Addiction Recovery

Today we’re more aware about how bad smoking is for our health. The decision to quit smoking is one that only you can make. The only thing that really helps a person avoid the problems associated with smoking is staying smoke free. Everyone knows that smoking is harmful and addictive, but few people realize just how risky and addictive it is. Smoking is also a major risk factor for peripheral vascular disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the leg and arm muscles. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity,and diabetes are all risk factors for heart disease, but cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor for sudden death from a heart attack. Long-term, smoking is also a major cause of heart disease, aneurysms, bronchitis, emphysema, and stroke, and it makes pneumonia and asthma worse. Nicotine itself increases feelings of anxiety, but can trick the smoker into believing that smoking is relaxing.

Smoking is also a major cause of gum disease: In a recent study almost a third of the more than two million cases of gum disease among Australians was caused by smoking, according to research by University of Adelaide researchers in the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH). Smoking is associated with decreased gray matter density in brain regions previously associated with incipient AD. These are just some of the problems smokers face.My question is why would you not stop right now?

To stop smoking cold turkey takes a lot of willpower, but you can do it. There is major and immediate health benefits for men and women.It decreases the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease.When you quit the damaging effects of tobacco on how you look, including premature wrinkling of your skin begin to reverse. Many people try many times before succeeding. It is a lot like losing weight; it takes a strong commitment over a long time.Quitting still offers huge health benefits, researchers have stressed, as the risk to former smokers is much lower than for current smokers. For soon to be mothers quitting will increase the amount of oxygen your baby will get, increase the chance your baby’s lungs will work well, have fewer asthma and wheezing problems, and improve your baby’s chances of being born healthy, instead of too early.. Quitting smoking makes parents healthier and better role models for their children. Smoking is also associated with decreased gray matter density in brain regions , that in itself should be an incentive to quit.

But lets talk about the very first thing you need to quit smoking: desire. Without the desire to quit you wouldn’t even be reading this, so its safe to assume you have some level of desire to quit smoking. You should know going in that quitting may be a lengthy, or even life-long, process. But look at the benefits 1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s. 5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting. 10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker’s.

Finally, for those who think this issue is inconsequential, I would point out that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the US.

I have put together some of the best quit smoking resources available on this website.If you really want to quit everything you need is right here.! So whether or not you quit smoking is now entirely up to you. GOOD LUCK !

David Cormier currently publishes a blog http://www.squidoo.com/quitsmokingnow101 On it there are hundreds of quit smoking resources available.He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a degree in Fitness & Nutrition from Penn Foster University.Check out his stop smoking resource center at http://www.squidoo.com/quitsmokingnow101

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