Nicotine is Highly Addictive

Nicotine is a highly addictive drug that occurs naturally in tobacco. It is more addictive then heroin, cocaine or alcohol. Tobacco grows as a plant which is harvested and during processing is combined with other ingredients to create cigarettes.  Becoming addicted to cigarettes often creeps up on you. You may start smoking occasionally and then within weeks or days find that when you are not smoking you experience cravings, feel irritable, stressed and depressed.

Reasons Young People Start Smoking

Young people may start smoking for lots of different reasons. Some may start to help them cope with stress, boredom, anxiety, depression and other issues and think it will help them to calm them down. Others do because their friends do. Some young people will become dependant on nicotine because they use it as “spin” to mix with pot. Girls (and some boys) start smoking as it suppresses their appetite and may use it to manage their weight. Sometimes it can start because people feel anxious in social settings such as parties and feel that having something to do with their hands; such as holding and smoking a cigarette will make them feel less uncomfortable. Some young people will not usually smoke cigarettes except when they drink alcohol. Studies have shown that one out of every two occasional smokers will become regular smokers and approximately 90% of smokers start before they are 19.

Effects of Smoking: Not Just for Old People

It’s easy to look at the adds on TV and think that smoking will only cause problems for older people but the reality is that the younger you start smoking the more likely you are to become dependent for a long time and to smoke heavily. This increases the risks of developing serious health problems. However some problems can develop fairly quickly such as yellowish-brown tar stains on teeth, fingers and fingernails, bad breath (halitosis), hair loss, wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. It also makes clothes and hair smell of cigarette smoke. It also reduces fitness and can cause a constant cough particularly when you try to exercise or do something active.

Let’s Get Serious

Cigarette smoke is full of toxic chemicals. Eleven of the chemicals in tobacco smoke have been proven to cause cancers, including lung, throat, mouth, bladder and kidney cancer. Smoking also increases the risk of other diseases, including heart disease and stroke. Around 19,000 Australians die from tobacco related diseases each year which is more than the combined deaths from road accidents, alcohol and other drugs. About 80 per cent of all drug-related deaths are from cigarette smoking.

Smoking Effects Our Planet

With our increasing concerns about the state of our planet it is also important to be aware that the single most common rubbish item in Australia is the cigarette butt and approximately 7.2 billion cigarette butts are thrown away in Australia each year with millions ending up in our waterways. One single cigarette butt takes several years to break down and within an hour of coming into contact with water begin leaching chemicals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic. Cigarette butts have been found in the stomachs of marine animals, fish, whales and birds.

What’s in a Cigarette?

If you chose to smoke cigarettes it’s good to know what ingredients are used to make them. They contain over 4000 different chemicals. Chemicals are produced when the tobacco is heated, they are also in the cigarette paper and some are from the chemicals used on the tobacco leaves when they are growing. Then there are chemicals added during the production process. Once the cigarette is lit, these chemicals are inhaled into the lungs and many of these chemicals pass through the lung walls into your blood stream, and are then pumped around the body. Some of these chemicals are:

1. DDT (insecticide)
2. Carbon monoxide (poisonous gar from car exhausts)
3. Acetone (pain stripper
4. Ammonia (floor cleaner)
5. Cadmium (used in car batteries)
6. Butane (lighter fluid
7. Hydrogen cyanide (gar used in gas chambers)
8. Napthalene (moth balls)

What about low-tar and herbal cigarettes?

Smoking low-tar cigarettes are not less dangerous than regular cigarettes and still contain chemicals and can cause health problems. Herbal cigarettes are not safer option either. Some brands, particularly ones from China, contain very high levels of tar and nicotine.

How Do I Stop?

Stopping smoking can be hard and quitters often have to have a couple of goes before they are successful. Getting support is important and there is lots of support and advice around if you want to stop. The Australia-wide organisation QUIT have a phone support and advice line Quitline 131 848 which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and you can call it from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call.
See the Quit Tips Facts Sheet.

References:

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics                              http://www.quit.org.au

http://vibe.com.au/quitnow/index.asp                         http://www.gallery.globalink.org