Cigarette Smoking 

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Tobacco use causes about 1 in every 5 deaths in united states. It is the main cause of preventable death and disease in the country.  Almost 20% of Americans smoke, including 1 in 5 teenagers.  According to the federal government, about 3000 teenagers under 18 become regular smokers each day. Of these, a third will die early from tobacco-related diseases.

TOBACCO:

Tobacco is a highly additive drug that contains thousands of dangerous chemicals.  Of these, nicotine is the substance that causes smokers to become addicted to tobacco.  Other substances that are specially harmful to the body including tar and carbon monoxide.  Tobacco is specially dangerous for teens because their bodies are still developing and the chemicals in cigarettes may negatively affect their growth and development.  Smokeless tobacco and cigars are just as dangerous as cigarettes.

DANGERS OF SMOKING:

Use of tobacco is associated with an increased risk of:

• Cancer of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, lungs, pancreas, cervix, uterus, and bladder.
• Addiction to nicotine
• Chronic bronchitis
• Diminished sense of smell and taste
• Emphysema
• Heart disease
• More frequent colds and lung infections
• Premature facial wrinkles
• And Stomach ulcers and more.

Infants or young children who are exposed to tobacco smoke are at increased risk of a number of respiratory problems, including upper respiratory tract infections, and lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia.  They also can develop asthma, or if they already have asthma, experience additional episodes and more severe wheezing.

WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A PARENT:

Set a good example for your children.  If you smoke, quit as soon as possible.  Talk to your children about the dangers of cigarette and other tobacco products. If you need more information visit Food and Drug Administration web site www. fda.gov

PREGNANCY

When you smoke before, during, or after birth, you risk not only your own health but that of your body.  Each puff subjects you and the fetus to harmful chemicals such as nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide.  Carbon monoxide travels to the fetus's blood and lowers the amount of oxygen to both the mother and fetus.  Nicotine crosses the placenta and can cause the fetal blood vessels to constrict so that less oxygen and nourishments reach the fetus.  If you and your partner smoke around the baby after he or she is born, the baby is exposed to the harmful effects of the smoke.

Smoking may make it harder for you to have a normal pregnancy.  If you smoke, you are more likely to have vaginal bleeding during pregnancy.  You are also more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or pre-term baby.  There may be problems with the way the placenta attaches to the uterus.  You may have a low birth-weight baby.  On the average, a smoker's baby weighs half pound less than a nonsmoker's baby and is about half inch shorter in body length.  Sudden infant death syndrome occurs more than twice as often among babies of smoking mothers. 

The sooner you quit, the better it will be for your baby.  If you stop smoking during the early months of your pregnancy, your chance of having a low birth-weight baby is the same as that of a nonsmoker.  Almost one fourth of all pregnant women who smoke quit while they are pregnant.  If you can quit during the pregnancy, you may be able to quit for ever, and it will be a healthier one for both you and your family.

Breaking the Smoking Habit

Identify your motivation for smoking.
For example, do you smoke for pleasure, stimulation, or relaxation?  To reduce tension or frustration, to have smoking in your hand or mouth, to satisfy a carving?  Perhaps you smoke pout of habit, lighting up without thinking about it.  Once you understand your motivations, you should be able to find a solution.

Identify Your Motivation for Quit:
When you are pregnant, that's easy.  Choose your Method of withdrawal. Pick a day "last day" that isn't far off.  Plan a full day of activities for that date -- those you don't associate with smoking.

Try to Sublimate Your Urge to Smoke.

• If you smoke mainly to keep your hands busy, try playing with a pencil, beads, a straw; knit, clean your closet, create a new nutritious recipe, play piano, learn to paint, solve crossword puzzles - anything that might make you forget to reach for the cigarette.
• If you smoke for oral gratification, try a substitute
• If you smoke for stimulation, try to get your lift from a brisk walk, an absorbing book, good conversation.
• If you smoke to reduce your tension and relax, try exercise instead.  Listening to a soothing music, or take a long walk or making love.
• If you smoke for pleasure, seek pleasure in other pursuits, preferably in no smoking situations.  Go to a movie, visit baby boutiques, tour a favorite museum, and have a dinner with a friend who is allergic to smoke.
• If you smoke out of habit, avoid the settings in which you habitually smoke and friends who smoke; frequent places with no-smoking rules instead.
• If you associate smoking with a particular beverage, food, or meal, avoid the food or beverage, eat the meal in the different location.
• When you feel the urge to smoke, take several deep breaths with a pause between each.  Hold the last breath while you strike a match.  Exhale slowly, blowing out the match.  Pretend it was a cigarette and crush it out.

Look at smoking as a non negotiable issue.  Most people experience withdrawal symptoms when they quit smoking, though the symptoms and their intensity vary from person to person.  Some of the most common include a craving for tobacco, irritability, anxiety, restlessness, tingling or numbness in the extremities, light headedness, fatigue and sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances. The worst effects of withdrawal will last a few days to a weeks.  The benefits, however, will last a lifetime - for you and your baby.

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