Get Your Body Healthy

While the number of people who smoke in the U.S. has fallen substantially during the past forty years, almost fifty million individuals still smoke, with thousands more starting the habit each week. Most of the individuals who start using tobacco are young people, who are too young to completely grasp the long-term problems that can result from a lifetime of smoking. While there are no “smoking diseases” per se, there are a number of health issues that are more likely to occur in people who smoke on a regular basis. Obviously, the ideal way to prevent these diseases is to stop smoking as soon as possible.

There are a lot of diseases that are directly related to smoking. A partial listing is as follows:

Lung cancer – The Surgeon General’s report of 1964 was the U.S. government’s first indication that cigarette smoking and lung cancer are directly linked. Although lung cancer is the disease that is most commonly connected with smoking, other cancers that are related to the habit are cancer of the bladder, larynx, kidney, pancreas, pharynx, esophagus, cervix and uterus.

Heart disease – Smokers are two to four times more likely to have problems with heart disease, as smoking constricts blood vessels, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood. Coronary heart disease is the number one overall killer in the United states.

Stroke – Cigarette smokers are also two to four times more likely to have a stroke than people who do not smoke.

Low birth weight – In women who smoke cigarettes, reduced birth weight and stillbirth are considerably more common among smokers than people who do not smoke.

The ideal way to avoid these health conditions is to stop smoking right away. For a lot of people, this is very difficult, because of the body’s addiction to nicotine. The next best remedy is to continue using nicotine through non-smoking means. Nicotine gum and patches have been readily available on the market for several years and a lot of individuals have success with them.

A newly developed device, the electronic cigarette, or ecigarette, is also becoming popular. These products, while not sold as stop smoking aids, resemble real cigarettes and enable the “smoker” to inhale a tobacco-flavored mist that is infused with nicotine. The individual no longer inhales the deadly carbon monoxide and tar, but rather inhales a mixture of water, flavoring, and nicotine. A lot of smokers like electronic cigarettes because it provides them with something to hold and put in their mouth, as with a regular cigarette.

If you smoke long enough, you will likely contract one of these “smoking diseases” in time. In order to avoid them, you should see your doctor about either quitting or about finding a nicotine substitute. The sooner you take action, the healthier you’ll be.

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