Harmful habits & infectious disease prevention

Harmful Habits and Infectious Disease Prevention Second Hand Smoke Second hand smoke can be a serious concern for smokers and non smokers alike. When one thinks of smoking, they think of individuals who smoke and the effects of lung cancer that are attributed to smoking. One usually never thinks that second hand smoke can be harmful. After all they are not the ones smoking tobacco. Each day in America 1, 200 people die from smoking and exposure to second hand smoke; according to Kick Butts Day information (Norma Gauld. Nanaimo Daily News). Smoking is prohibited in malls, eating and drinking areas, doorways of government buildings and many other places due to danger of secondhand smoke being a Class A carcinogen. A person confined in a home of smokers for one day, is inhaling the equivalent of three cigarettes. It is a shame that people do not acknowledge the abuse they are inflicting on others by smoking in front of them. It is their choice if they want to smoke and destroy their health, but they should not harm others in the process. Methods to Quit Smoking There are a number of methods for quitting smoking that address the addiction to nicotine. Going cold turkey, which means stopping smoking abruptly, is one method. Two other methods are non-nicotine medication and various forms of nicotine replacement therapy. The person’s level of nicotine dependence and any prior quit attempts should be taken into consideration. The individual can work with a healthcare provider to choose the best method. Regardless of the method chosen, the person must also pay attention to breaking the smoking habit. Research shows that smokers who use behavior modification strategies in addition to addressing the physical addiction have a better chance of succeeding. The first step to stop smoking is to set up a quit plan that includes a quitting date and written commitment to stop smoking. Having a support team is also very helpful in smoking cessation. Nicotine replacements products help reduce the physical withdrawal symptoms that occur with smoking cessation. These medicines reverse the process in which the person’s body learned to crave more and more nicotine. Over time, they help the person’s body stop craving nicotine. Nicotine replacement therapy doesn’t completely eliminate withdrawal symptoms. It doesn’t give the individual any more willpower. It does let the person focus on breaking the habit of smoking as the body adjusts to lower levels of nicotine. Some of the types of nicotine replacement therapy are: nicotine gum, which is available over-the-counter or by prescription; nicotine inhalers, which are available by prescription; nicotine nasal spray, which is given by prescription; and nicotine patches, which are available over-the-counter in various strengths. Since these products replace the nicotine the person would have gotten from a cigarette, nothing new is being introduced into the body. The direct effect from nicotine is the same. It is very important for a person using nicotine replacement products should not continue to smoke. Nicotine can cause serious medical problems, including death, if it is abused. Nicotine replacement products are not recommended for people that have had a heart attack within the past two weeks, irregular heartbeats, angina, chest pain, heart disease, and woman who are pregnant. As for medication, to help stop smoking are Zyban, or bupropion, has been approved by the FDA for smoking cessation. How Zyban works is largely unknown. It is thought to act on certain pathways in the brain that are involved in nicotine addiction and withdrawal. The person feels less of an urge to smoke. Zyban also helps reduce some of the more bothersome nicotine withdrawal symptoms associated with smoking cessation. For example, it can reduce anxiety, irritability, frustration, difficulty concentrating, and restlessness. Side Effects Although these treatments help stop smoking and are very helpful there are side effects to them. What are the side effects of these treatments? The most reported side effect from the nicotine patch is skin irritation. Those who use a 24-hour patch sometimes report having vivid dreams. The patch may also cause headache or joint pain. Nicotine gum can cause some minor mouth, tongue, and throat irritation. It may also cause an arrhythmia and palpitations. Swallowing the gum can cause nausea or vomiting. The most common side effects from the nasal spray are irritation of the nose and throat, watering eyes, sneezing, and cough. These side effects may lessen in intensity after the first week of use. The most common side effect of the phases that one goes through. Physical, psychological, spiritual, social, intellectual- nicotine inhaler is irritation of the lining of the mouth and throat. Some people may experience cough, runny nose, or nausea. The most common side effects of Zyban include dry mouth and insomnia. If side effects occur, they are generally mild and disappear after a few weeks. Other side effects include shakiness, skin rash, dizziness, and anxiety. This just lets us know that stopping cold turkey is best due to the fact that you won’t waste your money, or go through these side effects. Overall putting a quitting date is important in the quitting plan before going cold turkey. Ounce being smoke free or remain nicotine free, smokers should avoid tempting situations and do something else when the urge to smoke arises. In the city of El Paso there is a help hotline number which is A Smoke-Free Paso Del Norte Quit Line 915-534-Quit. When trying to quit smoking, people can go through difficult times within quitting mental, and environmental are all part of the phases in quitting. Why do people smoke? Why do people smoke? Some people may say they smoke when they are feeling depressed, under pressure, or to forget for a while what is bothering them. Over the years, the Center for Tobacco Control Research did a study on the reasons why people smoke, and the results are: • Sibling and peer pressure • Having parents who smoke • Having only one parent • A poor academic achiever • Intending to smoke when older • Targeted product marketing What makes people start smoking? According to the National Institutes of Health, many people use tobacco to fill different needs. Here are the most common reasons: • Smoking gives me more energy. • I like to touch and handle cigarettes. • Smoking is a pleasure. • Smoking helps me relax. Although the number of adult smokers is dropping, young people are still picking up the habit. Young people believe they could stop at anytime, or smoking related diseases will never happen to them. Many studies have proved them wrong. According to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, more than half of all smokers take up the habit before the age of 14 and 90 percent begin by age 19. The average age of first use is 13 to 14 years. The same report also maintains that teenagers tend to underestimate tobacco’s addictive nature. Seventy-three percent of teen smokers who thought they wouldn’t be smoking in five years were actually smoking five to six years later, says the report. (First Health, 2001) Cigarettes contain an array of potent ingredients such as tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine. Over the years, studies have shown that some brands have increased the nicotine in their cigarettes to further induce the addictive nature of such a drug. For this reason many people get addicted to smoking. Whether young or old, some people smoke to control their weight. Smokers, on the average, weigh seven pounds less than non-smokers. Smoking reduces a person’s appetite. It lessens his or her sense of taste and smell. This could be why ex-smokers gain weight after quitting cigarettes. Smoking and Pregnancy Smoking during pregnancy is dangerous for the health of the unborn baby. Smoking during pregnancy can lead to ectopic pregnancy which is when a baby does not develop inside the mothers womb. Smoking during pregnancy also leads to premature births, which is when a baby is born with low weight. Baby’s who are born low in birth have many problems like cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and learning problems, SIDS, asthma ear infections, life long respiratory problems and even death. Even if you don’t smoke during your pregnancy and have already delivered your baby and decide to breastfeed you can’t smoke. Smoking will breastfeeding can affect your baby’s health as well. Heavy cigarette smoking can greatly reduce mother’s milk supply. The chemicals from a single cigarette can stay in the mother’s body for 95 minutes after she is done smoking. This allows the nicotine to be passed through the mother’s milk. This causes the baby to suffer from nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea. The best choice is always to breastfeed and not to smoke. Even if you don’t smoke at all and care about your baby’s health, especially around other people who do smoke. It is important to shelter your baby form secondhand smoke. Be assertive and ask them not to smoke around you and your baby. If this does not work remove yourself from the situation. Let your family and friends know your baby’s health comes before anything else and that you do not tolerate smoking in your home or vehicle. Effects of smoking on the human body On effect on the human body can be mistaken for a good thing. A person may have an increase in their alertness and an increase in concentration. These symptoms may be misleading; this is due to the fact that nicotine is addictive. A person would have to maintain the same level of nicotine in their system to be able to sustain the same levels of alertness. This may become a problem because in doing so the person is causing more harm than good to their body. A person will think that they are helping their own body, when indeed their causing irreversible damage to their body. The lungs are an area that is exposed to the deadly smoke. A person that smokes is at a higher risk of lung cancer than a person who does not smoke. Smoking accounts for many chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Emphysema and chronic mucus secretion is only a couple of the many diseases that a smoker is susceptible to. As serious as these diseases may sound, they are not enough to detour the continued use of cigarettes. A person may try to quit smoking but may relapse within the year. Even if a person does succeed in quitting, the damaged caused by smoking can be felt for years to come. References ” Quit to Live: How and Why to Quit Smoking Today”, February 15, 2006. http://www. cdc. gov/tobacco/news/QuitSmoking. htm, Extracted April 17, 2006. Why People Still Smoke-the Ifs, Ands and ” Butts” of a Killer Habit. (2001). Retrieved on April 17, 2006 from the World Wide Web:: http://www. firsthealth. org/news/sum article19. htm Secondhand smoke and the family. Norma Gould. Retrieved on April 18, 2006 from the University of Phoenix library. Harmful Effects of Smoking. Extracted April 17, 2006. http://www. cnusd. k12. ca. us/community_day_school/substance/smoking/smoke_harmeffects. html