There are many methods that have been used to aid those wishing to quit. Don’t give up until you find a way that works for you. Aside from saving a lot of money, you’ll feel better about yourself – and feeling better about yourself can make a big difference in the outcome of your life. The quality of your life is based on important choices you make, such as this one.
Remember:
- The urge to smoke goes away whether you light up or not!
- Better to be a non-smoker with an occasional desire to smoke than a smoker with a constant desire to quit.
- It is easier to stay quit than to have to quit again.
Tobacco Avoidance can help with the following
Current Smoker
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.”
Sarcoidosis
It is particularly important that sarcoidosis patients do not smoke, and avoid exposure to dust and chemicals that can harm the lungs.
Myasthenia Gravis
Dr. Fred Klenner, MD claims that patients with myasthenia gravis will hinder their progress if they use tobacco.
Crohn's Disease
A study of 474 smokers with Crohn’s disease found that patients who stopped smoking for more than 1 year had similar rates of flare-ups as patients who never smoked, and both groups had fewer problems than current smokers. Quitters, for example, had a 65% lower risk of flare-up than patients who were still smoking [Gastroenterology, April 2001]. Furthermore, smoking significantly increases the likelihood for Crohn’s disease symptoms after surgery, particularly in women and heavy smokers.
Ulcerative Colitis
Smokers have lower than average rates of ulcerative colitis, but higher than average rates of Crohn’s disease. Some patients with ulcerative colitis, in fact, have reported that their disorder began after they quit smoking, and many studies have reinforced the association between smoking and protection against ulcerative colitis. Studies are showing that the nicotine patch helps to induce remission and reduce symptoms in almost 40% of patients who use it for four weeks. Another study found, however, that patches are not useful for maintaining remission. Side-effects, particularly in nonsmokers, include nausea, lightheadedness, and headache. Investigators are studying methods of applying nicotine directly into the colon. (No one should smoke for relief of ulcerative colitis symptoms; the risks from cigarettes far outweigh the potential benefits of their nicotine.)
Intermittent Claudication
Smoking is the chief cause of intermittent claudication.
Atherosclerosis
Even damage from a history of heavy smoking can be reversed by quitting. The longer the period of time that passes after quitting, the greater the return toward normal vascular health.
Gastric/Peptic Ulcers
Cigarette smoking not only causes ulcer formation, but also increases the risk of ulcer complications such as bleeding, stomach obstruction and perforation. Cigarette smoking is also a leading cause of ulcer medication treatment failure: smoking slows the healing of ulcers.
Heartburn / GERD
Studies show that cigarette smoking relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).
Panic Attacks
A history of smoking may play a small role in the onset of panic disorder in women, but not in men.
Headaches, Cluster
A very strong association exists between smoking and cluster headaches.
Osteoporosis / Risk
Studies have shown that women who smoke one pack of cigarettes per day have on average 5-10% less bone density at menopause than do nonsmokers.
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
Smoking is the primary cause of COPD.
Diabetes Type II
Diabetics should control blood sugar and blood pressure closely and should refrain from smoking.
Bronchitis, Acute
The bronchial tree will heal faster if you cut down on the number of cigarettes or, better still, stop smoking altogether.
Asthma
Even second-hand smoke should be avoided. In a study of passive smoke exposure, cotinine levels, when tested in asthmatic children, correlated with their bronchial sensitivity. The higher the level of cotinine in the child’s urine, the worse the child’s bronchial sensitivity. This held true for adults also. [Clin Chem 1999;45(4): pp.505-509]
Increased Risk of Kidney Cancer
Not smoking is the most effective way to prevent kidney cancer and it is estimated that the elimination of smoking would reduce the rate of renal pelvis cancer by one-half and the rate of renal cell carcinoma by one-third.
Increased Risk of Colon Cancer
Smoking increases your risk of colorectal cancer in both men and women.
Concern Over Wrinkled Skin
Put simply, tobacco ages you. Female and male smokers age 40 and older are two to three times more likely to have moderate to severe wrinkling compared to nonsmokers.
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
The following study suggests a link between cigarette smoking and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 17,633 U.S. male insurance policy holders, 49 deaths from Hodgkin’s lymphoma and 21 from multiple myeloma occurred during a 20 year follow-up. Men who had ever smoked cigarettes had an elevated mortality for non-Hodgkin’s, with a risk almost fourfold greater among the heaviest smokers compared with those who used no tobacco.
Possible Pregnancy-Related Issues
Smoking in pregnancy is very clearly linked to a higher risk of miscarriages, low birth weight babies and premature babies. There is also a link to risks of stillbirths and babies dying in the first few weeks of life. This is due to nicotine which decreases the amount of blood delivered to the fetus, therefore less nutrients and oxygen is received by the baby.
The current recommendation of doctors is for the mother to not smoke at all, however if the mother is having difficulty quitting, 3-6 cigarettes a day is the absolute maximum. If you are a smoker, the best time to stop is before you get pregnant because the first few weeks of pregnancy are crucial to the development of the baby. Also, you should encourage other members of the family to quit smoking or not to smoke in your presence because passive smoking may be damaging to the mother and fetus. In addition, smoking around your new-born increases his/her risk of developing asthma and other respiratory disease.
Female Infertility
Cigarette smoking is associated with female infertility due to tubal and cervical causes. In animal studies, nicotine has not only been shown to decrease tubal motility and blood flow, but appears to decrease estrogen levels as well. Cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine, is found in the cervical mucus of female smokers, and may be toxic to sperm.
Interstitial Cystitis
In people who have already been diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, symptoms may be less likely to flare up if the patient stops smoking cigarettes.
Premenstrual Syndrome / PMDD
See the link between PMS and Sugar Avoidance.
Male Infertility (Low Sperm Count)
Historically there has been the suggestion that cigarette smoking has a significant effect on semen quality. One meta-analysis concluded that regular smoking causes a 23% decrease in sperm density (concentration) and 13% decrease in motility (when averages are taken from nine separate studies).
Other studies challenge this idea though. Please see the 2012 link between Infertility, Male and Chemical Avoidance.
Key
| May do some good |
| Likely to help |
| Highly recommended |
| May have adverse consequences |