Smoking

[liveonearth]

NICOTENE
rapidly absorbed
most addictive chemical in smoke
cotinine is most important metabolite, can be detected in blood or urine
polycyclic hydrocarbons are the primary carcinogens
smokeless still is addictive and cancer causing

SECONDHAND/PASSIVE INHALATION
worst impact on kids
more resp and middle ear infx
worse asthma

BENEFITS OF QUITTING
risk of CV dz and lung CA approaches that of nonsmoker after 15 years
risk of stroke approaches nonsmoker after 5-15 years
reduced risk of CA of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, urinary bladder
inproved pulmonary function
reduced risk of pneumonia, influenza, bronchitis

RISK TO FETUS INSIDE SMOKER MOM
growth retardation
low birth weight

SYSTEMIC EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH TOBACCO USE
CV: more MIs, sudden death, peripheral vasc dz, HTN
CNS: more strokes, intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage
GI: oropharyngeal, esophageal, pancreatic CA, reflux dt relaxation of LES, delayed PUD healing
General: decreased activation of neut adhesion mols, decr ascorbic acid and beta-carotene conc
GU: cervical CA (SCC), decr test/est by gender, kidney CA (RCC), bladder CA (transitional CC)
Integument: wrinkling incr
MS: osteoporosis dt decr est in female, test in male
Resp: laryngeal CA (SCC) COPD (bronchitis, emphysema), Lung CA (SCC, small cell, adenocarc)
Special senses: decr smell and taste sense, macular degeneration-->blindness, cataracts

NERVOUS SYSTEM HOOK IN
there are two types of cholinergic receptors in the body: nicotinic and muscarinic
Nicotinic receptors exist in these locations:
autonomic ganglia
sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglia
adrenal medulla
neuromuscular junctions

DRUGS THAT INHIBIT
hexamethonium inhibits the ganglia
tubocuranine inhibits the motor endplate receptors
(atropine inhibits muscarinic receptors)

Comments

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

Hey I forgot to CONGRATULATE you. Congratulations!! Stopping cigs is one of the toughest habits to break. How did you do it? And how are you managing cravings now?

[machmed.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! I won't lie: it's been incredibly difficult at times. I usually can get through it, but when my nicotine cravings were typically the strongest (usually after about 7pm until I'd go to bed), I now have strong cravings for food instead---especially food I otherwise never used to eat, such as sweets. I've never had much of a "sweet tooth" until now.

Unfortunately, I've given in to these cravings, with the fear that I will relapse on smoking cessation if I ignore them. But as I was telling my friend the other night, I'd rather be fat than be addicted to smoking. :P
Besides, this is something I can easily overcome in time. That's not the case with smoking.

Ultimately I'd say the main source of motivation for me is the reminder of what I went through over the last four and a half years. Honestly, I'd rather have to deal with the most severe nicotine withdrawal symptoms for the rest of my life than to EVER have to live like that again. That's how bad it was.

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

Hey I just found out more about why nicotene causes adrenal response. There are nicotinic receptors on the autonomic ganglia, both sympathetic and parasympathetic, as well as in the adrenal medulla and in the neuromuscular junction. There must be a lot more effects than anybody is talking about!

Congrats again. You are doing well. I know it's hard. I have never been hooked but I have watched a number of friends go through quitting. Have your read The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Carr? It's not super-sciency but it does explain a lot about the way that nicotene gets a person hooked.

[machmed.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for your support! I really appreciate it. One thing that has made this the especially hard for me is feeling completely alone as a "non smoker" since I'm usually surrounded by smokers. Most of my friends and family are smokers, and it's been that way for many years. I've kind of been intentionally isolating myself from people I know so that I can get over the nicotine withdrawals before being exposed to smokers again.

As for the affect nicotine has on the adrenals, I'm not surprised to hear this. The difference I've felt since quitting is so incredibly drastic, it's difficult to put it into words. I've gone from an extreme emotional, mental and physical low point to feeling as positive and alive as I ever have.

I should note, however, that I do suspect I might have a sensitivity to nicotine that many other smokers don't (not to say smoking isn't harming them too, though). Who knows, I might even be allergic to it. That's something else I want to look into.

Anyway, I just Google'd that book and it does sound interesting. I think I'm going to try to pick it up soon. Thanks for the suggestion and your encouragement!

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

According to Carr the physical/chemical withdrawals are over in 3 days. After that it's psychological. But as you know, our minds are soooo powerful.

I can only imagine the challenge of being surrounded by smokers, because the smell is such a trigger, and the sight is another. You may find that you need to change your life a lot in order to stay free of it. For sure you need to make friends with some nonsmokers. There are lots of us out here!!

The other thing (I remember when my grandmother quit) is that you can take up some substituting habit that you can do around the smokers. My grandma started chewing on toothpicks. She ate a lot of wood, but she didn't relapse! Eventually she didn't need the toothpicks anymore, but for a while she really just needed something to DO with her hands and mouth.