March 30th, 2008
The proportion of smokers is lower in Sweden than in other rich countries, but smoking is causing yet more ill health and premature death than anything else. Smoking causes nearly 7 000 deaths each year. Half die before age 70.
The fact that smokers are one of the greatest threats to their own health as a person can expose themselves to. More than 15 percent of all Swedes over the age of 18 smoke daily, almost as many smoke and to, and virtually all know that it is dangerous. Yet many smokers very difficult to stop. But there is good advice and treatments when it has been decided and it is always worthwhile to try to stop smoking.
For some people are risk-taking an important part of life, and many smokers still believe that with a little luck to avoid injuries. But surveys show that both smokers die earlier and are ill than others.
If a smoking woman usually start feeling the ailments at 54 years of age, so feel non-smoker healthy to 66. There are 12 healthy years longer. The equivalent for men is 56 or 69 years, that is, a difference of 13 years. As smokers are not only more likely to suffer from lung cancer, COPD, heart attack and stroke, but also of fractures, goitre and blindness. Everyone who smokes a full adulthood may damage.
If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and draw halsbloss, so runs the following risks compared with non-smokers:
- 15 times more likely to get lung cancer
- Ten times more likely to have chronic lung disease, COPD
- Five times more likely to have heart attacks if you are under 50 years
- Three times more likely to have heart attacks if you are older than 50 years
- Three times more likely to have urinary bladder
- Three times more likely to have strokes, stroke
- Three to four times more likely to get parodontosis
- Three times greater risk of adulthood blindness, so-called related macular degeneration.
In addition, increases the risk of a large number of other diseases if you smoke. For example, smoking increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's two to three times, according to some surveys.
When you draw down the cigarette smoke in the lungs, all of the harmful substances found in the smoke quickly into the blood. If one smokes 20 cigarettes a day is about more than 4 000 different substances to be suspended in 200 times per day on Monday, the torch ten per cigarette. In the smoke are substances that are banned in all other contexts such as carbon monoxide, nitrosamines, cadmium and benzpyrener.
Nicotine is forbidden to deal with in accordance with Swedish law, with the exception of nicotine in cigarettes. Cigarettes are deliberately made in order to get a kick of smoking. The manufacturers have over the decades has made cigarettes more dangerous. Filters and cigarettes, that is, light-cigarettes, have had the opposite effect to what has been said in advertising because they imply that, instead draws more and deeper.
This will degrade by far the most, and there is no harm whether you smoke cigarette, cigar, pipe or waterpipe.
Nicotine is a nervgift that stimulates the brain lustcentrum. It is highly addictive. Most people who smoke want to have at least 15 cigarettes per day and constant replenishment so as not to have symptoms. People often say that only one in five cigarette tastes really good. The other four cigarettes smoke more of obsessive reasons.
Nicotine does not cause cancer. Cancer is caused instead by some 50 other substances in cigarette. Therefore, it can use the nicotine in a form other than cigarettes as drugs to get rid of their addiction.
In addition to dependence, there are several reasons for the smoke even though it is aware of the risks. We smoke because it is good for the moment, to fit into a community, to have something to do, to take a rest, to socialize or to address concerns.
There are also some physical disorders in which smoking can give some relief. But overall, the risks of smoking significantly greater than the positive effects.
Almost one third over 40 years of age use snus, but snus use is less common among the elderly. Over the lip looking to nicotine slowly into the blood and provides a steady and high nicotine. Damage to the gums are common. Snus increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. There are also studies that showed increased risk of cancer of the esophagus and stomach.
Snus users suffer no more frequently than others by heart attacks, but the risk that it will be fatal is greater. Isolated studies point to increased risk for users to suffer a stroke and diabetes, but clear evidence is missing yet