Šalje: QuitSmokingSupport.com [support@quitsmokingsupport.com] Poslano: 25. prosinac 2000 15:44 Prima: List Member Predmet: QuitSmoking Newsletter QuitSmokingSupport.com - http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ==================================================================== QuitSmokingNewsletter - Monday December 25, 2000 Volume 3 Number 42 http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com support@quitsmokingsupport.com ==================================================================== We wish you a happy and safe holiday and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thinking about quitting smoking? Get some of the most interactive online support available on QuitSmokingSupport's bulletin board at: http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/76750 Be sure to check out our excellent selection of quitting smoking books in our Amazon.com Bookstore : http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/amazon.htm ===================================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: ** Smoking Dangers and Nicotine ** ** You Too Can Stop Smoking ** ** Avoiding Triggers ** ** Don't Worry About Your Waistline When You Quit Smoking! ** ===================================================================== QUITSMOKING.COM Be sure you visit http://www.quitsmoking.com Excellent Information and Products to Help Smokers Quit! ===================================================================== Smoking Dangers and Nicotine Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States where more than 400,000 deaths every year are attributed to smoking. At least one in three of these deaths is related to cardiovascular disease. The reason: Tobacco smoke contains about 4,000 substances, many of them known to cause adverse health effects. The dangers of three of them, nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide are particularly important. Nicotine is the principal substance that causes addiction to tobacco. It stimulates the release of epinephrine--adrenaline--into the smoker's bloodstream, forcing the heart to work harder (and offering a possible explanation for why smokers have raised blood pressure). By constricting blood vessels, including the coronary arteries, nicotine compromises the heart's own blood supply. Tar in tobacco produces chronic irritation of the respiratory system and is a major cause of lung cancer. Carbon monoxide passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, where it combines with hemoglobin and reduces the amount of oxygen that can be carried in your red blood cells. It also damages blood vessel linings, contributing to atherosclerosis. In the long term, persistently high levels of carbon monoxide in the blood lead to hardening of the arteries, which increases the risk of a heart attack. Smoking also contributes to hardening of the arteries and to atherosclerosis by lowering HDL cholesterol levels. Triglyceride (fat) levels may also be higher in smokers. And smoking also raises blood levels of fibrinogen, a substance involved in clotting, thereby increasing the likelihood of a blood clot forming in an already narrowed heart artery. The main cardiovascular risk from smoking is that it promotes atherosclerosis in blood vessels. The mechanism for this effect isn't certain, but several potential links have been identified. Smoking reduces the proportion of HDL (good) cholesterol to LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood and increases the tendency for blood to clot inside blood vessels and obstruct blood flow. Components of tobacco smoke, particularly carbon monoxide, may also directly damage the internal lining of the blood vessels. Inhaling cigarette smoke--even through second-hand smoke, which causes an estimated 37,000 to 40,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease each year--also has a temporary but harmful effect on your heart and blood vessels that may lead to serious consequences, such as a heart attack. That's because the nicotine in smoke raises your blood pressure and increases heart rate. Carbon monoxide, the same gas in car exhaust that's lethal in closed spaces, gets into your blood and reduces the amount of oxygen your blood can carry to your heart and the rest of your body. These effects of smoking may lead to ischemia (a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the heart muscle) and cause chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Besides these effects on the heart and its arteries, smoking is the main cause of chronic lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema and, of course, lung cancer. ====================================================================== You Too Can Stop Smoking! If you smoke, it's never too late to get the benefits of stopping--as demonstrated by the fact that millions of American smokers have managed to kick the habit. The good news is that the day after you quit, your heart already starts to recover. Your risk of heart disease will drop dramatically within the first two years after kicking the habit. According to the American Lung Association, a two-pack a day smoker is at double the risk of heart disease compared with non-smokers; Once you quit, however, that risk is only about 30 percent higher than non-smokers. So how do you do it? You can try smoking fewer cigarettes, but you're likely to end up smoking just as many as you used to. And switching to "low-tar, low-nicotine" cigarettes usually does little good: Because nicotine is so addictive, most smokers who switch brands automatically compensate by puffing on each cigarette harder and more often. Just because a cigarette is listed as low-tar or low-nicotine, doesn't mean the smoker is inhaling less nicotine. By inhaling more deeply smokers can get as much nicotine (and tar) out of a low-nicotine cigarette as from a regular one. The only safe choice is to quit completely. And here's how: Try the write stuff: Write down your most important personal reason to quit. Is it to regain control of your life and health? To set a good example for your children? To protect your family from the dangers of secondhand smoke? Personal motivation is a key predictor of success in quitting smoking, and keeping a personal "record" of that motivation helps many smokers quit. It also helps to write a letter to loved ones stating the reasons why smoking is so important that you choose to die early rather than be with them. This type of letter is especially powerful, because it helps make you feel selfish and foolish for continuing a habit that will surely harm you (and them), and offers some people the motivation to finally quit. Take it slowly: Most smokers fail at their first attempt to quit, and nearly all smokers experience some degree of nicotine withdrawal. So give yourself a month to overcome these symptoms. The quitting process should be taken one day at a time to ensure long-term success. Some people pay themselves for each day they go smokeless--just take the money you'd normally spend on cigarettes or cigars and put it in a jar. At the end of each week or month, buy yourself some "reward" item. ===================================================================== Avoiding Triggers To be successful at quitting, you have to avoid or even leave situations that trigger the urge to light up. That includes social gatherings where smoking is permitted, restaurants, and maybe even your morning coffee. In fact, many smoking cessation experts recommend that you cut back on both caffeine and alcohol while you're trying to quit; both are triggers for smoking. If you like to smoke after a meal, go for a walk instead. If you smoke while watching TV, munch on celery. Keep a diary of when you smoke. The diary can help determine your triggers, so you can avoid or modify them. ===================================================================== Don't Worry About Your Waistline When You Quit Smoking! Fear of gaining weight is one of the most commonly cited reasons smokers--especially women--give when explaining why they don't want to quit. But it needn't be. About one in three smokers gain weight when they quit, but 90 percent of them actually lose that weight within a year or two. Meanwhile, two in three either lose weight (usually by starting an exercise program) or stay at the same weight. Ex-smokers may gain weight for two reasons: their metabolism slows from the lack of nicotine and they may compensate for the lack of cigarettes by snacking on candy and junk food. But if you need "finger food," choosing low-fat snacks such as carrot sticks and fruit can help. Meanwhile, the American Heart Association has helpful guidelines for avoiding weight gain. To request a free copy, call the American Heart Association at 800-AHA-USA1, or visit their website at www.americanheart.org. ====================================================================== Take care and have a great week! Blair support@quitsmokingsupport.com QuitSmokingSupport.com http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to nosmoke-unsubscribe@listbot.com