Quitting smoking can be very difficult, partly because of the presence of nicotine in tobacco. Nicotine stimulates the brain and over time can cause the brain to become addicted to the chemical, which can make it difficult to quit. On the other...
Most people in the United States are aware of the dangers of smoking. However, about 80 percent of people who decide to give up cigarettes, pipes or cigars start smoking again within 12 months, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse....
You know all the reasons you should quit smoking -- you want to avoid lung cancer, heart and cardiovascular disease and other smoking-related illnesses. You want to lead a longer life. Now that you're trying to kick the habit, you may not know...
Most people are aware of the health risks of smoking. However, millions of people around the world still continue to smoke cigarettes and other tobacco products. According to the Reader's Digest website, this is partially because of the highly...
Smoking is an expensive and life-threatening habit that has become the most common preventable cause of death in the United States, states the National Institutes of Health. Luckily, many of the damaging effects of smoking can be improved or even...
According to 2009 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking accounts for over 400,000 deaths a year in the United States. Smoking leads to a variety of health conditions, including heart disease, vascular...
Cholesterol is made in the liver and is comprised of fatty substances used to build cell membranes and hormones. Cholesterol is carried in your blood by proteins, called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins, or LDL, is considered an unhealthy...
Cigarette smoking can affect every organ in your body, particularly your lungs. It also can affect the nutrients circulating in your blood, depleting your body of vitamins and minerals it needs to fight inflammation and perform daily functions. If...
Because of the highly addictive nature of nicotine, most people who quit smoking made several attempts before succeeding. According to former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, nicotine is as addictive as heroin. Smoking is also emotionally...
The nicotine in tobacco products calms and satisfies you, but at a price. Tobacco smoke contains many dangerous chemicals that can injure and even kill you. Smokers often find it difficult to quit due to nicotine's addictive quality, but your...
According to the American Cancer Society, 70 percent of American smokers have a desire to quit smoking, yet only 4 to 7 percent are successful when it comes to quitting permanently. It is a difficult addiction to break; however, there are ways to...
Most smokers know why they should quit, but because nicotine is just as addictive as cocaine or heroin, they don't know how to do it. In a report by Jack Henningfield for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, he ranked nicotine as a six on the...
While you may know some of the most significant health-related threats of smoking---such as lung cancer or emphysema---you may not know other long-term effects, such as a reduced sense of smell, according to American Academy of Otolaryngology....
When you light up a cigarette, more than 4,000 chemicals enter your lungs, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Although these chemicals affect the lungs in different ways, even smoking one cigarette can cause permanent harm....
Heart disease is the top killer of men and women in America. Your heart is the epicenter of life vitality and taking care of this magnificent organ involves choosing healthy lifestyle choices including diet, exercise and avoiding purposeful...
A social smoker is one who smokes cigarettes to feel accepted. Often, these smokers will frequent establishments that allow smoking so they can socialize with other smokers. Unlike daily smokers or occasional smokers, social smokers don't usually...
According to the National Cancer Institute, smoking harms almost every organ in the body, causes many diseases and diminishes a person's overall health. These facts give many smokers the motivation and desire to quit smoking, but quitting can be...
Smoking can be a very difficult habit to quit. Part of this is due to the physical addictiveness of smoking--primarily through the chemical nicotinewhich stimulates your brain. However, there is also a psychological aspect to smoking, in which you...
Cold turkey is the most successful way to quit smoking, but you wouldn't know it from commercials and smoking cessation public service advertisements. An analysis of 511 studies conducted in 2009 at the University of Sydney in Australia revealed...
Medline Plus explains that nicotine withdrawal usually begins within two or three hours after tobacco use and peaks at approximately two or three days. Symptoms can include overwhelming nicotine craving, impatience, anxiety, drowsiness, difficulty...
As you get older, your skin begins to show the signs of aging such as wrinkles, lines, age spots and dryness, according to the National Institutes of Health or NIH. Skin also becomes thinner, which makes it more susceptible to sagging and...
Quitting smoking is hard--after all, it is an addiction. Some smokers determined to become ex-smokers may be able to quit cold turkey, but the majority need some extra help. Thinking through your options when it comes to becoming smoke-free is...
Regardless of company size, a wellness program benefits both employees who participate and the employer. A healthy workforce means lower health care costs, fewer insurance claims, improved morale and possibly increased productivity. The specific...
Several different treatments are available to help people stop smoking, including antidepressant medications such as bupropion SR and nortriptyline, the partial nicotine agonist/antagonist varenicline, nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) like the...
The American Heart Association says that approximately 74.5 million Americans age 20 and older suffer from high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. While the cause of 90 to 95 percent of these cases is not known, this condition is easily...
Each month a woman produces an egg for the purposes of fertilization. This egg is matured in the ovary, within a fluid-filled sack called a cyst. Usually, this cyst ruptures, releasing the egg inside, but in some women this does not happen,...
Smoking is an unhealthy habit for everyone, particularly if you have allergies. Smoking worsens allergies and asthma symptoms and increases the allergic person's sensitivity to mold, pollen and dust mites, according to the Asthma and Allergy...
Plaque buildup along artery walls makes them hard and narrow. This in turn increases blood pressure and may restrict blood flow to the heart and brain, raising the risk of a heart attack or stroke. If there is a significant amount of plaque...
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), withdrawal symptoms from nicotine can include headaches, irritability and a powerful desire for cigarettes or other products that contain nicotine. The American Psychiatric Association...
