Breathe Happy

Kudos to goodblogs.com for creating a blog of this niche. I have longed yearned to write as per this topic. In this series, I will be addressing the many death traps been made available to smokers which they may or may not be aware of. On cigarette wraps all we see is "smokers are liable to die young", from what type of death and how long it will take to kill them, all this are not specified. In this series of mine I will be writing on the many diseases attached to smoking and how it affects the human body system.

In my part of the world (West Africa sub region) people who fall prey to smoking are young ones between the ages of (14-29) years and adults ages (30-60) years. I have seen smoking kill many young people and financially wreck many adults. This points to the fact that smoking does not only kill the body, it also kills bank accounts.

SMOKING is an ATTITUDE of burning a substance (commonly a tobacco cigarette), after which the smoke produced from that substance is tasted and inhaled. The pleasures of smoking last for only a few minutes, but they lead to life threatening issues in the long run. Smoking consistently over a long period of time could be detrimental to a smokers health as his/her body is prone various diseases which may either kill them or leave them with a bad health condition.

Diseases caused from smoking can affect every part of the body from top to bottom. Commonly known diseases caused from smoking are: Lung Cancer, Bronchitis, Asthma, Emphysema, Coronary heart disease, Stroke, Hypertension, Atherosclerosis (buildup of fatty substances in the arteries), Impotence. In subsequent series, I will be talking on each disease and its effect on the human system.

I will also like to highlight possible risks attached to each part of the body as caused by smoking, starting with the head.

HEAD Regular headaches Risk of Alzheimer Stroke Multiple Sclerosis

EYES Macular Degeneration Negative effects on sight

MOUTH Gum Disease Poor Dental health Oral Cancer

NECK AND THROAT Cancer of the Pharynx and Larynx Thyroid Disease

CHEST Lung Cancer Asthma Esophageal Cancer COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Colds

HEART Coronary Artery Disease Atherosclerosis High Blood Pressure Elevated Cholesterol Level

ABDOMEN Heartburn Abnormal Aortic Aneurysms Poor Digestive System Peptic Ulcer Pancreatic Cancer

REPRODUCTION (WOMEN) Early Menopause Infertility

REPRODUCTION (MEN) Impotence Erectile Dysfunction Kidney Cancer Prostate Cancer Infertility

BACK Osteoporosis Fibromyalgia Rheumatoid Arthritis Peripheral Vascular Disease

These are few of many effects of smoking on the human body. They are death traps which manufacturers will never alert the the customers to. In my next writing I will be talking on the possibility of STROKE as a smokers death trap.

I hope you find this piece useful to you. Thanks.

There are some forms of naturopathic care that can help alleviate the task of quitting smoking. Although some people swear by things like Nicorette and the patch, others would prefer to search for alternative treatments that are natural and healthy.

Tobacco Absolute is one that is available and smells just like tobacco, which could be sufficient for those who only require a similar scent to help alleviate the cravings. You only need to put a drop on a paper tissue and bring it up to your nose like you would for a cigarette.

Black peppercorn is another one that is excellent to help reduce cravings by making you more alert and energized. Mix it with other oils if you want, or use it alone, in a diffuser or on a paper tissue left in the corner. This type of oil is also good to help improve blood circulation and you can dilute it in a large quantity of almond oil and rub it on your aches and pains.

As well, you can use the following oils for these symptoms:

Anxiety: bergamot, clary sage, frankincense, sandalwood, lavender, rose, mandarin

Calming: lavender, chamomile

Depression reduction: rose, sandalwood, orange, bergamot, clary sage, lavender, ylang ylang, grapefruit, frankincense, lemon, jasmine, neroli

Insomnia: chamomile, clary sage, bergamot

Stress reducing: clary sage, lemon, lavender, chamomile, bergamot, geranium, frankincense, grapefruit, jasmine, ylang ylang

These are only some of the oils and their properties. You can mix them together for better result and use them either in a diffuser, in a bath, or on a tissue left on a table nearby. To help you sleep, you can put a couple of drops on your pillowcase.

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“Everyone is addicted to somethin’

Most certainly those who say “To nothin!”

It’s how we were made

So don’t get delayed

Chasin’ after wishful thinkin’!”

What do I mean?  Smokers get a bad rap!

I am all for quitting smoking and other bad habits, but I have found that smokers have been targetted by our society as “easy to hate.”  Sure, the side-effects of smoking are rotten, even deadly, but no worse than most of the vices our society faces.

If you are reading this blog, you or someone you know is on the road to freedom from an enslaving habit.  I applaud you, and I hope I can offer some alternatives as you read a bit further.  But I need to start with an important truth: You are not a bad person.

A bad habit does not make a good person bad.

The truth is, I know many wonderful people who smoke.  Do I like that they smoke?  No. They have good personalities, though, and they are a blessing to other people.  They love their families.  They try to better the world around them.  Unfortunately, their skeleton just will not stay in the closet: smoking is too hard to hide for most people.

Why is a smoking habit worse than over-eating?  Or gambling?  Or destroying your self-esteem by always putting yourself down?  Each of these habits, and so many more, are detrimental to who you are.

You see, we as humans were made to flourish.  We were also made to “crave” what is good, which is exactly what opens the door to addiction.  Anyone who smokes knows that it is not good.  It is marketed as “cool.”  It calms your nerves; it becomes a comforting routine . . . but it is not good.  It is painted pretty enough to get you to try it until you are hooked, and then you begin to see the lie for what it is.  You craved what is good, got fooled by something that wasn’t, and now you are trapped.  Worse, you feel foolish.

Here is the problem, and the solution: You made a mistake, and you allowed yourself to get addicted to something that was not good. Everyone makes mistakes, but you keep re-living yours because you hate yourself for making that mistake.  Please remember the truth.  The truth is that you were made to seek after what is good.  Just because you made a mistake once, does not mean you have to remain subjected to it.

Now that you are battling the addiction, arm yourself with the truth.  The good is still out there.  You are not a bad person.  Mistakes are not the end of the world.

So what is the alternative to smoking?  Seek and find the good that is worth craving, instead of what seemed good but wasn’t.  The good is out there.  Good and evil are real, and good triumphs over evil.

In other words, it is time to pick yourself up, brush off the dust of your mistakes, and learn what is worth craving.  The good is worth craving!

It is great to crave a good family.  It is good to take the money that you would have used on cigarettes and invest it in your children’s health or education.  It is good to crave justice.  It is good to take the time you would have used smoking to research how you can fight against human-trafficking.  It is good to crave wisdom.  It is good to take the desire for another “fix” and instead learn helpful knowledge and apply it influencially.  It is good to crave what is good.

Cigarettes are not worth our time, nor is most of what the tobacco industry offers.  However, the farmers and businessmen in the industry are not bad people, and neither are the smokers, or the non-smokers.  Bad people do exist, but the vast majority of folks are good people deceived by lies and trapped by the desires of their flesh.

So I challenge you today: What will you crave?

The electric cigarette was produced in 2003 by a Chinese druggist named Hon Lik. It went on the Chinese market in 2004 and then marketed elsewhere in 2005 by Golden Dragon Holdings. The product is traded through private companies but the base is Electronic Cigarette Association.

No electric cigarette company is endorsed by any healthy organization. They are banned in several countries including Canada.

The product is made up of a battery, a cartridge and a atomizer that vaporizes the liquid. These cigarettes cost less than actual cigarettes. A starter kit can run you $50 and flavor cartridges about $12. They come in several flavors such as chocolate, mint and orange that may even attract children to use these.

Though the e-cigs do not produce the tar and carbon monoxide of regular tobacco cigarettes a user may actually have an even stronger addiction to the nicotine than they may have had before. This is due to the solution of nicotine and propylene glycol used in the electric cigarette. It is basically a battery operated nicotine dispenser. And remember nicotine can cause heart problems. The other ingredient is Diethylene Glycol which is a anti-freeze component and is toxic to humans.

Also contained in these cigarettes is Tetramethylpyrazine. This a Chinese drug used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in China. Found to induce relaxation in rats.

And if the e-cigarette breaks the user can be exposed to cancer causing compounds.

There is not a lot known about the long term effects of this product. But if you turn to this product to help you in stopping smoking regular cigarettes you may find you have an even stronger addiction to nicotine. So what have you lost and what have you gained?