"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.

.

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/

Quit Now, Live Longer, Live Happier

Quit Now, Live Longer, Live Happier

            For those smoking out in the world that have a hard time with them themselves while having conflicting thoughts about quitting smoking should know that quitting is worth it. Many people who are smoking nowadays are unaware of what hazardous materials found within these cigarettes; chemicals such as benzene, formaldehyde, and acetone are inhaled instantly when inhaling on a lighted cigarette.  People are risking their health, life, and their loved ones or pet by smoking.

            Lives are continuously lost everyday due to the effects of smoking and secondhand smoking. Some main affects on the body are lung cancer, heart cancer, and many more. Research from livestrong.com has shown that 87 percent of deaths caused by lung cancer are from the chemicals that surface within a cigarette. Though lung cancer may be one of the most causes of death from smoking there are a multitude of different types of cancer that are caused from smoking such as bladder cancer, esophageal cancer, and many more. So, do not think that only lungs will be affected but body parts such as the bladder, esophagus, and even the liver can and will be affected by smoking and secondhand smokes. Is it worth it to smoke knowing that in return a person will be dying a slow and painful death? Of course it’s not, that is why it is important to stop right now.

References:

“How Does Your Health Improve After You Quit Smoking? | LIVESTRONG.COM."LIVESTRONG.COM - Lose Weight & Get Fit with Diet, Nutrition & Fitness Tools | LIVESTRONG.COM. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/35821-health-improve-after-quit-smoking/>.

"Cancer Statistics Smoking and Cancer Statistics." Quit Smoking | Quit Smoking Support | Smoking Cessation. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. <http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/tobaccostatistics/a/cancerstats.htm>.

Peer pressure regarding Youth Smoking

Peer pressure is the influence given from another to do something. This topic is about smoking and how peer pressure falls into this category.

One of the reasons Youth smoke nowadays is because of peer pressure from friends. Youth are easily influence by friends and role models. Youth come up with reasons such as not wanting to lose friends, trying to be cool, to lose weight and to be independent. About 1 in 5 middle school students begins smoking everyday. The smoking rate among kids who have three or more friends who smoke is 10 times higher than the rate among kids who report that none of their friends smoke. This fact gives support to the fact that peer pressure is a huge factor in influencing youth to smoke. The worse thing when using tobacco at a young age is that youth are more prone to become addicted to tobacco usage.

There needs to be more concern about this topic to help these prevent these students from falling into tobacco influence from negative peer pressure. Programs and schools should implement more activities or programs to help prevent negative peer pressure from happening. There are many things that we can do as a society to prevent these things from happening, but this needs to be looked upon because peer pressure is very dangerous and can affect our future generations.

Peer pressure is not the only factor to a developing youth society of smoking it is all in the act of psychological matters. During the teen years of a youth life they develop the act of anarchistic feelings towards their peers. Stress and the feeling of fitting in become part of that youth’s life. They find it difficult to choose who they follow and who they listen too. Youth are going through a multitude of problems that consist of trying to lose weight, being independent, or trying to find their place. Smoking tends to be they way to relieve all that stress a youth faces through day in and day out. But there are healthier ways of developing a consensus to this problem.   

These are many ways that we as a society can change the ways these youth think and how they act as peers towards each other. Though youth are rebellious they are always open to become more empowered because they are still young and curious. If there are programs to teach these youth to correctly decide what is wrong and what is correct than in no doubt they will be more aware of the choices they make. We cannot stop all the things that happen to the youth be we can take small steps to empower and teach them to embrace their lives more than puffing a cigarette.

References:

 http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/smoking.html

http://healthliteracy.worlded.org/docs/tobacco/Unit3/1why_people_smoke.html