Tobacco smoking is incredibly harmful to your health. Yes, we’ve all heard this time and again. We are also aware of the numerous health hazards of smoking and yet, for many smokers, the habit is hard to shrug. For some, it is nearly impossible to ignore a cigarette craving when it creeps into the mind. This is because of the addictive nature of nicotine present in cigarettes. Over time, as the body gets used to nicotine, it cannot quite function without it. Cigarettes are dangerous and under all normal circumstances, it is better to steer clear of these deadly rolls. I can’t emphasize enough that there is no safe way to smoke. But, if you still have to smoke, here are a few small things you can do to reduce the effects of nicotine on your body.
1) Never smoke after a meal
Scientists believe that smoking even one cigarette after a meal is as dangerous as smoking ten. Why? After a meal, the body is primed for enable faster absorption of nutrients and substances from food. If you smoke at a time when the absorption rate is high, your body will absorb twice or thrice the amount of nicotine than it normally would. The absorbed nicotine quickly binds with oxygen in the blood and travels to various internal organs causing harm and damage to them. In long term, this could lead to appearance of cancers in bowel or lungs. So cigarettes after a meal is a big NO from me.
2) Avoid smoking early in the morning
It is quite common for smokers to wake up in the morning and reach out for their pack of cigarettes immediately. While smoking at any time of the day is harmful early morning puffs are deadly. A study published in the American Cancer Society’s journal included 4,775 smokes with lung cancer and 2835 regular smokers without lung cancer. At the end of the study, it concluded that people who smoke within 30 minutes of waking up were 1.79 times more likely to be affected by cancer. These people also had higher amounts of nicotine and other toxins in the body. I believe that if you need a smoke in the morning, you will be better off waiting until a while after breakfast to take that first puff.
3) Along with alcohol
Like peanut butter and jelly or bacon and eggs, cigarettes along with alcohol seem to be a good combination. But, this is far from the truth. Nicotine together with alcohol could double the trouble. This is because one is a stimulant and the other is a depressant. They have opposing effects on your brain. While alcohol slows down your brain activity, nicotine tries to increase it and make you more alert. The result? You might end up drinking a lot more servings of alcohol than usual because you simply don’t feel the buzz or euphoric feeling.
But that’s not all, alcohol causes the chemicals in cigarettes to dissolve quickly and they end up getting trapped in the area of the throat. Over time, this affects the tissues of throat and could lead to throat and esophageal cancers.
Conclusion:
Whether it is morning or night, raining or sunshine, smoking cigarettes is harmful to health. The best thing you can do for yourself is to quit. Yes, it is difficult but not impossible. Start one day at a time by reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke. Slowly and surely, you will be able to kick the habit soon.
References:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19532236/the-worst-time-of-day-to-smoke/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190227140020.htm
https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2014/06/20/prohibit-smoking-in-the-toilets