Smoking, as we all know is a bad habit which is so enormously damaging to our health that it is a habit which is best totally avoided than to get addicted to and later quit. The ill effects of smoking are many and no matter how you smoke, whether it is through a cigarette or a cigar or through a hookah it affects every major organ in the body. There is absolutely no safe way in which one can smoke or counter these effects without totally kicking the habit. Smoking is one of the major causes of preventable deaths.
Some of the ways by which smoking detrimentally damages the human body are listed below:
Lung Cancer- Smoking is the leading cause of this disease worldwide. In the United States, three times more deaths occur in people who smoke than non-smokers. Cigarettes contain around 600 ingredients and upon burning they produce more than 7000 chemicals most of which are highly toxic and according to doctors, about 69 of these chemicals can lead to lung cancer. Cigars and hookahs are even more harmful than cigarettes as they contain higher levels of carcinogens, tar etc and exposes the smoker to higher levels of the poisonous carbon monoxide gas than cigarettes.
Mood Stimulant- One of the main components of tobacco is a stimulant drug known as nicotine which stimulates the central nervous system and initially brings a feeling of high energy but as its effects subsides, the smoker becomes more fatigued than before and needs more tobacco which leads to the formation of a habit which proves dangerous to his overall health.
Respiratory Problems- Smoking reduces the efficiency of the lungs to filter harmful chemicals and causes toxic substances to accumulate in the lungs and also exposes the smokers to higher risk of respiratory infections, colds, flu’s etc. It can lead to a medical condition termed emphysema which leads to the destruction of the air sacs in the lungs which leads to chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Heart Problems- Smoking also causes serious cardiovascular diseases like recurrent coronary heart disease, strokes heart attacks and blood cancer.
Problems of the Integumentary System- Smoking also damages the skin hair and nails of the smokers causing discoloration of the skin, premature ageing, wrinkles, stains on the nails and smelly hair.
Oral and digestive disorders- Tobacco leads to tooth decay, loss of the teeth, foul breath and cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx and the esophagus and also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. In addition causes loss of appetite, leading to malnutrition.
Problems in pregnancy and the reproductive system- Smoking can adversely affect women smokers during pregnancies and even passive smokers and also causes serious conditions like erectile dysfunctions in men. All these detrimental side effects should make us think a thousand times before getting addicted to smoking but for people who are already in the throes of this dangerous habit quitting as early as possible is a must before things go beyond their control. But the all important question is – How? Once you are addicted it becomes extremely difficult to quit as the effects of nicotine often make the temptation too hard to resist for many. Advice from people to quit begins to sound cagey and hollow and no method or way actually seems to work. That is why proper guidance, rehabilitation and treatment is extremely necessary for survival and so are the knowledge of the correct methods to get rid of this habit once and for all.
Here are a few useful tips which, unlike most others, can actually help us to quit smoking:
- Having more water and incorporating vitamins, ginger, ginseng and grape juice into your diet- One of the main reasons why nicotine addiction is so difficult to quit is because it spreads throughout your body as a toxin and once it enters your system you cannot get it out easily. Water cleanses your system better than most other substances and counters many of the harmful effects of tobacco and smoking. As you are trying to kick the habit water is necessary for healing and speeding up the detoxification process and aids in fighting the addiction to a greater extent. When you stop smoking you are bound to experience a feeling of nausea which may tempt you to go back to the habit. Ginger helps in fighting this feeling. Also vitamins cleanse re-energize and boost your system and enable to fight back the temptations and quit the habit. Moreover, ginseng enables to resist the cravings which you will feel after stopping suddenly. The biggest challenge is to get rid of the toxins in your body. Drinking grape juice can be immensely helpful in this regard as it cleanses your body system and mitigates the damage that has been caused to your body due to smoking.
- Rehabilitation and Therapy and prescription of drugs that can replace nicotine- Inhalers, nasal sprays, gums, and skin patches deliver nicotine slowly and can help smokers to overcome their initial cravings. These do indeed work and are helpful in combating the withdrawal symptoms. According to one survey it was found that smokers who used these products were 50-70% more likely to be successful in quitting than those who did not. Heavier smokers need to use more of these products than lighter ones. Using these just before making up your mind to quit smoking once and for all can be more helpful and these products when used with the antidepressant bupropion may show faster and better results. Consulting a doctor in case of taking prescription drugs is definitely the best option as some drugs can indeed help to achieve success especially in used in combination with nicotine replacement therapy products. There exists a drug called Varenicline also known as Chantix which specifically targets the nicotine receptors in the brain which reduces the satisfaction that smoking gives you and lowers withdrawal symptoms. According to certain findings, using this drug can double your chances of success in quitting smoking than not using it.
- Mental preparation and company and support of family and friends and replacing cigarettes with E-cigarettes- Only the most disciplined can quit without any help. Studies have shown that only 4-7% people fall in this group. You have to be really committed and prepared to face the withdrawal symptoms. It is recommended that you drink water whenever your mind craves for tobacco and distract yourself with other activities like playing sports or spending time with someone you like. Deep breathing and proper thinking can definitely help in overcoming the feelings though it is bound to be initially difficult. You cannot afford to give up. Asking for mental support from friends and family by informing them of your plan to quit and seeking their advice and mental support can also help. Also finding love or a life partner can help you to quit. According to a study half of men and women were successful in quitting smoking if their partner also quit compared to just 8% if their partners did not. This shows that pressure from your partner can indeed go a long way in helping you to achieve your goal. The method of using E-cigarettes is still highly debated as studies have shown that comparatively fewer people were successful in giving up smoking by using e-cigarettes. This method has been found to be successful only in the short run and so it has been concluded that more research needs to be conducted on this one.
- Avoiding Triggers- As you start the quitting process it’s important to change your lifestyle and habits and avoid those products with which you liked to smoke and switch over to new ones. For example if you liked to smoke while drinking tea then stop drinking tea and switch over to coffee as tea will make the temptation to smoke all the more harder for you to resist. Or just change the place where you liked to smoke. For example, if you liked to smoke in the verandahs switch over to the sofa. Changing your earlier routine will automatically help you to combat those trigger switches that made you smoke without even giving it a thought. If the taste of a particular product made you want to smoke then stop consuming that product and switch to alternative products available in the market which can help to get rid of the trigger taste and thus help in reducing your desire to smoke. Avoiding triggers is essential and bound to work if followed religiously as the triggers are the main factors behind your inability to resist the temptations and get rid of the habit.
- Reduce your tobacco intake slowly rather than totally stopping all of a sudden and financial gains: If you were highly addicted to smoking, then stopping totally at once can lead to serious withdrawal symptoms which may affect you in a more negative way and do more harm than good as you had intended. It will most likely lead to pick up the habit again after a few days and thus your purpose will not be served. So it is important to chalk out a set of goals for yourself and follow them without failure. For example if you used to smoke two packs of cigarettes in a day then slowly reduce it to a pack in a day for a week, then half a pack a day , then 10 cigarettes in a day, then 5, then 3 and finally only a one cigarette a day before stopping altogether. In this way your body will not be affected by chemical addiction and you will also have the ways and means to free yourself from mental addiction.
Moreover, financial benefits due to quitting smoking especially when you are bound by financial constraints and are at a risk of losing your hard-earned money because of this habit has been found to be the biggest motivator in successfully quitting smoking. Moreover counseling sessions and expert advice from trained professionals have also been found to be of significant help. It is universally acknowledged that smoking is one of the most difficult bad habits to get rid of. No easy or simple method of doing the same is known as of yet. Quit smoking programs have been known to have quite low success rates but this does not mean that they are not worth giving a shot at. But if you are successful in quitting it can save you from a plethora of health problems in addition to improving your social and family life and overall health and well-being. Thus, to conclude, persistent and genuine efforts and the belief that you can quit can definitely deliver you from this scourge and take your life in a better direction.
