In spite of government sponsored campaigns there are still a lot of people who smoke, either out of habit or just curious. Even worse is the fact that some individuals, especially young people, have no idea of the dangers of smoking and think it is “cool”. The truth is smoking poses serious and even fatal health risks for both smoker and nonsmoker.

 

Health Problems Caused by Smoking

Cigarette smoking can cause a lot of health problems including cancers of the cervix, stomach, throat, mouth, larynx, lung and esophagus, and it can also lead to pancreas health problems. In addition, smoking has been linked to leukemia and can harm every organ in your body and weaken their function significantly. Smoking is also one of the leading causes of aortic aneurysm, stroke and heart disease, and it is also responsible for and aggravating asthma, emphysema, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Study after study has also shown that pregnant women who smoke risk premature birth and a low birth weight. In addition, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) risks increase with smoking, while men are likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. Medical researchers have also demonstrated that exposure to tobacco and cigarette smoke leads to more than 450,000 premature deaths in the US alone, and 40% are due to cancer, 35% from heart conditions and 25% from lung problems. These figures are for America alone, and when added with others from around the world, will be higher.

Health Threat to Nonsmokers

Smoking also poses health risks to nonsmokers because secondhand smoke is a carcinogen, meaning it causes different types of cancer. According to the latest studies, secondhand smoke is directly responsible for causing 3,000 cancer deaths every year in the US. Furthermore, the US Surgeon General says that a person living with a smoker has a 30% greater risk of developing lung cancer than someone who doesn’t live with a smoker.

The dangers of secondhand smoke do not end there however, as there are also studies showing nonsmoking adults and children exposed to secondhand smoke have a 30% greater risk of heart disease and is responsible for about 46,000 deaths every year. In addition to these figures, children surrounded by secondhand smoke risk acquiring severe asthma, pneumonia, cold, various ear infections and more. Children with weak immune systems will also feel breathless, wheeze and cough. The reason for this as pointed out earlier is that smoking weakens the body’s organs, rendering them vulnerable to various ailments.  If these conditions are not treated, they can be fatal.

Treatment

Because smoking is addictive, smokers find it hard to quit, but advances in medical research is now offering people a chance to kick the habit for good. One medication pill that has proven effective in helping smokers quit is Chantix. Unlike other medications, Chantix doesn’t require prescription and can be purchased over the counter.

For this pill to work you need to follow the detailed instructions provided on the package. It is available in generic form as varenicline tartrate. Besides Chantix, alternatives include inhalers, gum and patches.