Quitting Smoking: Why To Quit and How To Get Help

What health problems are caused by smoking?
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and diminishes a person’s overall health. Smoking is a leading cause of cancer and of death from cancer. It causes cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix, as well as acute myeloid leukemia.

Smoking also causes heart disease, stroke, lung disease (chronic bronchitis and emphysema), hip fractures, and cataracts. Smokers are at higher risk of developing pneumonia and other airway infections.

A pregnant smoker is at higher risk of having her baby born too early and with an abnormally low weight. A woman who smokes during or after pregnancy increases her infant’s risk of death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Millions of Americans have health problems caused by smoking. Cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke cause an estimated average of 438,000 premature deaths each year in the United States. Of these premature deaths, about 40 percent are from cancer, 35 percent are from heart disease and stroke, and 25 percent are from lung disease. Smoking is the leading cause of premature, preventable death in this country.

Regardless of their age, smokers can substantially reduce their risk of disease, including cancer, by quitting.

Does tobacco smoke contain harmful chemicals?
Yes. Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and nonsmokers. Breathing even a little tobacco smoke can be harmful (1, 3). Of the 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful (4, 5). The toxic chemicals found in smoke include hydrogen cyanide (used in chemical weapons), carbon monoxide (found in car exhaust), formaldehyde (used as an embalming fluid), ammonia (used in household cleaners), and toluene (found in paint thinners).


What are the immediate benefits of quitting smoking?
The immediate health benefits of quitting smoking are substantial. Heart rate and blood pressure, which were abnormally high while smoking, begin to return to normal. Within a few hours, the level of carbon monoxide in the blood begins to decline. (Carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas found in cigarette smoke, reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.) Within a few weeks, people who quit smoking have improved circulation, don’t produce as much phlegm, and don’t cough or wheeze as often. Within several months of quitting, people can expect significant improvements in lung function.


What are the long-term benefits of quitting smoking?
Quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer and other diseases, such as heart disease and lung disease, caused by smoking. People who quit smoking, regardless of their age, are less likely than those who continue to smoke to die from smoking-related illness. Studies have shown that quitting at about age 30 reduces the chance of dying from smoking-related diseases by more than 90 percent . People who quit at about age 50 reduce their risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent compared with those who continue to smoke. Even people who quit at about age 60 or older live longer than those who continue to smoke.


Does quitting smoking lower the risk of cancer?
Quitting smoking substantially reduces the risk of developing and dying from cancer, and this benefit increases the longer a person remains smoke free. However, even after many years of not smoking, the risk of lung cancer in former smokers remains higher than in people who have never smoked.

The risk of premature death and the chance of developing cancer due to cigarettes depend on the number of years of smoking, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the age at which smoking began, and the presence or absence of illness at the time of quitting. For people who have already developed cancer, quitting smoking reduces the risk of developing a second cancer.


Should someone already diagnosed with cancer bother to quit smoking?
Yes. There are many reasons that people diagnosed with cancer should quit smoking. For those having surgery or other treatments, quitting smoking helps improve the body’s ability to heal and respond to the cancer treatment, and it lowers the risk of pneumonia and respiratory failure. Also, quitting smoking may lower the risk of the cancer returning or a second cancer forming.


What are some of the challenges associated with quitting smoking?
Quitting smoking may cause short-term problems, especially for those who have smoked a large number of cigarettes for a long period of time:

Feeling sad or anxious: People who quit smoking are likely to feel depressed, anxious, irritable, and restless, and may have difficulty sleeping or concentrating.
Gaining weight: Increased appetite is a common withdrawal symptom after quitting smoking, and studies show that people who quit smoking increase their food intake. Although most smokers gain less than 10 pounds, for some people the weight gain can be troublesome. Regular physical activity can help people maintain a healthy weight.
Depression, anxiety, restlessness, weight gain, and other problems are symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Many people find that nicotine replacement products and other medicines may relieve these problems. However, even without medication, withdrawal symptoms and other problems do subside over time. It helps to keep in mind that people who kick the smoking habit have the opportunity for a healthier future.


Can a doctor, dentist, or pharmacist help a person quit smoking?
Doctors, dentists, and pharmacists can be good sources of information about the health risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting. They can describe the proper use and potential side effects of nicotine replacement therapy and other medicines and they can help people find local quit smoking resources.


How can I help someone I know quit smoking?
It’s understandable to be concerned about someone you know who currently smokes. It’s important to find out if this person wants to quit smoking. Most smokers say they want to quit. If they don’t want to quit, try to find out why.

Here are some things you can do to help:

Express things in terms of your own concern about the smoker’s health ("I’m worried about...").

Acknowledge that the smoker may get something out of smoking and may find it difficult to quit.

Be encouraging and express your faith that the smoker can quit for good.
Suggest a specific action, such as calling a smoking quitline, for help in quitting smoking.
Ask the smoker for ways you can provide support.
Here are two things you should not do:

Don’t send quit smoking materials to smokers unless they ask for them.
Don’t criticize, nag, or remind the smoker about past failures.


What about combining medications?
Some health care providers suggest that combining the nicotine patch with nicotine gum or nicotine nasal spray may work better than using a single type of nicotine replacement therapy. Nicotine gum in combination with nicotine patch therapy may also reduce withdrawal symptoms better than either medication alone. The patch provides a base level of nicotine, and the additional products can deliver extra nicotine when cravings or withdrawal symptoms occur. Another option is the combination of bupropion and nicotine patch therapy. People who think they may benefit from combining medications should consult with their health care provider before making a decision.

Are there alternative methods to help people quit smoking?
Some people claim that alternative approaches such as hypnosis, acupuncture, acupressure, laser therapy, or electrostimulation may help reduce the symptoms associated with nicotine withdrawal. However, clinical studies have not shown that these alternative approaches help people quit smoking.

What if a person smokes again after quitting?
Many smokers find it difficult to quit. People commonly quit smoking and then find themselves smoking again, especially in the first few weeks or months after quitting. People who smoke after quitting should try again to quit. Most people find that they need to persist in their attempts to quit smoking before they quit for good. It may take four or more attempts before smokers are able to quit for good.

People who stop smoking for 3 months or longer have an excellent chance of remaining cigarette free for the rest of their lives.

Avoid Getting Cancer

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells in the body.

Some cancers, if caught in early stages need not be fatal; others spread quickly and can result in death. There are many types of cancer, but the most common types are: Breast, Colorectal, Lung, Prostate, Skin and Testicular. All of these involve the malfunction of genes that control cell growth and cell division. That means your cell will not be able to communicate properly (similar to you trying to talk to someone that does not speak your language) and as a result there will be a lot of mis-communcation.

There is no single cause. Instead cancer can be caused by external factors (smoking, radiation, and infectious organisms) and internal factors (inherited genes, immune conditions, etc.) While some of the causes are outside of most people's control, other factors, like smoking, are lifestyle changes that an individual could make to improve their health.

The American Cancer Society estimates that in a single year (2004) more than 180,000 cancer deaths will be as a result of tobacco use. Research indicates that another one-third of the 563,700 cancer deaths in the same time period will be related to poor nutrition, physical inactivity, being overweight or obese, and other lifestyle factor that if changed, could have prevented the onset or spread of this disease.

Can you prevent, nay even survive it? According to the ACS, the 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers diagnosed between 1995 and 2000 is up by 64%.

There are some simple steps that may result in not only reducing your risk, but ultimately saving your life:

- Nutrition and exercise: There is strong scientific evidence that a healthy diet, combined with regular physical activity, is not only are needed to maintain a healthful body weight but will also reduce cancer risk. Some studies have found that people eating diets high in vegetables and fruits, and low in meat and/or animal fats have reduced risk of some the most common cancers. Can not get any fresh fruits and vegetable? You are allergic to fruits and vegetables? Try nutritious supplements in form of glyconutrients (see http://dexlen.myglycostore.com).

- Tobacco use cessation: Some of the most dangerous types of cancer are related to tobacco use (not only smoking cigarettes but smoking cigars or pipes, and chewing tobacco). As mentioned earlier, tobacco use has been linked to almost 200,000 deaths yearly. Quitting smoking or any tobacco habit can be incredibly difficult but will add 15 to 20 years to your life.

- Protect skin: Skin cancer may not always be fatal, but it's still incredibly prevalent. In 2004, more than 1 million cases of skin cancer were diagnosed - many could have been avoided by merely wearing sun block, hats, sun glasses, and avoiding sun tanning.

- Reduce stress: It's difficult to chart the correlation between stress and cancer. Some studies indicate that individuals that developed cancer were in particularly high stress positions in life. There are many theories that suggest that cancer is similar to an immune system disease and stress is a major factor in lowering the body's natural immunity.

Cancer does not need to be a death sentence. There are many advances taking place every year in medicine to extend the life of cancer patients. But perhaps the greatest opportunity isn't with treatment of the cancer, but rather the prevention of the cancer in the first place. By making a few behavioral changes to your life you can substantially reduce the risk of cancer and improve the quality of your life.

LiveStrong-Sierra Leone Celebrates LiveStrong Day

Over one hundred youths in the East End of Freetown joined Rowaca Cancer Group to celebrate LiveStrong Day October 2, to commemorate the day the founder and CEO of Lance Amstrong Foundation, Lance Amstrong, was diagnosed with cancer.
The celebration, which was organized by the Community Based Organization, Rowaka Cancer Group (RCG), was held at Wellington in Freetown.
RCG has been working to promote awareness among grassroots people on cancer disease, and LiveStrong Day was a unique day in the history of the organization as the occasion was celebrated in many other countries championed by LiveStrong.
Being that Sierra Leone has a high youth population, targeting cigarette smoking and the use of illegal drugs is key to the organization’s advocacy campaigns.

Youths Advised Against Illegal Drugs

By Alusine Sesay
Reverend Mohamed Kamara of the Wesleyan Church has advised young people to be mindful of the dangers of cigarette smoking and use of illegal drugs.
Rev. Kamara made this call during a LIVESTRONG sensitization programme at Old Railway Line, Wellington on Friday.
The occasion attracted young and old people in the community including the tribal head, Yabom Poro.
Reverend Kamara, who was Chairman of the occasion, said many young people in Sierra Leone are at risk of exposing themselves to ill health especially cancer, if steps are not taken to seriously inform them about the dangers of cigarette smoking and exposure to illegal drugs.
He said the action by the organization, Rowaca Cancer Group, to reach out to the grassroots is a welcome move as educating poor and vulnerable people about cancer will save lives in the community.
He said he accepted the offer to be chairman of the occasion because he has faith in the team leader and the drive the organization is taking.
“I hoped stakeholders will see the need to put into place policies that will address issues bothering on cancer,” he said.
He noted that many people have died of cancer in the country and that Government should now use information to educate people about the disease.
“Cancer may affect people at all ages, even fetuses, but the risk for most varieties increases with age,” he said.
The team leader of the group, Alpha Kamara, said the campaign is a result of the poor awareness of the disease in the community and that by reaching out to the people, especially the poor and vulnerable, many lives would be saved.
He noted that Rowaca Cancer Group is supporting the LIVESTRONG campaign to ensure that all countries have national cancer control programs to make a global investment in Cancer Control and to ensure that the stigma of cancer is reduced in the country.
Kamara, who is an affected person himself, said many families have lost loved ones due to cancer and that for most poor and vulnerable people the cost of procuring standard cancer medication is a bottleneck and often ends in the loss of lives.
“We must view this campaign as a survival quest,” he said, adding that because many youths are involved in smoking, the target of the campaign is youth groups in the communities to advise them against the habit.
“It will not be easy for one to quit from cigarette smoking but it will be better for one to protect his/her life and quit the habit,” he advised.
Kamara also disclosed that they will be celebrating the LIVESTRONG Day on October 2, when Surgeon Specialist, Dr. Moses Sesay and others will address the people on the issue.

Culled from http://www.premiernews-sl.com/

Sierra Leone Must Be Prepared To Fight Cancer

LIVESTRONG Team Leader
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide but unfortunately in Africa, priority is yet to be focused in it as is often seen with diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
Despite the lapses, African nations can still join the international community and be part in the drive to ensure cancer become a priority in the decision making processes.
The cancer scourge has become so threatening that over 500 delegates from 65 countries in October gathered at the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin to learn, cooperate, and communicate in order to find ways to work together as a community in the fight against cancer.
The LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit is an unprecedented step by the Lance Amstrong Foundation to ensure that people worldwide are provided with national control plans by their governments.
Stakeholders in the summit made a statement of unity, reiterating the urgent need for countries to have National Cancer Control Plans, to make a global investment in cancer control, establishing the millennium development goals, and to reduce the stigma associated with cancer.
This is a call to world leaders, and Sierra Leone should embrace the call and act accordingly to ensure that all Sierra Leoneans live a life free of the fear of cancer.
Like HIV/AIDS, Cancer is often seen by Sierra Leoneans as a disease that cannot be cured and therefore fatal. Cancer is always associated with deformity and death, and taking into consideration the unemployment rate and poverty among the people, the disease is horror and stigma on anyone diagnosed with it.
Children are no exception, as compassion clouded the summit when 9-year old Irish kidney cancer survivor, Rosa, whose father donated a kidney to her in the ultimate act of parental love, made a statement.
She is so young and in her bloom, but was hit by the scourge; same is happening with our younger sisters and brothers. But because of the lack of standard medical opportunities to provide diagnostic solutions for cancer ailments, many ended in the red, living behind loved ones.
Among the key issues also discussed was smoking cigarettes, titled “Tobacco: A Smoking Gun in the Cancer Epidemic.” Indeed smoking is a burning issue in this country, taking into cognizance the rate at which young Sierra Leoneans are engaged into the habit. The damage is not only limited to smokers but also second hand smokers (non smokers who unknowingly inhale cigarette smoke from smokers).
Dr. Ala Alwan, a panelist at the summit stated thus: “There is time we “balance health priorities and government resources” as well as “answering the call, making new commitments to cancer control.”
The call by Dr. Alwan is an advice to all nations and Sierra Leone in particular, to see reason and act now!
Fortunately for Sierra Leone the government is paying priority in the health sector and we are now seeing positive measures in the ongoing promotion for affordable and accessible health service for all Sierra Leoneans.
We believe that with this development, the government of Sierra Leone will see the need to make cancer a priority.
We are also calling upon the government of Sierra Leone to join other nations in the fight against cancer and also work according to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Courtesy of Rowaca Cancer Group

Dangers of Cigarette Smoking

Smoking is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. About 420,000 deaths occur each year as a result of smoking cigarettes. Individuals who smoke are likely to develop peptic ulcer disease, and are more likely to develop cataracts, as opposed to non-smokers. People, who smoke, are ten times more likely to die from larynx cancer, esophagus, chronic obstructive lung disease, including emphysema. The risk becomes even higher if cigarette smoking is combined with alcohol use or with occupational exposure to certain types of toxic substances, such as asbestos.

Many individuals continue to smoke knowing these dangerous conditions, because they believe that smoking has benefits like stress relief, anxiety, pleasure, or weight maintenance, thinking that quitting smoking is difficult and won’t be an easy task to accomplish. Individuals who quit smoking however have a significantly lower life expectancy than continuing smokers. When smokers can quit at a young age, it is a huge benefit because they are exposing themselves relatively to fewer cigarettes.

Smokers experience symptoms such as persistent coughing, chest pain, and breathlessness. The fear of dying is what leads a lot of people to stop smoking cigarettes. It takes 2 or 3 serious efforts before this mission can be accomplished and sometimes may take even longer. Smoking cessation is usually a learning process in which mistakes made in the first attempt help improve odds of success during the next attempt. It is a slow process, which requires hard work. When the person finally hits the actual “quitting day”, the person stops smoking and it can be called as the final stage.

Many doctors give advice to all ex-smokers to avoid alcohol temporarily after quitting, since drinking alcoholic beverages seems to induce relapses in cigarette smoking. Because smokers use cigarettes to relieve anger, anxiety, and frustrations; quitting often makes it difficult to get through their daily routine. Those people may want to visit a psychologist, who may help them cope with their new problems or concerns.
Curled from EzineArticles.com

Free Medical Service for Under-Fives

The United Nations Children Fund representative, Geert Caepellaere has disclosed that it is part of the government’s health policy to provide medical service to all women of child bearing age and children under-five years of age.

Unfortunately there are no free medical services for children suffering from cancer or cancer related ailments and it is left with the Government to ensure that free medical facilities are provided for under-five children and women.
The international community in its drive to help women and children in Sierra Leone by supporting their medical needs it is also important for them to consider the many that are suffering from cancer.

The UNICEF Country Representative made this disclosure of government’s commitment at a press briefing at the Ministry of Social Welfare Conference Hall on Monday during the preparations for the commemoration of the Day of the African Child. He stressed the need for accessible and affordable health care service for women and children.

AI-SL Assures RCG Of Their Support

The Director of Amnesty International-Sierra Leone (AI-SL), Brima A. Sheriff met with members of the Rowaka Cancer Group at the AI-SL office in Freetown on Monday June 1, 2009, and promised to support the campaign against cancer in Sierra Leone.
The Rowaka Cancer Group is an initiative of the Lance Amstrong Foundation to reach out to all Sierra Leoneans to inspire and empower people affected by cancer.
The LIVE STRONG Leader in Sierra Leone, Alpha Bedoh Kamara, thanked Mr. Sheriff for his support to the campaign and noted that through AI-SL, the Group will have a formidable alliance to reach out with the message.
Mr. Sheriff said AI-SL is always willing to work with advocacy groups that targets issues of rights, and that cancer being one of the causes of most of the deaths cases in country, though unreported, is a human rights issue.
“My doors are always open to you,” he promised.

Help Her To Live A normal Life

Fatmata Kargbo, Age: 18 years, is sick and suffering from some form of cancer.

She has suffered from ‘mopia’ (cancer) for the past years and despite being in school, she’s stigmatized and hardly plays with others.

Her parents have taken her to the Kalangba Medical Hospital, North of Sierra Leone, where diseases of this nature are diagnosed, but unfortunately there is yet a clue to a cure. “The hospital cannot diagnose any type of disease,” says her mother.

The parents are worried for Kargbo’s life as they see no sign of cure and her condition continue to deteriorate.