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The Startling Truths about Tobacco

One thousand Americans stop smoking every day - by dying. Author Unknown

Did you know that the smoking related diseases claim about 438,000 American lives every year? Smoking costs the United States over $167 billion per year in health-care; including $92 billion in mortality-related productivity loses, and $75 billion in direct medical expenditures. That’s an average of $3,702 per adult smoker. Worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that currently there are 3.5 million tobacco related deaths each year. That figure is expected to rise to about 10 million by 2030. 70% of these deaths will occur in developing countries.

The tobacco industry is worth US $400 billion and it is difficult to stop their aggressive promotion.

Alarmingly, Tobacco Remains Popular among Youth

36% of high school students smoke
25% of high school males use smokeless tobacco
Every day 6,000+ kids have their first cigarettes; 3,000 of them will become regular smokers
500 million packs of cigarettes are sold illegally to kids every year

15.5 million kids are exposed to secondhand smoke at home
Today 3,000,000+ kids smoke almost one billion packs of cigarettes a year
Over 5,000,000 kids under 18 alive today will ultimately die from tobacco use
Kids are three times as sensitive to tobacco advertising as adults
86% of kids buy one of the three most heavily advertised brands (Marlboro, Camel or Newport)
Kids are more likely to be influenced by tobacco advertising than by peer pressure (the tobacco industry spends $5.2 billion every year in the US on advertising and promotion)

Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics. – Author Unknown.

The Dangers of Tobacco Use

Addictiveness
Back Pain
Cancer: It is the major cause of cancers such as; lung cancer, mouth, laryngeal, esophageal cancer, breast cancer in women, gastrointestinal cancer, cervical cancer, blood cancer, and kidney and bladder cancers
Childhood Respiratory Ailments and Ear Infections are more common in children whose parents smoke
Diabetes
Emphysema :Smoking causes about 85% of all deaths from emphysema
Heart Disease: Smokers have about 4 times more risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those who don’t smoke
Infertility: Couples in which at least one member smokes are more than 3 times more likely to have trouble getting pregnant
Low Birth Weight: Women who smoke as few as 5 cigarettes per day during pregnancy have a significantly greater risk of giving birth to an underweight baby
Nutrition: Smoking causes lower levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol
Osteoporosis: Female smokers tend to have menopause 5 to 10 years earlier than expected, causing increased bone thinning at an earlier age
Premature Aging: Constant exposure to tobacco smoke prematurely wrinkles facial skin and yellows teeth and fingernails
Delayed Recovery From Injury Or Surgery: People who smoke have delayed healing of wounds and bones
Stroke Risk increases manifold with smokers
Tooth Loss: Use of snuff or chewing tobacco causes gum recession and tooth loss
Fires: Smoking is the leading cause of fire in homes, hotels, and hospitals

Complementary therapies for Nicotine

Aromatherapy

Essential oils which help make the nicotine withdrawal easier, are specifically aimed at calming the nervous system. Such oils are basil, cypress, marjoram, neroli, patchouli, rose, sandalwood and tangerine.

Mood swings and over-sensitivity occur in a person trying to quit tobacco. In these conditions, chamomile, cypress, geranium and lavender essential oils are useful. For lack of concentration, essential oils such as basil, peppermint and rosemary are useful. Anger is eased by chamomile and ylang ylang, while panic and hysteria are calmed by chamomile, clary sage, neroli and lavender. In tobacco addicts with shortness of breath will benefit from fennel, frankincense and lavender.

Acupuncture

This has helped many people to give up smoking within 3 to four weeks. The body points are chosen to target symptoms of dizziness, restlessness, insomnia, indigestion, nausea, cough and a tight chest.

Reflexology

This will target the lungs to eliminate toxins and give general stress relief.

Colour Therapy

The blue color has been recommended for relaxation and relief from irritability.

Homeopathy

Several medications used synergistically are useful in conferring relief from headaches and irritability that can be caused by nicotine withdrawal. Prominent among those remedies are Lobelia inflata, Nux vomica, Ignatia, Caladium, Avena Sativa and Passiflora.

Plantago is another useful remedy for smoking withdrawal by stopping the craving for tobacco. It also relieves the withdrawal symptoms and helps the addict to sleep well and prevents depression.

Quitting Takes Full Mind and Body Strength

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man. When quitting smoking it is important to realize that we are not trying to break a bad habit but we are overcoming an addiction that is controlling our lives. You may try nicotine patches, complementary therapies and even counseling. But at the end of the day it is only your will power and your awareness of the dangers of tobacco will help you overcome this deadly addiction.

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by Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan

Tags: nicotine tobacco

What? You have nothing to say?

Now is not the time to be silent. These issues affect us all

Greg Bellan
September 25th, 2007 at 3:50 pm

Thank you for a GREAT post! It’s amazing how much misinformation is out there and to run across something that’s accurate and to the point about the facts is very refereshing!

While smoking gets the majority of the headlines these days, smokeless tobacco (chew, dip, etc.) is a huge problem as well. For more information on quitting, head over to http://forum.killthecan.org/

Thanks again!
Gina
September 28th, 2007 at 8:35 am

Greg,

Thanks for reading. I was amazed to discover how much money is still spent on marketing this poison — andreally sickened by how many children can get cigarettes illegally.

Gina