Smoking

Reasons to Stop Smoking

We are all familiar with smoking being tied to lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease. While these are good enough reasons to stop smoking, here are some new ones you may not be familiar with:

1. Smoking speeds up the onset of Alzheimer's disease. According to the March 1999 issue of the journal Neurology, a study of 9,200 men and women over age 65 showed that the rate of mental decline was up to five times faster in smokers than in non-smokers. In a 2010 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who smoked more than two packs a day were twice as likely to suffer from dementia.
2. Maternal smoking alone was associated with doubling the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). The risk was 17 times greater for babies who bed shared and had mothers who smoked. (Reported in January 17, 2004 issue of The Lancet, Volume 363, Issue 9404.)
3. Exposure to tobacco smoke may increase a baby's risk of colic. An article in the October 2004 issue of the Pediatrics journal reports that tobacco smoke appears to raise levels of a gut hormone called motilin in the blood and intestines. Higher than average motilin levels are linked to elevated risks of infantile colic.
4. A study of nearly 5,000 Chinese men showed that men who smoked more than a pack a day were 60% more likely to suffer erectile dysfunction, compared to men who never smoke.
5. Smoking raises the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Studies have found that smokers are four times more likely to become blind. Just by quitting can lower that risk.
6. Smoking greatly increases the risk of breast cancer. According to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers looked at breast cancer risk among 116,544 women who reported that they smoke. Between 1996 and 2000, 2,000 of these women developed breast cancer. Women who smoked were 30% more likely to develop breast cancer compared to those who don't. Those who started smoking before age 20, who began at least five years before their first full-term pregnancy, and who had smoked for longer periods of time, or smoked 20 or more cigarettes per day, were at the greatest risk.

If remaining healthy isn't enough, what about the financial costs of smoking? The cost of cigarettes has gone up over the years. Instead of imagining how much you can save by not smoking, visit the American Cancer Society's web site to calculate your actual cost.

Talk To Your Children, Prevent a Habit from Starting

Have you spoken to your children about cigarettes? While trends in teen smoking have declined, help keep that trend down by talking to your children while they are still young.

Even though the effects of smoking are known to be diseases that develop over time, smoking can have an immediate impact on teenagers who start smoking. Teens can easily get addicted to cigarettes. Studies have found that most smokers started smoking when they were teenagers or very young adults.

Teens who smoke are three times as likely as non-smokers to become short of breath, which can affect their performance in sports and extracurricular activities. Young smokers are also more likely to engage in additional risky behaviors that can put their lives in danger.

The sooner you talk to your children, the sooner you can prevent a bad habit from starting.

For advice on how to talk to your child about smoking, visit Real Parents Real Answers.