"Others open factories to make money, but he opens factories to play with his life, smoking three or four times a day, at least three thousand times a year!" the wife reproached dissatisfiedly.
Mr. Liu, 52 years old this year, runs a small factory by himself, and often needs to go out for socializing, and he smokes almost every day, sometimes up to 3 packs a day.
Since last year, Mr. Liu has been suffering from cough and fatigue from time to time, and his wife advised him to quit smoking as soon as possible.
Last month, Mr. Liu suddenly coughed up blood when he coughed, which made him realize that something was wrong and rushed to the hospital for a check-up. It was found that he had advanced lung cancer, and after learning about his past medical history, the doctor said that the culprit of Mr. Liu's lung cancer was smoking.
1. Millions of people die every year from smoking, a mouthful of cigarettes or a variety of diseases?
According to the data released by the World Health Organization, about 8 million people die from tobacco and smoking-related diseases every year in the world, and the number of deaths caused by second-hand smoke is as high as 1.3 million every year. On the mainland, smoking also kills more than 1 million people a year.
As we all know, smoking is a high-risk factor for lung cancer, and more than 70% of lung cancers are related to smoking. Zhang Yongsheng, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory Fever of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine East Hospital, introduced: "There are more than 7,000 compounds and hundreds of harmful substances in tobacco, including carcinogenic agents and cancer-promoting agents. Long-term smoking can easily lead to gene mutation and genetic damage, which in turn induces cancer.
In addition to lung cancer, smoking also increases the risk of esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, oral cavity and nasopharyngeal malignancy, and almost all cancers are related to smoking. ”
Not only that, but smoking also increases the risk of several diseases.
1. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Zhu Xiaoli, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine of Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, said that smoking is the main cause of COPD, and about 90% of COPD occurs related to smoking and passive smoking. People who are forced to use secondhand smoke for a long time also have a 48% increased risk of developing COPD.
2. Coronary heart disease
Wang Qiang, Department of Hypertension, Shijiazhuang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, pointed out that nicotine, nitric oxide, and oxidizing substances in cigarettes will excite the sympathetic nervous system and increase blood pressure, which will lead to an increase in heart load and increase the risk of heart diseases such as coronary heart disease.
3. Myocardial infarction
Mi Jie, deputy chief physician of the Second Department of Internal Medicine of Tianjin TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital, said that the risk of myocardial infarction in smokers has increased by 4.2 times compared with ordinary people. People who do not have a history of coronary heart disease may also induce vasospasm and myocardial infarction due to smoking.
When the harmful substances in cigarettes enter the body, they will cause the heart to beat faster and the blood vessels to constrict, which can easily induce myocardial infarction. And nicotine can cause platelet adhesion and occlusion. It is easy to form plaque in the blood vessels, and once the plaque falls off, blood clots will form, resulting in blood vessel blockage and life-threatening.
4. Diabetes
A number of studies have confirmed that smoking will increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, some studies have said that people who smoke > 30 cigarettes a day have a 4-fold higher risk of diabetes than non-smokers, and those who smoke 20~30 cigarettes a day will increase by 3 times.
2. How many out of 100 smokers will eventually get lung cancer?
One of the favorite words of most smokers is: so-and-so smoked all his life and lived to be over 90 years old, so-and-so did not smoke all his life, and left before he was 60 years old. Every time I hear this kind of remarks, Xiao Miao is really angry and funny, but everything must be supported by data, and there is no basis for words.
On the issue of the probability of smoking and lung cancer, the British Journal of Cancer has published a classic paper on the topic, which shows that the probability of non-smokers dying of lung cancer at the age of 75 is only 0.3%, while the mortality rate of smokers is as high as 16%, an increase of 16 times year-on-year, and if you smoke more than 5 cigarettes a day, the proportion will further increase to 25%.
In other words, 25 out of every 100 smokers who smoke more than 5 cigarettes a day die from lung cancer.
Chen Xiaopin, director of the oncology department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, reminded that when the following four manifestations appear in the body of long-term smokers, they should be vigilant as a sign of the coming of lung cancer.
- Joint pain: Long-time smokers who have been smokers for many years have sudden joint pain that cannot be relieved by taking painkillers, and it is highly suspected that it may be related to lung cancer, because cancer cells secrete a substance that causes joint pain.
- Sudden cough: Normal cough can be cured quickly, but if it is a sudden cough that cannot be cured for more than 2~3 weeks, or if there are blood streaks in the sputum, you need to be vigilant.
- Abnormal voice: Sudden onset of hoarseness may also be associated with lung cancer.
- Abnormal cough: Old smokers will have cough symptoms more or less, if the cough suddenly becomes particularly frequent recently, or has a metallic sound, and it is difficult to cough up phlegm, it may be a sign of lung cancer.
3. How long does it take to quit smoking without smoking?
Everyone knows the saying "smoking is bad for health", but there are still many people who smoke, and very few actually quit smoking. A statistic from the United States shows that 8% of ex-smokers do not quit smoking through nicotine replacement therapy, and the chance of these people to quit smoking is only 3~5%.
The reason why it is so difficult to quit smoking is mainly because the nicotine in tobacco is addictive, and smokers form long-term dependence on physical and psychological conditions, once quitting smoking will lead to withdrawal reactions such as restlessness, malaise, lack of concentration, depression, irritability, irritability, etc., especially in the early stage of quitting smoking. Generally speaking, as long as you survive these 3 stages, you may not be far from quitting smoking.
- Quitting smoking for 1 day: Once you start, you can bring health benefits, reduce the risk of heart attack and coronary artery disease;
- After 1 month, I will feel that my breathing is much easier, my lung function will gradually return to normal, my appetite will also improve a lot, and I will obviously feel that my face has improved;
- After 1 year, the mouth will be free of nicotine and other pollution, and the dental health will be improved, and the risk of lung cancer and heart disease will be halved.
Xiao Dan, director of the Tobacco Disease and Smoking Cessation Center of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, said that the criterion for the success of quitting smoking is to stop smoking for at least five years.
When the body has physiological resistance to cigarettes, smells the smoke and feels bad, or even feels nauseous and vomiting, it means that quitting smoking is about to be successful. At this time, you just need to hold on and not relapse, and you will be very close to success.
If you directly refuse or resist when someone hands you a cigarette, it proves that you have successfully quit smoking.
Smoking is harmful to health, and I advise everyone not to make any excuses for smoking, and don't wait until there is a real problem with your body and then regret it, it will be too late!
Resources:
[1] "Smoker, your whole life has been "contributing" to society!". Health Times 2021-11-22
[2] "3 packs of cigarettes a day suffer from advanced lung cancer, old smokers beware of four signs of cancer", Healthy People Daily 2017-11-28
[3] "Quitting Smoking for 5 Years is Considered Successful!Attention Old Smokers: Do These to Avoid Relapse". Life Times 2021-10-20
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