Quitting Smoking

 

Tobacco use is the most common preventable cause of death. About half of the people who don't quit smoking will die of smoking-related problems. Quitting smoking is important for your health.

Soon after you quit, your circulation begins to improve, and your blood pressure starts to return to normal. Your sense of smell and taste return, and it's easier for you to breathe. In the long term, giving up tobacco can help you live longer. Your risk of getting cancer decreases with each year you stay smoke-free.

Quitting is not easy. You may have short-term affects such as weight gain, irritability, and anxiety. Some people try several times before they succeed. There are many ways to quit smoking. Some people stop "cold turkey." Others benefit from step-by-step manuals, counseling, or medicines or products that help reduce nicotine addiction. Your health care provider can help you find the best way for you to quit.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

The Montana Quit Line can offer support for those trying to quit tobacco use 1-800-QUIT NOW or enroll at www.QuitNowMontana.com  (see information on the quit line resources under Quit Line Information Tab)

E-Cigarettes Damage Cells

http://www.khou.com/story/news/health/2014/12/26/study-e-cigarettes-damage-healthy-cells/20907631/

Study: E-cigarettes damage healthy cells

Julie Wolfe, WXIA8:16 a.m. CST December 26, 2014

(Photo: National Jewish Health)

ATLANTA -- More than 40 million Americans have used e-cigarettes, but a new study shows the liquid inside damages healthy cells and increases your risk of respiratory infections.

Researchers at National Jewish Health in Denver tested the liquid used in e-cigarettes, sometimes called e-liquid. They found the liquid quickly damaged healthy cells. Doctor Hong Wei Chu led the study. His team put cells from the airways of healthy, young, non-smokers in one end of a device and an e-cigarette in the other.

"It increased the level of viral infection inside the cells," Chu said. In fact, they found after just ten minutes of exposure, the cells were damaged. That damaged lasted 24 hours or longer. The study showed it didn't matter if the liquid contained nicotine or not, the liquid itself did the damage.

Researchers say the findings are especially troubling since some e-cigarettes are flavored to appeal to younger users. "When you flavor them that way, not only are they appealing, but, falsely, the user sees them as 'Oh, no big deal. They're not bad for me.'"

Over the next week, millions of Americans will make New Year's Resolutions to quit smoking. Many will turn to e-cigarettes as a method to help. Over the last year, as sales topped $3.5 million, concerns about safety are also on the rise. In July, the World Health Organization found there was not enough evidence to determine if electronic cigarettes really help people quit smoking. The World Lung Foundation is recommending tighter regulation of e-cigarettes due to those growing concerns.

Study: Flavored small cigars are popular with kids

1 in 12 high school senior smoke flavored little cigars, says first national study of its kind

 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/study-flavored-small-cigars-popular-111352930.html

By Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer | Associated Press – 3 hours ago

ATLANTA (AP) -- Small cigars flavored to taste like candy or fruit are popular among teens, according to the first government study to gauge their use.
About 1 in 30 middle and high school kids said they smoke the compact, sweet-flavored cigars. The percentages rise as kids get older, to nearly 1 in 12 high school seniors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The results — based on a 2011 survey of nearly 19,000 students, grades 6 through 12 — were published online Tuesday by the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Since 2009, the government has banned cigarettes with candy, fruit and clove flavoring, though it continued to allow menthol flavoring. There is no restriction on sales of cigars with such flavorings except in Maine, Maryland, New York City and Providence, R.I.
The sale of cigarettes and cigars to those under 18 is illegal, but according to an earlier CDC report, about 16 percent of high school students were smokers in 2011.
Health officials say sweet flavoring can mask the harsh taste of tobacco and make smoking more palatable.
"The so-called small cigars look like cigarettes, addict as much as cigarettes and they kill like cigarettes," said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden.
Tobacco companies have said they oppose smoking by those under age 18. But the marketing of flavored cigars suggests companies are trying to interest kids in smoking, Frieden and others said.

"The tobacco industry has a long history of using flavored products to attract kids," said Danny McGoldrick, of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and research organization.

Sales of flavored cigars have boomed in the last 12 years, from 6 billion to more than 13 billion annually, according to calculations by his group.
The CDC survey also asked about menthol-flavored cigarettes. When those were included, more than 40 percent of kids who were current smokers in the survey said they were using flavored cigars or cigarettes.

5 Suprising Reasons to Keep Trying to Stop Smoking

There are lots of reasons to stop smoking.  Here are five great ones!

1.  Your cigarettes are radioactive! they have Polonium 210 - the same poison that killed a Russian spy.
2.  If smokers were cars, they wouldn't pass a smog test.  Just ask Christopher Delo, a smoker and mechanic who too a drag and then blew into his auto shop's smog tester.  The machine showed his breath as a "gross polluter".  He's quitting smoking now!
3. Smoker's pets get cancer, too.  Dogs living with smokers had  6 times bigger risk of lung cancer.  Cats are 3 times more likely to get cancer when they live with a smoker.  Pets also get asthma and allergies from cigarette smoke.
4.  Got tar? If you're a pack-a-day smoker, you'll collect about a quart of tar each year...inside your lungs.
5.  Now with more nicotine! Since 1998, cigarette makers have been caught "spiking" cigarettes with more addictive nicotine.

Bonus! plenty of health problems go away or get better when you quit: 
Snoring
Heartburn
Vision Problems
Arthritis and Joint Pain
Risk of Heart Attach and Stroke     

Material used from American Lung Association