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ZYBAN - A Totally Different Way To Help You Quit Smoking
SMOKING - THE REAL FACTS
We now know that cigarettes are addictive and that nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction. Smokers are compelled to smoke by this addiction to nicotine, but it is the over 4,000 other chemicals in cigarette smoke that cause the most harm. This combination makes cigarettes deadly.
When you smoke, nicotine enters the bloodstream through the lungs. It quickly reaches the brain, where it affects certain chemicals that change the way you feel. Eventually, the brain becomes dependent on nicotine to control these chemicals that make you feel "normal."
You may be addicted to cigarettes if you experience one or more of the following signs:
When smokers who are addicted to cigarettes quit smoking, they may suffer from symptoms that can be psychological, emotional, or physical in nature. This is called withdrawal. They may experience irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, or depression. Fortunately for many patients, ZYBAN reduces withdrawal symptoms and the urge to smoke.
When you take a puff from a cigarette, the smoke passes through your mouth and throat on its way to the lungs. Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including some that are toxic or cancer-causing such as benzene, formaldehyde, and arsenic. These chemicals irritate the tissues they come in contact with. When the smoke reaches the lungs, it deposits a sticky substance called tar.
Many chemicals in cigarette smoke are absorbed into the blood through the lungs. Carbon monoxide, the same gas that is in automobile exhaust, takes the place of some of the oxygen in your blood. This means that all of your organs receive less oxygen.
Another chemical that enters your bloodstream through cigarette smoke is nicotine. Repeated use of nicotine may lead to addiction.
Cigarette smoke comes in direct contact with your lungs, greatly increasing your risk of cancer and respiratory problems like emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Fortunately, many harmful effects of smoking are reversible if you quit.
Perhaps you've already felt the damage caused by smoking in your own body - shortness of breath, long-lasting chest colds, and morning smoker's cough. Smoking can increase the severity of asthma and is the overwhelming cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
The effects of the chemicals from cigarette smoke in your blood make smoking a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Smoking can negatively affect your physical appearance, causing yellowing of the fingernails and teeth. It can even cause more wrinkling of the skin and lead to a syndrome known as smoker's face. Many people believe that smoking keeps weight off. However, the average weight gain after quitting is about 5 pounds, and good personal eating and exercise habits can help you control this.
In men, smoking has been shown to increase the risk of impotence. It has also been shown to decrease sperm activity and count.
Smoking can lead to many complications with pregnancy such as reduced fertility and low infant birthweight. Smokers may also experience an earlier onset of menopause.
In the vast majority of cases, smoking is the cause of COPD. It accounts for approximately 90 percent of all cases. A smoker is 10 times more likely than a nonsmoker to die of COPD.
If you have diabetes and you smoke, you are at a greater risk of experiencing complications including vascular problems in your eyes and limbs.
Cigarette smoke can cause cancer in the organs it comes in contact with, such as the lungs, throat, and mouth. The chemicals from cigarette smoke enter the blood and therefore can cause cancer in many other organs.
Smoking not only affects your health, but the health of all those around you. Both adults and children have an increased chance of getting cancer and respiratory illness when exposed to second-hand smoke.
50 million Americans smoke. About 420,000 Americans die each year as a result of smoking.
