Hello sir, how may I help you quit smoking?
Many smoking cessation techniques have been used to help smokers quit permanently. Both public sector non-profit organizations as well as private enterprises have spent billions of bucks in an attempt to raise awareness of the harmful impacts of nicotine on individual and public health. Not all of them have been successful and their failure to engage the public is one of the many reasons conventional quit smoking techniques do not produce the desired results.
Take help from ‘quitline’
If you are a regular smoker and want to end your nicotine addiction immediately, you can consider the option of phone counseling for smoking cessation. These quit lines are interactive in nature, meaning that there will be a professional on the other end of the line to receive your call and listen to the difficulties you are currently facing in your persistent efforts to stop smoking. People who have been able to quit smoking by taking help from quit lines find that a live one-on-one chat with an empathetic and well-informed counselor is far more useful than many other conventional smoking cessation treatment. You can call for help round-the-clock, particularly when you feel the urge to smoke.
Where to seek help from
The National Jewish Health medical center in Denver and the California Smokers’ Helpline are among the two most popular help lines that offer counseling and other resources to help people quit smoking. Self-help smoking cessation materials and further quit smoking techniques allow you to reach your goal successfully. These help lines also allow you to confer with people who are in the same boat as you, trying to stop smoking. According to statistics, smoking cessation group therpay increases the chance of quitting by 50%, compared to quitting alone.
Smoking increases risk of ectopic pregnancy
Scottish scientists have found that a chemical in cigarette smoke increases the risk of having an ectopic pregnancy. The research has shown that cotinine found in cigarettes causes a reaction to take place which increases a protein (PROKR1) found in the fallopian tubes. They found that this protein increased the risk of a fertilised egg implanting itself on the outside of the womb.The protein is what allows a fertilised egg to implant as it should inside the womb, but if it is present in the fallopian tubes it raises the risk of the pregnancy developing outside the womb.
The research found that the women who smoked and had an ectopic pregnancy had double the amount of the PROKR1 protein in their fallopian tubes, compared to women who didn’t smoke and who had a healthy pregnancy. The studies conclude that women who smoke are four times more likely to suffer an ectopic pregnancy than those who don’t.
Medical experts believe that having an excess of the protein hinders the contracting of the muscles in the walls of the fallopian tubes, which inhibits the transfer of the egg to the womb.
This research has shown the effect that smoking has on the health of a smoker’s reproductive system. It also shows the degree to which cigarette smoke and the chemicals it contains have on the presumably unaffected parts of the human body.
Every year in the UK there are over 30,000 cases of ectopic pregnancy with the majority of cases involving the egg implanting into the fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancy can cause the fallopian tube to rupture, causing internal bleeding and even future fertility problems. An ectopic pregnancy is the primary cause of maternal death within the first trimester of pregnancy, making it vital for women who are planning to conceive to quit smoking. Women who are exposed to second hand smoke are also advised to avoid being around anyone who is smoking, to reduce thier risk of having an ectopic pregnancy.
Smoking ban – Will it be effective?
A national daily released a publication stating that a ban on smoking made “no significant difference” in the number of people who smoked after the law, which banned smoking, was adopted. A research compared the number of people smoking before six months of change in the law with people who smoked even after the law was introduced. The study revealed that men over the age of 35 had a tendency to smoke fewer cigarettes than they did before the ban. However, younger men started smoking more, once the ban was introduced.
The positive findings of this research were that more than 35% of the smokers smoked at home instead of going out for a smoke. This reduced the risk of developing cancers and other chronic conditions, which was caused because of second hand smoke. On the contrary, this also led to an increase in the number of children being exposed to second hand smoke.
Is the ban effective?
Smoke-free laws make public places better and more pleasant. This has a positive effect on thousands of people all over the world who are able to protect themselves from second-hand smoke. Preventing smoking in public has a major impact on preventing many health conditions including heart attacks. A ban in smoking can prevent heart attacks up to a third. More than one fifth of the deaths in people above the age of 35 were because of smoking.
While, it has been seen that a smoking ban can be effective in certain cases, it depends on how well the citizens abide by the law. Smoking in public places such as restaurants, hospitals, gardens, cinema halls and bars certainly increases the risk of smoking-related health conditions even for those who do not smoke. The risk of second hand smoke can be reduced by banning smoking in public places. It is high time that people learn to act more responsibly towards their environment as well as their fellow human beings. After all, ‘effective’ is what we make of it.