Cigarette habit

Cigarettes are made from dried tobacco leaves which contain nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive substance which acts on the nervous system as well as the metabolism. It is commonly used to calm ones nerves and to suppress one’s appetite. People who smoke cigarettes become reliant on the nicotine to calm them during stressful situations. This makes quitting very difficult as today’s lifestyle is both fast and stressful.

Many smokers also fear that quitting will result in weight gain. Weight gain is common among people who quit smoking as they no longer have nicotine to increase their metabolism and suppress their appetite. Often smokers who have quit become fidgety and restless and turn to snacking in an attempt to compensate for no longer having a cigarette in their hands or mouth. Nicotine withdrawal also includes symptoms of anxiety, agitation, irritability and insomnia. Nicotine is found in all forms of tobacco use including snuff, chewing tobacco and smoking.

The harmful effects of tobacco use are vast. Cigarette smoking causes lung disease and damage such as lung cancer and emphysema. Damage to the heart and circulatory system, such as hardening of the arteries, increased blood pressure and cholesterol levels, thickening and clotting of the blood, and heart strain (due to an increase in the heart rate) are all known harmful effects of smoking. The carbon monoxide inhaled by smokers also reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen and the decreased amount of oxygen may cause damage to various tissues in the body. Nicotine may also cause bladder, tongue, throat, mouth and lip cancer. Second hand smoke also has harmful effects on non-smokers and as a result smoking in public areas is banned in most countries. In pregnant women nicotine may reduce the amount of oxygen and nutrients that reach the foetus and this may result in stilted growth and retardation of the baby.

Despite all the known health risks of smoking, quitting smoking is extremely difficult. This may in part be explained by the fact the harmful effects of smoking take years before they have a physical affect on the body and smoking is therefore not perceived as an immediate threat. The unpleasant withdrawal symptoms and the emotional dependency on nicotine that smokers develop are major contributors to the lack of willingness of smokers to quit. Many smokers believe they cannot quit and many claim they simply enjoy smoking too much to quit. For those who do make the decision to quit smoking, the relapse rate is very high. It is estimated that up to 60% of people will return to smoking within 6 months of quitting.

The reasons for a person to start smoking are unclear and often ambiguous. Peer pressure is said to play a large role in the decision by adolescents to start smoking. Cigarette adverts, although now banned in many countries often depict smokers as desirable and successful and most movies contain scenes where smoking is depicted as pleasurable and desirable and often lead characters are depicted as smokers. Children whose parents are smokers are more likely to smoke than children whose parents do not smoke. Many of the harmful affects of smoking can be reversed if smoking and nicotine intake are stopped soon enough. Damage reversal increases yearly in smokers who have stopped, and smokers who quit by the age of thirty are likely to live as long as those who never smoked. Supplements such as antioxidants are also helpful in improving circulation and helping damaged tissues.

Quitting smoking requires a strong determination and motivation and a large amount of will power. Support from loved ones and the people around a smoker wishing to quit has a very strong influence on their ability to quit and to avoid relapse. Support is vital and there are many organizations who offer support and encouragement to people who wish to quit smoking. For smokers who wish to quit it is important for them to believe that they can quit, because they can. All smokers possess within them the strength to quit despite their fears and apprehensions.

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