What Can Smoking Do to You?

Despite all the statistics that says smoking is bad for overall health, millions of people light up every day. Why might you ask? Could it be because of the addictive chemicals added to the tobacco? I have friends that really want to stop but lack the willpower to say no to that nicotine.

If you have time, pay a visit to the cancer ward at any major hospital and witness the human waste of destroyed bodies from the effects of smoking cigarettes. Smoking will do harm to all the vital organs in your body. The diseases that can be traced to addiction to nicotine have not been fully collected.

I was in New York recently and paid a visit to my ex-wife and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was a heavy smoker when we were married. Apart from her poor health, her physical deterioration was noticeable.

A great deal of our arguments during marriage came from trying to get her to quit. Within the same doctor’s office were many patients with various types of cancer and most of them smoked cigarettes over a long period.

Everyone knows that quitting smoking improves overall health, but you might be wondering why more people just don’t give up the poison. Let’s take a closer look at some of the sobering statistics about smoking regarding fatalities, before we examine the ingredients in the product.

Cigarettes Smoking and Death

Do you know at least 400,000 people would still be alive today if not for the fact they smoked cigarettes and got sick and died? That figure is just for the USA alone!

Cigarette smoking causes more deaths than the combined fatalities from;

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV AIDS)
Use of illegal drugs
Alcohol Abuse
Motor vehicle fatalities
Firearm related crimes

This does not even include the cost of premature births and the little ones that died suddenly due to complications from the mother having smoked during pregnancy. Contrary to what some people might think, smoking cigarettes causes cancer in almost every major part of the body.

If you have any doubt, ask any cancer specialist at any major hospital and hear the sad news for yourself. Here are some of the organs susceptible to the chemicals in cigarettes.

Here is a list of what smoking can do to you:

It will weaken and destroy your bladder.

Smoking creates acute myeloid leukemia, which is a blood related disease.

Smoking will endanger your cervix.

Watch as your colon and rectum become susceptible to various types of cancer.

Your Esophagus will be impacted.

Next on the list of organs to be destroyed by smoking cigarettes are the Kidney and Ureter. Now you know why dialysis clinics are busy!

Your Larynx functions will be negatively impacted.

There are more diseases that can be listed, but that is not the main focus of this article.

What are the ingredients in cigarettes?

After many studies and test, scientists have concluded there are more than 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When you light up the cigarettes, the 600 substances increase to over 7,000 known cancer-causing chemicals.

The sad thing is that many of the substances found present in cigarettes can also be found in many popular consumer products. Since my aim is to get you to quit smoking by painting such a dire picture of the damage you’re doing to your body, let’s look at some of the ingredients in cigarettes.

The major lists of ingredients in cigarettes are:

Lead – this is widely used in batteries

Naphthalene – this is the major ingredient used in moth balls

Methanol – this substance is widely used in making rocket fuel. Now you know why some smokers have down attitudes without cigarettes.

Ammonia – this common household cleaner is also present. Keep that in mind if you know someone that lights up.

Arsenic – this ingredient can be found in rat poison.

Benzene – this ingredient is used in rubber cement.

Butane – found in lighter fluids.

Cadmium – this is the most active component in battery acid

Nicotine – this ingredient is used in making insecticide. After this research, I stopped chewing any gum with this substance in it.

Tar – that famous black stuff on our roads is also present in your cigarettes.

Toluene – not widely known, but still dangerous and can be found in most paint.

Acetone – this is the ingredient that gives nail polish remover that heavy noxious smell.

Acetic Acid – this is the main ingredient in hair dye

Carbon Monoxide – those car fumes released by cars is also present in your cigarettes.

Formaldehyde – this is the fluid most used in embalming dead people.

Hexamine – this ingredient can be found in your barbecue lighter fluid

I hope that list has you thinking about the true dangers of smoking cigarettes. Do you know cigarettes are just as addictive as other hard drugs? Because when you look at it realistically, addiction is defined as doing stuff that is not beneficial to your overall health.

My aim is not to get you to quit smoking, after all it’s your life and future diseases were talking about here. I can assure you that all the cancer research in the world will not make a dent in curing all the diseases caused by smoking. Medical doctors and drug manufacturers are not in the “cure” business.

Smoking withdrawal symptoms

As with any addiction, withdrawal comes with some type of pain that will subside once you get rid of that habit. Nicotine from cigarettes is a very addictive substance, and the following withdrawal symptoms might be experienced for a few days or weeks after cutting your dependency on the drug.

You might get some headache. Best to drink plenty of water, and you need to find rigorous exercise to engage in on a regular basis.

Some people might get nausea, but it will subside within a short period of time.

Some might have constipation or diarrhea, or the inability to have regular bowel movement. This is mostly conditioning of the body, and you just have to cut the pain-cord independently by yourself.

Any feeling of falling blood pressure or heart rate might be due to the elimination of all the toxic chemicals from your body. Once you quit, your body needs to be conditioned or weaned from dependency on the chemical ingredients present in cigarettes.

If you experience any drowsiness, fatigue or insomnia, just learn to breathe properly and those issues will decrease as your will power gets stronger.

Other withdrawal symptoms that might emerge when you quit smoking includes; irritability, anxiety and difficulty concentrating. Those symptoms are mostly psychological, and should not be medicated.

Quitting Smoking Tips

Before I even get to any useful suggestions that can make you want to quit smoking now, realize that no amount of outside pressure can make you stop, unless you want to. The constant excuse I hear is; I tried but it’s just too hard.

Before any quitting smoking tips, you need to make an internal decision to stop smoking cigarettes now. If you feel you get any enjoyment from smoking cigarettes then quitting will not be sustainable. I am telling you this, because over 75% of those that try to quit fail.

The first thing that needs to change is your attitude. You must start looking at cigarettes as poison that will destroy your health and eventually kill you, for you to be successful.

Now here are some quitting tips that can be adapted once you’ve shifted your attitude towards the product.

Stop smoking now – the best way that I know, is to start what you plan to do immediately, especially if it’s destroying your health. Do not reduce the amount of cigarettes gradually. You need to cut the cord connecting you to smoking cigarettes. The best way that I know of is “cold turkey”.

Let me give you several reasons why slowly withdrawing or reducing the quantity of cigarettes smoked will not work.

If you intend to stop smoking, it makes no sense to do it little by little. Anyone that tells you to do that is lying to you. The most important way to build up your will power is to stop smoking cigarettes now. If you’re a smoker, decide to quit right now and crush the rest of your cigarettes to increase your will power.

Keep a distance from your smoking buddies or girlfriends – Again birds of the feathers flock together most times. When you’ve made your decision to quit smoking now, keep a distance from your smoking pals until your will power is strong enough. If you ignore this useful advice, your desire to stop smoking will be short lived. Been around other smokers will make you feel different before you learn how to control it.

Your smoking pals will tease and cajole you with offers of free cigarettes, until you join them again. Unfortunately, if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend that smoke, and you both live in the same apartment, you might have to move to increase your chances of permanently quitting that nasty habit.

Most people that fail to stop smoking can be attributed to peer pressure. You need to establish the required distance from your smoking buddies. It’s like wanting to lose weight and then you get a job at a cheese or cake factory.

You need to hang-out with non-smokers for a while – Good habits breed’s good habits. Find new friends that hate smoking cigarettes and see how they have a good time. Before this happens you might have to spend a few lonely nights to get your will power stronger.

Stop eating foods that make you want to smoke – Certain foods make you want to smoke, and you need to eliminate them from your diet. It’s now time to invest in leafy vegetables and wholesome foods. Once you quit smoking, you diet will have to change to increase your chances of success.

You also must stop drinking – for the first few weeks or months, I would encourage you to eliminate alcohol from your system. If you ignore this and drink, you’ll most likely be smoking again within a short period of time. Until you can control your habit of smoking cigarettes, stay away from all alcohol beverages, including wine.

You need to start breathing again – Most people breath the wrong way. You have to seat in a chair in a quiet room, and start breathing by taking air into your stomach. So when you breathe in your stomach should rise up not your chest. Initially you want to start with 5 minutes and increase the time by two minutes every day until you’re doing it for 30 to 60 minutes every day. This will clean out your system of all toxins each time you do it.

Conduct a thorough clean-out of your residence – the smell from cigarette is attached to everything in your apartment. A non-smoker will smell it, while a smoker is immune from the terrible smell. Go through your cloths and wash all the ones you intend to keep, while throwing away or donating the rest. Vacuum and scrub every inch of your living space with windows open to let in needed fresh air.

If you want to look at it as a cleansing ritual you can, because in a way it is and it’s very effective at distancing you from the habit of smoking.

Start exercising again – I am yet to find a smoker that likes to work-out on a regular basis. Start with your treadmill and then work your way up to lifting some weights. Like all new activities you begin when you stop smoking, approach it slowly. It’s better to do 30 minutes workout on a daily basis than two hours in one day.

You need to Detox your body – some of the toxins in your system might take a while to be removed, but you can fasten the process by going through a complete body Detox of your major organs. Here are two products you should consider getting.

By now you should be feeling much better with stamina and energy you never knew existed. It will get better I promise you, but you need to ramp up your activities to eliminate those toxins in your system.

In Conclusion

I have to say there are no good things about smoking. The destruction caused by this product is all too evident in hospitals and clinics all around the world.

To those of you that enjoy smoking and don’t mind a few diseases down the road in your life, be my guest and continue lighting up. I am sure there are people that know the dangers inherent in smoking cigarettes; these smoking tobacco facts can help you break the addiction.

Addiction to cigarettes is mostly a psychological issue than a medical one. Simply looking for other medications to stop smoking now is a recipe for failure in the long run.

Try some of the tips and see how they work for you. The initial pain would soon be replaced with higher energy, glowing skin and a zest for living that only a non-smoker can experience.