Nicotine
1. Introduction.
2. What is nicotine?
3. What is tar?
4. What is carbon monoxide?
5. Why smoking is harmful?
6. Diseases caused by smoking?
7. Young people and smoking.
8. The benefits of stopping smoking.
PURCHASE A NICOTINE TEST
A SMOKER WHO STARTS AT THE AGE OF 15 IS THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DEVELOP LUNG CANCER THAN SOMEONE WHO STARTS AT 25.
This powerful, fast-acting drug is one of the most addictive substances on the planet. Most people who smoke become dependent on the nicotine they get from cigarettes. When a smoker inhales, nicotine gets into their bloodstream, affecting their brain 7 to 10 seconds later. Nicotine has many complex effects on the body, including increasing heart rate and blood pressure, and speeding up the metabolism. Nicotine also affects the mood and behaviour of the smoker.
Tar is the sticky brown substance that stains smokers’ finers and teeth yellow. When a smoker inhales, about 70 percent of the tar in the smoke stays in the smokers lungs. Many of the substances in tar are already known to cause cancer. Irritants in tar can also damage the lungs by causing narrowing of the bronchiloles and damaging the cilia that helps protect lungs from dirt and infection.
A poisonous gas found in high concentrations in tobacco smoke. Large amounts can kill. Carbon monoxide lowers the oxygen in the bloodstream by up to 15%, cutting down the efficiency of the lungs. Cells and tissues need oxygen to function efficiently. Carbon monoxide is especially harmful during pregnancy as it reduces the amount of oxygen carried to the womb and baby.
Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including at least 50 that are known to cause cancer. Three of the main components are nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar. Nicotine is what makes smoking addictive, while carbon monoxide and tar can cause serious diseases.
The diseases caused by smoking:-
Coronary heart disease
Lung cancer
Chronic bronchitis
Chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Emphysema
Pneumonia
Smoking is also related to all these other diseases:-
Heart and Circulation
. Heart attacks
. Arteriosclerosis (this is the build-up of fatty deposits and loss of elasticity in the artery walls which can lead to a range of diseases, including strokes, peripheral vascular disease and gangrene, and aortic and other aneurysms)
. Buerger’s disease (which can lead to gangrene and amputations)
Cancers
. Lung
. Mouth, nose and throat
. Larynx
. Oesophagus
. Pancreas
. Bladder
. Stomach
. Leukaemia
. Kidney
Respiratory
. Chronic bronchitis
. Emphysema and other lung diseases
. Recurrent infections in the airways
. Lung damage and loss of efficiency
Others
. Impotence
. Peptic Ulcers
. Adverse effects on fertility
Smoking can also make you more prone to everyday complaints like colds and make them more severe.
The proportion of regular teenage smokers fell from 13 percent in 1996 to 9 percent in 1999, then rose again to 10 percent in 2000 and stayed this level in 2001. Smoking has been relatively more prevalant among girls since 1986 and the picture is the same internationally.
A smoker who starts at the age of 15 is three times more likely to develop lung cancer than someone who starts at 25.
Stopping smoking is the biggest single thing that you can do to improve your health. Once you stop taking nicotine, carbon monoxide, tar and other poisons, your body can begin to repair the damage done by smoking.
Giving up will:-
. Reduce your chances of developing cancer.
. Help you breathe more easily.
. Help you cope better with sudden exertion, like running for a bus.
. Reduce the phlegm in your lungs so you cough less.
. Improve your sense of taste and smell.
. Stop your hair, skin and breath smelling of smoke.
. Stop any decline in lung efficiency.
Giving up increases your chances of living a longer and healthier life!
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