In Chapter 6 I advised readers not to bother with anti-allergy programmes if there is a smoker in the family. This is because passive smoking aggravates all allergies.
Here are a few facts about smoking and passive smoking. If you’re reading this book it suggests that you hope to find an answer to your hay fever or that of your child. But if you or your child are around a smoker, then you might as well throw the book away, as the destructive effects of tobacco will more than outweigh any health measures you adopt.
About passive smoking
There is ample evidence to show that respiratory health in both children and adults suffers badly when they are exposed to cigarette smoke. Unless otherwise stated, statistics are from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
It is estimated that, globally, 600,000 deaths a year are caused by secondhand smoke. The British Medical Association says there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
About smoking
If you’re unlucky enough to smoke yourself, the facts are even starker.
How smoking affects the respiratory system
Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals including carbon monoxide, arsenic, formaldehyde, cyanide and benzene.
Carbon monoxide
This gas takes the place of oxygen in the blood, so that less oxygen reaches the brain, heart, muscles and other organs. Carbon monoxide affects the ability of the red blood cells to carry oxygen round the body and leaves muscles slightly stiffer than normal. This includes the heart muscle – as well as having less oxygen, a heart affected by carbon monoxide will be less able to contract properly, thus pumping blood less efficiently.
Nicotine
This also affects blood flow by narrowing small arteries, leaving less room for the blood to move through them. Nicotine also raises levels of blood glucose and blood cholesterol, causing arteries to degenerate and raising the risk of stroke.
Tar
Tar, a carcinogen, is sticky and brown; it stains teeth, fingernails and lung tissue. Tar further reduces the ability of red cells to pick up oxygen and causes damage and scarring to the lungs.
Hydrogen cyanide
This prevents the natural lung clearance carried out by cilia that move foreign substances out. This means that the chemicals in tobacco smoke can build up inside the lungs.
Other chemicals that damage the lungs include hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, organic acids, phenols and oxidizing agents. As a result, cigarette smoke:
How to stop smoking
More than a million Britons have stopped smoking each year for the last 15 years, and only one in three adults now smokes. On average, people who eventually stop smoking have made three or four previous attempts. Don’t give up. Get help if necessary.
Reasons to stop abound, but the motivation has to come from you. Once you’ve made the decision, there is plenty of help and advice around. A good place to start is ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) – its 15 top tips on stopping can be found at <http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_129.pdf>
ASH also recommends helplines and suggests ways to get professional help if you need it. Your doctor may also be able to help if you are having difficulty stopping. Stop Smoking clinics are available on the NHS or you may be given a prescription of Zyban if you are having trouble (which helps, like all aids to smoking cessation, but won’t do all the work for you).
Tips for stopping smoking
Stop completely
Stop as if you had never smoked at all. Throw away all cigarettes and get rid of any smoking props, such as lighters or ashtrays. It’s sometimes recommended that you set a date to stop, but whenever you do it, it’s best to go cold turkey rather than cutting down gradually. Research shows that even if you smoke fewer cigarettes than usual, your nicotine levels remain nearly the same because you inhale more of each cigarette. Adherence to just one rule is an almost guarantee of success . . . never take another puff.
Nicotine rewired your brain, growing millions of nicotinic receptors in 11 different regions. Your mind’s nicotine-induced dopamine/adrenalin intoxication is a chemical dependency and every bit as real and permanent as alcoholism. Treating a true addiction as though it were some nasty little habit is a recipe for relapse. There is no such thing as just one puff. Recovery from nicotine dependency truly is all or nothing.
Get support
Tell family and friends you’re giving up – and if any other smokers will join you, it may make your effort easier.
Don’t be frightened of withdrawal symptoms
People who have to stop smoking for medical reasons, because they have been admitted to hospital with heart problems, for example, tend not to have withdrawal symptoms, which suggests that these are psychological rather than physical. The desire to smoke is usually at its strongest for the first 12 to 24 hours after stopping, but subsides as levels of tobacco-related chemicals drop in your body and generally eases over two to four weeks. Some people have symptoms such as restlessness and irritability, headaches, anxiety and nausea. Some people find, to their surprise, that any cough gets worse – this is just the airways clearing, so don’t be discouraged. One technique for coping with cravings is to practise slow, deep breathing while clearing your mind of all needless chatter by focusing on your favourite person, place or thing. Another is to say your ABC, associating each letter with your favourite food, person or place. For example, ‘A’ is for apple pie, ‘B’ for your favourite beach, etc. It’s doubtful you’ll reach the end of the alphabet.
Be aware of smoking situations
Be prepared for psychological cravings in smoking-related situations, such as at social events, especially those involving alcohol.
Give yourself time to get used to your new habits
Allow a day, a week and then a month.
Prepare for emotional crises
Chemical dependency on nicotine is one of the most intense, repetitive and dependable relationships you’re ever likely to know. Prepare to experience a normal sense of emotional loss when quitting.
Weight gain
Everyone worries about this. Narrow your focus on to giving up tobacco first. Try to avoid foods that contain sugar and fat. It may help to nibble on apples and carrots to give your hands and mouth something to do while breaking the smoking habit.
Don’t skip meals
Each cigarette allowed you to skip meals without experiencing hunger pangs. Don’t add needless symptoms to withdrawal, but instead learn to spread your normal daily calorie intake out more evenly over the entire day. Don’t eat more food, but eat less food more often. Drink plenty of acidic fruit juice during the first three days. Cranberry juice is excellent and a bottle will cost you about the same as a pack of cigarettes. It will help both to accelerate the 72 hours or so needed to remove the alkaloid nicotine from your body and stabilize blood sugars. Take care beyond three days, as juices can be fattening.
Prepare for smoking dreams
Many successful cigarette quitters recall extremely vivid smoking dreams. It’s actually a good sign, suggesting you’re beginning to ease the need for cigarettes into your subconscious and then beyond, hopefully for good.
Smoking aids
They are just that – aids, not infallible remedies. They work to support your determined decision to give up – but they can’t make that decision for you.
Aids include nicotine replacement therapy, which comes as gums, sprays, patches, tablets, lozenges and inhalers, which can be bought over the counter. Other methods include acupuncture, hypnosis, self-help groups and books, counselling and audio CDs.
Finally, don’t give up. The payback both in health and in money in your pocket is worth any personal hell you may go through. No pain, no gain.