How Does Smoking Cigarettes Affect The Lungs? How Important is Healthy Lungs?

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By schoolgirlforreal

Emphysema Lung and Healthy Lung

On left a lung with emphysema; on right healthy lung
On left a lung with emphysema; on right healthy lung

Smoking makes me very congested, and I have been coughing more than ever. I couldn’t walk far and I didn’t really enjoy it because I did it out of anger or stress. So, I quit. The websites I found very helpful are:
www.whyquit.com
www.quitsmokingsupport.com

Here’s what I LEARNED in summary:
Chantix, Wellbutrin, and other drugs don’t always work, it’s best to quit cold turkey! After looking at these sites and the photos of healthy and diseased lungs, emphasema lungs, and smokers’ lungs, YOU MAY JUST QUIT!


Your body starts to repair itself 24 hours after you quit, and the longer you stay off the cigarettes, your risk of lung cancer goes down and your breathing and ability to exercise improve. It's important to quit as soon as possible because lung cancer can start spreading and when it does, there’s no going back, so you better quit now to avoid it!!

Many chemicals are in cigarettes. Nicotine excites your heart, it makes it beat faster, thereby requiring more oxygen but the carbon monoxide pollutes your oxygen thereby sabatoging and making your heart work even faster.

One man did an experiment with an empty plastic liquid soap bottle. He made it “smoke” about 300 cigarettes or more—blowing out almost all the smoke. (Our lungs suck up actually 90% of what smoke we inhale because they are moist and soft).
So, after 300 cigarettes, blowing out almost all the smoke, the bottle became yellowed and the straw he used (inserted in the top) became black. This means that although he squeezed out 90% of the smoke, after 300 cigarettes the bottle became disgusting. Now imagine you yourself smoking 300 cigarettes, let's say you smoke 1 pack a day=20 cigarettes. In 2 weeks you've smoked 280 cigarettes but because you have soft, moist, pink lungs, they hold in 90% of the smoke (not 10% like the plastic bottle). How disgusting your lungs look after just two weeks. I think it's time to stop!

BRYAN LEE CURTIS DIED AGE 34 FROM SMOKING

Dying young does happen even at age 34! Many men lose a finger or toe(s) from a disease related to smoking and again, some people just die from a blot clot in the brain or elsewhere.


This is my "favorite" disgusting picture of emphysema LUNGS!!

COPY AND PUT THIS ON YOUR WALL OR SAVE IT TO YOUR COMPUTER BACKGROUND! Making yourself look at it should help!
COPY AND PUT THIS ON YOUR WALL OR SAVE IT TO YOUR COMPUTER BACKGROUND! Making yourself look at it should help!

The Best Way to Quit (In My Opinion)

I THINK THE "BEST" WAY TO STOP, IS TO SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF OURSELVES!
AND KEEP PICS UP LIKE THESE ON YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN/AROUND THE HOUSE
KEEP A SMELLY/FILTHY ASHTRAY AROUND TO REMIND YOU HOW DIRTY IT IS
READ THE FACTS--GET NICORETTE GUM

WHEN YOU GET STRESSED OR ANGRY....JUMP ON A BIKE OR RUN...OR HAVE A SODA/DRINK

DON'T PUFF!!

Comments

suny51 profile image

suny51 2 years ago

a sure way to quit is 'just quit'.Takes a little bit of will power,thats all.I quit on May 23rd 04 after smoking about 30 years,in one go.I am still quit.my advise is to do not start again else you would smoke double of what you were smoking before.

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 2 years ago

Yes that is true. Unfortunately, many people including myself, can't quit or aren't motivated to, until they have trouble breathing, or walking, etc. But for me, I found EDUCATION opened my eyes big time, and the fact I felt horrible, and these photos which are GROSS! But I know it's still a battle for many people; I just hope this helps.

Thanks for your advice and comment!!

soni2006 profile image

soni2006 2 years ago

I think I have to quit after reading your advice. I have been smoking for 10 years now and having a bit of throbbing pain in the top of my head. I don't know what it is. I think it's time to quit if I want to live. I will check out your sites. Also suny51 is right. I have tried quitting several times but many times for only three days and two or three times for one week, was not able to go beyond that and when I smoked again, I smoked double. I don't know what thing it has. Thanks for sharing this schoolgirl.

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 2 years ago

I hope you do well with quitting! Have you tried nicorete gum? It helps me somewhat. Thankyou so much for that wonderful comment in my fanmail!! Your friend,schoolgirl:)

soni2006 profile image

soni2006 2 years ago

I am all prepared for quitting now. I have not yet tried nicorete gum but I will try it. I found you a really cool girl. Best of luck. Thanks for the advice and sharing your personal experience with quitting smoking.

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 2 years ago

Wonderful! glad I could be of help!

Faybe Bay profile image

Faybe Bay Level 1 Commenter 24 months ago

I just quit in April, and I wish you'd written this before, it would have helped me quit sooner. I am bookmarking, just in case I ever get the urge to have just one... Thank you.

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 24 months ago

Thanks, Faybe Bay!

That's a really good compliment :D I wish you the best

SognoPiccolo profile image

SognoPiccolo 20 months ago

I quit cold turkey myself. I never really got hooked and needed to smoke, but when I did I smoked A LOT!

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 20 months ago

Wow, that's really good. Especially for someone your age....it's unfortunate people get hooked on these "nasty things!"

qwark profile image

qwark 20 months ago

Schoolgirl: 3 cheers for you!

I've never smoked but my parents did. Thank goodness we didn't spend much time with them. They gave my sister and I up to foster care when I was about 7 yrs old. the best thing that ever happened to us. Our foster parents were wonderful.

This is a good "hub" that of course "smokers" will not read...lol.

You notice that you are the only one who has read my "hub" on smoking.

Denial, denial, denial.

Keep writing! Thumbs up!

Qwark

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 20 months ago

@qwark

Yeah, I bet alot of smokers wouldn't come here, but hopefully they will :)

Thanks for a great comment!

John F. Kennedy 13 months ago

My father dead of partial lung cancers and when I heard about the side-effects of second-hand smoke it really makes me mad that something is not done to protect the mass who don't smoke. Give us a change to lIVE...

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 13 months ago

Hi John F. Kennedy,

Thanks for visiting my page. That's too bad, have you heard of chemtrais? Google it...they say they are responsible for many people getting lung cancer...

Regards,

Schoolgirlforreal

johny 7 months ago

from tomorrow i wont smoke this is my last and final trial bye bye cigrettes bye for ever

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 7 months ago

I hope you have good success. Thanks for commenting.

Lynn 4 weeks ago

So worried. My mother has Emphysema and she has been smoking since she was 15 and is now 71!! It's just disgusting to look at this old lady with a cigarette in her hand!! I want her to quit but everytime my family or her sister says it to her, she gets angry. What now??

schoolgirlforreal profile image

schoolgirlforreal Hub Author 4 weeks ago

Hi Lynnn,

It's really impossible to make someone quit unless you actually take their cigarettes away. I think imo, it's their freedom to smoke...as long as they're not smoking around people, especially babies and children....you can't make someone quit unless they want help.

What can you do? Maybe sneakily get her to watch a gross movie about lung cancer, saying it's just a movie on basic health, or get a poster of pics like the one above of diseased lungs? I don't know if even that will help. At this point, if she has emphesema, I'm not sure that she will not die anyways from the smoking, though I believe her life would be prolonged, (but dont take my opinion I'm not a doctor). Definitely though I believe her life would be prolonged.

maybe tell her honestly and sincerely how sad you are that she won't be around for very long and how much this would hurt you. That might work better than getting irritated at her and telling her you can't stand seeing the cigarette in her hand, know what I mean?

Best of luck!

And remember, it's become pretty common knowledge now that being around a smoker, even when they're not smoking, i.e. their clothes that smell, affects others health esp babies and chidren and people with asthma.

In fact my sister consistently get bronchitis and pnemonia from her husband smoking, becuase smoking often breaks down some people's immune systems more than others.

thanks for your comment!

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