Dr. M Chabok
cardiologist
- Phone: +44 1895 283508
- info@drchabokcardiologist.co.uk
Working Hours
Monday – Friday
8.00 – 7:00 pm
Smoking
If you smoke, giving up is probably the greatest single step you can take to improve your health. Stopping smoking can be followed by a rapid decline in the risk of CHD. Smoking’s impact on public health is huge. Smoking is responsible for one in every five deaths in adults aged over 35 in England, and half of all long-term smokers will die prematurely due to a smoking-related disease.
Smoking and Stroke
In asymptomatic people, up to 10 years are
needed to reach the risk level of those people
who have never smoked. Smoking doubles your
risk of having a stroke.This is because it
narrows your arteries and makes your blood
more likely to clot.
Approximately 100,000 people die from
smoking- related diseases in the UK every
year. Tobacco accounts for approximately
29% of deaths from cancer, 13% of
cardiovascular deaths and 30% of deaths
from respiratory disease.
Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which is
highly addictive. As well as nicotine, each
cigarette contains more than 4,000 different
chemicals, many of which are toxic (harmful to
the body). More than 60 of them cause cancer
(are carcinogenic).
Some of the most harmful conditions that
smoking can cause are:
1. Premature death
2. Cancer
3. Respiratory diseases
4. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
5. Osteoporosis, stomach ulcers and infertility
Risks to others
When you smoke, it is not just your health that
is at risk, but the health of anyone who breathes
in cigarette smoke (including those around you).
The smoker only inhales about 15% of the
smoke from a cigarette. The other 85% is
absorbed into the atmosphere or inhaled by
other people who are passive smokers.
“Stopping smoking can be followed by a
rapid decline in the risk of CHD.”
Around 65% of smokers say they want to stop
smoking, but most believe they are unable to.
However, around half of all smokers eventually
manage to give up. When you stop smoking, the
benefits to your health begin straight away.
It is generally a good idea to fix a quit date,
rather than gradually reduce your smoking. Tell
people around you that you are going to stop,
and try to get others at home or work to stop
with you. This support network makes it easier
when temptation arises!
Be prepared to fail and try again
Be prepared to fail and try again
Please don’t despair if you fail on your first
attempt! You won’t be the first or last smoker
that this has happened to. Regroup, work out
what went wrong – was it peer pressure, alcohol,
stress, etc? Don’t be ashamed and it is very
important at this stage to maintain your nicotine
replacement therapy, family and group support.
Try Again!
The NHS Smoking Helpline can offer advice
and encouragement to help you quit smoking.
You can call on 0800 022 4332, or visit NHS
Smokefree.