Dispelling the Myths about Harmless Cigarettes
Friday, July 11th, 2008Smoking cigarettes is one of the worst things you can do to your heart. Here is a guest post that will inform you about “harmless cigarettes” and common misconceptions:
We live in a world where we are bombarded with opposing messages. Turn on the television and just watch a thirty-second commercial. You’ll need an hour to figure out why the advertisers chose their messages to make us want to buy their product. It can be confusing for the viewer. One thing that can no longer be misunderstood is that smoking cigarettes will lead to cardiovascular problems. We still hear some people say that if you cut down or only smoke at a certain time of day that you’ll be alright. This just isn’t true. To further beat this subject over your head here are some reasons that cigarettes are terrible for your cardiovascular health:
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Smoking increases your chances of coronary disease. The United States Surgeon General has called cigarette smoking the leading cause of preventable deaths and diseases. This fact could and should stand alone when someone thinks about starting smoking or quitting smoking. It has also been discovered that smoking poses a greater risk in people under fifty years old than over.
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Smoking creates a windfall effect. Smoking will decrease your good cholesterol. This is bad news if you have any other bad habits or risk factors in addition to smoking. Poor diet, family history of heart disease and little exercise are a few examples that if mixed with smoking create a veritable pressure cooker in your body.
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There is no good news about smoking. Further studies show that women who smoke and take oral contraceptives greatly increase their risk for stroke. Inhaling cigarette smoke severely affects the cerebrovascular system making it one of the most damaging risk factors for stroke.
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To reiterate: secondhand smoke is still bad. Conservative estimates indicate that up to 70,000 preventable deaths each occur with people who have inhaled secondhand smoke. It’s hard to imagine that there are still some parts of the country that allow people to smoke indoors. Even provincial cities like Boston and New York have only, just recently, banned smoking in bars.
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Cigars and pipes aren’t good alternatives. Some people that just because you don’t inhale smoke as much when smoking a cigar or out of a pipe that you’re home free when it comes to coronary disease. The study doesn’t back this up. While you may be “safer” than a cigarette smoker, the risk of coronary disease is greater in cigar and pipe smokers than non-smokers.
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This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of Nursing Salary. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.