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Quit smoking
I have been told and so many others with heart problems to stop smoking. I am about to do so, with deep belief that smokig is a major source for many many heart and other deseases. I have seen many doctors, and they all advice to syop smoking but NO ONE is realy convincing in their advice, no real and professional explanation to ordinary people. We see warnings on cigarette packs with no scientific and convincing explanations. I urge any one with such answers to post them here to make it more convincing to reluctant smokers.
I read a post where a bypass candidate was turned away due to a smoking habit. He never got the bypass and his brother posted he did not live long after that. Whether it was smoking or lack of medical treatment that was the cause probably will never be known.
do they have a death wish? I'f i found myself in ER with heart attack i can tell you now ciggies begone , i would not be sneaking out for one after such a shock ru kidding me !.....I am cutting down now , can anyone tell me what nicortte chewies are like?? i have 4mg ones how many do i chew a day if i smoke 20 X 12mg ciggies.
When I was last in hospital it really shocked me to see patients sneaking outside to have a cigarette. I remember commenting to a cardiologist saying the government should make them illegal. I was stunned at his reply which was "It costs the national health service 4 million pounds a year to treat smoking related illnesses. However, smokers generate 8 million pounds in taxes, so they pay for themselves and many non smokers. Without smokers the national health service would have to be topped up with funding from elsewhere, and that will obviously be the workers".
I have tried to convince many of my friends to quit smoking, but it's like talking to a brick wall. They say that if two thirds of people get away with no heart disease from smoking, it's good enough for them. I can kind of understand where they are coming from, because education is lacking. Rather than being given numbers, they should be educated on what exactly happens to their body when they inhale cigarette smoke. Everyone on addictive substances lives in denial. I remember my grandparents started to smoke at the age of 14 and they were the non filtered variety. They all lived to be 90 and above and were still able to get around. I used to think I had some kind of genetic immunity or something because of being descended from them. So I think more detailed education is needed for the general public. It's about time it wasn't all down to economics.
I have tried to convince many of my friends to quit smoking, but it's like talking to a brick wall. They say that if two thirds of people get away with no heart disease from smoking, it's good enough for them. I can kind of understand where they are coming from, because education is lacking. Rather than being given numbers, they should be educated on what exactly happens to their body when they inhale cigarette smoke. Everyone on addictive substances lives in denial. I remember my grandparents started to smoke at the age of 14 and they were the non filtered variety. They all lived to be 90 and above and were still able to get around. I used to think I had some kind of genetic immunity or something because of being descended from them. So I think more detailed education is needed for the general public. It's about time it wasn't all down to economics.
You wrote: "I have been told and so many others with heart problems to stop smoking. I am about to do so, with deep belief that smokig is a major source for many many heart and other deseases". Congratulations. If you can quit smoking, you will probably feel better quickly. Certainly you will smell better, and have more money in your pocket, and as KenKeith indicates, you will have a better chance of surviving a heart problem.
You also wrote: "I have seen many doctors, and they all advice to syop smoking but NO ONE is realy convincing in their advice, no real and professional explanation to ordinary people." I could be wrong, but it strikes me as someone in denial about the obvious. As a former smoker, I understand completely, and have been there, done that. I was fortunate, my first heart attack was relatively small, but I found it easy to give up smoking after laying in a cold room watching a doctor push a wire in my heart, cleaning it out and inserting stents. I remember part of one of his sentences said to a student doctor, "This is a typical smoker's heart..." I never picked up another pimp stick.
Best wishes as you quit smoking. Millions and millions of us have done so.
You also wrote: "I have seen many doctors, and they all advice to syop smoking but NO ONE is realy convincing in their advice, no real and professional explanation to ordinary people." I could be wrong, but it strikes me as someone in denial about the obvious. As a former smoker, I understand completely, and have been there, done that. I was fortunate, my first heart attack was relatively small, but I found it easy to give up smoking after laying in a cold room watching a doctor push a wire in my heart, cleaning it out and inserting stents. I remember part of one of his sentences said to a student doctor, "This is a typical smoker's heart..." I never picked up another pimp stick.
Best wishes as you quit smoking. Millions and millions of us have done so.
The following are statistics compiled by the American Heart Association:
As many as 30% of all coronary heart disease (CHD) deaths in the United States each year are attributable to cigarette smoking, with the risk being strongly dose-related. Smoking also nearly doubles the risk of ischemic stroke.3 Smoking acts synergistically with other risk factors, substantially increasing the risk of CHD. Smokers are also at increased risk for peripheral vascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and many other chronic diseases. Cigarette smoking is the single most alterable risk factor contributing to premature morbidity and mortality in the United States, accounting for approximately 430 000 deaths annually.
Numerous prospective investigations have demonstrated a substantial decrease in CHD mortality for former smokers compared with continuing smokers. This diminution in risk occurs relatively soon after cessation of smoking, and increasing intervals since the last cigarette smoked are associated with progressively lower mortality rates from CHD. Similar rapid decreases in risk with smoking cessation are also seen for ischemic stroke. Benefits from quitting are seen in former smokers even after many years of heavy smoking. Investigations also have demonstrated benefits from cessation for smokers who have already developed smoking-related diseases or symptoms. Persons with diagnosed CHD experience as much as a 50% reduction in risk of reinfarction, sudden cardiac death, and total mortality if they quit smoking after the initial infarction. Furthermore, the patient who has recently developed a clinical illness is very motivated to change, and several studies have shown that intervention in this "teachable moment" can be very effective. Thus, the provision of smoking cessation advice is associated with a 50% long-term (more than 1 year) smoking cessation rate in patients who have been hospitalized with a coronary event, and even modest telephone-based counseling can increase this percentage to 70% in a particularly cost-effective manner.
As many as 30% of all coronary heart disease (CHD) deaths in the United States each year are attributable to cigarette smoking, with the risk being strongly dose-related. Smoking also nearly doubles the risk of ischemic stroke.3 Smoking acts synergistically with other risk factors, substantially increasing the risk of CHD. Smokers are also at increased risk for peripheral vascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and many other chronic diseases. Cigarette smoking is the single most alterable risk factor contributing to premature morbidity and mortality in the United States, accounting for approximately 430 000 deaths annually.
Numerous prospective investigations have demonstrated a substantial decrease in CHD mortality for former smokers compared with continuing smokers. This diminution in risk occurs relatively soon after cessation of smoking, and increasing intervals since the last cigarette smoked are associated with progressively lower mortality rates from CHD. Similar rapid decreases in risk with smoking cessation are also seen for ischemic stroke. Benefits from quitting are seen in former smokers even after many years of heavy smoking. Investigations also have demonstrated benefits from cessation for smokers who have already developed smoking-related diseases or symptoms. Persons with diagnosed CHD experience as much as a 50% reduction in risk of reinfarction, sudden cardiac death, and total mortality if they quit smoking after the initial infarction. Furthermore, the patient who has recently developed a clinical illness is very motivated to change, and several studies have shown that intervention in this "teachable moment" can be very effective. Thus, the provision of smoking cessation advice is associated with a 50% long-term (more than 1 year) smoking cessation rate in patients who have been hospitalized with a coronary event, and even modest telephone-based counseling can increase this percentage to 70% in a particularly cost-effective manner.
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