Everyone knows that smoking is harmful. Yet what you might not know is that almost a third of annual adult hospital admissions are caused by smoking. To be exact, Florida Atlantic University reported that 7 million hospitalizations out of 30 million were smokers whose hospital stay lasted several days. This is because smoking increases their mortality risk.
If you’d like to refrain from being part of that 7 million, quitting smoking is definitely something you should consider. However, it’s no secret that doing so can be extremely challenging. To further motivate your smoking cessation, it may be helpful to know that smoking causes a number of major health conditions and with CNBC reporting that healthcare costs are rising this year, this will be something you will want to avoid.
That said, here are some health conditions you’ll avoid by quitting smoking and a couple of ways you can start your cessation journey today.
Health Conditions You Can Avoid When You Quit Smoking
1. Asthma
This condition is one of the most common lung diseases in the world. It happens when the airways in your lungs become inflamed and narrowed, causing wheezing, breathlessness, and a tightening of the chest. You’ll also often experience a dry cough when you’re asthmatic. Asthma’s symptoms can be treated with inhalers or medicine, but it is an incurable condition overall and since inhaling cigarette smoke can agitate your airways, quitting is the best way to avoid asthma yourself.
2. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
COPD is characterized by difficulty breathing. Compared to asthma, people with this condition are likely to have a “wet” cough that brings up mucus. COPD develops due to long-term damage to the lungs from breathing in smoke. Due to the constant shortness of breath, a person with COPD will find it hard to do daily activities, such as climbing a flight of stairs or doing tedious housework. In the long run, COPD can leave you stuck at home just so you can preserve your breath.
3. Cancer
Different types of cancer are common among smokers. In our article on how to prevent cancer, notes that smoking is known to cause this disease in almost any body part, including the lungs, heart, or throat. Harmful substances in cigarettes, including but not limited to benzene, arsenic, and nickel, can weaken the immune system. Thus, it’s more difficult for your body to kill cancer cells.
Lung cancer begins when cigarette smoke damages the cells in the organs’ lining. This smoke can also increase plaque formation in blood vessels, leading to heart cancer. Cigarette smoke can even irritate the throat, resulting in inflammation and the development of polyps, or tissue growth. Cancer results in fatigue, weight loss, and pain. It can even be fatal, making quitting smoking vital for safeguarding your long-term health and well-being.
4. Strokes
A stroke happens when something blocks blood on its way to the brain or when a blood vessel bursts in the brain. Smoking heightens your chances of getting a stroke because it increases your blood pressure and reduces your blood oxygen levels. The harmful chemicals in cigarettes can also be absorbed into the bloodstream, damaging and weakening your blood vessels. After suffering a stroke, a patient may become paralyzed, have slurred speech, or have altered brain functions.
5. Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes often occurs due to being overweight or obese, but smoking can contribute, too. Diabetes happens when your body can’t adequately regulate insulin. Consequently, cigarette chemicals harm your cells, causing inflammation. Eventually, this can result in these cells’ unresponsiveness to insulin.
Additionally, tobacco encourages your body to store fat in the abdominal area. This leads to belly fat, which can develop into excess weight gain and getting diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
How to Quit Smoking
Undergo Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) involves consuming tobacco-free nicotine to help wean smokers off cigarettes. Some products used in NRT are nicotine pouches and nasal sprays.
A nicotine pouch is placed between your lip and gum for nicotine absorption through the mouth. These are sold over the counter and can therefore be bought without a prescription. What makes the pouch so effective is how it caters to a wide range of tastes. The ZYN nicotine pouches featured at Prilla are available in various flavors, including spearmint, cinnamon, and coffee. ZYN also offer two nicotine strengths: 3mg and 6mg. You can start with 6mg and then move to 3mg as your nicotine dependence decreases.
Meanwhile, nicotine nasal sprays are hand-held spray bottles. To use, spray once in each nostril. The blood vessels in your nasal passage will absorb the nicotine into your bloodstream. Unlike pouches, you’ll need a prescription to buy nicotine nasal spray. The Nicotrol nicotine nasal spray by Pfizer contains over 100mg of nicotine per bottle and can be used up to 5 times per hour or depending on your doctor’s recommendation.
Call a Smoking Quitline
A quitline connects you with a quit coach who can discuss treatment options and everyday practices to help stop smoking. Quitlines can be very successful for smoking cessation because they’re available across the US, and the coaches speak in various languages. These features make these experts’ advice accessible to more Americans. What’s more, quit coaches can tailor plans to your unique needs and preferences. They’ll ask questions regarding your smoking habits, past quit attempts, and the like to devise a cessation program that works for you.
When you quit smoking, you can avoid a number of health issues. Stop smoking today by undergoing NRT and calling a quitline to prevent developing diseases.
