Contributed by: Healthians Team
Introduction
Did you know that a cigarette contains 4800 chemicals, 69 of which are cancer triggers?
Smoking is a silent killer which is destroying endless lives each second.
There’s no right time to do the right thing, quitting smoking is one such thing which should not be postponed.
Smoking is one of the habits that hurt your overall health, both mental and physical.
A single cigarette puff exposes the smoker to millions of free radicals, which can harm a variety of body cells.
It is very difficult to quit a habit. Smoking is an addictive habit that over some time becomes impossible to quit for some people.
Your brain must adjust to the absence of nicotine. Nicotine is the addictive component of cigarettes that makes quitting so difficult.
Cigarettes are made to deliver nicotine to your brain quickly. Nicotine causes the release of chemicals in your brain that make you feel happy.
Harmful effects of smoking
Tobacco is harmful to your health no matter how you smoke it. From acetone and tar to nicotine and carbon monoxide, there are no safe compounds in cigarette products. The particles you breathe have an impact on your complete body system.
Smoking can cause a number of long-term health problems as well as long-term consequences on your body’s systems.
While smoking increases your risk of a number of issues over time, some of the physical impacts are seen right away.
Find out more about the symptoms and long-term consequences of smoking on the body in the sections below:
Weakens the respiratory system
We all know that smoking severely affects our lungs and damages them over a period of time. With the increased respiratory infections, people who smoke are at higher risk for chronic irreversible lung conditions like:
- Lung cancer
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung diseases
- Deteriorates the lung’s air sacs
Poor vision
Smoking affects the vision of a person. Smoking raises your chances of developing age-related macular degeneration, which is the primary cause of blindness in those people over the age of 65. Vision is the most precious gift we all have so don’t jeopardise it for a puff.
Type 2 diabetes
Smoking is one of the foremost risk factors for Type 2 diabetes and increases the risk of complexities from the disease — including low blood flow to the legs and feet.
This can lead to infection and result in the need to amputate a limb. Yes – you could lose your foot or leg! That should be enough to quit smoking, TODAY!
Ectopic Pregnancy
Ectopic pregnancy is a potentially fatal reproductive issue that is more common in women who smoke.
It happens when a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus. The egg will not survive, putting the mother’s life in jeopardy.
Many researchers say that exercise can help quit smoking.
Here we have provided some of the simple and easy workouts that you can incorporate into your daily routine to get rid of this life-threatening habit called, smoking.
Breathing exercise
Quitting smoking may be a difficult and anxiety-inducing experience.
Deep breathing is a method that can be used to replace the enjoyment that comes from inhaling deeply on a cigarette.
Deep breathing, unlike cigarette smoking, has both a feeding and cleaning effect on the body
Every cell uses the oxygen supplied into the bloodstream by inhaling. Exhalation removes the waste product, especially carbon dioxide from the circulation.
A sensation of tranquillity can be achieved and sustained in the body and mind if this technique is conducted properly and successfully.
Aerobic
Aerobic is a complete cardio exercise which should be performed if you are looking for a way to quit smoking. Exercise, particularly aerobics, can help to diminish the desire to smoke.
During and up to 50 minutes after doing aerobics, withdrawal symptoms and cravings for cigarettes tend to decrease.
Once you’ve broken a habit, it’s much easier to get rid of it from your regular routine.
Walking
Walking is a magical physical exercise which can do wonders if done consistently.
If you are seriously looking forward to quitting smoking then every day, strive to walk more mindfully.
Try to walk 7 to 8 thousand steps per day. This will also help you maintain good heart health.
Short walks will help people to get their time from sedentary lifestyles that encourages them to smoke more to get away from all the stress.
Many researchers say that the people who started to walk felt much better after just 15 minutes of walking a day and it made it much easier for them to quit smoking.
Next time your friend says that I want to quit smoking, then take him/her for a walk and help them to make the journey easier and more mindful.
Final thoughts
We know that any smoker would not like to get big speeches from anyone about the negative impacts of smoking. It will genuinely come from their heart to do it.
Despite knowing all of the negative consequences, quitting smoking is an uphill struggle.
So this No Tobacco Day at least takes that one step to start the journey of quitting smoking.
Also, by opting for regular health screenings, you can stay on top of your health condition and take preventive measures in the event that you are likely to get hit by an illness.
