Effects of Smoking and Giving Up Smoking

Smoking is a habit that became highly popular in the 1920's and most people had no idea how bad it was for their health. Through modern technology and researching various "modern" illnesses and diseases, it has now been established that smoking is very bad for your health and that it is also addictive. Understanding what you are up against can help you in your battle to quit smoking.

The nicotine inside cigarettes is a highly addictive substance that is basically a drug, and can also cause many health problems. This substance is found in tobacco leaves which belong to the nightshade species of plant. It has similar pharmacological properties of addiction as that of heroin and cocaine and is, according to the American Heart Association, one of the most difficult addictions to break. If you value your life and want to become healthy again, live for longer, and prevent nasty illnesses and life threatening diseases, then you need to stop smoking. When first isolated and analyzed by German chemists in 1828, they classified it as a poison, which just goes to show how dangerous it really is.

Dangers of Smoking

On average it takes nicotine about 7 seconds to reach the brain once inhaled, as it is absorbed very quickly in the human body. The half life in the human body is about 2 hours, but this all depends on various factors including how high the dose was, how much was inhaled, how many cigarettes were smoked, or if tobacco was chewed. Usually the chewing tobacco or snuff that is held in the mouth is of a much higher potency than cigarettes.

Smoking is highly dangerous on many levels. First of all it is synthesized in the liver and this causes a lot of strain to the organ, especially if you are a heavy smoker. The blood brain barrier is quickly crossed when you smoke which means that it affects the babies of women that are pregnant if they light up. Similarly, people who are even around a smoker are affected by secondary smoke, because even though the nicotine is burned off, the smoke still contains enough of the chemical in its vaporous form. The drug causes various neurotransmitters in the central nervous system and the brain to function at higher levels, which causes the relaxation effect that gets so many people addicted, and through the stimulation of certain of these receptors adrenaline through an influx of calcium which it binds to is released into the blood stream which causes high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and a rise in blood glucose levels.

Tips for Quitting the Habit

If you want to stop your high blood pressure and high glucose levels before it is too late and you end up suffering from a heart attack or stroke, as well as develop diabetes and more, then you need to stop smoking. Aside from the illnesses that you can develop, smoking has also been linked to various cancers, and other diseases. To stop smoking you must first of all have the willpower and the desire. Once you want to stop, it becomes a whole lot easier. Many people use patches to quit, and some go under hypnotherapy, whilst others just go cold turkey. The best method of quitting will be dependent on the extent of your habit, but if you really want to get healthy, you should try any or all of them.