Why You can Quit Smoking

Smoking is detrimental to health. It is causing harm when you are feeling euphoric, when you are getting excited after a quick puffs or even when you are in the state of alertness. It is a silent killer.

Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 chemical mostly of which are injurious to health. Smoking is rapidly habit forming, and it is very hard to quit. The main reason behind this is nicotine. It creates a state of craving. There is a joke – ‘It is very easy to quit smoking, I have quitted it for so many times’.

Smoking increases the blood sugar level by potentiating the process of glycogenolysis. Glycogen is broken down to increase the level of free glucose in the blood. It also trims down the response of the body tissues to the action of Insulin – the hormone responsible for controlling the blood sugar. The ultimate result can be overt diabetes.

Tobacco smoke contains more than 40 carcinogens (factors that can cause cancer). If the critical level is reached, it may produce carcinoma of the lung and gastrointestinal tissues (lip, tongue, esophagus and stomach). The lung cancer caused by the carcinogen present in the tobacco smoke is highly metastatic. It rapidly spreads into the surrounding tissues and then to the whole body. The 5 year survival rate is poor.

Smoking also alters the peaceful state of mind. For the chronic smokers, it is more obvious. Persons become irritable, highly prone to stress and anxiety. The duration and depth of sleep are also reduced. This is again a potent cause of stress. Actually a vicious cycle forms.

Smoking increases the secretion of gastric acid from the stomach. Peptic ulcer disease is very common in the heavy smokers.

The pregnant mothers also are benefitted. The placental (organ that connects maternal blood vessel to that of growing fetus – it supplies the essential nutrition to the fetus and extracts out the products of metabolism) blood vessels get narrowed by the action of tobacco smoke. Thus the fetus is devoid of the basic nutrition. It is highly recommended to quit smoking when somebody is pregnant.

Usually people needs 2-3 tries before he is really gain the confidence finally to do it. Each time somebody is trying to quit, he learns the pros and cons of the quitting process.

Let us recapitulate the benefits of quit smoking –

The longevity of your life is increased. The quality is improved too.

It will reduce the chance of being a lung or oral cancer patient besides lowering the risk of coronary thrombosis (heart attack) or cerebral thrombosis (stroke).

For the pregnant mother, quitting smoking will improve the condition if the fetus. The chance of having a healthy baby is increased. The possibility of premature delivery is also reduced.

The other family members especially children are also benefitted as they are not exposed to the risk of ‘passive smoking’.

The money you save from quitting the bad habit can be spent to go for a beautiful vacation or some good home appliances can be purchased.

To quit smoking, all you need is a strong determination and some aid from others.