"Nicotine and Cigarettes: What is it and why should you quit?"):

KC - BLOG

"Nicotine and Cigarettes: What is it and why should you quit?"

I found this interesting article about tobacco prevention while doing some web browsing and would like to share it with you.  This article that I read was more of an educational article which I believe we can use for workshops, conference, projects.  It explains what is contained in a cigartette, what are the causes and effect of tobaco usage, why people smoke etc.  The most interesting part of the article for me was the household ingredients.  I know we've discuessed this and have made a few projects on this, but I think this is a good printout to send out to tobacco users especially young teens and adults.  I also liked this article because it also tells us how to prevent smoking and quit smoking.  I think this article is a one stop shop article if you ever need quick info or easy readable printout for educating others in tobacco control/prevention :)

Here is the link to the article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/emotional_health/addictions/nicotine.shtml

Smokeless Tobacco

YER - BLOG

Smokeless Tobacco

Smokeless tobacco may seem like a safe alternative to cigarettes, but they are not. Smokeless tobacco comes in a variety of forms like chew, snuff, and dissolvable tablets and strips. Using smokeless tobacco will not put you at the same risks for lung cancer as cigarette smoking does, but it does increase your chances of getting cancer in the mouth. It is also associated with gum disease and gum decay, bad breath and yellow-brown colored teeth. Smokeless tobacco contains nicotine and is addictive just like cigarettes. Moreover, adolescents who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to smoke cigarettes. The best way to avoid the risks associated with cigarettes and smokeless tobacco is to not start!

If you are a current user, seriously consider quitting now. There are several steps you can take to quitting, such as seeing your doctor about nicotine gum or patches; also, tell someone close to you that you are trying to quit and get support. Try substituting smokeless tobacco with other food items such as sugarless gum, fruit, sunflower seeds or beef jerky. You’ll feel better knowing that you’ve reduced your risk for serious health problems!

References:

www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/smokeless/smokeless_facts/index.htm

"Nicotine and Cigarettes: What is it and why should you quit?"

I found this interesting article about tobacco prevention while doing some web browsing and would like to share it with you.  This article that I read was more of an educational article which I believe we can use for workshops, conference, projects.  It explains what is contained in a cigarette, what are the causes and effect of tobacco usage, why people smoke etc.  The most interesting part of the article for me was the household ingredients.  I know we've discussed this and have made a few projects on this, but I think this is a good printout to send out to tobacco users especially young teens and adults.  I also liked this article because it also tells us how to prevent smoking and quit smoking.  I think this article is a one stop shop article if you ever need quick info or easy readable printout for educating others in tobacco control/prevention :)

Here is the link to the article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/emotional_health/addictions/nicotine.shtml

-KC

Light Cigarettes

                Many people believe that smoking light cigarettes is an effective way to quit smoking or improve their health, well they are wrong. Light cigarettes target women in the market, with the promise that they are lighter, safer, and healthier because the cigarette is taken for granted; it is not highly looked upon as the counterpart of regular cigarettes. These cigarettes contain cellulose acetate filters, highly porous cigarette paper, ventilation holes in the filter tip, and different blends of tobacco. Recently, a new law called the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which granted authority to the FDA to regulate tobacco product makes it so that tobacco companies can’t use terms such as light, low, mild in their products.  Even though there are no terms to show consumers that there are lighter cigarettes companies made, their products color are coded so consumers know which are “light”.

 Light cigarettes may contain lower doses of nicotine, menthol and tar but overall it depends on how the smoker uses the product. In the cases of the use of lighter cigarettes smokers tend to inhale more when smoking a light cigarette which can lead to equivalent damage from regular cigarettes. This means that light cigarettes causes the same health affects as regular cigarettes does, like cancer. The bottom line is that light cigarettes do not help people stop smoking or reduce the health effects of smoking. There is no such thing as a safe cigarette and the only way to be healthy is to stop smoking.

"National Cancer Institute." "Light" Cigarettes and Cancer Risk -. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/light-cigarettes>.

Smoking Effect Social Surrounding

Smoking Effect Social Surrounding:

Not only does smoking affect oneself but also affects their social surroundings. Social surroundings are people or places people converse with or in. People begin to smoking for many reasons. Some reasons consist of stress, peer pressure, or even boredom. But in the end the choices that are made can ruin relationships in a person’s life. One big factor is that of secondhand smoking. Which is the inhalation of smoke from a non-smoker; this largely affects families because they see the other as a nuisance, bad role model, and a person who doesn’t care. Of course there will be friends that are comfortable with friends who smoke but then there is the group who is not comfortable with it. Leaving out that extra group shortens a person’s social circle and deprives them of relationships they may never have. Though this may all be of opinionated thought I believe that people should look into what I have said.

An article from Lawrence.com called ”Smoking may considerably alter social life” clearly demonstrates the effects on people’s social lives. In the 1970’s the government had instated a law to restrict smoking in some areas of the US. So people, who smoked, now have to smoke in designated areas with people who smoke too. They segregate smokers with the non-smokers with this law. So people who smoke are more acquainted with smokers than non-smokers. 

"When you got there you were shoulder to shoulder with every other smoker in the airport," he says. "It was the most negative-I mean, it was just horrible. You didn't need to light a cigarette. You could just walk in and breathe heavily. That was the first time I really had the sense that I was a member of a despised class, seeing all these people shoved into that little glass-walled room."

It comes to show that people who choose to smoke are limited to the people they converse with because when they smoke they have to avoid all the others who do not smoke.

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References:

<http://www.livestrong.com/article/35821-health-improve-after-quit-smoking/>.

"Cancer Statistics Smoking and Cancer Statistics." Quit Smoking | Quit Smoking Support |

http://www.lawrence.com/news/2007/jan/04/smoking/