Stop
Smoking Benefits That Last
Posted August 11, 2010
As a respiratory therapist, I get to have lots of conversations
with patients about their smoking habits. They ask me all
sorts of questions.
1. Am I too old to quit smoking?
2. I already have a smoking disease, so why should I quit?
3. It's too late for me, isn't it?
When patients are in the hospital because they smoked, it's
hard to be brutally honest with them, because they already
feel bad. The last thing they need is a guilt trip from some
young whipper-snapper in a white lab jacket about their smoking
habit. So I carefully answer their questions as best I can
without making them feel too bad about their poor choices
in life.
But they do ask some good questions, don't they? Are they
too old or sick to even think about quitting? Lets look at
these for a moment.
Stop smoking benefits are great. They're even greater if
you stop smoking at a young age. But just because you are
getting a little long in the tooth, doesn't mean there are
no benefits for you. Consider this for a moment.
Roughly 90% of all lung cancers are brought on by smoking.
Let that sink in for a moment. If people stopped smoking,
90% of all lung cancers would just go extinct, like the dinosaurs.
But how long do you run the risk of lung cancer after you
stop smoking? For those who quit smoking for 10 years, the
risk is 30-50% less than current smokers. Also, if you have
quit for 15 years, the risk may be 80-90% less than current
smokers. What does this mean in real terms? Lets say you quit
at age 55. That mean by age 70, you have approximately the
same risk of lung cancer as a non-smoker. So when you are
about to enjoy those grandchildren, you'll have a greater
chance to do so. What if you quit when you're 40? Then you
can enjoy your retirement without as much concern for that
dreaded disease.
Now we turn our attention to COPD, popularly known as emphysema.
Many smokers have some sort of COPD as they age. They simply
can't help it. Smoking does what smoking does, it damages
the lungs. So people more, some less, but the damage is there.
The question is, how much damage do you want to risk? So when
my patients ask me if stopping smoking will help their COPD,
the answer is of course it will. The less you smoke the less
damage you have. Studies show the progression of COPD slows
after smoking cessation. The amount of obstruction in the
airways to airflow continues to occur, but at slower rates
of decline.
So "yes Virginia, their are benefits for the elderly
and sick who want to stop smoking". We haven't even touched
on the other health benefits seen in people when they stop
smoking. There is an even more comprehensive list of stop
smoking benefits available. There are also many more risks
that smokers expose themselves to by continuing to smoke.
So if you want valuable
stop smoking information like: 1) how to stop smoking
and overcome cravings; 2) get information on all the stop
smoking aids; 3) find out how addicted you are to nicotine;
4) get products that will help you quit; 5) discover 66 diseases
you expose yourself to when you continue to smoke.
Tim Frymyer is a licensed respiratory therapist who is dedicated
to keeping the public up-to-date on the latest stop smoking
information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Frymyer
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