The End of Smoking’s Risks
Recent research on the deadly lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease discovered that as many as 50 percent of current and former smokers will develop the illness before age 80. According to extensive research conducted by Toronto respiratory disease physician Andrea Gershon and published in the medical journal The Lancet, nearly one in four of all adults age 35 and over will develop COPD. Gershon’s study included data on nearly 13 million adults in their 30s or older, who were tracked for as many as 14 years.
In many cases, people with COPD are suffering a combination of two conditions: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. With emphysema, the air sacs that carry air through the lungs quit working and limit a person’s ability to breathe, creating the common smoker’s cough. Chronic bronchitis is when the airways to the lungs become inflamed and swollen, often leading to serious lung infections.
Currently, more than 12 million people in the United States suffer from COPD, according to the American Cancer Society, making this miserable disease the fourth-leading cause of death in our country. Although the latest research shows the lifetime risk factor for COPD is higher among men (29 percent, compared with 25 percent for women), more women than men die from COPD.
The No. 1 risk factor for development of COPD is smoking, and the best way to avoid COPD is to never smoke at all. Those who do smoke, however, can still take an important step that will reduce their risk of contracting COPD — they can quit smoking discount Capital cigarettes.
Now, it’s easy to write the words: Just quit.
I know, and any former smoker can attest, that it’s much harder to end an addiction to nicotine. There’s no proven formula for quitting, and in most cases, people who successfully quit will admit to a relapse or two before they finally conquer the urge to smoke.
Still, more than 1 million people in the United States successfully quit each year.
I advise my patients who want to stop smoking to follow the American Cancer Society’s advice and make a plan. The first step: Decide to quit.
Then go see your physician and devise a plan that works for you. Ask about the process of nicotine withdrawal and what to expect. Talk to your physician about the smoking cessation classes, many of them free, that are available today, and about the over-the-counter aids and prescription medicines that can help you stop smoking. You don’t need to go cold turkey.
As part of the plan, set a quit date. That’s important because the quit date symbolizes a goal. This month’s calendar includes the biggest and best quit date of all — Nov. 17, the 36th annual Great American Smokeout.
Convince a family member or a friend to quit with you. Then circle Thursday on the calendar and join millions of Americans who take the first step to better health on the same day.
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