Tuesday, July 25, 2006

What's in cigarettes?


What's in cigarettes?
Cigarettes contain disgusting things that you would never think about putting in your body. For example, cigarettes contain tar, carbon monoxide and chemicals like DDT, arsenic and formaldehyde (a gas used to preserve dead animals).


The tobacco in cigarettes also contains nicotine--the drug that makes smoking addictive. All of these things are bad for your body. Nicotine raises your risk of heart attack and stroke. Tar and carbon monoxide cause serious breathing problems. And you know tobacco smoke causes cancer.


What's the real deal with tobacco?
Tobacco is toxic to your body. It causes more health problems and early deaths than all illegal drugs combined. On top of that, tobacco is addictive. This means that once you start using it, your body starts to need it. The longer you use tobacco, and the more you use, the harder it is to stop. Everyone who smokes started by "just trying it." That's how the habit and the addiction begin.

Is chewing tobacco as bad as cigarettes?
Yes. Both cigarettes and chewing tobacco are toxic (poison) to your body. We hear more about the harm cigarettes do to the body, but chewing tobacco can also hurt the body. Chewing tobacco can cause sores and white patches in your mouth, as well as diseases and cancers of the mouth, gums and throat. Chewing can give you bad breath, discolor your teeth and cause tooth loss. And one chew contains 15 times the nicotine of a cigarette (meaning the risk of addiction is much higher).


The numbers?
4,500,000 -- The estimated number of children and adolescents in the United States who smoke.
6000 -- The estimated number of people under the age of 18 who try their first cigarette each day.
70 -- The percent of smokers 12 to 17 years old who wish they had never started smoking.


It's never too late to quit.
If you smoke, it's not too late to make a change. To quit, you must break your addiction to nicotine and your habit of smoking. Your habit is the behavior that goes with your tobacco use, such as lighting a cigarette when you get out of school.


Reasons not to smoke.
Expensive (over $1000 a year for a pack a day)
Bad breath
Stained teeth and hands
Cough/sore throat
Problems breathing
Feeling tired and out of breath
Wrinkles (more, sooner)
Arguments with parents, friends
Cancer risk
Heart disease risk
Gum disease risk
Bad smell in your clothes, hair, skin
Cigarette burns in your car or on your clothes
Risk of secondhand smoke to people around you


Things to do instead of smoking
Chew sugarless gum
Call a friend
Chew sunflower seeds, ground mint leaves or caffeine-free herbal tea leaves
Go to a movie or another place where you can't smoke
Take a walk or work out
Remind yourself why you want to quit

Steps to make quitting easier:
Pick a stop date. Choose a date 2 to 4 weeks away so you can get ready to quit. If possible, choose a time when things in your life will change, like when you're about to start a break from school. Or just pick a time when you don't expect any extra stress at school, work or home. For example, quit after final exams, not during them.
Make a list of the reasons why you want to quit. Keep the list on hand so you can look at it when you have a nicotine craving.

Keep track of where, when and why you smoke. You may want to make notes for a week or so to know ahead of time when and why you will crave a cigarette. Plan what you'll do instead of smoking (see list above for ideas). You may also want to plan what you'll say to people who pressure you to smoke.
Throw away all of your tobacco. Clean out your room if you have smoked there. Throw away your ashtrays and lighters--anything that you connect with your smoking habit.
Tell your friends that you're quitting. Ask them not to pressure you about smoking. Find other things to do with them besides smoking. When your stop date arrives, Stop. Plan little rewards for yourself for each tobacco-free day, week or month. For example, buy yourself a new shirt or ask a friend to see a movie with you.


Will I gain weight when I quit?
Some people gain a few pounds. Other people lose weight. The main reason some people gain weight is because they eat more food as a substitute for smoking. You can avoid gaining weight by watching how much you eat, staying busy and working out.


How will I feel when I quit?
You may feel edgy and irritable. You also may get angry or upset faster, have trouble concentrating and feel hungrier than usual. You may have headaches and cough more at first (while your lungs are clearing out). All of these can be symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine. Keep in mind that the worst symptoms will be over in a few days. However, you may still have cravings for tobacco. Those cravings have less to do with nicotine addiction and more to do with the habit of smoking.


What about nicotine gum or nicotine patches?

These products may help you if you feel like you can't quit on your own or you have serious withdrawal symptoms. But don't use the gum or patch without talking to your doctor first. These products were not designed for teens and could make you sick if you use them the wrong way. You may need to follow special instructions.


What if I can't quit?
You can quit. Most people try to quit more than once before they succeed. So don't give up if you slip. Just don't go overboard and buy a whole pack of cigarettes. Instead, think about why you want to quit. Think about what happened to make you slip. Figure out how you'll handle that situation differently next time. Then recommit yourself to quitting. You can do it!


Obviously, smoking "Light" cigarettes is NOT like drinking Diet Coke.
Light cigarettes are not healthier than regular cigarettes. The "Light" and "Mild" qualifiers are simply "flavours". All "flavours" of cigarettes are deadly.






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Hope I could stop asap! :(

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Umm this is supposed to be a tech blog right?

Here are some pointers:

* Try getting IE7, FF 2.0 b1 or some better browser with "phishing guard", so that you need not to worry about "Fake Yahoo" pages... Besides, everyone surfing the net out there needs to take a look at the page's source once in a while... there are specific "embeds" that can (and will) point out if the site is original or just made up.

* Nice FF in a pocket emblem man :)

* Atheism might work out for a dude who has been the president of India, but in time of despair and poverty while your guts are slowly being digested because of moral perversion, social anomaly and angstful servitude, believing in a superior being does bring hope and serenity.. So screw APJ ABDUL KALAM ANYWAY.

* You wanna block comment-spam? The best way to do is to enable blogger's "CAPTCHA" or image verification system....it can fool basic spam bots and amature DOS (denial of service) attacks... but resistance is futile at the hands of the pros out there ;)

Unknown said...

Smoking is joss :D
I enjoy smoking when i smoke, but i'm not a smoker!
how's that? :P

I've a logic on behalf from the smokers (collected from a joke)
"Since ciger's bad, so we burn it all."

Tahmid Munaz said...

@ Naser
Welcome to my Blog! Thanks! already replied you in your Blog :)


@Rajputtor!
It's not Funny man! Smoking is bad for health and we all are addicted in smoking! Dangerous for passive smokers too!

Anonymous said...

Just wondering where you were able to find that template of light & mild cigarettes.

Anonymous said...

Hey I was doing some research for a college paper and I was gathering information from this site (Properly sited don't worry!) and I just have to put in my two cents. Smoking is horrible for your health. You are poisoning your body and making yourself a slave to a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. You are poising your families and friends around you. You know what your even giving the family pet dog Spot second hand smoke. You should be ashamed of yourslef...This is all you hear when someone is arguing with YOU a smoker about why you shouldn't smoke...Now as a smoker I will agree with all of the above AND MORE...But I need to say this for all the smokers out there who do not have the IQ of .2 ...YOU THINK WE DON"T FREAKIN KNOW???? Of course its bad for you! Its smoke for cripes sake! Ok thats all I have to say...In the words of Ben Harper..."If you don't like my fire then don't come around, cause I'm gonna burn one down." If you don't want to inhale second hand smoke don't be near people who are smoking! Duh. If the stove is hot don't touch it! If the dog bites don't try to pet the darn thing! If you don't like it thats fine and congrats to you seriously in all honesty I'm glad you don't smoke but don't try to tell me what I should be doing with my own body, ITS MINE I'LL MESS IT UP IF I WANT!

Anonymous said...

Ben Harper wasn't talking about cigarettes... ^_^

 
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