Tip #1: Don’t Smoke.
Cutting out bad habits is far more effective than cutting out organs.
Herbert M. Shelton
Smoking now accounts for a third of all cancers
according to the findings of a 2016 study published in JAMA.
Smoking – key statistics and points
Source: Irish Department of Health
- 90% of Lung cancers are caused by smoking
- 50% of all smokers will die from smoking related diseases
- Smokers have an increased risk of cancers, heart disease, strokes, low birth weight and many other diseases
- Smoking is the single most important preventable cause of illness and death
- A non-smoker living with a smoker has a 25% increased risk of lung cancer and a 30% increased risk of heart disease
- Passive smoke exposure increases the risk of stroke by 82%
- Exposure to passive smoking in the workplace increases the risk of lung cancer by up to 40%
- Smokers lose an average of 10-15 years from their life expectancy
One thousand Americans stop smoking every day – by dying.
Author Unknown
QUITTING SMOKING
Source: Be Tobacco Free
If you quit smoking right now…
• Within 20 minutes: Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
• Within 12 hours: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
• Within 3 months: Your circulation and lung function improves.
• Within 9 months: You will cough less and breathe easier.
• After 1 year: Your risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half.
• After 5 years: Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half. Your risk of cervical cancer and stroke return to normal after 5 years.
• After 10 years: You are half as likely to die from lung cancer. Your risk of larynx or pancreatic cancer decreases.
• After 15 years: Your risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a non-smoker’s.
How to quit.
This 2018 study, published in the British Medical Journal shows that people trying to quit smoking will be much more successful if they use Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking rather than the Irish Government initiative Quit.ie
Editors note:
After smoking for some 40 years, I finally stopped with the help of Allen Carr’s book Easy Way to Stop Smoking.
I have no association whatsoever with Allen Carr’s Easyway, but I’m happy to promote this method because I found it to be extremely helpful and effective in helping me to quit smoking.
What are the dangers of vaping?
Source: Cleveland Clinic
The dangers of vaping include lung and other organ damage, breathing problems, addiction and more. People tend to think of vaping as “safer” than smoking, but it’s not safe.
Problems vaping causes include:
- Asthma. Vaping can make you more likely to get asthma and other lung conditions. It can make your existing asthma worse.
- Lung scarring. Diacetyl, a chemical used in some flavorings, can cause bronchiolitis obliterans (“popcorn lung”). Bronchiolitis obliterans causes permanent scarring in your lungs.
- Organ damage. In addition to your lungs, nicotine and other substances in e-liquid can hurt your heart and brain. We know nicotine can hurt brain development, raise your blood pressure and narrow your arteries.
- EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury). EVALI is a serious lung condition that vaping causes. It causes widespread damage to your lungs and gives you symptoms like coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain. EVALI can be fatal.
- Addiction. Nicotine is highly addictive. It causes changes in your brain so you want more and more nicotine. You might not be able to stop vaping if you want to or if it starts causing health problems. Even e-liquids that say they’re nicotine free have small amounts of nicotine.
- Cigarette smoking. Many people start out vaping and end up smoking cigarettes, which contain higher amounts of harmful chemicals.
- Second-hand exposure. Vaping doesn’t make smoke, but people around you are exposed to nicotine and other chemicals when you vape.
- Explosions. There have been incidents of batteries in vaping devices exploding and causing serious injuries and burns.
- Cancer. Some ingredients in e-liquids are known to cause cancer.
What is EVALI?
EVALI is short for e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury. It’s a serious lung condition caused by vaping. Vitamin E acetate, found in some e-liquids, is a possible cause.
An outbreak of EVALI in late 2019 and early 2020 put thousands of people in the hospital. At least 68 people died.
Useful Websites:
Oncoimmune.com (a simple blood test to aid in the risk assessment and early detection of lung cancer)
Allen Carr
Quit
ASH Ireland
Be Tobacco Free.Gov (USA)
Page updated 2024