SMOKING IS VALEOLOGICALLY DANGEROUS TO HEALTH (13): SMOKING CESSATION

[Abbas Bubakar El-ta'alu]

BENEFITS OF SMOKING CESSATION

                                 

Short-Term Benefits

   Smoking cessation has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages. These benefits apply to persons with and without smoking-related disease.
   The human body is so dynamic so much so, that within the first twenty minutes of quitting smoking, the healing process begins.

The First Two Days after quitting: At 20 Minutes after quitting: The arterial blood pressure decreases, pulse rate drops and body temperature of hands and feet increases.
At 8 Hours after quitting: Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal; oxygen level (volume) in blood increases.
At 24 Hours after quitting: Sensory nerve endings start regrowing and the ability to taste and smell (sensations) improve.
Two Weeks to Three Months after quitting: Blood circulation improves, walking becomes easier and lung function becomes better by up to 30% [Diabetes. (2000)].
One to Nine Months: Starting as early as a month after one must have quitted smoking, and continuing for the next several months, one may notice significant improvements in the following areas: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breathe.
   Women who smoke before pregnancy or during the first three to four months of pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby, to that of women who never smoked.
One to Two Years after quitting: At one year smoke-free, excess risk of coronary disease is decreased to half of a smoker.

                   

      Long-Term Benefits

At Five Years after quitting: Smoking cessation decreases the risk of heart attack, stroke and other chronic lung diseases to that of people who have never smoked [U.S.Surgeon General. (1990)].
At Ten Years after quitting: The risk of lung cancer and other cancers drops to a little as one-half that of continuing smokers. Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, gall bladder, kidney and pancreas decreases; risk of ulcer decreases [U.S.Surgeon General. (1990)].
At 15 Years after quitting: Risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked; risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked [U.S.Surgeon General. (1990)].
   Apart from the above benefits one realizes how much money he/she economizes everyday from the purchase of cigarette: There are twenty (20) cigarettes in a pack. If one smokes x packs per day, times 20, he is smoking 20x cigarettes per day. Typically, a person spends 8 hours per day sleeping. That leaves 16 hours per day available for smoking. So, if one takes 20x cigarettes per day, that means he/she smokes 20x/24 cigarettes per hour. Multiply that number by the current cost of the brand; that is the amount of money one spends on cigarettes each day. Now multiply that amount by 365 [days]; that are the amount of money one is spending each year on cigarettes.
   By quitting cigarette smoking, self-respect and respect from others, as the result of will power to stop the bad habit, rises.
   Former smokers live longer than continuing smokers [U.S.Surgeon General. (1998)]. For example, persons who quit smoking before the age of 50 have one-half risk of dying in the next 15 years, compared with continuing smokers.
      The health benefits of smoking cessation far exceed any risk from the average 2.3kg weight gain or any adverse psychological effects that may follow quitting.
   The risk of having lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers is related to total lifetime exposure to cigarette smoke, as measured by the number of cigarettes smoked each day, the age at which smoking began, and the number of years a person has smoked.
   People who stop smoking at younger ages experience the greatest benefits from quitting. Those who quit by age 35 avoid 90% of the risk due to tobacco use. However, even smokers who quit after age 50, substantially reduce their risk of dying early. The argument that, it is too late to quit smoking because the damage is already done is not true.