“I'd like to see GreenROUTES be a resource for those of us interested in exploring new ways of living sustainably.”
Senior Staff Assistant Sue Maurer
tobacco information
Baird Health & Counseling Center is striving to do everything it can to help students who want to stop smoking. We are providing individual support to students who are trying to stop using tobacco products.
FACT: smoking kills more people (more than 400,000) each year than do AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, illegal drugs and fires combined.
FACT: about 3,000 teenagers become regular smokers every day. About 1,000 of them will die from smoking-related diseases.
What Smoking Does:
- Fills your lungs with hot gasses, dust, carbon monoxide and other cancer causing substances.
- Kills very small hairs, called cilia, that line the lungs. These work like little brooms. Their job is to sweep out bacteria and keep the lungs from being infected. Each day healthy lungs produce 6-8 ounces of mucus, a sticky liquid. Mucus catches and holds the dust and germs that get into your lungs. When the hair cells are dead, the little brooms don't work. You have to cough up all that mucus. That is what causes smoker's cough.
- Makes you depend on nicotine, a habit-forming drug in all tobacco products.
- Speeds up your heart and narrows your blood vessels. The heart has to pump faster to get the blood through.
- Causes cancer and other diseases.
Second-hand Smoke
Not only do smokers hurt themselves but also those around them. The risks of second hand smoke are real. The people around you, your family, roommates and friends, are increasing their chances of developing heart disease or cancer. Children run a greater risk of developing runny noses, coughs, sore throats, and colds if they inhale other people's smoke.
Asthma is a lung disease that affects millions of people in the U.S. If asthmatics have an attack, their airways become narrower. It is harder to breathe. Their chest feels tight and they can't catch their breath. People who are exposed to smoke and who have asthma are more likely to have attacks.
Other Sources of Tobacco
The use of dip (snuff), chew, bidis, cloves, and other tobacco products is just as unhealthy. These products have a high risk of oral cancer and gum disease.
Nicotine is rapidly absorbed through the membranes of the nose and mouth and can affect all gastrointestinal organs including the esophagus, throat, larynx, stomach, as well as the bladder, kidneys, cervix and pancreas. Tobacco can cause bad breath as well as stained and loosened teeth.
Good Reasons To Quit
Quitting the use of tobacco products will increase your chances of living a longer and healthier life. The people and animals you live with will be healthier.
- You will have more energy and breathe easier.
- You will lower your risk of heart disease, stroke or cancer.
- You will save yourself some money.
- You will smell better and improve your sense of taste.
- You will recover that glow of skin, hair and good health.
Make Up Your Mind To Quit
Your chances of quitting are best when you really want to. Within twenty minutes of smoking your last cigarette your body begins a series of changes that continue for years. Quitting is hard but don't give up.
Nicotine is highly addictive. Many people try three or four times before they quit for good. Each time you try to quit, your chances of success improve.
Baird Health & Counseling Center can help you quit. Learn more about why people smoke and what they can do to stop. Because one size does not fit all, find out what kind of a smoker you are and what you need to help you quit. Make an appointment by calling BHCC at 526-3621 now. You CAN quit smoking.
