Not even 100 years ago, it was the norm throughout society… and shockingly enough, doctors actually recommended it for improved health. But the tables have turned dramatically as far as public perception on smoking, which is now recognized as the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the United States.
The Deathly Link Between Smoking and Lung Cancer
The latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal that smoking kills roughly half a million Americans annually. Nearly 50,000 of these deaths due to exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke. These statistics are staggering, especially considering that smoking rates have been progressively dropping since the turn of the century.
The temporary satisfaction that smokers get from inhaling that plume of ashy smoke and watching it bellow into the air − a moment of relaxation in a busy and increasingly stressful world − just isn’t worth the long-term health risks. And with national “Kick Butts Day” on March 16th, I feel as though it’s my duty to warn our readers of the importance of kicking this dirty habit.
Would You Like Some Tobacco with Those Chemicals?
If you’re a smoker, you’re probably acutely aware of the fact that commercial cigarettes aren’t good for you. I mean, heck, national anti-smoking campaigns have been aggressively urging the public to stop smoking for at least the past 20 years. You’d have to have been living in a cave to miss it.
Anti-tobacco sentiments date back many hundreds of years. In fact, some of the earliest historical records show that during the 1600s Roman Catholic popes banned tobacco use in holy places. King James I even issued “A Counterblaste to Tobacco,” which stated that tobacco smoking is a “custome lothesome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black and stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horribly stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”
Quite the strong opinion, wouldn’t you say? And yet, minus the religious connotations, this isn’t much different from the message being broadcast by public health officials today. These men and women continue to drive the point home that smoking kills − and it definitely does!
Inhalation of smoke in any form isn’t good for your lungs. However, it is especially the case when that smoke is laced with thousands of chemical additives − 69 of which are known carcinogens! This is what you’ll find in the average commercial cigarette, by the way, which is orders of magnitude more toxic than cigarettes of old that contained just tobacco and paper.
Tobacco, and even nicotine, isn’t inherently toxic, it turns out. Nicotiana Tabacum, as well as its cousin Nicotiana Rustica, are the plants from which tobacco is derived. They have been used for thousands of years in both medicine and religion. Only within the past 100 years has tobacco become a dirty word with an even dirtier reputation… and it’s all in the roll.
Some of the more surprising, scientifically-backed health benefits of tobacco include:
- Joint protection
- Lowered risk of Parkinson’s disease
- Lowered risk of obesity
- Decreased likelihood of death after heart attack
- Protection against coronary artery disease
Inhaling Cigarette Smoke is a Recipe for Health Disaster
In my view, the research behind all this points to the potential health benefits of tobacco itself, not smoking − so don’t get too excited and rush out to the store to pick up a pack of lights! Smoking tobacco is a bad idea, no matter how you look at it. There is significant science suggesting that engaging in this dirty habit is far more destructive than it ever could be helpful.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) lists the following as being a few of the more than 250 chemicals in tobacco smoke known to damage human health:
- Hydrogen cyanide – an extremely poisonous asphyxiant that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) explains was used against the Kurds during the United States-led war in Iraq.
- Carbon monoxide – an odorless, poisonous gas that damages the central nervous system and heart, and in high enough amounts can even cause death.
- Arsenic – a highly-toxic chemical linked to lung, skin, and other forms of cancer.
- Formaldehyde – a neurotoxic chemical gas linked to respiratory damage, digestive disorders, and various forms of cancer.
And the list goes on and on, with all sorts of heavy metals, plastics, and other chemicals that are generated every time a smoker lights up. The short-term effects of this exposure are disastrous in and of themselves, but the long-term effects are even worse.
Lung cancer is the most obvious consequence of a smoking habit, as is emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But smokers are also at risk of developing similarly devastating diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, age-related macular degeneration, pneumonia, chronic inflammation, and depressed immune function.
There’s also the risk of developing cancers of the esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, cervix, colon and rectum, not to mention acute myeloid leukemia.
Kick the Habit and Regain Control of Your Health
I’m not here to harp on you if you’re a smoker who’s trying to quit, or even if you’re not necessarily trying to quit. I recognize the difficulties of breaking this addictive habit when it’s been a part of your life for many years. But I will urge you to make every attempt possible to quit, for your own sake and for the sake of your family and friends.
I’ve witnessed too many loved ones die from cancer to keep quiet about this, especially when smoking-related health damage is completely preventable. With Kick Butts Day as a reminder, you have the opportunity to join tens of thousands of others in the same boat who are committing to “kick butts” and take names.
It’s never too late to stop smoking. Believe me when I say that the human body has an incredible ability to heal itself, even if you’ve been smoking since as far back as you can remember. But you’ve got to decide to take the first step, and that means quitting.
Go pick up some nicotine replacement patches, or even enroll in a local smoking cessation class. Whatever it takes to stop polluting your body with cigarette smoke, just do it! Your friends, your family, and ultimately your body will thank you.
Article Summary
Despite the fact that smoking rates have been progressively dropping since the turn of the century, smoking still kills around half a million Americans annually. Nearly 50,000 of these deaths are due to exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke.
While tobacco and even nicotine themselves aren’t inherently toxic, inhaling smoke of any type into your lungs is very harmful. Modern cigarettes contain thousands of chemical additives – 69 of which are carcinogens.
Just a few of the harmful chemicals in cigarettes include:
- Hydrogen cyanide
- Carbon monoxide
- Arsenic
- Formaldehyde
In addition to lung cancer, smoking increases your risk of many types of cancer including cancers of the esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, cervix, colon and rectum, and myeloid leukemia.
Other serious diseases related to smoking include emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, age-related macular degeneration, pneumonia, chronic inflammation, and depressed immune function.
The human body has an incredible ability to heal itself and it’s never too late to gain health benefits from quitting smoking.
curious how tobacco is THE ONLY product sold anywhere that there is NO mandatory ingredient list on..isnt it?
and while Vaping is a NON pharma means of losing the majority of chem in processed tobacco
the ptb are trying with NO proof of harm..(the so called tests are done at levels n durations NO Vaper could emulate) to slam down on it
meanwhile in the uk?
the PBS has approved on the health service for supply of Vaping units etc for harm minimistaion n cessation of smoking.
go figure.
Ty
I can appreciate your concern for smoking. I’m afraid that smoking is not as easy to give up as you may think it to be. I’ve smoke for over 40 years and agree with all you say about smoking and the harm it does. I wish there were a natural substance that could help out with cravings and detox of all the chemicals; but to my knowledge, there isn’t.
I hear all the time; “Just give it up”, “Just don’t smoke anymore”, “I quit drinking, there’s no reason you can’t quit smoking”. But when the dependency comes from (as you quoted), over 250 chemicals, and the sociological aspect, your body is fighting against more than one addiction.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not “for” smoking; I am against smoking. I just can’t seem to quit.
If you know of any natural substances to aid in quitting, please let me know.
Terry
A natural way to quit smoking: Tobac-Pak.
Supplement works on healing the neurotransmitters.
I lived in New York when I quit on January 4, 2004 from 4 packs a day to not even one cigarette since then, and I’m glad I did. At that time cigarettes cost $10 a pack, which means I was spending $40 a day. If we multiply 40 times 365 days a year, that comes to $14,600 that I was burning away. Today it has been 12 and a half years since I quit, so we multiply $14,600 times 12.5, and that equals about $182,500 that I saved. Today in 2016, cigarettes in New York City average $13 per pack which means that I have saved over $200,000 to date. I am completely healthy at the age of 72, and guess what, I’m not dead.
What about Vaping?
All my friends have start this and I believe is far far better than smoking the real smoke.For sure the lungs isn’t their job to inhale any stuff other than clean air! but anyway.
Now Im at 1.5mg nicotine and 10ml per day and I m better than ever. I can run I can walk I can ride my bike all the activites! I was smoker for 13years the most a heavy smoker…
An excellent book for any smoker looking to be a happy non-smoker with no withdrawals, no fear, is Allen Carr’s “Easy Way To Stop Smoking”. It worked for me, and it worked for Ellen DeGeneres, Anjelica Huston, Sir Anthony Hopkins, among countless others. I highly recommend this as an alternative to relying on nicotine replacement methods.
It bugs me that the term “smoking” has become synonymous with cigarettes, and the use of cigars and pipes get a bad rap because well of course it been “proven” that “smoking” is bad for you. Premium cigars, in addition to not having the same addictive qualities, are 100% pure, naturally fermented and hand rolled tobacco that isn’t typically inhaled. I do like that you at least recognize the benefits of tobacco in it’s natural form. In addition to the type of smoking you are doing (cigars vs cigarettes, not inhaling vs inhaling, etc), I believe that the dose is a key player in the use of tobacco. As with so many things, moderation is such an important factor. It’s this that makes the distinction between something being poisonous or medicinal. I also think it’s worth mentioning that we should be careful to take at face value studies coming from the CDC, as well as their “health advice”.
Tobacco industry leaders could multiply their profits by keeping smokers and chewers alive longer.
So, why do tobacconists make no effort to keep their customers alive?
I read the original 2006 surgeon generals report on second hand smoking. (It has since been removed and an updated edition put in its place which is totally different than the original.) In that report, 98% of the conclusions stated that the science DID NOT SUPPORT the surgeon generals findings. Now you quote the CDC, known to lie, as a source to take information from? Can I not trust you either?
In 1970 at the age of 23, I quit smoking. It took getting so sick that I couldn’t smoke, and when going back to it not inhaling over a period of 6 months for me to finally feel that I had some control. I went from 2 and a half packs a day down to 5 cigarettes a day. At the time, the medical community said that it was just a bad habit. No!! It was an addiction. Today as I look back over the last 46 years , I’m so grateful that I made that decision. I hate to think where I’d be today if I listened to others and didn’t take responsibility for myself. Thanks for all your great work in educating us all!
I agree. It’s interesting that a site that talks about corruption and deceit within the medical and pharmaceutical industries would dish out reports and advice given from an organization equally as corrupt and really just another piece of the same puzzle.
I highly recommend the following book: Health Benefits Tobacco Smokers Paradox
I lived in New York when I quit on January 4, 2004 from 4 packs a day to not even one cigarette since then, and I’m glad I did. At that time cigarettes cost $10 a pack, which means I was spending $40 a day. If we multiply 40 times 365 days a year, that comes to $14,600 that I was burning away. Today it has been 12 and a half years since I quit, so we multiply $14,600 times 12.5, and that equals about $182,500 that I saved. Today in 2016, cigarettes in New York City average $13 per pack which means that I have saved over $200,000 to date. I am completely healthy at the age of 72, and guess what, I’m not dead.
Smoking prevents lung cancer, search it, all the evidence is there.
Quit Smoking. Say ”NO” to Smoke and Say ”YES” to Life……..
bullsh!t, so my father died of smoking two packs of unfiiltered cancer sticks for 52 of his 53 years of life and if he smoked 4 packs he would have lived?
Say ”NO” to smoke Say ”YES” to life….. Quit Smoking if you want to live longer.
I do not even smoke nor want to smoke because I know that it is bad for health. It can cause lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, COPD, and many other health conditions.