Each time you smoke a cigarette or use smokeless tobacco, also called chewing tobacco, you are putting your heath at risk. Tobacco products like cigarettes and chewing tobacco contain nicotine, an addictive substance that make it very difficult to quit. With help from your doctor and the support of your family and friends, you can stop using tobacco products and reduce your risk of developing serious illnesses, like cancer.
Risks of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco
If you smoke cigarettes or use smokeless tobacco, you put yourself at risk for a variety of serious medical conditions, including blood clots, stroke, brain aneurysms, heart attack, angina, high blood pressure, lung cancer, mouth cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, chronic bronchitis, asthma and emphysema, notes the University of Maryland Medical Center in the article Making the Decision to Quit Smoking. Short-term effects of smoking or chewing tobacco that may occur immediately include yellow skin and teeth, bad breath and stained fingernails.
Switching to Smokeless Tobacco
It is a common misconception that smokeless tobacco is a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes. Some smokers may switch to smokeless tobacco, believing that it is safer and easier to quit than smoking cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco is no safer than smoking cigarettes, notes MayoClinic.com in the article Chewing Tobacco: Not a Safe Alternative to Cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco will not help you stop smoking -- instead, you may become addicted to both smokeless tobacco and cigarettes, according to MayoClinic.com.
How to Quit
Because cigarettes and smokeless tobacco both contain nicotine, quitting may be tough. KidsHealth.org recommends using substitutions to quit smokeless tobacco like chewing gum, mint leaves or sucking on hard candy. Smoking cessation programs may give you a better chance of success, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. If you are quitting smoking or smokeless tobacco alone, ask for the support of your friends and family to help you stick to your plan.
Expert Insight
Quitting smoking or smokeless tobacco may help improve your health almost immediately. Twenty minutes after you quit smoking, your pulse and blood pressure will regulate. Your hands and feet will also return to their normal temperature, notes the University of Maryland Medical Center. Eight hours after you quit smoking, the oxygen levels in your blood increase and the carbon monoxide levels in your blood drop. After you have quit smoking for 24 hours, your risk of having a heart attack decreases. After you have quit for one year, you decrease your risk of coronary heart disease by one half.
