FITNESS ARTICLES

Cigarettes are present during the everyday life of the nicotine addicts and not only theirs. A cigarette always accompanies successfully the cup of coffee, the parties, the times we feel depressed, the times we feel nervous, and boredom. But the question that comes into my mind is: Are cigarettes just a bad habit or are they the surest way to lungs cancer?

We can have endless discussions about the effects that nicotine has over our health. We all know that nicotine gives the smokers breathing disorders, that it can even lead to lungs cancer, that people who smoke have higher risk of heart attack. Also nicotine makes the skin, the fingers and the teeth yellow, and makes the smokers grow older in a faster time.

A recent study from the United States of America showed that men who smoke have a 30 times higher risk of starting malignant oral tumors, while the ex smokers have a 9 times higher one than the men who don’t smoke. There is also a well established relationship between the people who smoke pipe and lips cancer, although it has not yet been clearly evaluated the amount of damage that the heat produces and the one produced by the material of the pipe.

The risk of smoking is highly connected with the increase of the number of cigarettes and with the length one gets exposed to this factor. The risk factor equals that of non smokers after around 10 years one quits. These values are smaller in the case of women, without knowing the mechanism that makes them stronger and protects them. So, the women who smoke have a 6 times higher risk than the ones who don’t smoke and his value reduces to 3 for the former smokers. Studies show that around 92% of the deaths from oral or pharyngeal cancer in the case of men may be attributed to smoking. The percentage for women is of 61%.

Most of the persons who smoke start this “ritual” during their adolescence. A study conducted in England showed that 450 children smoke daily, and most of the ones who die because nicotine are those who have started smoking during their adolescence.

There are a lot of people who see smoking as a “bad habit” saying “it is a vice that make me feel good, I am spoiling myself with a cigarette. As a smoker, you have the tendency to ignore the fact that you are addicted, you smoke because you like it. This is wrong, because studies have shown that tobacco gives the same dependence as heroine or cocaine. In fact smoking is an entire concourse of circumstances, as it is both a habit and an addiction. And these two elements, when combined make smoking a habit very hard to quit.

On a sample made of 23 people, researchers have found out that 10 have managed to quit smoking, 13 of them smoke on a regular basis and 9 of them plan to quit this vice in the future.

But we all have other reasons that make us postpone this decision.

I wouldn’t feel good without a cigarette…
The image we have about ourselves is very difficult o change and a lot of smokers cannot get used to the idea of being non smokers. But the people who quit smoking agree that it is difficult for them to imagine themselves as smokers. It is only a matter of usage.

Smoking is one of the few pleasures. Enjoy it!
If you smoke one box of cigarettes per day that means that you smoked 7300 cigarettes last year. How many of these have you really enjoyed? Try to see the “pleasure” in a different light. Do you really enjoy smoking so much, or do you honestly think that you will not enjoy the life of a non smoker?

All my friends smoke
But also the people from the street, the ones from your office, and the ones in bars smoke. The truth is that there will always be smokers everywhere. If this is the reason for which you don’t quit, than try to weight the disadvantages of smoking as well…

There are a lot of persons who see smoking as a “social” habit. If this is the case, it may be a lot more difficult, but you must try to determine your friends to help you or to make new friends among those who quit smoking. If your partner smokes and you have decided to quit this bad habit, you must both make a compromise and have in your house a non-smoking area.

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Smoking helps me relax. Nicotine is a powerful energizer that makes your pulse rise. It releases adrenaline into your blood in just a few minutes. It is also a powerful drug which makes you want some more 15 minutes after you have put down the previous cigarette. As long as you smoke, you will never feel relaxed because your body is always asking for the next “dose”. The oscillating nicotine level turns a smoker into a person who doesn’t relax.

Smoking helps me concentrate.
It helps you concentrate in the same way it makes you relax. As long as you smoke, you will never be able to fully concentrate, because you will always think about your next cigarette. Besides, smoking affects the blood vessels, which means that less oxygen gets into your brain. As for your concentration power…

Smoking helps me when I am bored.
Boredom is a psychological state. Do something in order to have fun. Think of a thing you want but can’t afford and in the same time think about the amount of money you spend on cigarettes and the time you waste every day for this bad habit (2 hours for a box of cigarettes every day).

I am too young to quit now.
If you are young that doesn’t mean that you are invincible. Even the persons under 30 can suffer from diseases caused by nicotine, so think that your next cigarette may be the one that kills you.

It is too late, the damage has been done.
Nobody knows for sure the number of cigarettes it takes to lead to cancer. The number varies from one person to another. Anyway, if you aren’t sick yet, you will discover that it is amazing how rapidly you will recover. And even if you suffer from any diseases caused by nicotine, if you quit now, it will be much easier to beat the disease.

I only smoke when I go to parties.
There isn’t such thing as "party smoking". Almost every people who don’t smoke are disturbed by the smoke and almost every smokers wished they hadn’t smoked.

It is my body, so, if I feel like it, I smoke.
If someone attacked someone from your family on the street, you wouldn’t like it. So, think about the fact that smoking affects the active smokers and the passive ones in the same way.

I will try to reduce the numbers of cigarettes I smoke.
Studies confirm the fact that the ones who only try to reduce the number have a smaller chance to succeed because they feel very impatient until their next cigarette and it becomes much more important for them. To cut them off all of a sudden will work much better, as this will reduce your worries.

I don’t have a strong will.
If you are a smoker now, it means that you have a strong will. Remember the time when you started smoking and the cigarettes had that awful taste. You didn’t quit until you got used to that awful taste. The other way round works just as fine.

I will gain weight.
It is true that nicotine is a powerful incentive and when you quit smoking your metabolism gets lazier. But you can spend one hour every day exercising. This would be in so many ways better for your health and it would also have the same incentive effect nicotine has.

I need cigarettes when I drink.
There are a lot of people who think that smoking is very connected to drinking and this bound seems very strong to them. If possible, try not to drink any alcohol when you try to quit smoking and replace the morning coffee with milk. Drink just water or juice because these drinks don’t ask for a cigarette to accompany them.

There are a lot of methods you can quit smoking with. But the first thing you have to do is to be conscious about the damage they produce. Once you have settled this, to quit smoking is a piece of cake.

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