Focus - Stop Smoking Archives

Catch your breath – kicking the habit of smoking and vaping

As World No Tobacco Day approaches, a pressing issue captures our attention – the dramatic rise in e-cigarette usage among youth. While efforts have traditionally aimed at curbing tobacco consumption, the allure of vaping among adolescents and young adults presents new challenges.

Many teens are drawn to vaping due to its modern appeal and the variety of sweet, candy-like flavours that mimic everything from fruit to soft drinks, making it particularly attractive. Unlike cigarettes, vaping can be odourless, and its smoke leaves no trace – allowing young people to use the devices in schools without fear of being caught.

Vapes have been touted by their makers and some in the medical field as a healthier alternative to cigarettes and as a way to help smokers give up the habit. In recent years, however, there has been growing evidence that e-cigarettes can harm a person’s health in many ways.

Nicotine, the primary addictive, plays a significant role in dependency. It prompts the brain to crave more, leading to increased consumption over time to achieve the same feelings initially provided by smoking. This addiction cycle is exacerbated by nicotine’s role in enhancing plaque build-up in arteries, potentially leading to severe cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks or strokes.

Some of the substances inhaled during vaping are extremely toxic. Metals like lead, chromium, and nickel, often released from the heating coils of vaping devices, can accumulate in the body, potentially leading to lung, liver, immune system, brain damage, and various cancers.

Discovering that children as young as 12 are vaping can be shocking for parents. This scenario often uncovers a deeper issue of nicotine addiction, which many young users are mentally unprepared to handle. It’s important to use these instances as educational opportunities about the effects of addiction and to support youth through their journey.

Quitting vaping, like quitting traditional smoking, requires determination, the right resources, and ample support:

1. Set a quit date: Choose a concrete day to start a smoke-free life.
2. Identify Triggers: Recognise and plan for situations that incite vaping urges.
3. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT): Utilise patches, gum, or lozenges to manage withdrawal.
4. Hydration: Keep a water bottle handy – sipping helps to curb cravings.
5. Support Network: Lean on family, friends, or support groups for encouragement.
6. Stay Busy: Engage in hobbies or physical activities to distract from cravings.
7. Counselling: Consider professional help to address addictive behaviours and explore coping strategies for any potential underlying mental health issues.
8. Celebrate Success: Recognise and reward each milestone.
9. Financial Incentives: Keep track of money saved from not purchasing vaping products.
10. Self-Compassion: Be forgiving and stay committed to quitting.

Counselling and coaching can assist individuals in breaking free from the cycle of nicotine addiction and mitigate the associated health risks. Support from LifeAssist is just a call away – for you and your family, at no charge to you. You’ve got this!

zara2024-05-02T13:49:31+00:00

A Breath of Fresh Air: Embracing a Smoke-Free Life for a Healthier Heart

We completely understand that giving up smoking can be an incredibly challenging journey, and LifeAssist is here to offer you support every step of the way. It’s important to recognise that quitting is a personal decision and a process that takes time, determination, and a positive mindset.

There are many financial and social reasons to give up – and it’s no secret that smoking is harmful to your health, but its impact on the heart is often underestimated. Smoking damages blood vessels, increases blood pressure, and accelerates the build-up of plaque in the arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis. This significantly raises the risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and stroke. In fact, smokers are twice as likely to experience a heart attack compared to non-smokers.

Moreover, the harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke, such as nicotine and carbon monoxide, can cause the heart to work harder, leading to an increased heart rate and reduced oxygen supply to the heart muscle.

We all need you to be healthy – so let’s explore some tips that can support you in your journey towards a smoke-free life:

Set a Clear Goal: Start by setting a specific quit date. This gives you a target to work towards and helps mentally prepare you for the change.
Identify Triggers: Recognise the situations, emotions, or habits that trigger your urge to smoke. Understanding these triggers can help you develop strategies to cope with them.
Seek Support: Reach out to friends, family, or a support group who can offer encouragement and understanding. Having a strong support system can make a significant difference.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT): Consider using nicotine gum, patches, lozenges, or nasal sprays as a way to gradually reduce your nicotine dependence.
Sip on Water: Reach for a bottle of water instead of that cigarette or vape. Your hands are looking for the habit and a sip of water is healthy and consciously replaces the desire in your brain.
Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: Practices like deep breathing, meditation, or go for a gentle walk, which can help manage stress and curb the desire to smoke.
Technology Apps: There are several helpful mobile apps designed to support individuals in their journey to quit smoking. Search for free or paid apps, to track your progress, help with your resistance and set goals.
Stay Active: Regular physical activity not only helps distract you, manage cravings but also boosts your mood and overall wellbeing.
Positive Affirmations: Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations about your journey. Remind yourself of the benefits you’ll gain by quitting.
Stay Persistent: Remember that setbacks might happen, but they don’t define your journey. Keep moving forward, and don’t be too hard on yourself.
Reward Yourself: Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small. Treat yourself to something you enjoy as a reward for your hard work.
Professional Help: If you find it especially challenging to quit on your own, consider seeking guidance from a counsellor who specialises in addiction.

Remember, you’re not alone on this journey. Many people have successfully quit smoking, and with the right tools and support, you can too. Take one step at a time and be proud of each step you take towards a healthier, smoke-free life.

If you ever need someone to talk to or strategies to help quit, LifeAssist is here to help. You’ve got this!

zara2023-08-28T16:08:07+00:00

Impact of drugs and alcohol on your family – and how to get help

People who abuse drugs or alcohol often don’t realise the impact on those around them. The family may witness the user fly into drunken rages, experience rapid weight loss, or discover that their missing loved one is living on the street or has fatally overdosed. Such shocks can cause severe family trauma.

Family environment

Substance abusers are usually unpredictable or irrational; you never know how they’ll react. Simple disagreements can cause big fights as everyone feels misunderstood. The family may walk on eggshells to pacify their addicted loved ones and children may withdraw. Arguments between parents may become normal, causing emotional distress for children. The result is an atmosphere of fear and confusion, without much joy. Early exposure to a home divided by drug use can cause children to feel emotionally and physically neglected and unsafe. Some develop extreme guilt and self-blame, feelings of unworthiness, lack of confidence, or dysfunctional attachments in their adulthood. Others may even become users themselves.

Broken Trust

Addiction always takes priority over relationships or family needs and is coupled with dishonesty. Addicts may want to honour their commitments, but the effects of the substances make them unable to. They’re also likely to forget the promises made to their children. If this becomes a trend, the child will have a hard time forming bonds with others since they don’t know how to trust. This loss of trust often results in broken marriages and dysfunctional children with serious mental and emotional disorders.

Increased Stress

In the midst of addiction, the addict is likely to leave all responsibilities to their families. Paying bills, making decisions, and cleaning up after the addict will quickly affect the family’s stress levels and health. Addictions are not cheap. Substance abusers may spend excessively and face legal expenses from driving under the influence or being caught with drugs. Their unreliable and erratic behaviour may also affect their jobs.

Help

Family and friends may feel hopeless and alone, but supportive services such as Al-Anon can be reached on Tel: +27 21 595 4508 (national office). Also, contact LifeAssist to speak to a counsellor – if you or your family need support

zara2022-05-30T08:51:56+00:00

Health is wealth

Good health is our greatest source of wealth. Without it, we would not have the energy, strength and confidence to succeed, to love and to enjoy life. Without it, we don’t really have anything.

Dear Heart

At the core of our being, our hearts beat every second, 24 hours a day, never resting, to keep us alive and well. World Heart Day on 29 September reminds us to take special care of this incredible hard-working organ that pumps life-giving blood containing oxygen and nutrients throughout our bodies.

How healthy are we? The grim facts

Heart disease is the number one killer worldwide, claiming approximately one million lives globally each year.
Approximately 225 people die of heart attacks or strokes in South Africa every day.
Not only do the elderly suffer; in fact, half of the people who die from heart attacks in this country are below 65 years.

The good news

Although the statistics are staggering, the good news is that 80% of heart diseases and strokes can be prevented by simple lifestyle changes.

Losing excess weight and maintaining a healthy weight
Eating healthy foods and beverages
Staying active
Managing blood pressure
Reducing blood sugar levels
Quitting smoking
Controlling cholesterol

Even small changes can make a huge difference to your health, such as:

Reducing salt, sugar and processed fat intake,
Increasing fruit and vegetables in your diet,
Sleeping 7-8 hours a day
Taking regular walks.

Know your numbers

Keep a check on your health by having your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar tested at least once a year. Your doctor may recommend medication to keep your levels healthy.

Living a healthy lifestyle can help prevent chronic and debilitating illnesses and conditions. Make a decision to feel good and take care of your health. For more information and support, contact the LifeAssist National Contact Centre.

zara2021-04-07T09:28:58+00:00

Consumer Tip

May 31 is World No Tobacco Day – the perfect time to quit smoking for good. Smoking is a costly habit, both financially and physically. Take this day as an opportunity to stop. Make a promise to yourself and your loved ones not to light up for at least 24 hours.

Every time you feel like having that smoke, drink a glass of water instead. After getting through one day without a cigarette, you might be motivated to keep going!

zara2021-04-13T09:13:01+00:00

Consumer Tip

Quitting smoking is one of the kindest things you can do for your body. Cigarettes contain approximately 7,000 toxic chemicals and compounds, which find their way into your system every time you inhale! Smoking damages your lungs, brain, heart and all other vital organs. The good news is a lot of this damage can be reversed. Within 24 hours of quitting, your risk of heart disease will decline. Within two weeks, your lung capacity will improve, and within a month, the number of nicotine receptors in your brain will return to normal.

zara2021-04-13T08:45:06+00:00

Caring Families

Smokers should be aware that their habit doesn’t only affect them, but also those they love and live with. Smokers produce second-hand smoke, via exhaled mainstream (active) smoke, as well as side-stream smoke from the cigarettes themselves. Non-smokers inhale this second-hand smoke, and this ‘passive smoking’ has harmful effects on the lungs and heart. If you’re a smoker, be careful not to smoke around your children and other non-smoking family members. Or better yet, ditch the horrible habit, and enjoy a longer, healthier life with your loved ones.

zara2021-04-14T08:32:23+00:00

How Smoking Damages Brain Health

Everyone knows smoking is bad for your lungs, but have you thought about the toll it takes on your brain? Research has shown that smoking can interfere with important cognitive processes, like learning, concentration and memory.

Cigarettes and Your Brain

A ‘smoke break’ can give you the illusion of better concentration by helping you to feel more alert, but it’s actually having the opposite effect. Cigarettes reduce the supply of oxygen to the brain, as the carbon monoxide they contain binds to the haemoglobin molecules in your red blood cells in a much stronger way than oxygen does. The lowered oxygen supply affects your brain by causing mental fatigue and poor concentration.

The long-term build-up of toxic chemicals like carbon monoxide can cause damage to your brain, especially in the areas of learning and memory.

Did you know? Nicotine (cigarette) addiction actually causes physical changes your brain. The brain develops extra nicotine receptors, in order to accommodate the large doses of nicotine it’s getting from the tobacco. That’s why you experience nicotine withdrawal when you try to quit.

What the Studies Say

Studies conducted around the world (including the United Kingdom, America and Sweden) have revealed the following worrying data about smoking and brain function:

Smokers show faster cognitive decline than non-smokers over a period of 10 years.
Adolescents who smoke show lower accuracy in their working memory performance than non-smoking teenagers.
In healthy older adults (35-80 years) smoking leads to poorer performance in challenging cognitive tasks. Tasks that require greater cognitive processing are significantly affected by smoking.

MRI imaging has also revealed that smokers tend to have a thinner cerebral cortex than non-smokers. The cortex is the brain’s outer layer. It’s the biggest and most highly developed part of your brain, and is responsible for functions like language and memory.

The good news is that those who quit smoking were shown to partially recover the thickness of their cerebral cortex with every year of non-smoking. If you’re a smoker, kicking the habit today could protect your brain from serious damage and decline in the years to come.

Sources

Smokers tend to have a thinner brain cortex. Retrieved from: https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2015/smoking-110215
How Smoking Damages Mind as well as Body. Retrieved from: http://www.newsweek.com/smoking-brain-smokers-memory-learning-mind-body-525347
Age and Ageing | Oxford Academic: ageing.oxfordjournals.org
Time | Health: http://time.com/section/health/
Medical Dictionary: medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com
Quite Your Smoking Addiction: www.quityoursmokingaddiction.com
Science Daily: www.sciencedaily.com

zara2021-04-01T13:55:26+00:00

Could that cough be lung cancer?

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. On the bright side, with widespread awareness of the risks of smoking, there is hope that these numbers will decrease.

While the majority (90%) of people who get lung cancer are or have been cigarette smokers, not all people who smoke get lung cancer and some people who have never smoked get the disease.

What is lung cancer?

Lung cancer is a disease characterised by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. It is rarely found in people younger than 45 years of age.

There are two major types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer and small-cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer, which has three subtypes, is the most common form. Small-cell lung cancer, sometimes called oat-cell cancer, is less common and tends to spread quickly to other body organs early in the disease.

Symptoms

Because the lungs are so large, cancer may grow undetected for many years. Some symptoms do not seem to be related to the lungs at all, as lung cancer may spread to other parts of the body.

Depending on which organs are affected, symptoms can include headaches, weakness, bone fractures, bleeding, blood clots, shortness of breath, fatigue, repeated pneumonia or bronchitis, coughing up blood, hoarseness, swelling of the neck and face, and chest, shoulder, or back pain (which feels like a constant ache that may or may not be related to coughing).

Adding to the confusion, the most common symptom of lung cancer, a persistent cough, can often be mistaken for a cold or bronchitis.

Treatment

If a doctor suspects lung cancer, he or she may order a chest X-ray, computer assisted tomography (CT) scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a first step in diagnosis. CT scans and MRIs can show the size, shape and location of a tumour and indicate if the tumour has spread from the lung to other parts of the body.

Each type of lung cancer is treated differently.

Prognosis

Prompt attention to symptoms, leading to early diagnosis and treatment, can result in a cure for some people. For others, prompt attention to symptoms can improve the likelihood that treatment can extend their lives and relieve many of their symptoms.

Sources

http://lungcancer.about.com
http://www.kerala.com
http://www.meds.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

2021-04-13T07:30:52+00:00

Cardiovascular risk factors

There are many risk factors associated with coronary heart disease and stroke. The major risk factors – tobacco use, alcohol use, high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets – have a high prevalence across the world.

Of particular significance in developing countries is the fact that while they are grappling with increasing rates of cardiovascular disease, they still face the scourges of poor nutrition and infectious disease. Nevertheless, with the exception of sub-Saharan Africa, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the developing world.

You will not necessarily develop cardiovascular disease if you have a risk factor. But the more risk factors you have the greater is the likelihood that you will, unless you take action to modify your risk factors and work to prevent them compromising your heart health.

Modifiable risk factors

Hypertension is the single biggest risk factor for stroke. It also plays a significant role in heart attacks. It can be prevented and successfully treated but only if you have it diagnosed and stick to your recommended management plan.

Abnormal blood lipid levels, that is high total cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides, high levels of low-density lipoprotein or low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol all increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Changing to a healthy diet, exercise and medication can modify your blood lipid profile.

Tobacco use, whether it is smoking or chewing tobacco, increases risks of cardiovascular disease. The risk is especially high if you started smoking when young, smoke heavily or are a woman. Passive smoking is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Stopping tobacco use can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease significantly, no matter how long you have smoked.

Physical inactivity increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%. Obesity is a major risk for cardiovascular disease and predisposes you to diabetes. Diabetes is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. Having diabetes makes you twice as likely as someone who does not to develop cardiovascular disease. If you do not control diabetes then you are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease at an earlier age than other people and it will be more devastating. If you are a pre-menopausal woman, your diabetes cancels out the protective effect of oestrogen and your risk of heart disease rises significantly.

A diet high in saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. It is estimated to cause about 31% of coronary heart disease and 11% of stroke worldwide.

Being poor, no matter where in the globe, increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. A chronically stressful life, social isolation, anxiety and depression increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Having one to two alcohol drinks a day may lead to a 30% reduction in heart disease, but above this level alcohol consumption will damage the heart muscle.

Certain medicines may increase the risk of heart disease such as the contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a risk factor for cardiovascular mortality.

Non-modifiable risk factors

Simply getting old is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease; risk of stroke doubles every decade after age 55.

Your family’s history of cardiovascular disease indicates your risk. If a first-degree blood relative has had coronary heart disease or stroke before the age of 55 years (for a male relative) or 65 years (for a female relative) your risk increases.

Your gender is significant: as a man you are at greater risk of heart disease than a pre-menopausal woman. But once past the menopause, a woman’s risk is similar to a man’s. Risk of stroke is similar for men and women.

Your ethnic origin plays a role. People with African or Asian ancestry are at higher risks of developing cardiovascular disease than other racial groups.

Information provided by:
World Heart Federation, www.worldheartfederation.org

2021-04-14T09:10:26+00:00

Focus – Stop Smoking