The Sham Of Smoking

Is Your Habit Worth the Bad Health? 

Face it. We all have bad habits. Really bad habits. Some people watch too much television, eyes glued to the flashing screen before them in a zombie-like state. Others have a bad snacking habit. Twinkies, Swiss Rolls, and microwavable popcorn often sound like gourmet dining to these people. Still, others might like to gossip. They go next door to chat with their friends about what the neighbors did last night – even if it has no affect on them. However, few bad habits are as nasty and detrimental as smoking cigarettes. And few habits are as difficult to cut out of your life.

So, how much do you smoke on a daily basis? One cigarette? Two? Three? Half a pack? A whole pack? It is true that the more and longer that you smoke, the quicker your decline into bad health and quick aging. But even just one or two can cause terrible effects on your body from the inside out. Aside from that, how about all the people who end up exposed to the toxic poisons in cigarettes without even smoking? Many of these people probably have no desire to participate in such an unhealthy habit, and it is not fair to them to walk through or smell it. Whether it is friends, family, or strangers on the street, you put multiple people at risk outside of yourself.

But what really happens to your body with each puff you take? And how does your secondhand smoke really affect the people around you? More importantly, how do you escape the grasp of such an aggressive habit? We understand that it is much easier said then done when it comes to kicking the smokes to the curb. So, we thought we would share the reality behind smoking, and how it affects you and everyone else. Plus, get some details on how to curb your cigarette cravings naturally. We won’t quit on you! We’re rooting for you!

 

Cigarettes Equal Cyanide

Many advertisements and spokespersons demonize the cigarette smoker as the main villain in the cigarette controversy. We disagree. While you do have a choice to opt out of smoking or not, you and many like you do not fully comprehend the amount of poisonous chemicals that big tobacco companies put into each pack. They provide a recipe for death, and the ingredients are not often listed on the packs or the cartons. To help you grasp the gravity of a smoking habit, we broke down some of the poisons these companies push into your guilty pleasure.

The ingredients in cigarettes are made from absolutely toxic chemicals. Nicotine not only makes you addicted to cigarettes, it is also an insecticide. The carbon monoxide everyone has been talking about? It is basically car exhaust. One chemical called hydrogen cyanide was used as gas chamber poison. Aside from that, ‘cyanide’ itself should indicate a toxic poison. Then, there is also ammonia and naphthalene  – two other insecticides. Finally, you inhale radioactive compounds – the same stuff used for nuclear power.

Aside from these chemicals, cigarettes also contain heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Arsenic is commonly used as rat poison. You also ingest tar, a term coined to define the accumulation of other carcinogens and chemicals that create a sticky brown substance coating your lungs after years of addiction. This list barely scrapes the surface, as the number of added chemicals ranges around seven thousand in each cigarette.

 

Abusing Your Body – Not a Winning Battle

You put your entire body at risk with every puff you take. Many people do not realize the immediate effects that smoking a cigarette has on your body. You may not feel it at first, but as time goes on, you will begin to feel the effects more and more. Here is a brief breakdown of how cigarette smoke affects your body both immediately and over time. One study performed in 2011 discovered that just minutes after taking one puff, changes in genetics become apparent. Each inhalation causes DNA to mutate by facilitating the formation of poisonous matter in the blood stream. This matter is the catalyst for these mutations to occur.

With each gene-mutating puff, you set yourself up for all kinds of various cancers, including throat, stomach, lung, bladder, and pancreatic. You also deplete your body of the good cholesterols that keep your energy and metabolism in check. This can increase your metabolism, and upset your sleep schedule. Each puff also temporarily heightens your blood pressure. As time continues to pass, your ability to smell and taste eventually fades away. Blood circulation decreases, which further puts you at risk for cancer, as this allows cells to mutate even more. It can make staying warm in cold weather much more difficult, as your hands and feet tend to stay cold.

Further on down the line, you may get wrinkles before your friends, since smoking produces premature aging. Fertility decreases in both males and females, while the risks of osteoporosis, digestive issues, stroke, and heart attack spike. These problems make up only a fraction of the health issues you will encounter. And each year that a person smokes a pack a day subtracts at least fifty five days from that person’s life.

 

Secondhand Smoke – a Sad Situation

The damages do not just fall on your shoulders. Each person that you smoke around is another person exposed to the toxins, chemicals, and carcinogens wafting from the silvery smoke of your cigarette’s tip. Think about your friends, spouses, children, and other loved ones put in harm’s way because of cigarette smoke. There are some immediate effects that secondhand smoke has on the individual exposed to it. After just five minutes, the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body, constricts, making less blood flow throughout the body. Plus, the aorta disperses oxygenated blood throughout the circulatory system, which decreases availability of oxygen.

After thirty minutes, fatty substances start to build up in other veins, making the person more likely to experience a stroke or heart attack. This person will also start to endure sensitivity of the eyes and nose, which increases the potential for sinus and respiratory infections.

Secondhand smoke can also facilitate the development of childhood asthma, or boost the harshness of it. Additionally, if you have any children and you smoke, you create a toxic environment for them, by impeding their immune system’s proper development. This spikes their likelihood of contracting infections and illness during their childhood, which can stunt growth and cause other developmental dysfunction.

Altogether, you put the people you care the most about at the same risks you do for yourself every time you smoke. They inhale even more poisons than you do as the smoker because there is no filter for them to breath through. The smoke comes straight off of the tip of the cigarette. So, they become more prone to gene mutations that eventually lead to cancer.

 

Keys to Kicking the Habit

Now that you know some of the leading risks involved in making the decision to smoke cancer sticks, we will help you be a quitter – by giving you some ideas on natural ways to stop smoking. With so many herbal possibilities available, if you have the will, we can help you with the ways. Lime juice offers one way out of a downward spiral in smoking. Studies show that it can help curb cravings for smokers, as its acidity helps alkalize the tissues – which are often shown to be more acidic than average for most smokers. You can mix lime juice, honey, and water together for a refreshing drink to help manage your cravings.

Add more turmeric to your diet to keep the carcinogens at bay. It is never too late to start  consuming more anti-carcinogenic foods. Turmeric is one of the top cancer-fighting spices available in the world. One study showed that smokers who consumed turmeric versus smokers that did not had three to eight times fewer carcinogens in their bodies. Adding a pinch of black pepper to some tea can also help you dwindle down your cravings for cigarettes. One study from 2013 found evidence that it can greatly affect the intensity of the cravings, as well as the quantity. It dispels nicotine cravings to help you get a hold on the reins, and kick the addiction.

Drinking a tisane that consists of chamomile and peppermint can also help your body adjust to the quitting process. Often, people who embark on the journey to kicking their smoking habit experience anxiety, nervousness, and nausea while their bodies detox. This causes cravings, and can increase your chances of relapsing. Chamomile relieves anxiety and nervousness, leaving you calmer. Peppermint balances bile flow and stomach acidity, offering digestive relief. It also relaxes muscles to further calm the triumphant quitter.

If you experience other detox symptoms, like headache, the shakes, and feverish reaction, two options can help you through the fire. Charcoal helps because it absorbs any toxins that get released into your stomach during detox. Toxins are released to get metabolized from the body. This causes irritation and sensitivity in the digestive tract. Charcoal can help relieve symptoms by deflecting the toxic substances from contacting your tissues and biles.

 

With Love, From Your Face Naturals Family

Your face naturals family wants to help you make decisions that benefit you and those around you. That’s why we encourage all of our clients that smoke – addictively or not – to be quitters. When it comes to cigarettes, being a quitter is a success story, and we want to help you kill the cravings successfully with all-natural options. Check out our other blogs to learn more about natural remedies to other health issues, and to read up on the healing effects of botanicals.

For more information regarding our products and company, feel free to contact us. We are happy to give you a consultation regarding which products work best for your skin type. Simply send us some information about your skin struggles, complexion condition, and what you wish to accomplish, and one of our staff members will get back to you with recommendations for products. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

 

References

• The Detrimental Effects of Smoking
• Smoking: Effects on Your Body
• Smoking
• How Risky is Secondhand Smoke?
• Lime Juice and Eight Other Natural Ways to Quit Smoking
• Quit Smoking Using Natural Remedies Like Herbs, Fruits, and Vegetables
• Black Pepper: The King of Spices
• Natural Ways to Quit Smoking
• How to Quit Smoking