Smokers beware, you are puffing radioactivity

You don't have to be a Russian spy to be poisoned by polonium. It is right there in the cigarette you puff.

Ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko's death due to polonium made big news, but few realise that the same polonium is also present in cigarette smoke, and is one of the main causes of lung cancer in smokers.

"Cigarette smoke contains radioactivity. Smokers slowly poison themselves and also the passive smokers with polonium 210 and lead 210, two radioactive materials. They do not suffer from any acute radiation disease as the Russian spy but may develop an increased risk of lung cancer," says Dr K S Parthasarathy, former secretary, Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

One puff of a cigarette contains 4800 chemicals, out of which 69 are carcinogens. And the smoke which a second-hand smoker inhales contains no less than 400 of these chemicals. Americans receive more radiation from tobacco smoke than from any other source. American smokers smoke on an average 11,000 cigarettes annually.

Tobacco and Cancer

Smoking damages nearly every organ in the human body, is linked to at least 10 different cancers, and accounts for some 30% of all cancer deaths. And it costs billions of dollars each year. Yet one in four Americans still light up.

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The People vs. Big Tobacco - Major Development!

I'm sure you are aware that in August
 U.S. District Court Judge
 Gladys Kessler ruled that 
the major cigarette companies 
were racketeers who've deceived 
the American people for nearly 50 years
 about the health risks of their products
 and their marketing to kids.
 Judge Kessler found that the companies'
 wrongdoing has resulted in "a staggering 
number of deaths per year, an 
immeasurable amount of human 
suffering and economic loss, and 
a profound burden on our national 
health care system." 
But, unfortunately for the 
American people, Judge Kessler's
 hands were tied when it came to 
holding the industry responsible for
 their years of wrongdoing. 
An earlier court decision 
restricted the remedies she could 
order. As a result, we believe Judge Kessler was
limited to remedies that amounted 
to no more than a slap on the wrist. 
Now, to guarantee Big Tobacco is held 
responsible for their actions
 and to protect the American
 people from an industry found to 
be lying racketeers, the Tobacco-Free 
Kids Action Fund has partnered with five public 
health groups to appeal the remedies 
portion of Judge Kessler's
 ruling. By appealing the remedies, 
we'll have the opportunity to fight
 for penalties that could dramatically
 reform the industry. We will fight 
for remedies that will reduce smoking 
rates, protect our kids from tobacco 
addiction and help current smokers quit. 
The appeals process is no easy task. 
The big tobacco companies have hundreds 
of lawyers. Our six public
 health groups have two lawyers. But we are
 ready for this challenge. In the end, we
 believe the rewards for public health will 
be astounding and changes forced on the industry 
will protect thousands of Americans from a lifetime 
of tobacco addiction and disease. 

Quit smoking without a gimmick

I quit smoking almost ten years ago and was able to do it without the help of a patch, gum, or any other type of gimmick. Maybe these products work for some, but I’ve never known anyone where they used these products and have actually quit smoking for good.

What I found that really worked for a plan to quit smoking was to get away from all the things that I associated with smoking. Cigarettes and everything that went along with them, including coffee and beer, were part of a lifestyle that I had to give up and change. Here are a few tips that helped me and I haven’t touched a cigarette in almost ten years.

• You are going to have to associate with different people. If you the people you currently hang around with are smoking, it is going to be tough to ever even think of quitting. At the very least, you will have to avoid these friends in the initial first few weeks.
• You are going to have to stop going to bars and stop drinking for the first few weeks. This is similar to the friends that still smoke. You need to re-wire the way you think. You’re not a smoker anymore and so you can’t do the things that you would normally associate with smoking. This doesn’t mean you can’t ever go to the bar again, but at least until you have two weeks of smoke free time under your belt, you’re asking for trouble.
• Trying putting something else in your mouth to help with the oral fixation of not having a cigarette. I used to chew gum or pop sunflower seeds into my mouth and then spit out the shells. Anything that can help, right?
  

Take this advice and if you really are serious about quitting these tips will really help you get under way. Good luck.

It only took me three times and a leap of faith to quit smoking

Most people these days are aware of how bad smoking is for your health and for those around them. However, even with all of the medical knowledge about cigarettes, people continue to smoke. I know, I was one of them that heard on a daily basis how bad it was for me. I just didn’t care. I loved to smoke. But then I started noticing some of the side effects.

First, I started playing basketball with a group of guys before work and on the weekends. I felt like I had cords wrapped around my chest preventing me from inhaling as much as I should be able to, which affected my game. So I tried smoking, but eventually within about a week, I was back to it. My solution was to quit basketball.

Next, I had a girlfriend who didn’t smoke and I could see how she hated my nasty habit. I always felt a little twinge of guilt knowing that she hated to get into my stale smoke aroma car. So I tried quitting again. This time it lasted until we went to the bar next, which was about a day. I just couldn’t drink a beer without wanting a cigarette.

Finally, a friend of mine’s mother died from lung cancer and I saw how it had affected him. In fact, it affected me pretty bad too. She was only in her fifties and it didn’t seem like she should have passed on yet. This time I decided that I would quit and so would my friend whose mother had just passed away.

It was a lot of struggle for a few weeks, but after about the second or third week it got easier and since then neither of us has ever looked back. Now when I go into a smoky room or bar, I can’t stand the smell and wonder how I ever could have liked this filthy habit.

A different kind of smoking addiction

Smoking weed made me feel like there was nothing better on earth – I used it to treat pain, both physical and emotional, when I needed to; it made me think more creatively; and I felt like I could finally forget all of my childhood abuse and past unhappiness in relationships with losers and users, and just be. I was a "high-functioning" addict (no pun intended), and held down several professional jobs while I smoke every day, several times a day. It took me a full 31 years to realize that my life was literally passing me by while I was smoking the days (and a small fortune) away. I felt the spirit of my late father speaking to me, asking me why I needed to smoke pot in order to function. He told me that he loved me, and that he hated to see me not living up to my fullest potential.

So, with the help of my great husband, I quit. I had a wonderful doctor supervising me, too, but I did at home what many people need to enter a rehab clinic for. Here's a resource that is very helpful!


Click Here!