Now, from the vantage point afforded by time, I look back and I think I can understand why Paul thought the way he did about the reasons to stop smoking. And despite everything, I can even admire it somehow, however grudgingly. I mean, he had the courage to live the way he wanted to. How many of us can say the same?
At the same time, I am filled with anger.
I said earlier that it was almost impossible to become angry with Paul. But I am angry with him now, and I have been angry for 20 years.
I am angry at his outrageous selfishness. I am angry because he felt that his personal pleasure was more important than anything else. I am angry that he left us because he thought his obligation to a weed was greater than his obligation to the people who loved him.
What kind of person would do that?
If Paul could send a message today, I hope he would have the wisdom say to all the smokers of the world:
“Here is one of the main reasons to stop smoking; here is how to quit cigarettes:
“Remember that you are not in this alone. This is not just about you. Nothing you do is just about you. This is also about the people who count on you, who need you for a million reasons that neither you nor they may even understand. This is about the people who love you.
“If for no other reason, do it for them.”
I’m still angry with Paul.
And I miss him. Every day.
Dave Tishendorf is an ex-smoker. He invites you to find out more about how to quit cigarettes by clicking .
If you get the craving for a cigarette and it becomes too much to deal with do you run off where no one can see you smoking? Now, you have options and can live your life healthier and with out the stress by using smokeless cigarettes. And, because this revolutionary new device is a battery operated smokeless cigarette device with which emit no carbon or cigarette odor, you can smoke or as the trend states “vaporize” anywhere anytime.
This new concept is quite interesting and allows you the choice to live your life healthier using a new vapor technology produced in the smokeless cigarettes. These devices are engineered to vaporize water and nicotine contained in a plastic cartridge by using a microchip controlled atomizer heating the liquid causing the water vapor and smoke effect while allowing a flow of nicotine into your body. There is no flame or lighting of the device. You are also eliminating the tar and harmful carcinogens normally ingested when smoking a standard cigarette.
You may want to try it out, you wont be offended and to boot there are many other benefits to your body. Since you are not inhaling any of the hundreds of known toxins and chemicals used in standard tobacco cigarettes you can look forward to being able to stage a recovery process caused by “Smokers Lung”.
Some interesting facts about how a smoker’s lung recovers after stopping the use of tobacco smoke. 1) Your blood pressure and pulse rate starts to neutralize within the first 20 minutes. 2) Within 12 hours your oxygen levels in your blood stream return to normal and your carbon monoxide levels lower dramatically. 3) In 72 hours damage nerve endings in your lungs start to re-grow and your bronchial tubes start to relax. 4) In 5-6 days breathing becomes easier and your lungs start to naturally expand. 5) As 2-weeks pass, brain acetylcholine receptor counts up-regulated in response to nicotine’s presence have now down-regulated and receptor binding has returned to levels seen in the brains of non-smokers. 6) In 3-months, your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function is beginning to improve. 7) After one year your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker. Amazing isn’t it? If this doesn’t motivate you as a smoker nothing will…
Smokeless cigarettes are the most advanced product recently introduced to the market that can kick start this recovery process. The standard kit includes the smokeless device, ten cartridges with liquid nicotine. There are also two batteries and a charger sent along with the cigarettes. You simply choose one of the cartridges and set it in the cigarette. By the time you finish your first cartridge your smoking habit will better for you and to others, but you too can live your life of health using smokeless cigarettes. And, even before you reach that point in kicking the nicotine habit once and for all, just having the confidence of smoking in public will decrease the stress in your life and you will live your life healthier using smokeless cigarettes.
Smokeless cigarettes are available at various Internet sites. The cigarette like devices produces a white smoke that is actually water vapor. There is no cigarette smell in this smoke, however, because there is no carbon being emitted into the air which causes cancer, these smokeless cigarettes are legal to smoke wherever and whenever you want. Try and live your life healthier using smokeless cigarettes to satisfy your need for nicotine and even try to quit smoking when you feel ready. Smokeless cigarettes use nicotine cartridges that are available in four strengths high, medium, low, no nicotine, and menthol product in the cartridge. The cartridges are available on the Internet and can be bought separately once you purchase your smokeless cigarettes. Few people think about a smoker and the secret feelings of having his rights stepped on, but now you can take charge of your habit and begin to live your life of health using smokeless cigarette. Try this great new product for yourself and see the difference it makes in your life.
Aaron Bercovich – Long time smoker who managed to quit smoking using smokeless cigarettes and wishes to share his experience to help others in recovering their lung health. For more information visit
Easy Technique to Clear Your Lungs That Are Damaged by Smoking
What are you able to do to clear your lungs if they have been damaged by smoking? If you have been smoking for a few years, you’ve probably done some injury to your lungs. However is this injury irrevocable and there are things you’re able to do to clear your lungs?
Let’s discuss how your lungs are damaged by smoking. The solution is an easy one. With each cigarette you smoke, you fill your lungs with tar and poisonous chemicals. And unfortunately, almost sixty % of these deadly poisons remain in your lungs after you breathe out. Over time, these poisons build up within your lungs and bring about a problem.
Healthy lungs do an efficient job of clearing themselves naturally. Minute hairs found in your lungs called cilia continually sweep residue and poisons out of your lungs. Each time you smoke, more and more toxic substances are pumped into your lungs. Over time, the delicate cilia become damaged and can no longer efficiently clear your lungs.
When enough of the cilia are crippled, you could begin to notice early symptoms of lung damage. A lingering dry cough known as a smoker’s cough is one of one of the 1st symptoms. Many people also experience shortness of breath. If you think you have these or other serious symptoms, you should see your doctor to make sure that it isn’t something more serious.
So, what should you do to clear your lungs if they have been damaged by smoking? Quitting is the best option. But sadly, millions of individuals are not able to give it up. Therefore if you haven’t been able to stop, there’s still a easy, simple technique you can use to clear your lungs quickly and efficiently.
Using an easy method, you can fix this lung damage and obtain clear healthy lungs in an exceedingly short amount of time. In fact, this method can clear your lungs 15 or 20 times quicker than your body is able to do it naturally.
And the process is extremely easy. The process includes a little known combination of food supplements and special vitamins to clear your lungs and flush the toxins out of your body.
If you have been smoking for a number of years, you should
With nicotine now classified as a drug, will the government crack down on electronic cigarettes as a drug delivery vehicle? That would be a pity because, like it or not, some people just can’t quit smoking. Shouldn’t the goal be damage control? It’s not like millions of smokers are just going to quit overnight so unless the objective is to create a lucrative black market, the electronic cigarettes trade should remain un-regulated.
Electronic cigarettes are not perfectly safe because nicotine is a dangerous, highly addictive carcinogen, but they are better than smoking tobacco. The smoke that comes from regular cigs is 400 degrees hot when it blasts into the smoker’s lungs. Surely getting rid of that is an improvement, not to mention that cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide and a witch’s brew of toxic chemicals. How could electronic cigarettes be worse than this?
If the government decides to make these things effectively illegal, it will be one of the dumbest things they have done since the invasion of Iraq. Nothing seems to stop the government from doing the dumbest things it can dream up, unfortunately. Plus, electronic cigarettes represent a real threat to the established tobacco industry which is still very powerful. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to kill this serious competitor.
Tobacco CEOs call their favorite congresspets and get the ball rolling. Somebody puts pressure on the FDA. Lobbyists on K-Street do battle in the trenches. Before you know it, you’ve lost a little more of your freedom to choose a product that costs less and does less damage than their product. That is how things work. That, frankly, is why you can still buy liquor and regular cigarettes but you can’t buy marijuana. (Will the editors allow this scandalous statement?)
Anyway, I really hope there is still some sense of decency and sanity in the halls of power because it would be a shame if this great product were to vanish. Some people just can’t quit smoking, and we should try to limit the damage.
In case you’re wondering, I know a great place to .
One of the most obvious stop smoking facts is, it doesn’t happen overnight. Quitting the use of tobacco is truly a process that takes time. To effectively kick this nasty habit it takes time and willpower and a proven and effective product, so you should try to relax and put a little time between you and the last cigarette you have smoked. By quitting smoking you will gain a great many health benefits. As a matter of fact within just minutes from stopping there are many benefits that you will gain instantly. Here are some to consider. Within 20 minutes of stopping, your blood pressure and pulse goes back to normal. Here is a stop smoking fact that should interest you. Within 8 hours of stopping nicotine intake, carbon monoxide levels in your blood are reduce by half. Also, oxygen levels go back to normal. In a day, carbon monoxide will be totally eliminated or removed from the body, and the lungs start to clear out mucous and other kind of smoking debris. Here is another stop smoking fact. In 2 days, nicotine will be totally eliminated in the body. The ability to taste and smell is greatly improved as it used to be. In 3 days, your breathing becomes easier, because the bronchial tubes begin to relax and energy levels increase. In 2 to 12 weeks the circulation will be improved. After 3 to 9 months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems are improved as lung functions are increased up to 10%. In 5 years of not smoking the risk of heart attack falls to about half that of a regular smoker. In about 10 years, the risk of lung cancer will fall to about half that of a steady smoker, and the risk of heart attack falls to that of a non-smoker. Here are some stop smoking facts on a self help level. It gives you confidence. Quitting the smoking habit is a very hard challenge. Once you have quit, you will know that you can also succeed at other difficult tasks, and you will know that you can take control of your life. Quitting the smoking habit helps you to believe more in yourself. You will become more fit because smoking makes it harder for us to exercise and it reduces the health benefits to our body. Chain smokers or those light smokers have more chance of having coughs and colds than and take longer to get well again. Another stop smoking fact is, you need a proven and effective product to help you quit.
For more information on stop smoking facts and benefits visit:
Wendell and Charmayne Vannatter
Website:
WCV Marketing is dedicated to helping people create their own home based online marketing business. The ideas presented here will help the average person to create a profitable online in-home business. Using the ideas and tips in these articles anyone can create a successful home based business even in these times of recession.
One of the insidious things about smoking cigarettes is that it takes a long time for the serious health effects to be noticed by the smoker even though damage occurs with each cigarette smoked. By the time the smoker notices health issues, serious health damage has occurred; damage that could have been avoided if they had stopped smoking years earlier.
Fortunately, there are obvious external effects of smoking cigarettes that warn the smoker years in advance of the damage that is happening to them internally. The problem is the smoker doesn’t realize that cigarettes are causing these external changes. This article will alert the smoker to an external effect of smoking: accelerated aging. This is something the smoker can see every time they look in the mirror. The change the smoker sees on the outside is a reflection of what is going on inside their body!
The False Sense of Security with Smoking
When you look at young smokers, you see people that don’t believe smoking cigarettes is a serious health threat to themselves. These young smokers think that because they go to the gym, play sports and go about their daily routine without any obvious negative effects, they are somehow spared the health consequences of smoking. Sadly this isn’t so.
It usually takes about 30 plus years of smoking to develop the really serious diseases that are associated with smoking cigarettes. For a 25 year old that has been smoking for 10 years, twenty years in the future is a long time.
Yet, that 10 years of smoking has already taken its toll. If the young smoker stopped ignoring the changes that cigarettes produce in their body, they would see that they are affected. If they realized what they were looking at, they would see the effects of cigarette smoking every time they looked in the mirror!
Do You Look Older than Your Years?
It’s ironic that one of the reasons a 12-15 year old starts smoking is to look older. When they start smoking at this early age, they don’t realize that smoking cigarettes will actually make them look older and BE older because of accelerated aging!
As a student of history and a photographer, I have always been fascinated by images from the past. I am grateful to all the photographers before me that took the time to preserve memories of day to day places and people that no longer exist; the everyday life that most of us take for granted. This preservation allows us to visually experience another time.
One of the things I have noticed when studying images from the 1920′s through the 1970′s is that the people look really old. When you look at a picture of a man and guess 55 years of age, it’s shocking to find that person is only 23 years old!
What accounts for this great difference in appearance versus age? Cigarette smoking! Research shows it accelerates aging. The images from the era when 44% of the population smoked cigarettes clearly shows this phenomena.
Smoking Cigarettes Causes Accelerated Aging
Our skin is the canvas that displays the picture of our health status. Smoking makes a person look much older. The longer a person smokes, the faster they show signs of aging. Research finds that not only does smoking contribute to premature facial wrinkles but also wrinkling of skin in other areas such as the inner arm. Look at your arms smoking ladies!
Another effect smoking has on the skin is developing psoriasis, a very unsightly and unpleasant skin ailment. The higher the number of cigarettes smoked over a pack per day, the greater the risk of developing this miserable skin condition, e.g. itching and burning. You can always tell a smoker, other than by the odor which is another article, because their skin has an unhealthy tone to it as well as wrinkles.
If you want to see a clear example of the aging effects of smoking, look at pictures of famous people who smoked. One of the clearest examples is President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was noted for his cigarette holder and there are numerous photographs of him smoking! He died of a stroke, a health condition associated with long term smoking, in 1945 at the age of 63. Look at the pictures of him in the last few years of his life. Rather than 63, he looks more like 93.
You can find many, many other examples in old photographs from the era when 44% of the population smoked. Look at the picture, guess the age and then see how old the person really was when the photograph was taken. Smoking does age you!
Is it Male Pattern Baldness or Cigarettes?
Even your hair dresser won’t know for sure! People are surprised to find that smoking affects their hair but research shows it does in several ways.
As a smoker of 10 or more years, do you find some gray hair beginning to show up? Most smokers do because research has shown that smokers are three to six times more likely to go prematurely gray than non-smokers. Another effect on the hair is that men who smoke are twice as likely to become bald as men who don’t smoke. Does this just apply to men? Or is this a reason why older women who smoke have thinning hair?
Although the smoker can ignore their skin changes because it’s gradual, they cannot ignore gray hair. However, the smoker just attributes this to getting older. They don’t realize that it’s not normal for people to start getting gray hair in their 20′s and 30′s. This is not a sign of getting older, it’s a sign of smoking!
How Does Smoking Affect Your Mouth?
Obviously, that harsh, polluted cigarette smoke passes into the lungs through the mouth. Smoking can’t help but stain your teeth which also adds to the appearance of being older than you are.
Of course, there is the awful “cigarette” breath as well. In addition to the bad breath, smoking also puts you at great risk for all sorts of dental problems, including oral cancer and gum disease.
Teeth and gum problems are another symptom associated with old age. Yet, this is happening to smokers early in their life.
Does Smoking Really Shorten Your Life?
In a word, YES! In addition to making the smoker look older, research shows that the smoker actually IS older.
A report in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that men who never smoked lived an average of 10 years longer than their peers who smoked. YES, smoking really does shorten your life! Also, the non-smokers enjoyed a higher quality of life throughout those extra years.
Conclusion
You do not have to wait for 30 plus years to see the impact that cigarettes are having on your body. If you’ve smoked for 10 years or more, you can look in the mirror and see the effects today!
Facial wrinkles, gray hair and even baldness at a young age are the outwards signs of the internal damage caused by cigarettes. If you think the external body changes are simply the result of aging, you need to think again. These outward signs are more than cosmetic issues. They are a visible warning alerting you to the internal damage that smoking cigarettes is causing to your body. The sooner cigarettes are removed from your life, the sooner your body can begin to repair itself. Don’t wait until it’s too late, pay attention to these important signs today!
(c) Copyright 2009, R. Michael Stone
R. Michael Stone, M.S. – Counselor
Creator of The Unlearn Smoking Success System(tm) – Become not an ex-smoker but a NON-smoker in only 28 days.