Health In Motion

Here’s another reason not to start the fool habit of smoking. In a four-year study of more than 1,200 sixth-grade students in Massachusetts, 10 per cent of those who smoked were addicted within two days of first inhaling, and another 25 per cent were hooked within a month.

Among the 217 students who had smoked, some suffering withdrawal symptoms after being deprived of only a few cigarettes a month. These findings are contrary to the common belief that only people who smoke at least five cigarettes a day experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms—such as cravings, restlessness, irritability, and difficulty in concentrating.

“Laboratory experiments confirm that nicotine alters the structure and function of the brain within a day of the very first dose. In humans, nicotine-induced alterations in the brain can trigger addiction with the first cigarette,” commented lead researcher Dr. Joseph R. DiFranza, Professor of Family Medicine & Community Health.

At first, that one cigarette will relieve the craving produced by nicotine withdrawal for weeks, researchers said. But as tolerance to nicotine builds, the smoker must puff away ever more frequently to cope with withdrawal.

The moral of the story is: Nobody expects to get addicted from smoking one cigarette, but they just might. “Addiction-related changes in the brain caused by nicotine are permanent and remain years after a smoker has quit,” said DiFranza.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The facts are brutal: Nearly one third of 45,000 annual cancer deaths in Canada are tobacco related, making it the number one preventable cause of death. Want to save your lungs? Stop smoking! Tobacco causes at least 85% of all lung cancers. Want to reduce your chances of contracting cancer of the bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, mouth, esophagus, larynx and colon? Stop smoking — it’s a major contributor! In fact, one out of every two long term smokers will die from this habit.

The immediate effects are:

1. Raised blood pressure and heart rate

2. Decreased blood flow to body extremities

3. Stimulated brain and nervous system activity for a short time

4. May cause dizziness, nausea, watery eyes and acid in the stomach

5. Appetite, taste and smell are weakened

Longer term effects increase the risk of developing:

1. Respiratory infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis

2. Emphysema – a progressive and potentially fatal lung disease

3. Heart attack and Coronary disease

4. Cancer

5. Stomach ulcers

6. Peripheral vascular disease due to decreased blood flow to the legs

Here’s another fact. Even if you’re a non-smoker, you may be affected. Cigarette’s produce 12 minutes of smoke. A smoker inhales only about 30 seconds of that. Many of us are affected by second hand smoke, through the use of tobacco products by others around us. Though this habit may be satisfying for the smoker, bystanders are subjected to a toxic mixture of chemicals produced during the burning and smoking of these products.

How bad is it? There are approximately 4000 chemical compounds in second hand smoke and more than 40 of these are cancer causing. In fact, smoke from the burning end of a cigarette has more harmful chemicals in it than the smoke directly inhaled by a smoker, through a filtered cigarette. Some 3,500 non-smokers tragically die of it every year in Canada. So if you’re in a place where people are smoking, you’ll be breathing in this air. That brings the issue right to the foreground, doesn’t it?

Many times non-smokers are told to just tough it out or to stop being overly sensitive. Here are some specific ingredients in cigarettes that illustrate the ignorance of such statements. Please note, we’ve included a 1989 confidential memo from the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., which highlights many more secret ingredients than shown here – (Scroll down 1/4 page for the memo). You won’t believe the list of ingredients:

Formaldehyde – causes cancer and can damage your lungs, skin and digestive tract; suspected mucus flow inhibitant; used to preserve dead bodies.

Toluene – highly toxic; causes tremors, destroys nervous system

Lead – causes serious damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system and red blood cells.

Acetone – used as a paint stripper; exposure to vapours causes eye and nose irritation.

Arsenic – a deadly poison

Ammonia – added to tobacco to help absorb more nicotine, keeping you hooked.

Propylene Glycol – companies claim they add it to keep tobacco from drying out.

Benzene – causes leukemia; known cancer causing substance

Cadmium – used in car batteries; damages liver, kidneys and stays in the body for years

Nicotine – an active ingredient in bug spray; as addicitve as heroin; causes blood vessels to constrict and blood pressure to rise.

Carbon Monoxide – deadly colourless, odourless gas from car exhaust; reduces ability of blood to carry oxygen to human tissues.

Benzoapyrene – potent cancer causing chemical (confidential tobacco memo)

Uranium – radioactive element; lung cancer (confidential tobacco memo)

Mercury – extremely toxic liquid used in thermometers

Anthracenes – suspected lung carcinogen

Asbestos – causes asbestosis & lung cancer (confidential tobacco memo)

Vinyl Chloride – a carcinogen with liver damage and cancer risks; makes PVC

Hydrogen Cyanide – poison used in gas chambers

4-Aminobiphenyl - recognized carcinogen; cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory and kidney toxicant, as well as neurotoxicant

Urethane – recognized carcinogen; cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, kidney, respiratory and liver toxicant, as well as skin or sense organ toxicant.

Arsenic – suspected lung carcinogen (confidential tobacco memo)

Pirazines – suspected lung carcinogen

Phenol – disinfectant, mucus flow inhibitor (confidential tobacco memo)

Radon – radioactivity; lung cancer (confidential tobacco memo)

It’s enough to make you sick – very sick! Second hand smoke increases the risk of developing heart disease by 25% and is a major cause of lung cancer and respiratory disease. If you have a pre-existing heart, lung, or allergic condition, these can also be seriously aggravated by others carelessly smoking around you. So make sure to take care of your surrounding environment, and you’ll take care of your health.