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What does smoking do to your health?
Surely you've heard by now that smoking damages your health (if you're tired of hearing it, skip this section). If you already have one of the diseases listed below, you may be virtually certain that the cigarettes you have smoked contributed, perhaps greatly. Furthermore, you can also count on stabilizing or reversing the problems if you quit.
- Lung disease, lung cancer, emphysema -- these are RARE DISEASES in the absence of smoking.
- Heart disease, particularly diseases of the heart arteries. I have always felt that the American Lung and the American Cancer Societies have done a much better job than heart organizations in getting out their message about smoking. Smoking kills more people through its increase in heart attacks than it does with cancer or emphysema! Let's look at some of the cardiovascular risks:
- 30% of deaths due to heart attacks and coronary artery disease are due to smoking.
- The risk of a heart attack is increased six times in women and three times in men (this is at one pack per day)
- People who continue to smoke after a heart attack increase their risk by 25-50%
- The risks of stroke is markedly increased.
- Cancers other than lung cancer: Associations are noted with bladder, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, larynx, mouth, cervix.
- Peptic ulcer disease
The fact that smoking causes problems for the heart arteries is not surprising when you consider that smoking has been demonstrated to:
- Increase bad (LDL) cholesterol
- Lower good (HDL) cholesterol
- Increases insulin resistance
- Cigarettes are loaded with "free radicals" which "oxidize" the LDL cholesterol. Oxidized LDL is the very worst type of cholesterol.
- Directly accelerate the progression of the atherosclerotic plaque.
- Increase the heart rate and the blood pressure
- Increase fibrinogen, a protein involved in the formation of clots
- Increase the "stickiness" of platelets, the blood elements involved in clotting
- Impairs the responsiveness of the cells lining the blood vessels.
- Makes the carotid arteries thicker and other arteries stiffer.
- Causes spasm of the heart arteries.Why should I quit? Well, obviously to avoid the problems above. But beyond this, consider
- The money you'll save (1 pack per day approaches $1000 in a year)
- The time and trouble you'll save going to smoking areas.
- You will feel better. This may not be as dramatic as some would paint the picture, at least over the short run, but over the long haul it is certainly true.
- Food does smell and taste better.
- Isn't it time you stopped giving the cigarette manufacturer's your money?| Read article "Is Your TV Making You Fat?" | | A recent study of more than 68,000 American women over a 6 year period showed that regularly watching just two hours of TV a day increased the risk of developing obesity by 23 per cent and type 2 diabetes by 14 per cent. |
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