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What About Cigarette Filters?

by: Jane Thurnell-Read

Cigarette smokers are at danger of more than nicotine when they smoke. Tobacco smoke contains many different chemicals including benzene, formaldehyde, styrene, and carbon monoxide, all toxic chemicals with known effects. Nicotine is broken down by the body to an even more addictive and long lasting substance � cotinine.

But what about the filters? The filters are usually made from cellulose acetate, and studies have shown that smokers commonly ingest and/or inhale some of these fibres. This happens because small fragments of cellulose acetate become separated from the filter at the end face. The cut surface of the filter of nearly all cigarettes has these fragments. This means that if you smoke a filter cigarette you are likely to have small fragments of plastic-like material in your tubes and lungs.

Don�t let this be an excuse to go back to smoking unfiltered cigarettes. Cigarette smoke damages your heart as well as your lungs. Carbon monoxide and nicotine are the two chemicals in cigarette smoke that probably have the most effect on the heart. Carbon monoxide attaches to red blood cells, so that in smokers up to half the blood can be carrying carbon monoxide rather than oxygen.

Nicotine stimulates the body to produce adrenaline which makes the heart beat faster and raises blood pressure, forcing the heart to work harder.

Other parts of the smoke appear to damage the lining of the coronary arteries and this leads to the build up of fatty material in the arteries.

Many smokers have switched to low tar cigarettes. It is the tar that causes cancer, but low tar cigarettes don't necessarily have less carbon monoxide and nicotine, so may be no less harmful for the heart. (This doesn't mean that you should go back to higher tar cigarettes, but it does mean that you can't believe that your health will be fine because you are smoking low tar cigarettes.)

My father's last words before he died of a heart attack were "I'm dying for a cigarette." He had no idea how true that was.

About the author:
Jane Thurnell-Read is an author and researcher on health, allergies and stress. She has written two books for the general public: "Allergy A to Z" and "Health Kinesiology. She also maintains a web site with tips, inspiration and information for everyone who wants to live a happier, healthier life.

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How To Quit Smoking
by: Rob Mellor

One of the most vicious diseases in today�s times is smoking. It makes a person baffle for air 3 times more than a non-smoker. It has very many repercussions on the life of the smoker and those around him. It leads to lung cancer and various heart diseases like asthma and emphysema. We should thus abhor this deadly disease and quit smoking.

Quitting is not easy

But to actually quit smoking is not easy, because it is an addiction. However there are very many ways and methods that help us to quit smoking for instance we can opt for acupuncture therapy or aromatherapy. We can also opt for non-nicotine cigarettes or go for precise prescription by a doctor.

But first and foremost we need to decide in our heart to stop smoking and should also fix a day for the same. Inform your family about your decision and seek for their help and assistance. Throw away all the cigarette packets, ashtrays and lighters. Stop buying any more cigarettes. Rather think of the more useful and better things that you can buy with the money thus saved. Ask the other family members also, who smoke, to stop smoking. Keep yourself busy. Exercise regularly and meditate occasionally. Eat healthy food.

After doing all this you may still feel severe urges to smoke. You may also actually retort back to it, but that�s no problem, just be persistent and bring back your decision on to the right track after this break, because most of the people are successful only after 2-3 attempts.

Be prepared for withdrawal symptoms

About 80% people retort back to smoking after once leaving it and only 20% successfully accomplish the task. People retort back due to many reasons. Some say they feel agitated. Others say that the aroma when someone lights up is irresistible. But most of them do so due to the fear of symptoms that appears after that last puff viz. weight gain, aggressive thinking, dry throat, fatigue, muscle cramps, constipation, dizziness, hypersensitivity to stimuli, etc. but these are all just temporary symptoms and disappear in a few days. In fact after the initial bout is over the blood pressure, heart rate, pulse arte all get back to normal. You thus need to keep your will power strong and stick to your decision for a few more days.

Some people are not able to continue with the smoke cessation programs because they say that they are costly. But this is a wrong perception because they are not costlier than the price spent for buying cigarettes. And then isn�t it more logical to spend on your health rather on a disease.

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