English Test
English Test
10- WISDOM
It is showed that 1.1 billion people are smoking, causing death around
7.7 million a year. What is the cause and, effect of this problem? Most
researchers, say it is not good, here is why:
Smoking rates are still highest in the most deprived areas, with 35% of
people living in the most deprived areas of Scotland smoking compared
to 10% in the least deprived areas. Many people smoke because it’s a
way they’ve learned to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
symptoms, negative moods, and the stress of daily life. Smoking causes
cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and
chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain
eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid
arthritis.
Eyes, smoking causes physical changes in the eyes that can threaten
your eyesight. One of the effects of nicotine from cigarettes restricts the
production of a chemical necessary for you to be able to see at night.
Also, smoking increases your risk of developing cataracts and macular
degeneration (both can lead to blindness).
Mouth, smoking takes a toll on your mouth. Smokers have more oral
health problems than non-smokers, like mouth sores, ulcers and gum
disease. You are more likely to have cavities and lose your teeth at a
younger age. You are also more likely to get cancers of the mouth and
throat.
Face, smoking can cause your skin to be dry and lose elasticity, leading
to wrinkles and stretch marks. Your skin tone may become dull and
grayish. By your early 30s, wrinkles can begin to appear around your
mouth and eyes, adding years to your face.
Heart, smoking raises your blood pressure and puts stress on your
heart. Over time, stress on the heart can weaken it, making it less able
to pump blood to other parts of your body. Carbon monoxide from
inhaled cigarette smoke also contributes to a lack of oxygen, making the
heart work even harder. This increases the risk of heart disease,
including heart attacks.
Smoking makes your blood thick and sticky. The stickier the blood, the
harder your heart must work to move it around your body. Sticky blood
is also more likely to form blood clots that block blood flow to your
heart, brain, and legs. Over time, thick, sticky blood damages the
delicate lining of your blood vessels. This damage can increase your
risk for a heart attack or stroke.
Fatty Deposits, smoking increases the cholesterol and unhealthy fats
circulating in the blood, leading to unhealthy fatty deposits. Over time,
cholesterol, fats, and other debris build up on the walls of your arteries.
This buildup narrows the arteries and blocks normal blood flow to the
heart, brain, and legs. Blocked blood flow to the heart or brain can
cause a heart attack or stroke. Blockage in the blood vessels of your legs
could result in the amputation of your toes or feet.
Belly, need another reason why smoking is bad for you? Bigger belly.
Smokers have bigger bellies and less muscle than non-smokers. They
are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, even if they don’t smoke
every day. Smoking also makes it Need another reason why smoking is
bad for you? Bigger belly. Smokers have bigger bellies and less muscle
than non-smokers. They are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, even
if they don’t smoke every day. Smoking also makes it harder to control
diabetes once you already have it. Diabetes is a serious disease that can
lead to blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, and amputations.
Life without cigarettes is not all doom and gloom. In fact, successful
quitters are more satisfied with their lives and feel healthier, both one
year and three years afterwards, than those who continue to smoke.
That's according to new research by Dr. Megan Piper, from the
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in the
US, and her team. Their work, which looks at whether quitting smoking
can improve psychological well-being, is published online in Springer's
journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine. There is no doubt that giving up
smoking improves health and saves lives. What is less clear is how
quitting smoking affects ex-smokers' quality of life. Smokers hold strong
beliefs about how stopping smoking will reduce their quality of life.
Positive experiences of smoking cessation, including improved well-
being, could be used by clinicians to educate and motivate individuals to
stop smoking.
When you decide to quit smoking, it's essential to redefine yourself as a
non-smoker and create a new identity appropriate to the life you decide
to lead. This will be helpful during difficult times, and will help you
remember the reasons why you decided to quit. Above all, it will help
you realize that before you quit, you weren't just a smoker: you are
much more than that. Now that you are no longer a smoker, you are
also stronger and freer: stronger, because you have managed to turn
your back on your dependence, and freer, because cigarette no longer
controls you.
Building your new identity as a non-smoker will help you quit smoking.
To create your new identity, ask yourself why you smoke, and find ways
to get rid of your interest in cigarettes. This could be by shifting that
interest to something else, such as sport. To relearn how to live without
tobacco, you must no longer feel concerned about cigarettes, which now
belong to your old life. Avoid being with smokers when they smoke, so
that you are not exposed to passive smoking and to those actions that
were previously part of your habits.
As you build your new identity as a non-smoker, you will have asked
yourself why you started smoking and why you continue to smoke. These
reasons were certainly needs; perhaps you needed to relax, or perhaps
smoking was an escape. In order to relearn how to live without tobacco,
it's now important to figure out how to meet these needs differently and
without smoking.
Many say that smoking allows them to fill a void in their lives. For them,
cigarettes fill a need. But rather than treating the problem in depth,
smoking is actually a palliative that only puts the problem into the
background. For example, some people say they smoke because it helps
them deal with their stress, or that they don't want to quit because they
have fear of weight gain. Many have fear of quitting, because they fear
the emptiness that smoking could leave. Yet, did you know that all these
preconceived ideas that discourage you from quitting are false, or at
least incomplete? For example, lighting a cigarette may help you reduce
your stress in a relatively short period of time. However, your addiction
has more than once made you anxious when you ran out of cigarettes
and all the smoke shops were closed, or when in winter you had to go
out and face the weather to smoke.
If you are prone to sleep disorders or are more tired than usual, you can
change your night routine to try to deal with the problem.
If you are anxious or stressed out, you can opt for relaxing activities
such as yoga or meditation. You also have the possibility to do some
breathing exercises with it.
If you get angry more easily and are more irritable, try to relax by
turning to sports, or by writing down how you feel on a piece of paper.
You can also do the breathing exercises proposed by our application.
If you're worried about your appetite increasing, know that this is
normal! You are no longer experiencing the appetite suppressant effect
of nicotine, and your taste is back, making you greedier. If you fear
weight gain, just try to balance your diet.
If you have cravings, it's important to keep your mind busy. You should
also know that these cravings usually pass in just a few minutes!
Changing the rhythm of your days will help you start your new life
without tobacco. However, note that changing your habits will require a
period of adaptation: so be indulgent with yourself during this one! To
help you during this time, you can also ask for support.