Conditions that suggest Current Smoker
Heavy Metal Toxicity
The principal determinants of human cadmium exposure today are smoking habits, diet, and, to a certain extent, occupational exposure.
Risk factors for Current Smoker
Smoking 6-20/smoking 2-5/smoking 1 or less cigarettes per day or smoking over a pack a day
Being a smoker
Smoking several cigars/smoking a cigar daily or smoking 2-4 cigars per week
Counter Indicators
(Recently) quitting smoking or being a non smoker
Current Smoker suggests the following may be present
Pneumonia
Smokers often have a chronic cough which is unrelated to a lung infection labeled pneumonia.
Current Smoker can lead to
Raynaud's Phenomenon
Smoking causes blood vessels to shrink and will make the symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon worse.
Insomnia
See the link between Current Smoker and Hypersomnolence.
Narcolepsy
See the link between Current Smoker and Hypersomnolence.
Multiple Vitamin Need
Smoking depletes vitamins E, C, A and some of the B vitamins.
Increased Risk of Coronary Disease / Heart Attack
According to a report from the U.S. Surgeon General, “Cigarette smoking should be considered the most important risk factor for coronary heart disease.” Statistical evidence reveals a three- to five-fold increase in the risk of coronary artery disease in smokers compared to nonsmokers. The more cigarettes smoked and the longer the period a person has smoked, the greater the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke. However, when a woman stops smoking, no matter how long or how much she smoked, her risk of heart disease drops by 50% in the first year alone. Similar benefits would be expected for a man.
Recommendations for Current Smoker
Taurine
While the use of taurine will not help a person quit smoking, it can help reverse the damage done by continued smoking. A study looked at 15 healthy smokers and 15 healthy non-smokers. Initially, the smokers’ blood vessel diameter was smaller than non-smokers’. After taking 1.5gm of taurine per day for five days, the smokers’ blood vessel diameter increased, equaling that of non-smokers. [Circulation January 7, 2003]
Probiotics / Fermented Foods
Supplementation with a rose-hip drink containing Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (500,000,000 colony-forming units/mL; 400 mL/d) reduced blood pressure and improved markers of cardiovascular disease risk in a study of 36 heavy smoking adults. [Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76(6): pp.1249-55]
Grape Seed Extract / Resveratrol
GSE has been shown to provide better protection on factors such as lipid peroxidation (involved in atherosclerosis), DNA damage and cell death to a type of oral cells in culture than vitamins C and E, when exposed to tobacco extract.
Plantain (Plantago major)
Dr. Mary Cody found that plantain creates a natural aversion to tobacco when inhaled or ingested. In a 1992 study, 24 heavy smokers were given plantain tincture in a nasal spray and then instructed to smoke. More than 80% of the subjects
reported an aversion to tobacco shortly after receiving the dose, and the effect lasted as long as 24 hours for some of the
subjects.
Unlike nicotine patches or nicotine gum, which deliver the exact chemical you’re trying to avoid, CIG-NO (a homeopathic product sprayed under the tongue) creates an almost immediate reduction in cigarette cravings, with no reported side effects. For more information, visitthe website selling CIG-NO.
Noni
Although almost all the evidence of noni use to stop smoking is anecdotal, there is some logical basis to suggest its use may help break the habit. See noni and ‘Addictive Tendencies”.
Therapeutic Fasting
Most people are amazed at how easy it is to quit smoking while fasting. Fasting makes it easier to overcome a tobacco addiction by reducing the craving for nicotine.
Raw Food Diet
In a study where the average intake of uncooked food comprised 62% of calories ingested, 80% of those who smoked abstained spontaneously. [South Med J 1985 Jul;78(7): pp.841-4]
Alcohol Avoidance
Smoking is related to alcohol consumption, and reduction in alcohol intake may help smokers to smoke less.
Scientists for the study think that people who want to quit smoking needs to abstain from drinking in order to experience the lesser effects of a withdrawal symptom. Limiting alcohol intake to one or two drinks per occasion will reduce the intensity of craving for smoke in smokers considerably.
The study says not only moderate to heavy smokers but also light smokers who don’t smoke more than a dozen cigarettes a week may also benefit from abstinence from alcohol. The study found that alcoholic beverages increase the desire to smoke considerably. The study says that even while drinking alone, smokers find it pleasurable to smoke more when under the influence of the alcohol, giving proof to the fact that alcohol intake does increase the urge to indulge in smoking in people, irrespective of the number of cigarettes smoked by the person normally. [Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental, issue April 2005 ]
Tobacco Avoidance
There are many programs and Internet resources available to help people stop smoking. Here are a few:
Nicotine Anonymous.
Tobaccofree.org.
medications-online.com.
One women reports, “I tried MANY ways to quit and all failed until one day I thought I could wait another 15 minutes for my next cigarette, and there began the method I used to quit. I moved from waiting 15 minutes to 30 minutes and so on. Finally I KNEW it was the time to stop, and I did.”
Essential Fatty Acids
There is some evidence that a higher intake of PUFAs increase the risk of cancers generally. Here is a site that has a good summary of this perspective.
However, other studies have failed to demonstrate this. [Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev October 2002 11; 987]
There is evidence that the consumption of Omega-3 type fatty acids reduces the risk of some cancers. [Int. J. Cancer: 105, 113.116 (2003)]
Beta-Carotene
Synthetic supplemental beta-carotene should be avoided by those who smoke as it appears to increase the risk of lung cancer and colorectal adenomas (polyps). [J Natl Cancer Inst 2003;95: pp. 717-722]
Acupuncture
Simple ear electroacupuncture was shown to be significantly more effective in helping volunteers to quit smoking than a placebo treatment. [Brit Journal of General Practice, Aug 1998;48:pp.1487-1490]
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamine)
See the link between Increased Lung Cancer Risk and this vitamin.
Vitamin Folic Acid
See the link between Increased Lung Cancer Risk and this vitamin.
Key
| Weak or unproven link |
| Strong or generally accepted link |
| Proven definite or direct link |
| Strongly counter-indicative |
| Very strongly or absolutely counter-indicative |
| May do some good |
| Likely to help |
| Highly recommended |
| May have adverse consequences |
Glossary
Chronic
Usually Chronic illness: Illness extending over a long period of time.
Raynaud's Phenomenon
Raynaud's disease or syndrome is a disorder of blood circulation, mainly in the fingers and toes. It is of unknown cause and characterized by changes of the skin that are aggravated by exposure to cold: first, becoming white with numbness and pain as a result of inadequate oxygenation of the blood, then red/purple with a burning sensation. The sudden constriction of blood vessels causes decreased blood flow to the extremities and can, in extreme cases, lead to gangrene. Also called "white finger", "wax finger" or "dead finger".
Stroke
A sudden loss of brain function caused by a blockage or rupture of a blood vessel that supplies the brain, characterized by loss of muscular control, complete or partial loss of sensation or consciousness, dizziness, slurred speech, or other symptoms that vary with the extent and severity of the damage to the brain. The most common manifestation is some degree of paralysis, but small strokes may occur without symptoms. Usually caused by arteriosclerosis, it often results in brain damage.