Smoking

Steps to Help You Break

the Habit

1
 WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW

• More than 400,000 deaths in the

U.S. each year are from smoking-
related illnesses.

• Smoking kills an estimated

120,000 people each year in the
UK. It is a major cause of illness
and premature death – on
average, persistent smokers die
10 years younger than non-
smokers.
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Tobacco contains over 4,000
chemicals, many of which
are harmful. These include:
• Benzene - solvent used in fuel and chemical
manufacture
• Formaldehyde - highly poisonous, colourless
liquid used to preserve dead bodies
• Ammonia - chemical found in cleaning fluids.
Used in cigarettes to increase the delivery of
nicotine
• Hydrogen cyanide - poisonous gas used in the
manufacture of plastics, dyes, and pesticides.
Often used as a fumigant to kill rats
• Cadmium - extremely poisonous metal found in
batteries
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• Acetone - solvent found in nail polish remover
 The three main
components of inhaled
smoke are :

• Nicotine
• Carbon monoxide
• Tar

all of which can cause

disease.
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 It is absorbed into the bloodstream and
effects the brain within 10 seconds. If
you are a regular smoker, when the
blood level of nicotine falls, you usually
develop withdrawal symptoms such as
craving, anxiety, restlessness,
headaches, irritability, hunger, difficulty
with concentration, or just feeling awful.
These symptoms are relieved by the
next cigarette. So, most smokers need
to smoke regularly to feel 'normal', and 5
 Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas
found in car fumes, which reduces
the amount of oxygen carried in the
blood. Oxygen is vital for the body’s
organs to function efficiently. The
reduction in oxygen changes the
consistency of the blood, making it
thicker and putting the heart under
increased strain as it pumps blood
around the body. 6
 Tar

Tar contains many substances

proven to cause cancer. Irritants
found in tar damage the lungs
causing narrowing of the tubes
(bronchioles) and damaging the
small hairs (cilia) that protect the
lungs from dirt and infection.
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8
Effects of Smoking and
the reasons to Stop

International studies of millions

of people by government,
industry, universities, and private
research institutions have 9
 Cancers
• Lung cancer (About 30,000 people in the UK
die from lung cancer each year. More than 8
in 10 cases are directly related to smoking).
• Mouth, throat and nose cancer
• Cancer of the larynx
• Oesophageal cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Leukaemia

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 Heart and circulatory
diseases
• Heart attacks and Heart disease (is
the biggest killer illness in the UK.
About 120,000 people in the UK die
each year from heart disease).
• Arteriosclerosis - build up of fatty
deposits in the blood vessels. Causes
loss of elasticity in the artery walls,
which can lead to diseases such as
stroke, gangrene and aortic
aneurysms.
• High blood pressure 12
 Respiratory disease and
Other illnesses
• Asthma.
• Chronic Polmunary

(About 25,000 people in the

UK die each year from this serious lung disease. More
than 8 in 10 of these deaths are directly linked to
smoking).
• Increased frequency of colds, particularly chest colds
and bronchitis.

• Shortness of breath.
• Headaches.

• Stained teeth, fingers, and hair

• Insomnia.
• Diarrhea and colitis.
• Arthritis. 13
• Blood flow to the extremities is decreased (cold hands
and feet).
• Smoking decreases the oxygen supply, requiring a
higher blood pressure, thus causing extensive
circulatory problems and premature heart attacks.
Smokers have difficulty running and exercising.
• Air pollution (auto exhausts, industry wastes, etc.)
increases the lung cancer rate of the smoker, but not
of the non-smoker.
• The time to recover from any specific ill, whether
caused by smoking or not, is much longer for the
smoker. Often, a non-smoker will survive a sickness
from which he would have died had he smoked.
• The smoker's body requires more sleep every night.
This extra sleep must come from his spare time.
Besides needing more sleep, smokers don't sleep as
well.
• Smokers are sick more often, Smoking destroys
vitamins, particularly vitamin C and the B's. Lower
intelligence has been related to smoking. In fact,
smoking is both a cause and an effect of lower
intelligence, just as smoking is both a cause and effect
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of lower income.
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 What are the benefits of
stopping smoking?

The benefits begin straight away.

You reduce your risk of getting
serious disease no matter what age
you give up. However, the sooner
you stop, the greater the reduction in
your risk

It is never too late to stop smoking to

gain health benefits. 16
 Benefits of stopping
smoking include the
following:
– Breathing improves.
– Chest infections and colds become less
frequent.
– Reduction in 'smoker's cough'.
– The smell of stale tobacco goes from
your breath, clothes, hair, and face.
– Foods and drinks taste and smell much
better.
– Finances improve.
– You are likely to feel good about
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yourself.
How can I stop smoking?

About 2 in 3 smokers want to stop

smoking. Some people can give up
easily. Willpower and determination
are the most important aspects when
giving up smoking. However, nicotine
is a drug of addiction and many
people find giving up a struggle.

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 Getting Ready to Quit

• Set a date for quitting. If possible, have a friend quit

smoking with you.
• Notice when and why you smoke. Try to find the
things in your daily life that you often do while
smoking (such as drinking your morning cup of coffee,
etc).
• Change your smoking routines: Keep your cigarettes
in a different place. Smoke with your other hand.
Don't do anything else when smoking. Think about
how you feel when you smoke.
• Smoke only in certain places, such as outdoors.
• When you want a cigarette, wait a few minutes. Try to
think of something to do instead of smoking; you
might chew gum or drink a glass of water.
Buy one pack of cigarettes
at a time. Switch to a brand of cigarettes you don't
like. 19
•
 On the Day You Quit

• Get support and encouragement.

• Learn how to handle stress and the urge to smoke.
When you get that urge to smoke (and you will), drink
some water. Relax by taking a hot bath, going for a
walk, or breathing slowly and deeply. Think of changes
in your daily routine that will help you resist the urge
to smoke. For example, if you used to smoke when
you drank coffee, drink hot tea instead. Think about
how your cigarette money helps support those
hypocritical tobacco companies whose income is
derived at the expense of the health, wealth,
happiness, efficiency, and resources of the addicted
smoker.
• Give yourself rewards for stopping smoking. For
example, with the money you save by not smoking,
buy yourself something special.
• Get medication and use it correctly. Nicotine
replacement products are ways to take in nicotine 20
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Keep trying

Keep trying. Many ex-smokers did

not succeed at first, but they kept
trying.The first few days after
stopping will probably be the
hardest. Show yourself and to the
others who you are. Life's too good
and too short to waste on that filthy
habit.
Thank You for your 22