Why Quit Smoking?

Tobacco is known as the most widely abused substance in the United States. According to a survey conducted in 2004, about 70.3 million Americans, ages 12 years old and above are currently using tobacco products.

Tobacco is also the leading preventable cause of death in the country. More than $75 billion worth of health care costs are attributed to smoke-related illnesses every year excluding burn care for smoke-induced fires, pre-natal care for infants borne out of mothers who smoke and the cost associated with secondhand and third-hand smoke related illnesses.

On top of that, tobacco addiction has also cost $82 billion worth of lost productivity. All in all the government loses more than $150 billion due to the various effects of smoking.

About 4,000 chemicals are found in tobacco products, 250 of which are toxins. Nicotine is the primary component of tobacco. It is also the one chemical that hooks smokers into smoking as it is the first chemical to act on the brain. An average smoker takes in 1 to 2 mg of nicotine for every stick inhaled. Once a considerable amount of nicotine gets into the bloodstream, it would immediately enter the brain. A typical smoker takes 10 puffs on a cigarette over a 5-minute period before the cigarette is extinguished.

Cigars and pipes are tobacco products that are less likely inhaled by smokers, but there is no escape from the harmful effects of smoking. When these products are used, nicotine is absorbed through the mucosal membranes found in the mouth. Although it reaches the brain slower, it still gets there eventually.

Exposure to nicotine brings about several health implications. Expert studies show that smoking incidence among schizophrenics is as high as 90%. Smoking, therefore, may cause brain damages as well as learning disabilities.

Tobacco addiction is caused by the nicotine’s stimulation of the adrenal glands. It catalyzes the production and discharge of epinephrine or adrenaline. A sudden adrenaline rush caused by nicotine infliction may cause the unexpected release of glucose, increase in blood pressure, respiration and heart rate. In addition, nicotine suppresses the production of insulin in the pancreas. Add that to the fact that it prods the release of too much glucose means that frequent smokers are more like to have elevated blood sugar levels-the cause of diabetes and other related health risks.

All in all tobacco addiction isn’t worth the risks involved, so anyone using any form of tobacco needs to start a quit smoking plan.