We know you know that the two Cs are intrinsically linked. So, we are not going to tell you anything about the myriad cancers cigarettes can give you. iTALK gives you 11 lesser known reasons to quit smoking. And if you knew these already, you are an idiot to keep lighting up
In a recent interview to a television channel, actor-producer Sanjay Dutt said to quit smoking would be the most important thing he wishes to do this year. Wife Manyata is encouraging him to build the resolve. "But it's really tough," he admitted.
NEW YEAR RESOLVE
We know you know that the two Cs are intrinsically linked. So, we are not going to tell you anything about the myriad cancers cigarettes can give you. iTALK gives you 11 lesser known reasons to quit smoking. And if you knew these already, you are an idiot to keep lighting up
You end up storing more fat
People carry excess body fat in 2 ways: Apple-shaped people carry it in the upper torso, pear shaped people pack extra kilos under the belt. Thanks to the location of the fat, apple-shaped people have a higher waist-to-hip ratio than normal. Evidence shows that apple-shaped people stand a greater chance of developing heart disease, high BP and gall bladder trouble.
Though smokers may be leaner than non-smokers, endocrine changes cause them to store even normal amounts of body fat in an abnormal distribution, leading to an abnormally high waist-to-hip ratio.
Your teeth could fall off
Smoking increases pocket depth. That's the space around each tooth, where the gum joins the tooth. The greater the depth, the more the likelihood of disease-causing germs to lurk there. It also means less support to hold each tooth in place.
You could get cataract before you grow old
Many non-smokers are acutely aware of the irritating effects that smoking has on their eyes: They suffer from burning, watering and reddened eyes.u00a0u00a0 But few smokers are aware of the serious eye diseases they could suffer from.
When a cataract develops, it causes a loss of transparency in the eye's lens. While it usually develops as a result of ageing, smoking can up your risk. Compared with never smokers, current smokers of 20 or more ciggies a day, are twice as likely to develop any type of cataract.
You'll put off your lover
No one likes to snuggle up with a snorer. Those who smoke more than 15 ciggies a day, are 6-and-a-half times as likely as non-smokers to be frequent snorers.
You'll experience hearing loss
Smoking is associated with a variety of abnormalities in the ear and throat. And smokers have an increased risk of sudden hearing loss and hearing loss associated with chronic exposure to loud noise. While experts aren't entirely sure of the "how", they believe smoking-induced decreased blood flow to the ears plays a role.
You are more likely to be sad than happy
Depression and smoking are intertwined. People who are depressed are more likely to smoke; smokers are more likely to be depressed; and depressed smokers have a more tough time managing their depressionu00a0 if they try to stop smoking.
>>Smoking, and in particular nicotine, may have a direct depressant effect.
>>Smokers may have a poor self-image because of the stigma associated with smoking.
>>Smokers may become troubled because although they know smoking will harm them, they are unable to stop.
>>Smokers may develop a chronic illness because of smoking, and the illness could have a depressant effect.
You'll ruin your sexual performance
>>Depending on the quantity smoked, smokers ejaculate a decreased volume of semen. This could be due to the effect nicotine has on the nervous system, on the nerves that control your body's ability to ejaculate.
>>Smoking can affect your ability to have an erection, doubling their risk of impotence. Just like smoking is a significant cause of clogged blood vessels in the heart, it's also a critical cause of doing the same in the penis.
So, if you thought you'd have to wait till you retire, to know what erectile dysfunction feels like, you are wrong. Indian medical experts confirm that young Indian men are falling prey to impotence thanks to erratic lifestyles.
You'll have trouble conceiving
>>The fertility rate of women who smoke is 30% lower than those of non-smokers. Smoking damages the Oocytes (eggs released from ovaries).
>>Smoking alters level of hormones among women, and so, ovulation (release of egg from ovaries) does not occur normally.
>>Smoking increases levels of hormones epinephrine and or/vasopressin, both of which raise blood pressure and heart rate. When these are produced in excess, they cause abnormalities in Fallopian tube function.
Pregnancy complications include premature babies, intrauterine growth retardation and low birth weight, stillbirth and birth defects.
You could hit early menopause
Smoking lowers estrogen levels. All women experience this after age 40, and gradually stop menstruating or producing estrogen. Estrogen withdrawal increases heart disease risk, and makes women more susceptible to spinal and hip fractures.
You'll suffer from backpain
Smoking contributes to the process by which discs in the spine are weakened. These are cushions between the vertebrae in the spine. Smoking reduces blood flow to the discs, which restricts the amount of nutrients and oxygen they receive.
Youll look old when you are young
If you were to line up 10 middle-aged smokers on one side of the room, and non-smokers on the other, you'd notice one major difference: the smokers look older. Smokers in their 40s have wrinkles like non-smokers in their 60s. In addition to leathery looking skin, they have characteristic tiny wrinkles that spread from upper and lower lips.
Skin damaged by smoking has less elastin, a protein that allows it to stretch. Collagen, another protein that's essential to normal skin structure, is actually changed in shape as a result of smoking.
iTALK loves this anti-smoking print campaign
Tagline: Smoking reduces weight (one lung at a time)
Agency: Touchstone Advertising and Marketing
One of the reasons people, especially young women, start smoking is from a belief that it causes loss
of weight. What they don't realise are the dangerous side effects, most deadly being lung cancer, which kills silently.
If you thought you knew everything there was to know about the consequences of smoking, pick up a copy of Cigarettes: What the Warning Label Doesn't Tell You. By the American Council on Science and Health
iTALK says 'Boo' to...
Every few months, we see a news report on Shahrukh Khan expressing a deep desire to quit smoking. Although a chain smoker, he welcomed the ban on smoking in public places put forward by Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.
"It is a good step to make sure that the country is smoke free. A Better step would be to ban cigarettes, make them illegal and hang any one who is smoking. We cannot do that as we are a democratic country."
Shahrukh Khan, actor
...And then
Theatre and film actor Randeep Hooda is a chain smoker, often lighting up a dozen cigarettes in half an hour. After fracturing his foot during a film shoot, he landed in hospital, but managed to get a a quick discharge since they wouldn't let him smoke.
Actor Saif Ali Khan was a heavy smoker, but he claims to have cut down on cigarettes and alcohol, reserving them only for special occasions. Good for you, Saif. And Kareena. After all, passive smoking kills 30 people a day in the Uk
Smoking at work
Passive smoking is worse than smoking says Dr Ashok Mahashur, consultant chest physician at Hinduja Hospital
If you stand around lecturing your colleagues while they smoke, may be it's time you shifted focus to your own health. Chest physician Dr Mahashur says passive smoking is more dangerous than smoking. "First of all, you are inhaling the same amount of smoke as the smoker is, even though the cigarette is not in your mouth. Secondly, when a smoker takes a puff, he exhales some of the carcinogens. But in the case of a passive smoker, all the carcinogens are absorbed into the body."
If you (a non-smoker) accompany your colleagues for a smoke, you:
>>Are inhaling twice the amount of smoke and carcinogens than what the smoker is inhaling.
>>So, if your colleague smokes 2 cigarettes, your system will be subjected to harmful effects produced by 4 cigarettes.
But if you MUST join the smoking circle, make sure:
>>You are in an open space rather than a smoking room, or an air-conditioned office space.
>>Don't stand too close to those smoking.
>>Make sure there isn't more than one person smoking, because the more the smokers, higher the concentration of smoke you are exposed to.
Girls find guys who smoke uncool
8 out of 10 girls surveyed did not find a smoker attractive and 67% girls said they wouldn't date a smoker
The research was conducted for Salaam Bombay Foundation by Ormax Consultants, a leading qualitative market research company between February 3 and 10, 2008. Over 791 youngsters (524 males and 264 females) in the age group 18 to 25 years participated in the survey.
Three out of four youngsters are not interested in marrying a smoker. Nearly nine out of ten girls said that they did not find smokers or tobacco users attractive and almost half the youngsters interviewed said that they are never comfortable in the company of smokers.
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