Cigarette smoking is still very common despite the known hazards to ones health. One of the primary objectives of this column is to reduce the occurrence of the devastating health conditions and reduce healthcare costs associated with the conditions caused by smoking.
If your health is not enough to encourage you to quit, perhaps the health of your family and friends will play a part in the decision-making process.
Smoking during pregnancy is very common and causes significant harm to you and your babys health before, during and after your baby is born.
Hazardous chemicals such as nicotine, carbon monoxide and a variety of other poisons inhaled during smoking go directly to your baby.
Smoking during pregnancy has been found to cause the following:
Decreases vital amounts of oxygen to organ and brain tissue.
Increases chemical stress causing an elevation of heart rate and blood pressure.
Increases the risk of pre-eclampsia, miscarriage and stillbirth.
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Increases respiratory distress and the development of lung disease.
There is a direct relationship between the amount of cigarettes smoked per day and the chance of severe complications for the mother and the baby.
There is no safe amount of smoke before, during or after pregnancy. It is very common for individuals that smoke to have friends, family and colleagues smoking as well.
Why is this important? It commonly affects the ability to quit smoking. When you succeed, the possible secondhand smoke is more dangerous.
Constant exposure to smoke and secondhand smoke significantly increases the risk of developing lung cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, allergies, asthma and other respiratory related conditions. The only solution is to reduce your exposure and quit smoking altogether.
How can I quit smoking? Smoking cessation programmes are not readily available in many countries around the world. The following steps have been found to increase your success:
Hide matches, lighters, and ashtrays.
Designate your home and family areas as non-smoking.
Kindly ask people who smoke not to smoke close to you.
Eliminate caffeinated beverages; caffeine commonly stimulates your urge to smoke.
Avoid alcohol as it increase your urge to smoke and can also harm your baby.
Change your habits connected with smoking and substitute other activities.
Physical activity helps relieve tension. Take a walk and engage in exercise.
How will I feel when I quit? Research has shown benefits of quitting smoking happen immediately.
After you quit, your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal quickly. It is very common for individuals to experience symptoms of withdrawal from the dangerous additives and chemicals in cigarettes.
It is common for irritability, hunger and headaches to occur while quitting smoking. The side effects of quitting outweigh the side effects of smoking. The withdrawal symptoms are only temporary while symptoms of smoking can cause irreversible disease.
The key to breaking any habit and creating a new one is time. It has been found it takes approximately three weeks to create a positive habit.
The three weeks may be difficult, but can positively impact years and decades. If you quit smoking and have a relapse, do not worry. It has been quoted that 75% of people relapse at some point.
The average person needs to quit three times before achieving success. The purpose is always constant, continual improvement. Even if you reduce the amount of cigarettes, it has a significant impact on your overall health and wellbeing.
This column is a reader directed column. Every email is read and responded to. If you have further questions and topics for future columns, please email:[email protected]
