"Not for nothing is their motto TGIF - 'Thank God It's Friday.' They live for the weekends, when they can go do what they really want to do."Richard Nelson Bolles
|
| |
Is my body odour due to smoking ?
Question : I AM a smoker. What can I do to cleanse my body of the odour? Do tar and nicotine get into the bloodstream to cause the odour? Answer : TAR is a very complex substance which tends to collect in the lungs. When one smokes, nicotine is absorbed ...
Smoking - The Game of Nicotine
Everyone is well aware of the bad consequences of smoking, even the smokers. Still, they do not quit smoking. One major cause for their not quitting smoking is their love for smoking. Most of the smokers would agree to this fact that they love smoking. ...
The Many Benefits to Quitting Smoking
Besides the fact that you will no longer smell like an ashtray, quitting smoking, at any age and after any number of years, will extend your life. It will also improve the quality of the time that you have left. These are the things that you need to keep ...
|
|
|
| |
Most of us know that smoking is indeed a habit that can have many serious implications on our health, but there's a tendency to view the problem lightly. It's important though, that every smoker be aware of the facts concerning smoking. So here are some eye openers for you...
The World Health Organization has been studying smoking trends and statistical patterns across the globe and has come up with the following statistics:
A good deal of variation exists from one part of the world to another. Many more women smoke in Eastern Europe than in East Asia and the Pacific Region. Eastern Europe itself has a particularly high rate of smoking, with up to 59 percent of adult males smoking.
As with other substances of abuse, such as alcohol and cocaine, the global frequency of tobacco use varies by social class, historical era, and culture. Historically, smoking had been a pastime of the rich. This trend has changed dramatically in recent decades. It appears that economically advantaged men in wealthier countries have been smoking less. The more years of education you've had, the less likely you are to be a smoker.
Most smokers begin early in life, before they are 25 years old. According to World Health Organization studies, the majority of smokers in affluent countries begin in their teens. A decline in the age of starting smoking has been observed worldwide.
As a wannabe quitter, you're in excellent company. People all over the world are trying to quit and stay away from cigarettes. There appears to be a correlation between a country's standard of living, level of education, and income and the number of people who have quit smoking. The more and better-informed people are, the more likely they are to quit smoking.
Current estimates are that over 1 billion people in the world smoke. (In other words, approximately one in three adults on the planet smokes.) The majority of these smokers reside in countries on the low end to the middle of the socioeconomic spectrum. Of this majority, about 80% live in low and middle income countries. The total number of smokers worldwide is expected to keep increasing.
But are things in the USA any better? Not really, as you can see for yourself in the figures of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
In the United States, an estimated 25.6 million men (25.2%) and 22.6 million women (20.7%) are smokers. These people are at higher risk of heart attack and stroke. The latest estimates for persons age 18 and older show:
- Among whites, 25.1 percent of men and 21.7 percent of women smoke
- Among black or African Americans, 27.6 percent of men and 18.0 percent of women smoke
- Among Hispanics/Latinos, 23.2 percent of men and 12.5 percent of women smoke
- Among Asians (only), 21.3 percent of men and 6.9 percent of women smoke
- Among American Indians/Alaska Natives (only), 32.0 percent of men and 36.9 percent of women smoke
Studies show that smoking prevalence is higher among those with 9-11 years of education (35.4 percent) compared with those with more than 16 years of education (11.6 percent). It's highest among persons living below the poverty level (33.3 percent).
And These Figures Spell Death...
•One out of every five deaths is caused by tobacco
•An average of 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco
•Tobacco is blamed for many serious pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases
•Tobacco and nicotine are some of the most potent carcinogens and are to blame for a majority of all cancers of the lung, trachea, bronchus, larynx, and esophagus
•Tobacco use also produces cancers in the pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix
•Impotency is sometimes to blame from addiction to nicotine because of its ability to reduce blood flow
•Smoking is an important risk factor for respiratory illnesses, causing 85,000 deaths per year from pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia
•Children and adolescents who are active smokers will have increasingly severe respiratory illness, as they grow older
•Smoking during pregnancy causes about 5-6% of prenatal deaths, 17-26% of low-birth-weight births, and 7-10% of pre-term deliveries, and it increases the risk of miscarriage and fetal growth retardation
•Cigarettes are responsible for about 25% of deaths from residential fires, causing nearly 1,000 fire-related deaths and 3,300 injuries each year
So, are you ready to try and quit smoking now?
Visit http://www.health-and-fitness-information.com/Quit-Smoking/ to learn how you can finally quit smoking fast, easily, and all naturally!
About the Author
© 2004 Kathy Burns-Millyard and The Health and Fitness Information Network
This article is provided courtesy of http://www.health-and-fitness-information.com - You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
