Carbon Monoxide

Photo © Stockxpert Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous, colorless and odorless gas that is produced as a result of incomplete burning of carbon-containing fuels. Cigarette smoke can contain high levels of CO.When inhaled, CO quickly binds with hemoglobin in red blood cells in the lungs, creating COHb. This can affect the amount of hemoglobin available for the transport of oxygen throughout the body, which may in turn lead to symptoms of CO poisoning.Breathing low levels of CO can cause: fatigue increased chest pain in people with chronic heart diseaseIn otherwise healthy people, inhaling higher levels of carbon monoxide may cause flu-like symptoms (with no fever) such as: headaches dizziness weakness sleepiness nausea vomiting confusion disorientationAt very high levels, exposure to carbon monoxide will cause loss of consciousness and death.

Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Cigarette smoke can contain high levels of carbon monoxide, and smokers generally have COHb levels in the blood that are many times greater than those who do not smoke. Because secondhand smoke may also contain high levels of CO, nonsmokers who breathe in ETS have increased levels of CO in their blood as well.Secondhand smoke is a toxic cocktail of over 4,000 chemical compounds, 200 of which are known to be poisonous and upwards of 60 that have been identified as carcinogens. if(zSbL

View the original article here

Chantix as a Quit Smoking Aid

Varenicline tartrate was discovered and developed by Pfizer, Inc. specifically to help people quit smoking. Marketed as Chantix™, this prescription medicine works on two levels. First, Chantix partially activates sites in the brain known as nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that are affected by nicotine. This gives the person quitting mild nicotine-like effects and eases symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Second, Chantix has the unique ability to neutralize the effects of nicotine if a person smokes while using this drug. Let's take a closer look. Nicotine provides its user with an almost immediate "kick" of euphoria that is the result rapidly changing brain chemistry beginning within 7 seconds of the first puff on a cigarette. Nicotine attaches to nicotinic receptors which affect functions such as breathing and heart rate. That process in turn triggers the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter thought to be responsible for reinforcing the pleasure/reward associations people have with smoking. The nicotine molecule is very similar in shape to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which affects many bodily functions, including breathing, heart rate, learning and memory. Acetylcholine also affects other neurotransmitters that have influence over appetite, mood, and memory. In the brain, nicotine binds with nerve cell receptor sites in places where acetylcholine would, creating the same effects. Chantix works by partially activating a specific type of nicotinic receptor called alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptors. The effect of this on the user is similar to a low to medium dose of nicotine. In this way, Chantix helps to relieve symptoms of nicotine withdrawal that people experience when they quit smoking. Nicotine activates the same reward system as do other drugs of abuse such as cocaine or amphetamine, although to a lesser degree. Research has shown that nicotine increases the level of the neurotransmitter dopamine, a chemical in the brain responsible for feelings of pleasure and well-being. The acute effects of nicotine wear off within minutes, so people continue dosing themselves frequently throughout the day to maintain the pleasurable effects of nicotine and to prevent withdrawal symptoms. Once in place, Chantix blocks nicotine from activating alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptors, which in turn prevents dopamine stimulation in the brain. This gives the person quitting a critical advantage. Should he/she decide to smoke while using this drug, there is no nicotine "feel good" rush, and the smoking experience is flat; dull. Smoking then becomes unfulfilling, and quitting hopefully, easier to accomplish. Six clinical trials involving 3659 chronic cigarette smokers were used as a basis for the effectiveness of Chantix as a therapy for smoking cessation.

Five of the trials were randomized, placebo-controlled studies, and showed that Chantix was more effective than a placebo to help people quit smoking. In two of the five trials, people using Chantix therapy (22 percent) were more successful at quitting smoking than those using Zyban (bupropion hydrochloride) (16 percent) as a quit smoking aid. For those taking a placebo, abstinence at the one year mark was approximately 8 percent.

While a 22 percent success rate may not seem like great odds, keep in mind the sheer number of people who are addicted to nicotine and dying because of it today. Globally, smoking-related disease causes 4 million deaths every year. Put another way, tobacco claims a human life every 8 seconds somewhere in the world. A drug that has the potential to help 22 out of every 100 people using it quit smoking is impressive indeed.

We are fortunate to live in a time when advances in medicine offer smokers more choices than ever before to quit smoking successfully. Nicotine addiction kills, plain and simple, and drugs like Chantix give hope to those who might not have been able to quit smoking otherwise.

Sources:

View the original article here

Health Effects of Smoking

Smokers have a harder time healing from surgeries, and have more overall health issues than do nonsmokers. This results in more time away from work, and more doctor and hospital visits. Smoking compromises a person's health in so many ways. Smokers are more likely to be absent from work than nonsmokers, and their illnesses last longer. Smokers tend to incur more medical costs, to see physicians more often in the outpatient setting, and to be admitted to the hospital more often and for longer periods than nonsmokers. Smokers have a lower survival rate after surgery compared to that of nonsmokers because of damage to the body's host defenses, delayed wound healing, and reduced immune response. Smokers are at greater risk for complications following surgery, including wound infections, postoperative pneumonia, and other respiratory complications. Periodontitis is a serious gum disease that can result in the loss of teeth and bone loss. Smoking is causally related to periodontitis. This may be because smoking affects the body's ability to fight infection and repair tissue. Peptic ulcers, which are located in the digestive tract (stomach and duodenum), usually occur in people with an infection caused by the Helicobacter pylori bacterium. Among persons with this infection, smokers are more likely to develop peptic ulcers than nonsmokers. In severe cases, peptic ulcers can lead to death. Although only a small number of studies have looked at the relationship between smoking and erectile dysfunction, their findings suggest that smoking may be associated with an increased risk for this condition. More studies are needed, however, before researchers can conclude that smoking is causally related to erectile dysfunction.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004. if(zSbL

View the original article here

Gaylene's Quit Story

My story starts 36 years ago. Still to this day, I have trouble believing I became a smoker. Both of my parents smoked. I hated that, and was continually waving away the smoke, hiding their cigarettes, and complaining. Finally, when I was in college, my roommate and I decided we'd add smoking to our weight loss plan. We'd eat a very small amount, then choke down a cigarette or two. It certainly did cut down on our eating...UNTIL we became used to smoking, and didn't get sick every time we lit up! Before we knew it, both of us NEEDED to smoke. We were addicts.

I managed to keep my habit a secret (or so I thought) from my family for a year or so. Finally, Mom told me that Dad was pretty sure I was smoking because there were always dirty ashtrays in my house. The final unrobing of my "secret" was the day Grandpa arrived at my home bearing a small gift. It was the cutest little boot shaped cigarette lighter! How do you suppose he knew I smoked!!??

The next thing I knew, I was married and had two sons. I'm ashamed to say they went through the exact same suffering from my smoking that I went through with my parents. I braved their anti-smoking assaults just like Mom and Dad had braved mine.

Then came a grandchild who hated smoking. One thing that proved the power of addiction was both my husband's and my disregard for our (at the time) four year-old grandson's fears. One day out of the blue, he said, "I don't want Grandpa to die." When asked why he was worrying about this, his answer was, "He smokes cigarettes." I get tears every time I think about not giving up our "enjoyment" and letting this little boy's mind be at rest.

I had been smoking for about twenty-four years when I started developing a cough. This cough started out as occasional and progressed to very often. Not wanting to admit that maybe the cause of the cough could be smoking, I decided I must have allergies to the chemicals I use every day while working in my hair salon. This led me to purchase all kinds of cough syrups, over the counter allergy meds, and throat lozenges. I bought machines to clean the air and stopped using aerosol sprays. Funny thing, the cough didn't go away or even diminish.

I started getting slightly short of breath, then progressed to VERY short of breath. I could no longer climb mountains, water ski, or play sports with my boys. I used to walk for miles daily. My boundless energy was gone. At night I would lie in bed and feel my heart pounding while my chest ached. I began to suspect COPD. Denial made me hope that I had something wrong with my heart. I felt something could be done to help me if I had heart troubles. COPD sounded too scary, too final. I went to a heart clinic to get checked out. After a treadmill test, ultra sounds, etc., it was determined that my heart was fine. This left me no choice but to admit I had a serious lung problem.

Gaylene learns she has emphysema

View the original article here

Emphysema as a Lifestyle

TANGLES

The tubing (which looks like aquarium air line) can become kinked and tangled after a day of going back and forth and can actually become kinked to the point of nearly shutting off your air. Where you were at 2 liters before, you are now down to below one. Now you'll need to find the kink and un-kink it. As you do, you'll see the level on your concentrator return to 2. You'll need to check your concentrator as you go by to be sure you are getting the air you need. The concentrator machine is a bit noisy, so you might want to keep it away from your living room and sleeping areas.

When sleeping, you never know if you are going to wake up with your nose hose still in your nose, or if it's to be found atop your head where you pushed it in the night while asleep, or it may be lost on the floor. Aghast, you wonder if you got enough oxygen during the night. You must also remember to take your medicine, including any inhaler prescriptions nightly.

THE PET THING

If you have dogs or other pets at home, they will react to it in different ways. One of mine hates the hose and avoids it like the plague. It's taken him a year to even accept it. The other seems to think it links us together like Siamese twins, and she sits or lays on it every chance she gets. She's responsible for some of my ear tugs, let me tell you! Cats, as you know, love to chase moving "strings". Keep her nails trimmed.

OXYGEN LEVELS

Power failures are worse for you than your computer dying from power failure. If the power goes off, you need to plug into your bottle oxygen, which only lasts a short time, so it's a good idea to have at least 4 filled bottles around continuously. Vacations are planned around your oxygen provider's nationwide or worldwide reach and availability of oxygen wherever you go and when you need it. Trips into town or to the grocery store have to be planned by how much oxygen is in the tank you are taking with you. If it's not enough, you will have to change the tank, removing the regulator and putting it on a full tank before going shopping.

STARING MATCHES

Once outside either with your large tank with the wheels, or with the portable unit, you cannot elude the stares of both children and adults. The worst are the smokers whose minds you can just about read by the way they look at you in horror. "I wonder if that could possibly happen to me? Nahhhh! I'm not old enough yet!" they think. Well, I used to think the very same way! When you have an oxygen tank, you no longer have an "invisible" disease. It is all too visible to the whole world. And it becomes scary. Almost all emphysema is cause by smoking, did you know that?

PREVENTABLE, BUT NON-REVERSIBLE

Emphysema is not a reversible disease because of the manner in which the lung is damaged. You lose more and more elasticity within the lungs as time goes on, and it becomes harder to breathe. You can avoid getting emphysema by quitting smoking just as soon as possible. "Now" would be best. The other option is to never start smoking. Believe me, smoking is not worth going through this in any way, and I wish I had never started smoking as a teen. Guess I should have listened to my Dad, right?

GRATITUDE

The good thing about having this oxygen 24/7 is that my gratitude has grown because my life has been extended for a time by having oxygen to help my body operate as well as it can. Without it, who knows how short the time would be. I hope that my life will be extended long enough for a miracle to happen; medical or otherwise. Truly, I pray a smoking-related disease NEVER ever happens to you.

Christine Rowley

View the original article here

Nicotine Inhaler Facts

The Nicotrol nicotine inhaler is a NRT that consists of a plastic cigarette-like tube that houses a replaceable nicotine cartridge and a mouthpiece. The cartridge contains 10mg of nicotine.

When one draws on the mouthpiece end of the nicotine inhaler over the course of about 20 minutes / 80 puffs, 4mg of nicotine is released and 2mg is absorbed through the membranes in the mouth and throat. Less than 5 percent of the inhaled nicotine reaches the respiratory tract. This can be repeated every 1-2 hours.

One Nicotrol cartridge delivers about the same amount of nicotine to the user as one cigarette.

Pros:

The nicotine inhaler reduces symptoms of nicotine withdrawal by allowing ex-smokers to quit using nicotine gradually.

Cons:

The nicotine inhaler reinforces smoking behavior.
When we quit smoking, it is counter-productive to use a NRT that mimics the cigarettes we are working so hard to break free of, both in looks and in how it is used.

Risk of re-addiction.
Because the nicotine inhaler is used on an as-needed basis, the potential to abuse this quit aid is significant. As mentioned above, it is critical to use this nicotine-based product exactly as prescribed, weaning off of it in the amount of time suggested.

The nicotine inhaler is a solid tool that can help you quit smoking, but remember that it is a quit aid, not a miracle worker. The magic for success with smoking cessation lies within you, not a product.

Work on developing the resolve to quit smoking one simple day at a time and be patient.

Time, determination and support will help you win this race. Believe that, believe in yourself and be willing to do the work it takes to quit for as long as it takes. You'll find that you can quit smoking, just as others have.

Sources:

National Institutes of Health. Nicotine Oral Inhalation. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a606021.html Accessed August 2010.

Smokefree.gov. Nicotine Inhaler Fact Sheet. http://www.smokefree.gov/mg-nicotine_inhaler.aspx Accessed August 2010.

Pfizer - Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. Nicotrol® Inhaler. http://media.pfizer.com/files/products/uspi_nicotrol_inhaler.pdf Accessed August 2010.

View the original article here

One Week Smoke Free

I have made it one whole week without smoking and I am weak with disbelief. Although I feel a bit shaky at night lately, I've awoken with this new promise of a new day, and no cough! And sweeter breath! I hit a note singing along to the radio that I have not been able to reach in a long, long time. I am coughing, but not as much as I thought I would.

This morning was rough, however. I really wanted a smoke. I have a few left in a pack on top of the fridge. My friend Geo had wanted me to throw them out (he has been instrumental in this process, and quit smoking a month before me), but the thought of that was too much to bear.

I walked to the fridge and raised my eyes to the top of the very place I'd been avoiding for one week. The nico-lair. Where they lay nestled in their packet, seemingly harmless. Sure enough, there they were. All perfectly white and compact, standing at attention in their wee box, looking at once both stoic and vulnerable. They'd helped me through so much, I thought. They had enveloped me and hid me from all of the scary moments of life. Moments like meeting new people, helping me to looking defiant and cool when in reality I felt self-conscious and shy. The veritable smoke screen, the wall of toxicity that put an effective screen between myself and the world. I didn't realize how much of a screen it was putting between me and myself.

So there they were. We'd been through a lot together. I shakily held the pack and wondered if I really felt like I could smoke. One of the things I had thought I missed were the accessories to smoking. The gold cases of yore, the cigarette holders I remember my Aunt Olive (who looked like Joan Crawford) toting, as her ruby red lips blew the smoke lazily into the lamplight. I was conveniently forgetting her death at 51 from a smoking-related illness, I was too lost in my illusive fantasy. There were so many cool lighters out, too! Flourescent ones that lit up, silver ones with etchings, pigs whose nostrils spewed flames, gorgeous seascapes, sports themes, psychedelic colors. All designed by their beauty to make us inhale the most toxic and dangerous substance legally available to mankind.

Hmmm. I pulled one out and sniffed it. A mixture of desire and disgust. It had held me captive for so many years, forcing me outside in freezing temperatures, while those healthier stayed warmly indoors and looked on me with sympathy, and some with empathy. It had made me panic as snowstorms came for fear of having to go out and by more in the cold. I had lit my cigarettes on stove burners when I had run out of lighter fluid - leaving circlets of burnt ash on the elements. I had tried cigarettes all over the world, Turkish cigarettes, English and French, cigarettes in Australia, Italy and Spain. We had been around the world together.

I remember one incident in London when I was on a date. My date had a gas stove in his apartment. I needed a light and could not find any matches. I bent over in what I thought was a very sexy pose to light my ciggy on his burner...a second later there was this WHOOOSH and I felt heat on my face. My eyelashes felt stubby and I noticed blackened stringy things like webs were floating around my personage. My nostrils filled with the acrid scent and I realized then that I'd gotten a tad too close! I raced to the mirror to check how much hair had been burnt! Whew! Not much, thank goodness. My date was alas, in hysterics on the floor. So much for the vamp in me.

And now, I was back in my kitchen staring at my travel buddies. I brought one gently to my lips and I spoke to it. 'You suck!' , I said, 'I mean seriously...thanks for the memories, but you are really making me ill. You have to go now, because I want to live a long and healthy life. I am really tired of feeling ill, dizzy, embarrassed and fatigued. So, see ya!'...and then I crushed it. Then I took them all out, ripped them to shreds, placed them in the garbage, and poured water over the broken bits.

Who needs friends that try to kill you? They have deluded me for far too long, it is the addiction that makes me think their blue smoke is soothing, it is only relieving the craving, it does not, and has not ever calmed me down. It has only been a week, and already my heart beat slows instead of the racy, jerkiness I'd experienced in the evenings. Goodbye, friend.

More from Leslie:
The Seduction
The Smokescreen
Replacement Therapy
Not One Puff Ever (N.O.P.E.) - Part One
Not One Puff Ever (N.O.P.E.) - Part Two

View the original article here