Every smoker knows they face an increased risk for serious health problems from cigarettes and cigars. We at Smoke Away, as well as you know smoking causes heart disease, lung cancer and emphysema. None of this is earth-shattering news. If you do not know this, then you have been living under a rock.
As smokers, though, you have learned to effectively ignore the particulars about smoking-related disease.You gloss over, tune out and otherwise distract yourselves whenever possible. Looking too closely can cause a head-on collision with realities of the damage we’re inflicting on our bodies and turns smoking ‘enjoyment’ into a guilty, fearful experience. But the good news though is that you are here. But let’s look a little more into the reasons why you should quit smoking.
Smoker’s Denial
All smokers harbor the secret hope that they will be spared the disease and death that follows nicotine addiction. You tell yourselves you’ll quit in time and somehow dodge the bullet that smoking is. But with four million people dying every year due to tobacco use around the world, the odds aren’t in your favor. Put another way, a smoking-related death occurs somewhere in the world every eight seconds, 365 days a year.
The sooner you remove the blinders and look carefully at nicotine addiction and the damage it causes, the sooner you can begin pulling away from the lies.
5 Reasons to Quit Smoking
1) Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and the leading cause of death caused by smoking. The toxins in cigarette smoke cause plaques to form in the arteries, which leads to atherosclerosis, otherwise known as hardening of the arteries. Smoking is hard on the heart.
2) Stroke
According to the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, killing upwards of 150,000 people each year. For smokers, the risk of stroke is nearly 2-1/2 times that of nonsmokers.
- How a Stroke Changed My Life – Paul’s Story
3) Lung Cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 213,380 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed – and 160,390 deaths will occur – in 2007 from lung cancer in the United States alone.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women, and with 87 percent of all lung cancer cases involving tobacco, it is one form of cancer that is preventable.
- Diagnosed with Lung Cancer – Cheryl’s Story
4) Emphysema/COPD
Tobacco use is the number one cause of COPD, and quitting smoking is the best way to halt further damage. It’s estimated that as many as 10 million Americans suffer from COPD, with upwards of 14 million others who may have it but are undiagnosed. In the United States, it was the fourth leading cause of death in 2000 and projections place it as the third leading cause by the year 2020.
- Why You Don’t Want Emphysema – Christine’s Story
5) Oral Cancer
Oral cancer (mouth cancer) is included in a specific group of cancers called oral and head and neck cancer. It’s estimated that 70 to 80 percent of all cases of OHNC are due to tobacco use and heavy alcohol consumption.
- Losing My Voice to Oral Cancer – Marlene’s Story
There’s No Time Like The Present…
If you’re thinking about quitting, a good place to start is exactly where you avoided going in the past. Delve into the facts and figures about how destructive tobacco is. Learn exactly what you risk when you light up, day after day, year after year.
Don’t be afraid to look at nicotine addiction head-on! It will help you shift your attitude away from thinking of smoking as a friend and allow you to see it for death trap it truly is.
2 comments
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November 11, 2007 at 3:54 am
Giulia
There are many more than five reasons to quit smoking. Denial? I was in denial for 35 years. And I was one of the luckier ones. I had almost no symptoms. Only a little phlegm in the mornings and well, my vocal range was decreasing, but….
I stopped smoking, with Smoke Away, a year and half ago. I didn’t want to stop smoking. I enjoyed it. I didn’t feel guilty when I smoked, I was angry that I had to go outside to do so. It didn’t affect my wind, my stamina, nor my energy level. So why did I quit?
Because my husband had badgered me for years. He quit over 10 years ago. And then he bought me Smoke Away. For a Christmas present! Gee, thanks a lot! Just what I wanted. I figured I owed it to him to try it.
I made a commitment to quit for a specific amount of time, and allowed myself to start smoking again after my time limit was up. Knowing full well that if I managed to get through the first week I’d probably stay quit forever.
I figured the first three days would be the worst. They weren’t. Smoke Away really worked the first three days for me. From then on it was purely a psychological battle. One, thus far, I have won.
Reasons to quit? Here are a few things I’ve learned in the past year and half: When I went to my dentist he said point blank he will not do implants on people who smoke because the healing process is negligible. It’s not worth his time because the implants won’t last. I’ve also been told similar things from other doctors about the deleterious affects of smoking on the healing process of the body after surgery. I have an 80 year old friend who’s legs are shot because of her smoking. It clogged the arteries after X number of years and created all sorts of problems, ulcers being one of them.
Denial? If you’re in denial – wise up. It’s no joke what smoking will do to you. It may not happen today or tomorrow but believe what they tell you. Again, I’m one of the lucky ones. At the moment. My bell may ring any day.
If you need help – join the Smoke Away web site. We’re there for you. You don’t need to take the product to join the site. You just need a desire to quit. And you CAN do it – because there are a whole bunch of us who have.
February 5, 2008 at 2:00 pm
White-Man Stevo
When I first got sick i wanted answer,
I went to the doctor he said I had cancer.
He told me I needed to kick my addiction,
I really didn’t know if that was fact or fiction.
Since I was nine, I’ve been smoking tobacco,
And now I look back, and I think it was whack yo.
I didn’t really wanna be smoking underaged,
But that peer pressure just lemme outta my cage.
It cost so much for one little smoke,
If I keep doing this ima end up broke.
I sure was hooked on that nicotine,
Now I feel stupid if you know what I mean.
Have you ever heard of second-hand smoke,
Even if you’re not puffing it’ll still make you choke.
Being smoke-free that’s the key,
Please guys…take it from me.