There are 1.1 billion smokers worldwide, and up to 50% of them die from tobacco use (ASH). According to the CDC, smoking is to blame for 90% of all lung cancer fatalities in both men and women. Over ten times as many Americans have died prematurely from smoking than from American-led conflicts throughout the country’s history.
Its deadly risk is caused by inhaling more than 7,000 ingredients, including arsenic, butane (found in lighter fluid), carbon monoxide (which competes with oxygen on hemoglobin in red blood cells and displaces it), and tiny glass particles (which sever lungs to improve nicotine delivery).
What Are the Effects of Smoking on your Health?
Inhaling these chemicals first-hand, second-hand, or third hand (typically embedded in fabric) does not just lead to lung related illnesses such as lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It can also lead to heart diseases, like heart attacks or congestive heart failure, by damaging heart and blood vessel integrity due to increased plaque deposits.
Nicotine raises cortisol (our stress hormone) and DHEA (our ‘all is good’ hormone), but chronically elevated cortisol will also suppress our immune system, like a cough to expel toxins. Smoking also contributes to:
- hormone imbalance
- osteoporosis
- infertility
- gastrointestinal issues
- blood sugar issues
- insomnia
Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms
Since nicotine crosses the blood brain barrier and produces pleasant feelings by releasing dopamine (our reward hormone), it becomes addictive very quickly. Withdrawal symptoms like feeling irritable/edgy occur a few minutes later – leading the user to reach for another cigarette. As withdrawal symptoms become increasingly intense, more cigarettes are needed to achieve the same desired feelings. In fact, nicotine addiction has been labeled powerful enough that it may be harder to quit smoking than to stop using cocaine or heroin (ACS, 2015). Even if people started for social reasons or as a coping mechanism, the many physiological mechanisms can create multiple barriers to quitting.
Many of these deleterious health effects may also be due to depletion of important antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, ubiquinol, glutathione, and alpha-lipoic acid, which serve to gather the additional free radicals and other oxidant species caused by smoking (Elsayed & Bendich, 2001). Chronic stress also depletes B vitamins and magnesium; nutrients involved in over 300 and 500 reactions in the human body, respectively.
However, supplements are not a substitute for the harm caused by cigarettes. Nutrients are best absorbed by eating the whole food they’re contained in (ex. an orange) because it’s filled with the perfect blend of optimal vitamin and mineral interaction.
Stopping completely is the best way to quit smoking, but multiple support methods may be required to counteract the physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms that can arise.
Acupuncture
The therapeutic mechanisms behind acupuncture are not thoroughly researched, however, it has been shown to help people quit smoking. It matters where the needles are placed. Acupuncture at points affecting the airways, lungs, and mouth can reduce cravings for the taste of tobacco, lowering the desire to smoke. After a month of acupuncture treatments every other week, participants experienced smoking cessation (He, Medbo, Hostmark, 2001).
Hypnotherapy
Defined as an altered state of consciousness where a person can bypass certain aspects of reality and feel compelled to follow cues from an outside source, hypnosis can help smokers associate cigarettes with unpleasant stimuli (e.g. dry mouth, poor health outcomes) and the belief they will lose the desire to smoke. Studies have shown it can accelerate the process of quitting but contributes less to long-term smoking cessation (Covino & Bottari, 2001).
Exercise
Five minutes of moderate-intensity exercise is associated with a short-term reduction in the desire to smoke and tobacco withdrawal symptoms, so brief bouts of exercise may aid in smoking cessation (Daniel, Cropley, Ussher, & West, 2004).
Magnesium
Magnesium helps decrease nicotine addiction by antagonizing NMDA receptors, which are responsible for the dopamine (reward center) release. Magnesium may also decrease nicotine’s effect on NMDA receptors by enhancing GABA (our relaxing neurotransmitter) synthesis (then blocks glutamate formation, an excitatory neurotransmitter). Simply put, this mineral will lower the user’s satisfaction from smoking. Magnesium is fastest absorbed through powder, such as by NaturalCalm, or in Epsom salt baths (add lavender essential oil for extra relaxation)!
Nicotine patch
A long-time, popular way to help people quit smoking, the nicotine patch is known to have lasting effects. The nicotine patch has been shown to be more effective in combination with drugs like varenicline and bupropion, medications that also address nicotine addiction, than the patch alone (Koegelenberg, et al., 2014) (Jorenby, et al., 1999). One study demonstrated that a higher dose of 44-mg per patch may provide substantial short-term benefits for smokers (not a general starter dose), but produced more adverse effects than 22 mg, over a 4-week period. Doses were titrated in half after 2 weeks and combined with counseling, physician visits, and pamphlets (Jorenby, et. al, 1995). However, the dose of the patch is best determined by how much and how frequently one smokes.
Olfactory training
One study exposed smokers for one week to the smell of cigarettes and rotting eggs or fish while they are in stage 2, non-REM sleep (versus other stages of sleep), and the subjects reported smoking less over the course of the week (Azri, Holtzman, Samnon, Eshel, Harel, & Sobel, 2014).
Lime
When a craving hits, slicing up lime slices to suck on and then chewing the skin may be as effective as either 2 or 4 mg of nicotine gum.They are also rich in vitamin C (thought to help curb cravings) and antioxidants (Rungruanghiranya, Ekpanyaskul, Sakulisariyaporn, Watcharanat, & Akkalakulawas, 2012).However, it’s not as good as nicotine gum in reducing the number of cravings.
Mindfulness
Practicing to ‘sit’ through difficult scenarios, such as cravings or withdrawal symptoms, elicited beneficial outcomes on its own and is the strategy most likely to help users sustainably quit smoking (Brewer, et al., 2011).
