Smoking can cause heart disease as well as lung cancer and other lung diseases. Some 37,000 people die from heart disease caused by smoking and many more suffer years of pain and discomfort.
How does smoking affect your heart?
Cigarette smoke contains several thousand chemicals. Two of them – carbon monoxide and nicotine – are thought to be involved in causing coronary heart disease.
Carbon monoxide, the poisonous gas also present in car exhaust fumes, is picked up by the blood much more readily than oxygen. So, when carbon monoxide is present, there is less “room” for oxygen. The oxygen-carrying capacity of a cigarette smoker’s blood can be cut by up to 15%. This means that the heart has to work much harder to get enough oxygen to all parts of the body.
Nicotine stimulates the nervous system which leads to an increase in the heart rate and a constriction of the blood vessels. This puts a strain on the heart. Nicotine also makes the blood more likely to clot.
A cigarette smoker has about twice the risk of having a heart attack as a non-smoker. For the smoker who also has high blood pressure and raised blood cholesterol, the risk becomes eight times greater.
Women smokers are at special risk of coronary heart disease if they also take the contraceptive pill.
Is it too late to give up?
Whatever your age, it’s never too late to give up. Giving up reduces the risk of a heart attack. Within five years of giving up, the risk is greatly reduced, and after fifteen years it approaches that of a non-smoker. Giving up is especially important for people who have already had a heart attack.
There are other advantages too. You reduce your risk of lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema. You will be able to breathe more easily, have a better sense of taste and smell, and feel generally fitter.
How do you stop smoking?
There is no magic answer. But many have found the following advice helpful:-
* Convince yourself that you really want to give up smoking and that you are going to succeed.
* Choose a time when you are not under too much stress.
* Give up with a friend.
* Throw away all your cigarettes.
* Make a point of telling people that you have given up.
* Work out how much money you are saving by not smoking and put that amount aside each day or week.
* For the first few days try and do without the drinks and snacks that you would normally have with a cigarette. And make a big effort not to smoke after meals.
People who change to low tar cigarettes tend to inhale more, to maintain their nicotine intake. As they inhale more, they may increase the amount of carbon monoxide absorbed. So although the low tar smoker may reduce their risk of lung cancer, their risk of heart attack may even increase.
What are the side effects of giving up?
Nicotine can artificially stimulates the body to use more energy, so some people seem to gain weight when they stop smoking, even if they eat just the same as before. Others tend to eat more without realising it, or find they have an increased appetite. Don’t go on a crash diet but be careful not to eat too many sweet or fatty foods. Include plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit in your diet.
Many people feel more tense and irritable or have difficulty concentrating. For most people the first three or four weeks are the worst, but some people have difficulties for a little longer. Persevere. They are usually over after six to eight weeks and the benefits last a lifetime.
Be positive and you will join the ranks of the 11,000,000 people in the UK who have successfully given up.
Why does smoking affect the heart?
Tobacco smoke is packed with poisons that can damage the heart and blood vessels;
- Nicotine – an addictive poison, makes the heart beat faster, and makes the blood pressure soar temporarily. It also increases the risk of blood clots.
- Carbon monoxide – a poisonous gas released when tobacco burns. Inhaled by the smoker, it dramatically cuts the amount of oxygen the blood can carry around the body and to the heart.
So when you smoke, your heart is having to work harder and is getting less oxygen.
How much at risk is the smoker?
Smoking dramatically increases the risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and many other diseases. These diseases are not always fatal but can seriously affect your quality of life. Smoke and you’re more likely to die before you retire. 40% of heavy smokers (those smoking over 20 cigarettes a day) die before retirement age, compared to only 15% of non-smokers.
Women are as much at risk as men of developing diseases from smoking – smoking-related diseases in women are still on the increase.
The risk of heart disease is dramatically increased for women who are over 35, smoke and who take the contraceptive pill. But now, thankfully, people are more aware of the health hazards and women, like men, are choosing to quit smoking. Why not join them?
What about the risk for the passive smoker?
Cigarettes give off two types of smoke – “mainstream smoke” is filtered by the cigarette and inhaled by the smoker. The other type is sidestream smoke which goes directly from the end of the cigarette into the air. As it is not filtered it contains higher concentrations of harmful substances than the mainstream smoke. It is therefore potentially dangerous to non-smokers, especially when they are exposed to it for long periods of time.
Children who are exposed to their parents’ sidestream smoke are more prone than other children to serious chest illness’ such as pneumonia, lung cancer and bronchitis. They are also more likely to smoke if their parents do.
The benefits of giving up
Give up and the risks decreases dramatically. Because nicotine is addictive this will be difficult and withdrawal symptoms such as irritability and restlessness can be experienced. These should only last a few weeks, however, and will be worth the discomfort – 11 million people in Britain have given up, in most cases by will-power alone. If you do give up you should not only feel fitter but your risk of developing heart disease will rapidly decrease during the first year. If you continue to be a non-smoker the risks will decrease so that, in time, the risks will be almost the same as they are for someone who has never smoked.
But there’s more to quitting smoking than a healthy heart and healthy lungs. We can all spot smokers who quit – they’re so full of themselves! But with good reason. Until you kick the weed it’s hard to appreciate, but it’s a fantastic feeling. With food it’s like having a veil lifted – you can really taste again, really enjoy it. As general fitness returns your body feels renewed, recharged, and as you continue to say NO to tobacco, it’s a fantastic boost to your self esteem.
Help yourself to quit
- Stop day – choose a day to stop and stop completely on that day.
- Tell everyone you’re stopping – this will give you support and encouragement to stick with it when you feel tempted to light up.
- Take it a day at a time and each day try just for one more day.
- Identify times when you particularly crave a cigarette and make sure you have something to occupy your hand (worry beads, a pencil to doodle with, sewing).
- Ash cash – work out how much you’re saving and plan how to spend it.
- Think positively – you’re a non-smoker, not a smoker who’s given up. When you’re offered a cigarette say ‘No thanks, I don’t smoke.’ – every time.
- When you feel the urge to smoke, remember how well you’ve done so far and how hard it was to give up in the first place.
- Not everyone succeeds the first time. It’s a strong addiction, but don’t give up trying.
- Find out what’s available locally. Ask your family doctor about the availability of techniques like nicotine chewing gum, stop-smoking groups, hypnosis, acupuncture, aversion therapy and relaxation classes or contact QUIT or ASH for a ‘give-up’ pack (see below for addresses).
Smoking or non-smoking
People are quitting smoking for many reasons – the terrible smell, the high cost, increasing pressure from non-smokers, lack of fitness, but perhaps most of all, the growing realisation that smoking is one of the greatest health hazards mankind has ever faced.
Ask most people about the health risks of smoking and lung cancer will be the swift reply. It often comes as surprise that heart disease caused by smoking kills as many people as lung cancer.
- Middle aged male smokers are twice as likely to suffer the crippling chest pains of angina;
- One in three 40 year old men who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day will die of a heart attack before reaching retirement;
- In fact, smoking doubles your risk of dying from heart disease. Each year 35,000 British smokers die from heart disease.
Add to the risk of cancer, the hacking cough, bronchitis, diseases linked to the circulatory system, sore throats, ulcers, and it’s little wonder that people choosing the healthy heart option say NO to tobacco.