How smoking makes conditions worse and how quitting can help
Using tobacco has many bad health effects, especially for people with asthma. Asthma is also called “RAD” for reactive airways disease.
Smoking – Asthma can get worse.
Smoking is one of the worst things people with asthma can do. Tobacco smoke irritates the airways, makes asthma worse, and harder to control. Smokers with asthma have to use breathing medicines more often and smoking can undo what asthma medicine is supposed to do. Smoking around children with asthma can trigger an asthma attack.
No matter how long you have smoked, your health will get better. In only 2 or 3 weeks after stopping smoking, your lungs work better, and asthma attacks can be reduced or even go away.
Daily activities do not leave you out of breath. Coughing can get better within days of quitting, and you will likely live longer.
Cancer – quitting smoking makes a difference.
When you quit smoking, you are more likely to live longer after your treatment, cancer can respond better to treatment, wounds heal better, and nicotine in your body is cleared. This is important because nicotine can actually speed up the growth of cancer.
Quitting smoking can also mean improved lung health, appetite, sleep, and energy level.
If you have cancer, quitting smoking is part of your treatment – just like surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.
Smoking when you have cancer can weaken wound healing after surgery. Smoking can also increase the risk of: complication and infection from surgery, getting another form of cancer, and
cancer returning following treatment.
Smoking can also increase the growth of cancer and decrease the effectiveness of your chemotherapy.
After you quit – the benefits of quitting smoking start right away
The cancer may respond better to your treatment and you are more likely to live longer after your treatment. Nicotine in your body gets cleared, which is important because nicotine can speed up the growth of cancer. Quitting can also improve lung health, appetite, sleep, and energy level.
COPD
is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD is also called emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis.
COPD is usually caused by smoking. Symptoms of COPD include chronic cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, and an increase in the production of mucus. A smoker is 10 times more likely to die of COPD than someone who doesn’t smoke. Of those who die from COPD-related deaths, 80%-90% are smokers.
After you quit – the benefits of quitting are big
The single most important thing you can do to slow down the progression of COPD is to quit smoking. No matter how long you have smoked, your health will get better when you quit. After 1 to 9 months of smoking cessation, your coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease.
Quitting smoking has been shown to help people with COPD live longer.
Tobacco has many bad health effects, especially for people with diabetes. No matter how long you have smoked, your health will get better when you quit.
Diabetes and Smoking - Problems can get worse
The risk of getting diabetes is higher for smokers. Smoking doubles the damage from diabetes because it damages the arteries. Diabetic smokers are more likely to get nerve damage and kidney disease; and are 3 times more likely to die of heart disease. Smoking raises the blood sugar level making it harder to control diabetes. Smoking weakens the action of insulin.
After you quit - the benefits of quitting are big
Quitting means better blood sugar control, improved action of insulin, better circulation, less risk of having diabetic nerve and kidney problems, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Heart disease includes coronary heart disease, heart attack and heart failure. Smoking is a major cause of heart disease. A key to preventing or treating heart disease is to quit smoking.
Heart Disease and Smoking -
Smoking causes and makes heart disease worse
Smoking allows less oxygen to the heart; increases blood pressure and heart rate; produces more blood clotting; damages cells in arteries and other blood vessels; greatly increases the risk of heart attack; and promotes plaque build up in the arteries while restricting blood flow to the heart and other organs.
After you quit
No matter how long you have smoked, your health will get better. Quitting means more oxygen in your blood and for your heart, blood pressure and heart rate drops, less risk for a heart attack, you will likely live longer.
