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* Hasn't reached graduation date yet.
**Two time graduate
***Three time graduate
* * *
It is the most
important way to show their commitment by accepting the fact that their smoking
is an addiction that is harmful to themselves and can result only in further
complication of their disease.
We realize that
this may not be the first time they quit, but hopefully the last.
Download the Stop Smoking eBook in HTML
Download the Stop Smoking eBook in PDF
* * *
Quitsters in Progress
| see above list of
Quitsters |
* * *
Those
Learning and Prepping for their Quit
| Bruce Abolafia |
Ginny Baldwin |
| Lee Bowman |
Karen Craswell |
| Patti Dicken |
Cindy Faye |
| Jane Gibson |
Sherry Heller |
| Wayne Hyder |
Linda James |
| David Kelty |
Susan Kleese |
| Rosemary Larkin |
Mary Lewis |
| Monica Lynn |
Karen McCreary |
| Nancy Millsap |
Kathleen Owen |
| Katina Slade |
James Slocumb |
| Jessie Williams |
Bonnie Yates |
To track your success
in money and time added to your life, go to:
Silkquit and download to
your hard drive. Have fun!
* * *
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Some
Facts About Smoking and What It Can Do For/Against You
HOW YOUR BODY REACTS AFTER YOUR LAST CIGARETTE
Within 20
minutes of your last cigarette, your blood pressure and heart rate drop to
normal!
Within 8 hours of your last cigarette, the carbon monoxide level in your
blood drops and oxygen levels in your blood increase to normal!
Within 24 hours of your last cigarette, your chance of heart attack
decreases!
Within 48 hours of your last cigarette, your sense of taste and smell
increase!
Within 72 hours of your last cigarette, your bronchial tubes relax, making
breathing easier, and your lung capacity increases!
Within 2 to 12 weeks, coughing, sinus congestion and shortness of breath
decrease, your lungs' ability to clean themselves and ward off infection
increases!
After 5 years, for average smokers, the rate of death from lung cancer is
nearly cut in half!
After 10 years, the lung cancer death rate is nearly the same as that for
non-smokers! Pre-cancerous cells are replaced and the chance of developing
cancer of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas also
decreases!
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Health & Safety Update - You Can Quit If You
Want!
Some Thoughts About Quitting Smoking
Breaking your
smoking habit is the single most important change you can make for better
health. In fact, there is no longer any speculation about it: Recent evidence
proves that smoking damages lung tissue. But, of the 45 million American
smokers, each year, 70% want to quit, 34% try to quit, but only 3% succeed. Why
do so many want to quit but so few succeed? If you really want to stop smoking,
you can. If you are trying to quit because you think you should, you won't be
successful.
There are lots
of reasons people don't try to quit. Some people think they just can't do it.
Others smoke to relax or deal with stress. Some people are afraid of gaining
weight. For still others, its just a really hard to kick habit.
When your are ready, you CAN do it. However, you will have to decide for
yourself when the time is right; when smoking is no longer worth the risks.
Throughout this section of Healthy News, we will provide you with information
about smoking; the health risks involved, how to decide if you are ready to
quit, and how to break your smoking habit when you are ready. So, if you
haven't quit because of some of the reasons mentioned above or other reasons of
your own, maybe we can help you get over the hurdles that are stopping you from
stopping.
THE TRUTH ABOUT SMOKING
So, what is
really happening when you smoke? The truth of the matter is that smoking
impacts your entire body:
Cigarette smoke causes inflammation of the lungs that can lead to chronic
bronchitis. The cilia that line the lungs and sweep inhaled pollutants out of
the lungs are destroyed by smoking. Once cilia are destroyed, the body creates
more mucus to trap inhaled pollutants. Then it must get rid of this extra
mucus, causing "smoker's cough."
Over time, the elasticity of lung tissue may be destroyed causing emphysema. Cells in the lungs may begin to change from long-term exposure to the
harmful gases in cigarette smoke, resulting in lung cancer. The carbon monoxide
(CO) in cigarette smoke attaches more easily to red blood cells than oxygen.
When the heart does not get enough oxygen, muscle damage takes place and can
result in heart attack.
The nicotine in cigarettes increases your heart rate and blood pressure,
making your heart work harder.
Nicotine narrows your arteries, reducing circulation to all parts of your
body, which also increases your blood pressure, and your risk of a heart attack
or stroke. Diabetics who smoke are at even great risk for circulatory complications.
Smoking has also been linked to other types of cancer, such as breast or
bladder cancer.
THE TRUTH ABOUT NICOTINE
Smoking is
more than just a habit. Nicotine, the drug in tobacco, is physically addicting.
The 1988 Surgeon General's Report reports the following:
Nicotine affects the body in different ways. The smoker experiences
pleasurable feelings that make him or her want to smoke more. In stressful
situations, it can have an affect like a tranquilizer, while during quiet times
it can act as a stimulant.
Nicotine inhaled deeply reaches the brain in 10 seconds. When a person
smokes regularly, nicotine levels in the body accumulate and have an impact on
the body 24 hours a day. When an individual becomes addicted to nicotine then quits smoking, he or
she suffers very real physical and psychological symptoms of withdrawal,
including: nervousness, headaches, irritability and difficulty sleeping. In
addition, because nicotine affects the chemicals in the brain, it can affect the mood and disposition of the smoker.
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