Breaking the habit
Why Cigarettes are so
Addictive?
Nicotine is one of the
most highly addictive substances known to man and is one of the hardest
dependencies to break, because:
Nicotine inhaled from a
cigarette gets to the brain in 7-10 seconds
Inhaling delivers the
“nicotine hit” which makes smoking so addictive
Tobacco
use alters the brain chemistry
Nicotine clears quickly
from the brain, so there is a need for continuous re-dosing
What's in a Cigarette?
Nicotine is responsible
for the addiction, but over 4000 other chemicals contribute to the
detrimental effects of smoking. To name just a few - carbon monoxide,
acetone, ammonia, arsenic, formaldehyde, benzene and cyanide are
inhaled!
Health Effects of
Smoking…
Every cigarette takes
seven minutes off a smoker’s life. Some of the negative
effects of smoking on your body and health include:
Increasing your risk of
heart disease and stroke
Poor circulation
Many forms of cancer
Weakening your immune
system
Impotence
Vision loss
Yellow teeth
Bad breath
Decreased taste and smell
Second-Hand
Smoke…
Most people are aware of
the dangers of active smoking, but passive smoking is often not viewed
as the
serious health risk that
it is. Yet it is equally deadly. Second-hand smoke is a combination of
poisonous
gases, liquids, and
breathable particles which can cause heart disease, stroke, lung
cancer, headaches,
coughing and wheezing.
In infants and children
it can result in numerous health problems including severe asthma
attacks,
respiratory infections,
ear infections and even sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In
pregnant women
it can lead to
miscarriages, stillbirths and low-birth weight. Breathing second-hand
smoke also has
immediate harmful
effects on the cardiovascular system that can increase the risk of
heart attack -
people who already have
heart disease are at especially high risk.
There is no risk-free
level of exposure to second hand smoke. If you breathe it, you are
putting your
health at risk. So
protect non-smoking friends and family from exposure
to passive smoke, by not
smoking
around them.
Quitting Smoking
In South Africa, 72% of
smokers want to quit, but the majority of smokers need 5-7 attempts
before
succeeding. Only about
5% of people succeed without help, so you may find support from a quit
smoking association or
support group beneficial and/or you could consider using medical
quitting-aids
or nicotine replacement
therapies (e.g. nicotine patches, sprays and gums). Remember, if you
relapse it
is the nature of
addiction, not the failure of you as an individual!
Short Term Benefits of
Stopping Smoking
Within 20 minutes, your
blood pressure drops to normal
Within
8 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal and
oxygen level in
your blood increases to
normal
Within
48 hours, your ability to smell amnd taste is improved
Within
2 weeks to 3 months, your lung function increases up to 30%
Long Term Benefits
Within
1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease falls to half that of a
smoker
Within
10 years, your risk of lung cancer halves
Within 5 - 15 years,
your risk of stroke is reduced to that of people who have never smoked
Available Resources
Help is available
– see the list of professional bodies to contact.
National Quit Line Tel:
011720 3145
National Council Against
Smoking
Tel: 011725 1514
Fax: 011 720 6177
Website: www.againstsmoking.org
Smokenders
Tel: 021 788 9120
Tel national: 086 110 0079
Website:
www.smokeenders.co.za
They provide a 7 week
quit smoking programme. Meetings are attended once per week.
Nicorette Kick Butt
Programme
Tel: 0860 410032
Website: www.nicorette.co.za
Allen Carr Easyway
Clinics
Tel:
0861 100 200
Clinics available
countrywide
Website www.allencarr.co.za
My Time To Start Support
Programme (when prescribed CHAMPIX® medicines)
Tel: 0861 698 463
Website to register
www.mytimetostart.co.za
The
Heart and Stroke Foundation SA
The Heart and Stroke
Foundation South Africa is a community-based organisation established
to reduce
the incidence of heart disease and stroke in the population of South
Africa by
providing education and supporting vital research. For further
information
visit www.heartfoundation.co.za
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