Lung cancer like all cancers is a disease in which the bodies cells become defective and start growing at abnormally fast rates. These cancerous cells often spread to over parts of the body to develop other cancers.

Not all lung cancer is caused by smoking buy 90% of smoke cancers have been found to oocur in smokers and the chances of dying from it are more than 20 times higher in smokers than non-smokers.

Lung cancer is curable in some cases depending on several factors including your general state of health e.g. if you are already suffering from a disease such as diabetes and then get cancer your risk is increased, which section of the lungs are affected, which kind of cells are cancerous and whether the cancer has spread to other organs in the body

Things that increase the risk of of lung cancer from smoking include:

• How much you smoke daily
• Where you work with a colleague who smokes or live with a person who smokes
• Whether you live or work in a smoke filled environment e.g. a bar where smoking is permitted

Smoking Risk Avoidance Myths

Certain things smokers do to try and reduce the risk have been found to be inneffective. These include

• Switching brands
• Reduced Nicotine Brands
• Switching to Cigars or self rolled ciagarettes

- there are thousands of toxic chemicals in cigarettes. All cigarettes contain them so switching brands will not make a difference.

Smoking is one of the major causes of Emphysema a lung disease in which the air sacs of your lungs get damaged and merge so they can carry much less air. This results in fatigue, lack of breath and wheezing to try and get more air in after the simplest intensive activities such as a brisk walk. Chronic cough, swelling of the feet and ankles, anxiety. It can also lead to you losing weight.

In addition, emphysema weakens your resistance so you can develop serious chest infections such as flu, colds and pneumonia. You may also develop hypertension as the heart strains to pump more oxygen around the body.

Unfortunately, emphysema develops slowly over years so that you may have serious damage to your lungs by the time you see any symptoms.

Emphysema is incurable but the damage can be slowed down by giving up smoking.

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the air tubes or passages in your lungs. The inflammation leads to a mucus forming in them and blocking them to the passage of air.Smoking cigarettes has been found to be responsible for up to 80% of cases of chronic bronchitis.

Its symptoms include coughing, spitting and fever, shortness of breath, inability to sleep – and it may last for months on end and re –occur every year. However once you succeed in giving up smoking, your lungs should return to normal – after about 5 years.

By Kitty Barker

Let me start by saying that some activities you should avoid during your pregnancy. The effects of smoking during pregnancy showed by studies are definitely one on those activities. Smoking during pregnancy is a very bad choice. You risk the nightmare of having a stillborn baby, to suffer a miscarriage, or to deliver a low birth-weight baby.

Sudden death syndrome referred to as SIDS is a condition whereby a perfectly healthy baby dies unexpectedly during sleep. This is possibility is doubled for babies whose mom smokes. The effects of smoking during pregnancy far out weigh any benefit. Actually no benefit has ever been found for the mother, father, and baby.

It is a proven fact that cigarette smoking can increase the risk of a wide variety of pregnancy complications including premature rupture of membranes, vaginal bleeding and premature placental detachment just as a few examples. One of the effects of smoking during pregnancy is smoking interferes with your absorption of vitamins B and C and folic acid. Neural tube defects results because of lack of folic acid which is caused by smoking.

The problem with smoking is the cigarette itself. The smoke from the cigarette and even the second hand smoke contain very dangerous chemicals. The chemicals that are really dangerous to the baby and the mom such as carbon monoxide and nicotine are toxins that move through the bloodstream and harm your developing baby. Your baby is contained in a smoke-filled womb and this reduces the flow of oxygen to your baby. The effects of smoking during pregnancy are too risky at best.

Nicotine can cause your baby’s heart rate to increase, and can decrease your baby’s supply of nutrients because of your increased blood pressure and blood vessel constriction. This is just the start for the baby’s complications as they continuously grow with each trimester.

It is always best to quit smoking before you become pregnant, however, if you are already pregnant please quit during the first trimester. In the early part of the pregnancy it is sometimes easier to quit smoking as the distaste for cigarettes begins now. If you stop your smoking in the early part of the pregnancy you can avoid many of the alarming birth defects your child may suffer.

Effects of smoking during pregnancy can cause miscarrying this is avoidable by not smoking. In the first trimester is important for your baby’s development. That is why it is very serious matter that you quit smoking. I know you do not want to stop your baby’s development so stopping now could help to insure that you have a healthy baby.

The second trimester of your pregnancy is very vital to the baby’s health. The effects of smoking during pregnancy become more acute during this time. You can decrease your chances of developing such complications as placenta previa going into pre term labor and even stillbirth. Every cigarette that you do not smoke increases the baby’s chance for life itself. If you have not been able to stop during your first trimester please cut down on the amount you are smoking until after the baby is born.

Smoking in the third trimester is not advisable at all. It is not too late to stop smoking now. If you do decide to stop now you still have a chance to improve your delivery of a healthy, full-term normal birth-weight baby. Smoking is directly the cause of decreased birth-weight.

This is a lot to think about and so little time to do it. The effects of smoking during pregnancy are such a great risk that this is something no mother should avoid. An impaired fetal growth has a direct connection with smoking during the pregnancy. One thing perhaps that you had not considered is if you quit smoking by now you have better odds of not loosing your baby to SIDS.

The effects of smoking during pregnancy can affect the baby even after the child is born. You can preserve the oxygen flow to your baby during delivery by quitting. Your baby is prone to having breathing problems after birth such as Asthma, Bronchitis, and other breathing disorders. The child may not be as healthy as could be because of suffering from being born premature. Smoking presents many risks for your baby that you can prevent if you only stop “SMOKING”.

Author – Kitty Barker who often writes for and with Pregnancy Information where there is far more information, news and resources. She also writes for Pregnancy Weight Gain. If that link is inactive, you can paste this link into your browser – http://pregnancy-and-baby-tips.com

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