05 Jan How Cigarette & E-Cigs Affect Your Health
Have you heard of e-cigs? Since it’s the New Year, people are busily creating their goals that they want to accomplish. A popular goal for smokers is to quit smoking. Did you know that smoking cause 1 in 5 deaths every year, about 9 in 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking? That is motivation in itself to stop smoking. Let’s dive into the dangers of smoking first and then we’ll dive into a common “alternative” to smoking, like e-cigs.
What’s In Cigarettes?
I mean are they REALLY that dangerous? Oh yes. A cigarette has over 7,000 different chemicals in the tobacco smoke and some of those chemicals that are KNOWN carcinogens (substance capable of causing cancer). Some of these may ring a bell to you from seeing these ingredients in cleaning products, industrial equipment, etc….
- Formaldehyde – A known carcinogen
- Nicotine – Increases your risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure and disrupts neurotransmitters
- Carbon Monoxide – Starves your all your organs from oxygen that is needed to survive. Cell death is increased.
- Butane – Toxic fume inhaled that can be neurotoxic. Increased risk of neurological disorders.
- Benzene – A known carcinogen that is linked to leukemia. As well as dizziness, headaches, confusion, unconsciousness.
- Lead & Arsenic – Heavy metals that are known carcinogens.
- Cyanide – Toxic byproduct that comes from cigarettes
- Tar – Kills the cilia, which are to catch any pollution in the lungs. When these are killed, lung function is reduced. It is also is linked to an increased risk of cancer.
Known Health Issues To Come From Cigarettes
Smoking is linked to many health issues including lung cancer, lung problems like COPD, asthma, cancer in other areas of the body, such as throat, cervix, bladder, stomach, kidney, etc, type 2 diabetes, infertility, and more.
What About Second-Hand Smoke?
Not only are you harming yourself when you smoke, but you also harm those around you. Second hand smoke can increase the risk of heart disease, respiratory infections, and asthma. This comes from a study done in The Lancet showing the burden of exposure to second hand smoke. The increasing risk of cardiovascular disease has been studied and proved by plasma levels of people who were exposed to second hand smoke. In a study done by Epidemiology, people that were around second hand smoke had higher cotinine levels in the blood which increases the chance of circulatory diseases. The chemicals that I listed above are also in the cigarette smoke that become exposed to others around you through second hand smoke. So, make sure you think before lighting a cigarette. Not just for your sake. But the people around you.
What About E-Cigs? Are They Better?
Short answer, no. Propylene glycol is one of the main ingredients to the e-liquid base of the e-cigarette. A review done in Circulation stated,
When heated and vaporized, propylene glycol can form propylene oxide, an International Agency for Research on Cancer class 2B carcinogen and glycerol forms acrolein, which can cause upper respiratory tract irritation.
The use of electronic cigarettes also creates a polluted indoor environment, as well as increased lung inflammation measured by exhaled nitric oxide. A study that was done showed carcinogens that increased by 20% indoors. Formaldehyde, that is a known carcinogen, still is in the e-cig and increases with every puff that you do.
Check out Rodale’s Organic Life for some natural tips to quit smoking. It’s the New Year & putting a big goal to do this year to quit smoking is not only helping yourself, but others around you.
Have you kicked the bad habit? What were some ways that helped you overcome the addiction? Reach out to us
