The chemicals in tobacco smoke can cause inflammation of the conjunctiva (the thin membrane covering the eye), resulting in bloodshot, irritated eyes.

In a study of nearly 21,000 U.S. male physicians, spanning an average of 13.6 years, researchers found a direct link between smoking and the development of cataracts. The study, known as Physicians Health Study I, evaluated physicians between the ages of 40 and 84 who had no prior history of cataracts before 1982. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires that included information such as: number of cigarettes smoked daily, age when they started smoking, and their age if they stopped smoking. Each participant received annual eye exams and were required to report the results to the study investigators. The participants' ophthalmologists and optometrists confirmed the results.

Smoking has also been linked to eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. The causes of macular degeneration are not completely understood, but smoking is believed to be the main preventable risk factor. Evidence indicates that more than a quarter of all cases of AMD are linked to current or past exposure to smoking.
Study results appear mixed about a direct association between smoking and diabetic retinopathy, but most experts agree that smoking should be avoided to help help stop progression of the disease.
Smoking causes shrinkage or constriction of blood vessels, shown to be directly linked to rising inner eye pressure (intraocular pressure) that can lead to glaucoma and accompanying optic nerve damage.

Optic neuritis : A landmark study found a strong association between factors such as poor nutrition and smoking linked to a 1992-1993 epidemic of optic nerve damage among Cuban citizens. Although smoking is associated with several eye diseases, including nuclear cataract and thyroid eye disease, the most common cause of smoking related blindness is age related macular degeneration, which results in severe irreversible loss of central vision.

How does smoking damage the eyes?

When you inhale cigarette smoke thousands of chemicals get into your bloodstream and can travel throughout your body. These chemicals cause damage to the macula (the most sensitive part of the retina, at the back of your eye). Tiny blood vessels can burst through the macula, leading to irreversible damage, or alternatively, the cells of the macula slowly die. Both ultimately lead to loss of vision.
Can this damage be reversed?
No. Laser treatment can sometimes kill the new blood vessels before they hit the macula. However, most people are not able to be helped this way because the blood vessel has already involved the very centre of the macula, and even after treatment, the condition recurs in half the cases and in almost all those who continue to smoke. A new treatment, photodynamic therapy (PDT) may be able to help some to reduce the severity of vision loss, but the majority of people with macular degeneration will still not be able to be treated.

If I quit smoking will my eyes recover?

Your risk of macular degeneration will be reduced if you quit smoking, however existing damage to the eyes cannot be repaired, particularly once vision is affected.

When you plan to stop smoking, bring about other changes in your life style as well. Take a look at all those things that have become a kind of routine and break that routine. Try to do things differently and will make a lot of difference.What we are trying to do as part of this exercise is that we are trying to create a new environment for you. It is not possible for you to shift to a new apartment so bring about a few changes in the way things are as part of your exercise to quit smoking. Let every thing have a new feel about it. If there was a favorite chair in which you used to sit when you smoked, change the upholstery of the chair or maybe you could stash away the chair into a corner.
Try to set a new routine. Try working out or going to the gym. If that is not possible, try waking up a little earlier and go for a short morning walk. If you can make that a run or a jog, it is going to be very stimulating and is going to be the best way to start your day.
Exercise does not necessarily mean pumping metal. If you do have the time to go to a gymnasium everyday, then that is well and good. But I suppose most of us do not have the time for a regular work out in a gym. So what is the other alternative? Do it at home of course.
But whether it is at home or at a multi-gym, there is something that I want to tell you. Regularity is the rule of the day. It is not getting started that is the difficult part, it is sticking to a regular exercise routine that is difficult and this is what proves to be the stumbling block for most people.
Most people have a wonderful start. In fact it is truly spectacular. They buy track suits and gym-wear, running shoes and a whole lot of other gear. Their first day at the gym is almost a celebration. Then as the days go on, they find it increasingly difficult to meet the domestic and professional demands and so their routine slows down and finally comes to a complete workout burn out.
One mistake that many people make is that they choose the evenings or a work out. If that can suit your lifestyle, then that’s fine. But for most of us, by the time the evening lifts up its curtains we are completely pooped. We find ourselves physically and mentally drained. And at that time our bodies will be just too tired for a work out. So it is best to set aside some time for exercise in the morning itself.
There are two advantages of setting apart time in the morning. The first advantage is that in the morning our bodies are fresh and full of energy. Now over here I want to make one point clear.
Many people believe that exercise depletes the body of energy but the case is just the opposite. Exercise pumps up more blood through the different parts of the body and warms up the body, so in fact, after exercise we feel more charged and ready to face the challenges of the day.
The second advantage is that in the morning we can plan for the whole day without letting the exercise routine affect the rest of our activities.
What about those of us who have never worked out before? In such cases you might need to start off under the personal supervision of an instructor and that may require that you go to a gym. But what I would suggest is that there are two simple things that any one can do for which you do not need the help of any instructor.
You know what these are? They are walking and swimming. Any body can walk and those of you who know how to swim can swim. For these two activities you do not need much gear and experts say that these two exercises have no side effects and are excellent stress busters.
So in the morning wake up just half an hour earlier, put on your walking shoes and hit the roads. Most roads will be less crowded at this hour and less polluted too. It is a wonderful way to start a day.
Take a break form coffee and try tea instead. If you are moving around the house, try playing music. Redecorate your room by adding a few pictures here and there preferably of scenery. And while you are redecorating, do what I mentioned earlier that is get rid of every thing that even remotely reminds you of smoking.
Plan your day in such a way that you have something enjoyable to do at the end of the day. It does not have t be something that involves money. We do not want you end up bankrupt. It can be something as simple as spending some time with the family playing a board game or something. Or it can be going out for a walk together.
But I would like to add that watching television just does not fit into this list. The reason is because T.V is not something that demands too much of our attention. We can easily do something else while we are watching TV and what can be easier than taking a smoke while our eyes are glued to the T.V. While you are working on breaking the habit of smoking, you need to move about with people. You need the company of people who can take your mind off that craving and TV doesn’t help you do that.
Make a list of those things that build up your stress. Try to steer clear of them. If that is not possible try to find out some stress busters and use them. Do not use stress as an excuse to start smoking. There are a hundred other methods of beating stress. As mentioned earlier, you could try breathing exercises, mediation or even music. There is another excellent way of beating stress and that is using the distressing ball. If you do not have one of those, try wriggling your fingers and toes. That too is a natural method of beating stress.
The point that we are trying to drive home over here is that you need a break from whatever you have been doing for this exercise of quitting to work. Since it is impossible to change your job or your home, you have to bring about as many changes as possible to get that whole new feeling.

Smoking is associated with a very wide range of health problems ranging from lung cancer to delayed wound healing. Plenty of anti-smoking campaigns highlight the harmful affects of smoking and work hard to encourage people to give up smoking.

We all know smoking effects not only the smokers but the people around them due to passive smoking. Hence, plenty of non-profit organizations and government funded campaigns have cropped up which aim to get people to give up smoking by highlighting the harmful effects of smoking on general health.

What these campaigns tend to ignore is the effect of smoking on dental health. Neither there exists any campaign nor any awareness in the general public on the harmful effects of smoking on dental health. Cigarette smoke is as good as poison to the oral cavity.

Let us discuss the harmful effects of cigarette smoke on dental health.

Nicotine and Tar are two major components of cigarette smoke. These chemicals have a tendency to stick to the teeth as residue. This heavy residue is responsible for discoloration of the teeth. The discoloration can range from yellowish to dark brown. When a cigarette is being smoked, not all the smoke is being expelled out. Some of the components remain in lungs and some in the oral cavity. Nicotine and Tar are heavy and get settled on the teeth as dark residue. This discoloration is not easily removable. Vigorous brushing can not help the cause either. However, brushing with the tooth whitening pastes in the market tends to lighten the dark stains.

Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer but we can't ignore the fact that over 90% of oral cancer patients are also smokers. This can be attributed to the carcinogenic capacity of cigarette smoke. A study published in the Journal of Periodontology also proves direct correlation between the number of cigarettes and incidence of oral cancer. People who smoked less than a half a pack a day were three times more likely to get oral cancer and people who smoked more than one and half packs each day were six times more likely. Cigarette smoke contains many carcinogens (cancer causing agents).These irritate the oral cavity and initiates cancer formation.
Smoking also hampers wound healing and hence is responsible for failure of many dental procedures. The success of many oral surgeries is affected to the delayed wound healing caused by smoking as smoking hinders the body's defense mechanism. Recent studies have pointed an increased success of dental implants in non-smokers than in smokers.

A very obvious and annoying effect of smoking is bad breath. The contents of the cigarette smoke cause a typical bad breath known as smokers breath. It also causes Halitosis which is the common bad breath. This is because cigarette smoke causes drying of the mouth and hence reduced salivation. Saliva is an effective anti-microbial agent which fights bad breath. Reduction of salivation causes the bad breath causing bacteria to thrive. Smoking is held responsible as a causative agent for many cases of advanced Periodontitis.
With so many harmful effects of smoking on oral health, it is best to call it quits today.

The effects of smoking on human health are serious and in many cases, deadly. Although the negative health effects of cigarette smoking cannot be debated, it remains the single most common cause of preventable deaths.Each year, over 430,000 people die as a result of a smoking related disease. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body; causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general.
Although generally the majority of smokers know that smoking is hazardous to health, only a small minority of smokers managed to kick off the bad habit for good and resist the urge to crave for nicotine. Quitting is hard. If you have tried to quit smoking, you know how hard it can be. It is hard because nicotine is a very addictive drugs sometimes it can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine.

1) Get moving :
Many people have found that including physical activity in their program to quit smoking has added a tremendous benefit to assist in quitting. There are many reasons for this: When people are more active, they gain confidence and like themselves more. They feel more energy, and are more capable of dealing with tension in their lives. With increased activity, the smell of tobacco actually becomes offensive. Whenever you feel the need to smoke after you have decided to quit, get up and move around instead. A brief physical activity can provide you with the lift that you may have received from nicotine.

2) Resist the urge :
The urge to smoke is always immediate, and it usually lasts for five minutes. This is when your body is running low on nicotine and craving takes place. If you can resist for at least 5 minutes, you're one step closer to success. During the five minutes take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds and exhale AS IF you've taken a cigarette. Repeat this process a few times and have small sips of warm water. This will make you feel more relaxed. You'll see.

3) Chew something :
Put something in your mouth that has no calories, such as stirrer, toothpick, chewing gum, or something to substitute the cigarette.

4) Avoid Social Pressures :
In normal circumstances, we have develop a smoking pattern that in a particular place or situation, such as card games, partying, coffee breaks, poker games, you will tend to smoke. When you're fighting against nicotine, try to avoid such places.

5) Dealing with Tension & Negative Emotions :
A crisis occurs during your work or personal day, and one of the main reasons for you to smoke has been tension reduction. Try to deal with your negative emotions and use the tension reducing methods that we talked about earlier. Get away from the area that the tension is associated with. Take a walk, or go to another room. You may also find that nicotine gum will give you enough tension relief to get through.

If you are not completely confident that you can resist the urge to smoke after you have quit, it may be necessary to remove any visual reminders of smoking from your living and work areas. Throw away or give away those leftover cigarettes, get rid of lighters, ashtrays, matches, and anything else that could be associated with smoking. That should do the trick. I pray for your success.

To stop smoking permanently is the wise choice. Smokers should realize the bad effects that smoking has on people, as it can effect the nervous system. First people take to smoking and then it takes control of them.This is a true and fair statement. You start with say one a day and before you know its a packet or more a day. It may feel great at first, fashionable and all the rest. But later it develops into an addiction, where it becomes harder and less likely to quit smoking and kick the habit altogether. Here are 10 ways to Stop smoking quickly.
Anti smoking organizations are doing their best to eradicate this social evil. Individuals may seek the help of such institutions to give up smoking. Even family members, coworkers and friends might prove supportive.

Top 10 Ways to Stop Smoking :
1. Support group :
To stop smoking, smokers may resort to local support groups, who provide expert counseling to do away with smoking. Support groups hold group meetings, where people with similar views discuss over global issues. They try to locate the root cause of a problem and come out with solutions for it. They equip themselves with statistical data and inform people about how smoking causes injury to the human system.
2. Cold turkey:
Individuals may stop smoking using cold turkey method. It is all about using the willpower to avoid the dependence on cigarettes. Many smokers have found this method beneficial with reduction in their craving for cigarettes.
3. Hypnosis:
It is the best way to stop smoking. Here, the therapists reprogram an individual's subconscious mind. This scientific method has proven beneficial as compared to any other chemical-based treatment to stop smoking.
4. Nicotine patch:
Studies note use of nicotine patch makes quitting cigarette possible. It offers the body with a transdermal nicotine feed. It battles the amazing influences of nicotine which rules the mind and body since the first cigarette smoked.
5. Rehab Drugs:
Individuals may switch to several rehab drugs or pills to stop smoking.
6. Go the Holistic Way:
Holistic approach can also help to stop smoking, as it controls the mind, spirit and body of a smoker and limits the need to light up a cigarette.
7. Acupuncture:
Smokers may go through the process of acupuncture to stop smoking. Acupuncture targets three areas of the body namely the kidney, liver and the nervous system. It aims at healing the body through detoxification.
8. Nicotine gum:
Smokers may chew the nicotine gums that come in many flavors. Nicotine gum lessens the urge to smoke.
9. Buddy system:
Individuals may invite their friends in a no-smoking campaign, which influences other smokers to quit smoking. Avoid going where smoking is frequent. Count on the days as the cravings for cigarette lessens until the addiction is finally abandoned.
10. Harmless cigarettes:
Smokers may also consider this method to quit smoking. These types of cigarettes are actually smokeless cigarettes.

Overview:
Cigarette smoking is extremely harmful to humans. Most individuals, who initially feel good about this habit, will later regret the taking up of smoking. Their health will deteriorates and they could experience physical weakness due to smoking. Hence, it is important to stop smoking before it gets hold of you and takes a toll on your health. Some other resources, where smokers may get assistance to stop smoking are dentist or local hospital.

Widely used quit smoking products such as nicotine patches and gums could really make the problem worse by perpetuating the addiction at a low dosage that does not relieve the withdrawal craving. Add to this the fact that the smoker continues to spend not insignificant amounts, with nothing to show for it in terms of defeating nicotine dependency.More conspicuous, the heavy marketing of such quit smoking patches has a similar, unconscious, conditioning effect to the promotion of smoking itself - and you don't want to be hooked on nicotine patches forever. At best this leaves the smoker confused.

Anti-depressant drugs :
Anti-depressant drugs are known to help withdrawal. Brupopion (Zyban being it's more well known name) is the most popular, and success rates of up to 30 per cent are claimed both as a stand-alone remedy and also in association with nicotine replcement therapy combined with guidance or counseling.
In some cases there have been disturbing side effects and it is a fairly expensive drug, usually prescribed for a period of some months. The same unaccounted variables as with NRT may apply.
Smokers often have other requirements to stop when they undergo an expensive smoking cessation process such as this ( the effects of smoking and lung cancer ) or example) and the effect of this cannot be distinguished in the published results. As motivation is cited universally as the single most important factor in giving up smoking, the results of drug-based quit smoking programs are not reliable. Most importantly they do not address the habitual beh avior and psychological factors involved.
Hardly any studies measure effectiveness beyond 18 months in any case, so this is not a measure of permanent withdrawal, with which we are concerned in this article.
Many therapists make similar qualifications. For example, Schneider et al. highlighted that mere dispensing of nicotine gum actually resulted in a lower quit rate with active gum than with placebo treatment (8% nicotine gum, 13% placebo gum).
In actuality, the product inserts for all transdermal nicotine remedies indicate that it should be used as part of a quit smoking treatment program. Of course most patients simply buy and apply the patches like sticking plaster. Without any behavioral help, we can therefore expect very low quit rates with nicotine patches.
Drugs are addictive just like cigarettes, of course, and repetitive attempts at quitting smoking mean repeat sales and more profit. The fact that these profits fund major research programs helps to explain why the truth about the relative effectiveness of quit smoking products does not reach the average smoker.

Having the courage to learn how to quit smoking is not enough to help you give up smoking for good. To make it easier, you need a route map that shows exactly how to stop smoking, with a list of all the pitfalls and hazards to avoid along the way )

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Almost everybody knows that smoking is bad for the health. Images of blackened lungs line school hallways and hospital waiting rooms, but despite this people continue to take up smoking. This may have to do with the pervasive romantic image of smoking -- an image that has nothing in common with reality.