One Last One ~

Smoking Effects on Your Body ~

Cancer
Women who smoke have an increased chance of developing cervical cancer, whereas both men and women smokers are more apt to develop pancreatic cancer as well as bladder cancer--caused by the carcinogens excreted in their urine--than their non-smoking counterparts.

Esophageal and Throat Concerns
Other cancers that may develop due to cigarette smoking include esophageal and throat cancer, according to Quitsmoking.com. There are increased risks of mouth cancer due to smoking as well as lung cancer.

Bronchial Problems
Smokers suffers more bronchial infections due to the hydrogen cyanide and other chemicals that cigarettes contain. These chemicals attack the bronchial tubes and result in infections and a "smoker's cough."

Poor Circulation
Smoking can result in poor circulation and can cause a smoker to lose his fingers and toes.

Impotence
Smoking is also associated with male impotence because of its interference with circulation.

Emphysema
Smokers are 10 times more likely to get emphysema than non-smokers.

Increases Blood Pressure
Nicotine increases blood pressure and prompts the blood to clot more easily than it should.

Increased Risk of Stroke
Cholesterol deposits are made on the artery walls due to the carbon monoxide in cigarettes, which robs the blood of oxygen. This can increase an individual's chance of having a stroke.

Digestive Problems
Smokers have more digestive problems than non-smokers. The smoke can cause heartburn and ulcers. Smoke increases the stomach acid secretions, and your belly is going to react.

Wrinkles
Smokers have more facial wrinkles due to the free radicals that are in the smoke and that damage the tissue and elasticity of the skin. Smokers also engage in repetitive movements around their mouths when smoking, and this, too, can result in premature aging of the skin.

Other Nasty Results
Smokers have bad breath and stinky clothing. Some smokers have nicotine stained fingernails.

More Problems That Are Associated With Smoking
Smoking after having a tooth pulled can result in a painful condition called dry socket. Smoking stains your teeth and lessens the chance that dental procedures will be effective. Smoking can destroy your sense of smell and deaden your appetite. You may end up with smoker's belly, which is a fat belly. Because of the free radicals in the smoke and the negative impact that smoke has on circulation, your hair is affected as well, and not in a good way. Smokers may develop gray hair earlier in life than non-smokers.

Symptoms of Lung Cancer ~

By Mallory Creveling from AOL Health

Lung Cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. You may not have any symptoms, or you may have symptoms, like a cough, that you think are part of a respiratory illness.

The main cause of this disease is smoking, according to Dr. Len Horovitz, an internist and pulmonologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Only about 18 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer are nonsmokers, Horovitz said. Though other environmental factors, like exposure to pesticides and household chemicals, and genetic predispositions can cause lung cancer, the best way to prevent the disease is to quit smoking.

If you do smoke, regular checkups with your physician are crucial.

“The annual checkup can turn up lung cancer in patients who have no symptoms, and finding someone with stage 1 lung cancer ... without symptoms is the best [scenario] for curing it,” said Horovitz.

Horovitz advises smokers to undergo low-dose CT scans of the lungs, as these pick up more signs of lung cancer than regular chest X-rays. But people should have their doctors check any persistent symptoms, as they can distinguish between signs of a respiratory illness and lung cancer symptoms.

Some of the major lung cancer symptoms people should look out for, according to Horovitz, include:

-- Persistent cough
-- Coughing up bloody mucus
-- Shortness of breath
-- Hoarseness
-- Swollen lymph nodes
-- Unexplained weight loss
-- Pneumonia that does not clear
-- Enlargement of the lymph nodes above the clavicles
-- Extreme cases cause flushing of the face and prominent veins

in the face and neck

Judge Rules In Backyard Smoking Trial

Plaintiffs Claimed Backyard Smoke Was Health Hazard...

An Albuquerque couple that claim their neighbor's cigarette smoke is creating a health hazard had their day in court Monday.

Plaintiffs Jesus and Pat Martinez said their neighbor Linda Garcia's smoking in her own backyard hurt their quality of life, and filed a suit against Garcia.

But Monday, Judge Rosie Allred read her verdict in favor of Garcia.

"After hearing the facts, she said what Ms. Garcia was doing on her own property was not unreasonable," said defense attorney Stephen Lane.

In court, the plaintiffs argued that Garcia's smoke would waft through the air and settle in their home.

"I have suffered from illnesses I have never suffered from in my life," said Pat Martinez.
They had two experts testify, but the experts couldn't detect smoke in their house.

Plaintiff Jesus Martinez smoked when the couple were first married and quit 10 years later.
"It's fair to say that she didn't have problems when you were smoking?" asked Lane.
"That's correct," said Jesus Martinez.

"She never tried to sue you while you were smoking?" pressed Lane.

Lane said this is a rare case, with only one other like it in the country.

The attorney for the plaintiffs would not go on camera, but said he is disappointed with the verdict, and that the smoke is a real problem his clients have to deal with every day.

Teen Smokers Become Heavier Drinkers

Researchers have known for a long time that smokers tend to drink alcohol and drinkers tend to smoke cigarettes. Now, new research indicates that adolescents who smoke are more likely to go on to abuse alcohol than their non-smoking peers.

Richard Grucza is an epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He says he and his colleagues analyzed the data from more than 73,000 interviews collected over three years in U.S. government surveys. "We divided adolescents up according to how much they drink, so we put them in groups as light drinkers, moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers," he says. "We saw that regardless of how much they drank, the smokers always had substantially more problems with alcohol use and dependence than did the non-smokers."

You Want WHO To Quit Smoking Now??

(A NOTE FROM MY HYPNOTISTS WEB PAGE)

OK, I have always used humor in my approach to hypnotherapy. Some tips to quit smoking below are humorous, some are just true. All of them have been used by our clients as their personal reasons, their benefits to quitting smoking. So think of it as your own boutique of reasons why to quit smoking or go ahead & make-up some of your own.

Here's a surprising fact, it can be a satisfying experience to stop smoking. We see it happen all the time. In deciding how important this is for you, consider the possibility that easy is achievable. Everybody is different, but you'll be able to create all the courage necessary to begin a healthier life. It can be really simple when you realize that you and you alone are in-charge, and that you're going to make-up your own mind on important matters like this in your life.

* "I want an upgrade in my life simply by becoming a non-smoker. After all, smoking raises my risk of heart disease 300%, and makes me three to five times more likely to have lung cancer.

* Smokers are optimists. Almost as if somebody has jumped off an 80 story building and as he passes the 32nd floor says, "Not bad so far, right?" Can someone assist me into one of those nice looking windows on the 30th floor please?

* "I want to be the one to "sound the bell" in my family. I owe them that, simply because it's possible for me. In fact, to quit smoking alone is a much more valuable thing than any amount of inheritance.

* "Want to see a docu-drama? Here's a compelling twisted plot: Focus on that child you know, somewhere under age 10. Picture it. He doesn't even know or realize, as he's moving toward you, his chances of getting lung cancer are sealed- twice as high- because of living around smoke.

* "What's the fuss? My doc gave me a choice, he said it was the cigarettes or the early painful death. one or the other? I didn't hesitate, didn't whine, I didn't moan. I gave up the early painful death, what's the big deal?

* The “do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do” message never works, but the “do as I do” approach to influencing loved ones already is.

* "In my family, there are groups of things that can come at you all at once, causing early death. By me choosing to stop smoking right now, I instantly reduce my risk of dying from stroke, influenza, pneumonia, peripheral artery occlusion, chronic obstructive pulmonary decease, and aortic aneurysm. That's a powerful kind of insurance.

* A friend from work said "I didn't know you smoked?" Yes, I said, I use it to handle my stress. "Oh. How long have you been stressed?" Since about the time I began smoking, why?

* "I visited my brother at the hospital, having the thoughts, "fair enough, heart disease and other ailments associated with passive smoking actually cause 50,000 to 60,000 deaths every year. It's time to end this thing. Giddy-up.

* "Because smoking causes wrinkles & rough skin [by depleting the natural collagen in the skin] I want to stop now. I figure, at 45, stopping now will keep me looking younger longer. That's a good thing.

* "It just doesn't make any sense, I was looking for a place to smoke when a beautiful young business-type slipped me her card with a note saying, "I'm hot for your body"...mixed up, happy... when I finally got to sit down next to her, I learned everything about her cremation service."

* "Feelings of being controlled by a thing are depressing. It's situational depression. It's something I can solve. I'll only take it as a bonus that quitting now, for me, improves my odds of living longer. I want control back.

* "If I use "quit smoking hypnosis" to stop now before I turn 50, then I cut my risk of dying in half compared with any smoker. And I really do have a few important things I want to accomplish. You know, maybe seeing some people grow up or being there for them when I know they'll need me.

* "400,000 die every 12 months from conditions caused directly by smoking. I guess death is smoking's little way of telling us to quit? Can you imagine all the indirect causes? And just how much money do you think Big Tobacco spends to make sure those numbers get reported as they are?

* "Quitting smoking reduces the risk of heart decease, the leading cause of death in the United States. With heart disease in my family, I want to do what I can to avoid it.

* "Doctor, Doctor!... Every morning I wake-up, smoke, look in the mirror, I want to throw-up!? What's wrong with me?... I don't know, but your senses of smell & sight are perfect.

* "Men who smoke are 22 times more likely, and women who smoke are 12 times more likely to die from lung cancer. Yuk, have you ever known someone with this gruesome disease? As a nurse, I am taking steps to avoid it.

* "Stopping smoking reduces the risk of cancer of the larynx, mouth, esophagus, pancreas, and bladder. My grandfather had 2 of those at once. I simply prefer not to have either, if I can help my chances by quitting smoking Stop hypnosis hypnotherapy programs really work.

* "Smoking during pregnancy doubles the risk of having a low birth weight baby.

* "I've been a casual smoker. At a party we've attended for years, some otherwise wonderful & brilliant people were very likely to always be outside smoking, even in the rain. Some of them don't show up anymore. Because they're dead.

* "Quitting smoking with hypnotherapy now lowers a persons risk of developing gastric or duodenal ulcers. And I "likes" my spice.

* "Mom always told us 'The best part of life is the 40's 50s 60s and 70s.' Why? Because you've done so much and you've gotten to know yourself so well by now. It can truly be the best of your

times here on earth. But only if you've got your health.

* "Quitting cigarettes or stopping chewing tobacco after I've already developed cancer lowers my risk of a second cancer developing. I have faith I will overcome this diagnosis, but thoughts about my loved ones have me doing some planning for a healthier future, no matter what."

Need excellent motivation to quit smoking ? Click:

http://www.hypnosiskansascity.com/Links.html

Three Hundred-Thirteen~

Smoke Free Days AND nearly Two weeks with out a Blog Post ... Sorry about that.

I work for Gannett and was furloughed again this year .... Like that's not enough to make someone start smoking again! (In addition, I have a boss who thinks the term "Fur-cation" is cute ... makes it sound as if we're not all taking a pay cut! NOT). So I've been totally away from my computer for 10 days!

What Did I Do On My Summer Fur-cation? You Ask:

I Went to FLA to visit my BFF Barb ... Lots of Fun! (if the beach is your sort of thing) ... Only Problem is BFF Barb is still smoking like me on High Octane Stress last year!

Last night I got a text that Barbi is in the hospital with a lung infection ... It breaks my heart to see her in such pain and hear her gasping for breath to talk. Maybe this will be her tipping point ... the 'Rock-Bottom' talked about in an addicts world. Truly, that's what we are: addicts. After stopping and starting so many times I finally had to come to terms with the fact that cigarettes -- like Lays Potato Chips -- I can't have just one!

(See: ~ Hypnotherapy ~)

Furlough is over. (For this quarter at least. We'll see what happens in the fall). And now I am only a couple of Days away from my 45 week anniversary of 'Kicking the Habit' for the LAST time!

Seven Weeks away from one whole year for the first time since I was a stupid teenager!