love 4 ever
1st September 2009, 02:30
The effects of smoking have been big news for many years. Every year more people try to quit, there are more restrictions on smoking, and more research into the effects of smoking both on smokers and the people around them.
You don't have to be a smoker to want to know the facts about cigarette smoking. You might be a parent or teacher keen to encourage young people not to start in the first place. Or perhaps you're an employer trying to reduce smoking at work by helping your staff quit. Or you may be trying to help your partner of a friend to stop smoking. The effect of smoking on other people looks at the dangers of second-hand smoke, whether at home, in the car.
The danger of smoking
Most of us have a pretty good idea of what the dangers of smoking are and what it can do to people. You might, however, be surprised by some of the less obvious effects of smoking.
In this section, find out all about the effects of smoking on your health. Smoking can affect every part of your body. It can lead to both minor and major health problems. But do you know exactly what happens to your body when you smoke?
What happens when you smoke?
When you smoke, less oxygen reaches your lungs. Nicotine, the addictive stuff, stimulates your central nervous system, making your heart beat faster and raising your blood pressure. Tar from cigarettes ends up in your lungs.
Over time, smoking obstructs or narrows the small airways in the lungs and destroys the air sacs there. It clogs arteries and causes blood clots.
This is why smoking tobacco causes so much ill health in Scotland. Every year 13,000 Scots die from smoking-related illnesses. For more statistics on smoking-related illnesses and deaths in Scotland, visit [Only registered and activated users can see links]
The health benefits of stopping
"I feel healthier. I taste my food better. Im not breathless walking up that hill. Ive got more money which I spend on nice clothes."- Shelagh, Inverclyde
Stopping smoking not only reduces the risk of getting serious smoking-related diseases, it means you're less likely to have other health problems, such as:
Gum disease and bad breath
Coughs and shortness of breath
Colds and flu
Mouth ulcers
High blood pressure
Asthma attacks
In the long-term, breaking the habit reduces the chances of you suffering from:
Stroke
Reduced vision
Mouth and throat cancer
Heart disease
Emphysema and bronchitis
Lung cancer
Stomach ulcers
Bladder cancer
Infertility
Peripheral vascular disease, which can lead to gangrene and amputation of limbs
Some of the less well-known benefits of stopping smoking are that wounds and surgical incisions should heal more quickly. For women, the good news is that you're less likely to suffer painful periods and osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) once you've quit.
Thinking of starting a family? Men who smoke may suffer from impotence and produce less sperm. Women who smoke take longer to conceive and are more likely to have a miscarriage or stillbirth. Stopping smoking can improve your chances of conceiving.
Improve your health
It doesn't matter how old you are, how much you smoke or how many years you've been a smoker giving up can halt at least some of the damage. The heart can pump more blood and oxygen around the body with less effort.
Quitting particularly reduces the risk of a heart attack in people with other risk factors like being overweight or who have diabetes, high blood pressure or raised blood cholesterol levels.
As well as affecting your general health, quitting smoking can make a big difference to the way you look. Did you know that stopping smoking can benefit your skin? For a start, youll be getting rid of the yellow tar stains from your fingers and the smell of stale smoke from your hair. This will make a difference to how you look and how you feel.
"Folks say Im looking a lot better. Im not huffing and blowing."- Arthur, Aberdeen
Benefits to your skin
The benefits of stopping smoking to your appearance can be gained at any point in life, although, obviously, the earlier you think about stopping smoking, the greater the effect on your looks.
The myth that gets many teenagers to take up the habit in the first place that smoking makes you look older is sadly true when it comes to your skin.
Smoking reduces the amount of blood flowing to the skin and dries it out. Over time, this means it loses elasticity and gets more wrinkled.
Stopping smoking can have positive effects on your skin. You will improve your skin tone and colour. You're less likely to get wrinkles round your eyes and mouth from squinting when smoke gets in your eyes, and puckering up when you draw on a cigarette.
Quitting smoking lowers your chances of developing psoriasis, a chronic skin condition that can be extremely uncomfortable and disfiguring.
Benefits to your body
Quitting smoking has a good effect on your entire body.
Many smokers believe their habit help keeps their weight down. This is true to some extent. But did you know that smoking affects the shape of your body?
Smoking causes changes in the glands that secrete hormones so smokers store more body fat around their waist and upper torso than their hips. This means smokers are likely to have a higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) than non-smokers. A high WHR is associated with a greater risk of developing:
Diabetes
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Gallbladder problems
Cancer of the womb and breast in women
Quitting means your body can get back to normal and recover from the effects of smoking.
Benefits to your teeth
It's not just the look of your teeth that can be affected by smoking. Smoking makes it harder for saliva to remove germs in your mouth so you have more chance of getting gum disease, which can lead to premature tooth loss and bad breath. Stopping smoking means whiter teeth and a reduced risk of losing them with fewer trips to the dentist too, with any luck.
Smoking is a costly habit in more ways than one. The financial cost of smoking should not be underestimated, and giving up can give you some immediate financial benefits.
Think about it, if you smoke an average 20-a-day, you will smoke 7,300 cigarettes a year. Even if you buy cheaper brands, that still means you spend at least ฃ1,500 on cigarettes every year. So the cost of smoking really mounts up.
What could you buy with that? A holiday, maybe. Or a new wardrobe?
If you're a younger smoker, stopping could still mean you're around ฃ8 per week better off. The average weekly cost of smoking for a teenager is roughly the same amount as the cost of a CD or DVD.
"It was 40 a day. It was ฃ8, ฃ9 a day, ฃ60 a week. I realised it was the right time to do it."- Jeff, Dumfries
The cost of smoking
The cost of smoking can be a burden on your household budget. One survey found that if both you and your partner smoke, you could be spending as much as 15% of your income on tobacco.
There are other costs of smoking that you might not have thought about before. Some savings are less obvious:
Long-term, because you're less at risk of developing a smoking-related disease or disability, youre also less likely to need to take time off work from ill health, or have to retire early.
You will pay less for insurance premiums.
There is reduced risk of damage to your home from fire, and you will save money on cleaning and redecorating to get rid of nicotine stains and the smell of smoke.
You can use our Cost Calculator to work out how much smoking costs you and how quitting could add money to your bank account.
But it's not just you who stands to gain from stopping. Before the smoking ban came in, some calculations were done. It was found that every year Scottish employers lose:
ฃ450 million in productivity due to smoking
ฃ40 million from smoking-related absences
The cost of smoking also affects the NHS ฃ200 million a year in hospital care. Cigarettes and matches are a common cause of fire several million pounds worth of fire damage to Scottish homes each year is the result of fires caused by cigarettes left burning. Although it is likely to reduce as a result of people giving up smoking and as a result of less people being exposed to second-hand smoke due to the smoking ban, the costs still remain high. Finally, cigarette ends, packets and matches are the most commonly found items of rubbish and therefore add to the cost of keeping our cities and towns tidy.
People who don't smoke still suffer the effects of passive smoking by breathing in 'second-hand smoke' from smokers' cigarettes. There may still be smoke particles in the air even if it doesn't seem smoky. One of the dangers of second-hand smoke is that particles from smoke in the air are smaller than in smoke drawn directly from a cigarette and can penetrate deeper into the lungs.
The effects of passive smoking or second-hand smoke include:
Eye irritation
Headache
Cough
Sore throat
Dizziness
Nausea
"I think most people who do smoke want to give up. Its very, very hard but I think there is a turning point for everyone. Mine just happened to be my grandson."- Bella, Edinburgh
The effects of passive smoking
A non-smoker who lives with a smoker may be exposed to about 1% of their tobacco smoke from passive smoking. This can increase their chances of developing lung cancer or dying from a heart attack. The same applies to people who work in a smoky atmosphere, which is why Scotland now has a ban on smoking in enclosed public places such as workplaces, pubs and restaurants.
524176
You don't have to be a smoker to want to know the facts about cigarette smoking. You might be a parent or teacher keen to encourage young people not to start in the first place. Or perhaps you're an employer trying to reduce smoking at work by helping your staff quit. Or you may be trying to help your partner of a friend to stop smoking. The effect of smoking on other people looks at the dangers of second-hand smoke, whether at home, in the car.
The danger of smoking
Most of us have a pretty good idea of what the dangers of smoking are and what it can do to people. You might, however, be surprised by some of the less obvious effects of smoking.
In this section, find out all about the effects of smoking on your health. Smoking can affect every part of your body. It can lead to both minor and major health problems. But do you know exactly what happens to your body when you smoke?
What happens when you smoke?
When you smoke, less oxygen reaches your lungs. Nicotine, the addictive stuff, stimulates your central nervous system, making your heart beat faster and raising your blood pressure. Tar from cigarettes ends up in your lungs.
Over time, smoking obstructs or narrows the small airways in the lungs and destroys the air sacs there. It clogs arteries and causes blood clots.
This is why smoking tobacco causes so much ill health in Scotland. Every year 13,000 Scots die from smoking-related illnesses. For more statistics on smoking-related illnesses and deaths in Scotland, visit [Only registered and activated users can see links]
The health benefits of stopping
"I feel healthier. I taste my food better. Im not breathless walking up that hill. Ive got more money which I spend on nice clothes."- Shelagh, Inverclyde
Stopping smoking not only reduces the risk of getting serious smoking-related diseases, it means you're less likely to have other health problems, such as:
Gum disease and bad breath
Coughs and shortness of breath
Colds and flu
Mouth ulcers
High blood pressure
Asthma attacks
In the long-term, breaking the habit reduces the chances of you suffering from:
Stroke
Reduced vision
Mouth and throat cancer
Heart disease
Emphysema and bronchitis
Lung cancer
Stomach ulcers
Bladder cancer
Infertility
Peripheral vascular disease, which can lead to gangrene and amputation of limbs
Some of the less well-known benefits of stopping smoking are that wounds and surgical incisions should heal more quickly. For women, the good news is that you're less likely to suffer painful periods and osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) once you've quit.
Thinking of starting a family? Men who smoke may suffer from impotence and produce less sperm. Women who smoke take longer to conceive and are more likely to have a miscarriage or stillbirth. Stopping smoking can improve your chances of conceiving.
Improve your health
It doesn't matter how old you are, how much you smoke or how many years you've been a smoker giving up can halt at least some of the damage. The heart can pump more blood and oxygen around the body with less effort.
Quitting particularly reduces the risk of a heart attack in people with other risk factors like being overweight or who have diabetes, high blood pressure or raised blood cholesterol levels.
As well as affecting your general health, quitting smoking can make a big difference to the way you look. Did you know that stopping smoking can benefit your skin? For a start, youll be getting rid of the yellow tar stains from your fingers and the smell of stale smoke from your hair. This will make a difference to how you look and how you feel.
"Folks say Im looking a lot better. Im not huffing and blowing."- Arthur, Aberdeen
Benefits to your skin
The benefits of stopping smoking to your appearance can be gained at any point in life, although, obviously, the earlier you think about stopping smoking, the greater the effect on your looks.
The myth that gets many teenagers to take up the habit in the first place that smoking makes you look older is sadly true when it comes to your skin.
Smoking reduces the amount of blood flowing to the skin and dries it out. Over time, this means it loses elasticity and gets more wrinkled.
Stopping smoking can have positive effects on your skin. You will improve your skin tone and colour. You're less likely to get wrinkles round your eyes and mouth from squinting when smoke gets in your eyes, and puckering up when you draw on a cigarette.
Quitting smoking lowers your chances of developing psoriasis, a chronic skin condition that can be extremely uncomfortable and disfiguring.
Benefits to your body
Quitting smoking has a good effect on your entire body.
Many smokers believe their habit help keeps their weight down. This is true to some extent. But did you know that smoking affects the shape of your body?
Smoking causes changes in the glands that secrete hormones so smokers store more body fat around their waist and upper torso than their hips. This means smokers are likely to have a higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) than non-smokers. A high WHR is associated with a greater risk of developing:
Diabetes
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Gallbladder problems
Cancer of the womb and breast in women
Quitting means your body can get back to normal and recover from the effects of smoking.
Benefits to your teeth
It's not just the look of your teeth that can be affected by smoking. Smoking makes it harder for saliva to remove germs in your mouth so you have more chance of getting gum disease, which can lead to premature tooth loss and bad breath. Stopping smoking means whiter teeth and a reduced risk of losing them with fewer trips to the dentist too, with any luck.
Smoking is a costly habit in more ways than one. The financial cost of smoking should not be underestimated, and giving up can give you some immediate financial benefits.
Think about it, if you smoke an average 20-a-day, you will smoke 7,300 cigarettes a year. Even if you buy cheaper brands, that still means you spend at least ฃ1,500 on cigarettes every year. So the cost of smoking really mounts up.
What could you buy with that? A holiday, maybe. Or a new wardrobe?
If you're a younger smoker, stopping could still mean you're around ฃ8 per week better off. The average weekly cost of smoking for a teenager is roughly the same amount as the cost of a CD or DVD.
"It was 40 a day. It was ฃ8, ฃ9 a day, ฃ60 a week. I realised it was the right time to do it."- Jeff, Dumfries
The cost of smoking
The cost of smoking can be a burden on your household budget. One survey found that if both you and your partner smoke, you could be spending as much as 15% of your income on tobacco.
There are other costs of smoking that you might not have thought about before. Some savings are less obvious:
Long-term, because you're less at risk of developing a smoking-related disease or disability, youre also less likely to need to take time off work from ill health, or have to retire early.
You will pay less for insurance premiums.
There is reduced risk of damage to your home from fire, and you will save money on cleaning and redecorating to get rid of nicotine stains and the smell of smoke.
You can use our Cost Calculator to work out how much smoking costs you and how quitting could add money to your bank account.
But it's not just you who stands to gain from stopping. Before the smoking ban came in, some calculations were done. It was found that every year Scottish employers lose:
ฃ450 million in productivity due to smoking
ฃ40 million from smoking-related absences
The cost of smoking also affects the NHS ฃ200 million a year in hospital care. Cigarettes and matches are a common cause of fire several million pounds worth of fire damage to Scottish homes each year is the result of fires caused by cigarettes left burning. Although it is likely to reduce as a result of people giving up smoking and as a result of less people being exposed to second-hand smoke due to the smoking ban, the costs still remain high. Finally, cigarette ends, packets and matches are the most commonly found items of rubbish and therefore add to the cost of keeping our cities and towns tidy.
People who don't smoke still suffer the effects of passive smoking by breathing in 'second-hand smoke' from smokers' cigarettes. There may still be smoke particles in the air even if it doesn't seem smoky. One of the dangers of second-hand smoke is that particles from smoke in the air are smaller than in smoke drawn directly from a cigarette and can penetrate deeper into the lungs.
The effects of passive smoking or second-hand smoke include:
Eye irritation
Headache
Cough
Sore throat
Dizziness
Nausea
"I think most people who do smoke want to give up. Its very, very hard but I think there is a turning point for everyone. Mine just happened to be my grandson."- Bella, Edinburgh
The effects of passive smoking
A non-smoker who lives with a smoker may be exposed to about 1% of their tobacco smoke from passive smoking. This can increase their chances of developing lung cancer or dying from a heart attack. The same applies to people who work in a smoky atmosphere, which is why Scotland now has a ban on smoking in enclosed public places such as workplaces, pubs and restaurants.
524176