After 20 yrs,my friend is trying to quit smoking.if he does,will his body clean itself .? -
i have heard that your body will do amazing things when you quit smoking,,is this a myth.many say the damage is allready done .it would be nice to hear somebodys true experience.
Quit Smoking Benefits - the Healing Begins...
When you quit smoking, the benefits begin within minutes of your last cigarette.
At 20 minutes after quitting:
* blood pressure decreases
* pulse rate drops
* body temperature of hands and feet increases.
At 8 hours:
* carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
* oxygen level in blood increases to normal
At 24 hours:
* chance of a heart attack decreases
At 48 hours:
* nerve endings start regrowing
* ability to smell and taste improve
The first year after quitting:
At 2 weeks to 3 months:
* circulation improves
* walking becomes easier
* lung function increases
1 to 9 months:
* coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases
1 year:
* excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker
Long-term Benefits of Quitting
At 5 years:
* from 5 to 15 years after quitting, stroke risk is reduced to that of people who have never smoked.
At 10 years:
* risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers
* risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases
* risk of ulcer decreases
At 15 years:
* risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked
* risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked
A cigarette is a product manufactured from cured and cut tobacco leaves, which are rolled and/or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder. A cigarette contains over 4000 chemicals, over 60 of which increase the risk of cancer and other diseases in humans and animals.
The health effects of tobacco smoking are related to direct tobacco smoking, as well as passive smoking, inhalation of environmental or secondhand tobacco smoke. A 50 year study of over thirty thousand British physicians showed that nonsmokers lived about 10 more years than the smokers. For those born between 1920 and 1929 the standardized mortality rate between the ages of 35 and 69 for nonsmokers was 15% and for smokers was 43% -- nearly three times greater.Claims that personalities of smokers account for these differences are not convincing in light of the fact that the heavy smokers were about 25 times more likely to die of lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than the nonsmokers.
Lung cancer rates are linked to the number of people who smoke. It is noted that an increase in deaths from lung cancer appeared 20 years after an increase in cigarette consumption. The damage a continuing smoker does to their lungs can take up to 20 years before its physical manifestation in lung cancer. Women began smoking later than men, so the rise in death rate amongst women did not appear until later. More men than women smoke. More men than women die of lung cancer. The male lung cancer death rate decreased in 1975 — roughly 20 years after the fall in cigarette consumption in men. Fall in consumption in women also began in 1975 but by 1991 had not manifested in a decrease in lung cancer related mortalities amongst women.
A person-s increased risk of contracting disease is directly proportional to the length of time that a person continues to smoke as well as the amount smoked. However, if someone stops smoking, then these chances gradually decrease as the damage to their body is repaired. A year after quitting, the risk of contracting disease is half that of a smoker.
Passive or involuntary smoking occurs when the exhaled and ambient smoke (otherwise known as environmental or secondhand smoke) from one person-s cigarette is inhaled by other people. Passive smoking involves inhaling carcinogens, as well as other toxic components, that are present in secondhand tobacco smoke. Carcinogens that occur in secondhand tobacco smoke include benzene, 1,3-butadiene, benzo[a]pyrene, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-bu… and many others.
It is confirmed that, in adults, secondhand smoke causes lung cancer, nasal sinus cancer, breast cancer in younger women, heart disease, heart attacks, and asthma induction. Secondhand smoke is also known to harm children, infants and reproductive health through acute lower respiratory tract illness, asthma induction and exacerbation, chronic respiratory symptoms, middle ear infection, lower birth weight babies, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In a study released February 12, 2007 warning signs for cardiovascular disease are higher in people exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke, adding to the link between -passive smoke- and heart disease.
Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a stimulant. Nicotine acts as an agonist, that attaches to nicotinic acetylcholine receptor sites in the brain. Some of these receptors regulate respiration, heart rate, memory, alertness, and muscle movement, therefore these bodily functions are affected by smoking. Normally, the naturally occurring neurochemical acetylcholine would attach to the receptors, however nicotine interferes in this process by attaching to the receptors and stimulating them in a manner which is not controlled by normal physiologic feedback processes.
Nicotine-s effect in the body results in a feedback inhibition of acetylcholine production in the brain — a physiological response to a perceived -excess- of acetylcholine, an assumption by the body which is incorrect. This replacement of natural neurochemicals with nicotine is largely responsible for nicotine-s addictive properties, because it creates a dependency for nicotine to continue fulfilling the role of acetylcholine and stop the body from becoming erratic. If a smoker stops smoking, lack of acetylcholine causes respiration, heart rate, memory, alertness, and muscle movement to be temporarily affected — this can be so distressing it can be hard to continue cessation for some.
Recent evidence has shown that smoking tobacco causes increases in dopamine levels in the brain, and lowers the levels of enzymes found in the brain that naturally stop the levels of dopamine becoming too high, this causes the promotion of abnormally high levels of dopamine similar to those experienced by heroin and cocaine addicts and users. Smokers have feelings of pleasure and reward when they smoke due to this chemical imbalance created.One study found that smokers exhibit better reaction-time and memory performance as they tire, compared to non-smokers.
It can be difficult to quit smoking due to the withdrawal symptoms which include insomnia, irritability, anxiety, decreased heart rate, weight gain, and nicotine cravings. The relapse rate for quitters is high: about 60% relapse in three months. Also, nicotine users are sometimes reluctant to quit smoking because they do not see any short-term damages it may cause.
Data from multiple studies suggest that depression plays a role in cigarette smoking A history of regular smoking was observed more frequently among individuals who had experienced a major depressive disorder at some time in their lives than among individuals who had never experienced major depression or among individuals with no psychiatric diagnosis. Another study found that the average lifetime daily cigarette consumption was strongly related to lifetime prevalence, and to prospectively assessed one year prevalence of major depression. People with major depression are also much less likely to quit due to the increased risk of experiencing mild to severe states of depression, including a major depressive episode.Depressed smokers appear to experience more withdrawal symptoms on quitting, are less likely to be successful at quitting, and are more likely to relapse.The neurotransmitter systems affected by cigarette smoke mirror the neurotransmitter pathways that are thought to be involved in the biological mechanisms of depression, and the use of antidepressants as adjuvants to smoking-cessation treatment can enhance cessation success rates.
Children 12 to 17 years old who smoke are nineteen times more likely to use cocaine. Younger children are when they use these gateway drugs and the more often they use them, the more likely they are to use cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and other illicit drugs.
Children of smoking parents are more likely to smoke than children with non-smoking parents.
Many of tobacco-s health effects can be minimised through smoking cessation. A British doctors study showed that those who stopped smoking before they reached 30 years of age lived almost as long as those who never smoked. It is also possible to reduce the risks by reducing the frequency of smoking and by proper diet and exercise. Some research has indicated that some of the damage caused by smoking tobacco can be moderated with the use of antioxidants.
I cant go into all the technical stuf for it but i quit after 22 years and im at 4 months now, listen tell him it is all woth it i have asthma and i have not had an attack scence i quit, food taste better and my scence of smell is better and i feel better just in genral. no it will be hell for him i was like 2 weeks of not being able to sleep and anxiaty attacks. but it was all woth the hell to feel this much better
within 48 hours some of the symptoms begin to clear, others take years but yes your lungs do repair themselves, my man had lung cancer and so much dammage, after surgery he started on the no smoking patch and his coughing went away, and all the runny nose and such, and the doctor said there were no more signs of emphasemia after just a year. his lung has streached and now has the normal capacity of a full lung even though they cut off about 1/3 of it. he doesnt struggle for breath any more and has lots more energy.