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Internet Resources • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov • National Institutes of Health: www.nih.gov • Healthfinder: www.healthfinder.gov • MedlinePlus: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

Tobacco Use “Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. While tobacco companies continue to publish full-page advertisements refuting the dangers of smoking, nearly 440,000 Americans die each year of tobacco related diseases.” (CDC,2007).

Tobacco • Tobacco is a plant that contains nicotine • Nicotine is a stimulant drug that is found in all tobacco products • Can be smoked in the form of cigarettes, cigars, and pipes • Three harmful ingredients/products: • Tar • Nicotine • Carbon Monoxide

Ingredient Vs. By-Products • Ingredients: The elements or chemicals found in products • Ex: Nicotine • By-Products: Produced in the action of using a product • Carbon Dioxide

Tar • A sticky, thick fluid that is formed when tobacco is burned • Is a major cause of lung cancer because it contains many carcinogens • Causes the lungs to turn a blackish color • Causes yellow fingers and teeth • Produces chronic irritation of the respiratory system

Nicotine • Most dangerous ingredient found in all tobacco products • Highly addictive • Dulls taste buds, constricts blood vessels, and increases the heart rate and blood pressure • Absorbed into the bloodstream and quickly reaches the brain

Nicotine • Many experts claim that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. • Causes more premature death and disease than all other forms of drug dependence combined. • People who use nicotine develop a tolerance • Psychological Dependence:When people feel the need to smoke or chew at certain times for specific reasons

Effects of Nicotine • Stimulates the CNS • Stimulates the adrenal glands, increasing the production of adrenaline • Nicotine decreases blood sugar levels and the stomach contractions that signal hunger • Enhances formation of fat on the walls of the blood vessels

Nicotine Withdrawal Syndrome • The body’s reaction to quitting the use of tobacco products. • Feel a craving for tobacco; may be anxious, irritable, restless, have a headache, and have difficulty concentrating; can be frustrated and angry; have heart palpitations and increased appetite • WHY?

Why experimenting is Risky • Puts you at risk for nicotine dependence • According to the Surgeon General, the probability of becoming addicted to nicotine after one exposure is higher than for other addictive substances. • Teens have a more difficult time quitting than people who start using when they are older • A majority of adult smokers started before the age of 18

Carbon Monoxide • An odorless, tasteless gas that interferes with the ability of blood to carry oxygen • Deadly gas formed during the burning of tobacco • It inhibits the body’s ability to carry oxygen to organs such as the heart and brain • When inhaled, it combines with the oxygen carrying hemoglobin, not allowing them to carry oxygen

Carbon Monoxide • Exposure to the gas can damage and kill organs that were starved of oxygen • It takes much longer for your body to eliminate carbon monoxide than to absorb it, which is one reason why exposure can be so dangerous. • When carbon monoxide levels drop in the blood, oxygen levels raise to normal.

Smokeless Tobacco • Can be chewed or snorted, but is not smoked • Damages the teeth and gums • Sold in two forms: • 1. Chewing Tobacco: made from chopped tobacco leaves that is placed between the gums and cheek • 2. Snuff: a tobacco product made from powdered tobacco leaves and stems that is snorted or placed between the gums and cheek

Smokeless Tobacco • Contains many carcinogens and dangerous chemicals. • It is NOT a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. • Smokeless tobacco users do not feel the effects of the nicotine as fast as cigarette users do. About the same amount of nicotine enters their bloodstreams.

Smokeless Tobacco • Smokeless tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence. • Adolescents who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become cigarette smokers. • Increases the risks of developing oral cancer • The tobacco and its juices are in contact with the gums, cheeks, and lips that can lead to cancer.

Smokeless Tobacco • Particles found in the tobacco scratch and wear away at the teeth, and the sugars mix with dental plaque to form acids that cause tooth decay. • Can cause the gums to pull away from the teeth, exposing the roots and making them more likely to fall out.

Leukoplakia • Abnormal cells in the mouth that appear as white patches of tissue. • It is the mouth's reaction to chronic irritation of the mucous membranes of the mouth • These abnormal cells can develop into cancer. • Lesions usually clear in a few weeks or months after the source of irritation is removed

True or False? • Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless gas that interferes with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. • When carbon dioxide is inhaled, it combines with the oxygen carrying hemoglobin, not allowing them to carry oxygen. • Particles found in smokeless tobacco scratch and wear away at the teeth, and the sugars mix with dental plaque to form acids that cause tooth decay. • Smokeless tobacco is a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. • Leukoplakia is abnormal, cancerous cells that develop as a result of using smokeless tobacco.

Smoking • Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 different chemicals, with 43 being carcinogens. • About 48 million adults smoke and 3.1 million adolescents smoke. • Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body; causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general. • About 400,000 or 1 in every 6 deaths are caused by smoking each year.

Smoking • More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from illegal drugs, alcohol, homicides, suicides, AIDS, car accidents, and fires combined. • Research has shown that smoking during pregnancy causes health problems for both mothers and babies, such as: Pregnancy complications, Premature birth, Low-birth-weight infants, Stillbirth, Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Smoking • Filters trap very little of the tar and nicotine in tobacco smoke. • These factors increase the chances of getting a smoking related disease: • How long you smoke • How much you smoke • Occupation/Environment • In recent years, smoking among teens has increased dramatically. • About half of all smokers started before the age of 18.

Secondhand Smoke • People around smokers are exposed to 4,000 chemicals. Of these, 200 are poisonous, and 43 are carcinogens • Smoke from cigarettes of other people are responsible for 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 heart disease deaths per year in the United States. • Laws have been passed that prevent smoking in public buildings.

Smoking • Mainstream Smoke: The smoke that is directly inhaled into the smoker’s mouth and lungs. • Sidestream Smoke: Smoke that enters the air from a burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe. This has more tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and ammonia than mainstream smoke.

Smoking • Environmental Smoke/ Secondhand Smoke: Exhaled mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke. This is also known as passive smoking and involuntary smoking.

Cancers Associated with Smoking • Causes lung cancer, and increases the risk of many other cancers. • Lung cancer kills more people than any other type of cancer. • Major risk factor for cancer of the throat, mouth, esophagus, pancreas, and bladder. • The American Cancer Society reports that 1/3 of all cancer deaths are due to tobacco use.

Carcinogens • A chemical that is known to cause cancer • Most carcinogens in tobacco smoke are found in tar • Of the 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 43 are carcinogens

Cilia in the Lungs • Hair-like structures that remove dust and other particles from the air • Prevent harmful substances from reaching the lungs

Harm of Smoking to lung tissue • Prevents lungs from functioning properly • Tar lines the lungs and air passages • Harms the cilia • Increases risk of infection • Interferes with ability to breathe

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD/COLD) • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a general term for a group of diseases that cause progressive damage to your lungs. It is a disease that interferes with breathing. • These diseases include chronic bronchitis, asthma and emphysema.

C.O.P.D. Continued • Of the approximate 17-million Americans with COPD, nearly 3-million have symptomatic emphysema and millions more are in the early stages of the chronic lung disease before signs and symptoms appear. • Unlike asthma, which occurs when the muscles in your airways tighten, emphysema causes a loss of elasticity in the walls of the small air sacs in your lungs. Eventually, the walls stretch and break, creating larger, less efficient air sacs that aren't able to handle the normal exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Emphysema • Alveoli lose most of most of their ability to function properly. • Alveoli are small balloon like structures that attach to the bronchial passages. • They inflate and deflate with inhalation and exhalation.

Emphysema Continued • The lungs lose their ability to inflate and hold air. • Air is trapped in the lungs due to a lack of supportive tissue, which in-turn decreases blood oxygenation. • The small balloon like structures burst instead of inflating and holding air. • People with emphysema breathe about 30x’s a minute

Emphysema Continued • They can not breathe out! • There is no cure. Unfortunately, because emphysema develops gradually over many years, you may not experience typical symptoms such as shortness of breath until irreversible damage has already occurred. • When emphysema is advanced, you must work so hard to expel air from your lungs that breathing can consume up to 20 percent of your resting energy.

Bronchitis • A recurring inflammation of the bronchial tubes- the two main tubes/airways that connect the wind pipe to the lungs • Causes mucus to line the bronchial tubes- less air is then able to flow from the lungs • Causes deep, harsh coughing and wheezing “smokers cough”

Bronchitis Continued • Develops in almost all smokers after 10 years • Acute Bronchitis- the most common of the bronchial diseases • results in millions of visits to the doctor per year • over 95% of the acute causes are caused by viruses • Chronic Bronchitis- Defined by the presence of a mucous-laden cough most days of the months • Once bronchitis begins, secondary bacterial or viral infections often make the condition worse. • Air pollution and industrial dusts are also risk factors.

Cardiovascular Disease • Smoking speeds up the development of cholesterol deposits in the arteries and damages the inner lining of the arteries. • Fat deposits reduce the space in the artery through which blood can flow • This causes the risk of developing blood clots to increase. • A clot in the artery can cause a heart attack

Cardiovascular Disease Cont. • A clot in the brain can result in a stroke • Smoking can cause an aortic aneurysm. This is the bulging in the aorta. The aorta is the main artery in the body. This is the result of a weakening in an artery wall. • Smoking raises resting heart rate- increased inhalation of carbon monoxide places extra strain on the heart.

Other Effects of Smoking • Heart attack- from blood clots in the arteries • Stroke- blood clot in the brain • Leading cause of fires • Car accidents • Can develop gum disease • Can cause or worsen ulcers in the stomach and small intestines

Methods to Quit Smoking • Nicotine Patch • Nicotine Chewing Gum • Nicotine nasal spray • Nicotine Inhaler • Non-nicotine pill • Cold Turkey

Nicotine Patch • Worn on the skin of the upper body or arms • It releases nicotine into the bloodstream at a slow rate • It does not contain cancer-causing chemicals

Nicotine Chewing Gum • Chewing gum that releases nicotine when chewed • Does not contain cancer causing chemicals

Non-Nicotine Pill • Antidepressant that helps reduce cravings and withdrawal • Take 2 pills/day 1-2 weeks before quitting and maintain up to six months

Cold Turkey • The phrase cold turkey is universally understood to mean to quit smoking abruptly, often without forethought or preparation, or a gradual reduction in amount smoked • Most popular form for quitting • May also be the most challenging due to the severity of withdrawal symptoms

Cold Turkey • Having strong willpower is important • Ultimately your success depends on how badly you want to quit and whether or not you believe you can do it. • Most DIFFICULT and most SUCCESSFUL

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