Stop Smoking Beginning to end | Mind Matters

The full story

The first cigarette

When that first cigarette is remembered I have yet to meet anyone who can truely state that the experience was nice.

Dizziness, nausea, coughing and spluttering and a foul taste, are what most admit to experiencing, but, being seen as one of the gang is the focus here.  Decide to stop smoking now.

The survival instinct

When the subconsicous mind recognises the intake of over 4000 poisons, it strives to carry out its prime function, that of survival.

Dizzyness and nausea is a clear message as the subconscious deploys its defences against the poison that has been introduced into the body. ‘Stop now. You are poisoning yourself,’ it shouts as it promotes the vomit and cough response in its efforts to expel the substance which it recognises as dangerous.

Dizziness and disorientation are experienced as the brain is suddenly deprived of its oxygen supply. The delicate taste buds in the mouth react violently in protest at the foul mixture which leaves that unpleasant taste which lingers long after the event.

The heartbeat quickens adding to the anxiety that is part of that warning system that alerts us to imminent danger.  Take that first step to stopping smoking.

A miracle of engineering

The human body is a wonderful miracle of engineering. Each and every part of its function is controlled and regulated by the sub conscious without any conscious consideration at all.

Our heart pumps oxygenated blood around our body. The liver, kidneys, the brain, every cell, each molecule is monitored and regulated precisely and without pause. The chemical balance of the organism is precise and specific and it is part of the function of the sub conscious to ensure that the correct chemical constitution is maintained.

When that first cigarette smoke is introduced the chemical balance is placed in jeopardy, and so those defence mechanisms are activated to protect the integrity of that delicate balance, but the young person is so determined to be one of the gang that he continues the assault on his own defences so that the sub conscious programming becomes corrupted and begins to accept the new chemicals being introduced as necessary for its survival.

The sub conscious has become fooled into a belief that it must ensure that the nicotine supply is maintained and a new part of a person's survival programming is created, its sole purpose to do everything necessary to ensure that supply. To keep the smoker smoking.

It helps me to relax

Nicotine is recognized as a vasoconstrictor, it causes the arteries to contract. The heart has to work harder to pump the blood around the body. If someone smokes 20 cigarettes a day, then his heart will beat an extra 10,000 beats in that 24 hours.

The effects of smoking are devastating for your heart. Nicotine causes raised blood pressure and an increased risk of blood clots. Carbon monoxide reduces the bloods ability to absorb vital oxygen and is directly responsible for the development of cholesterol deposits on the artery walls.

The effect overall is an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Most smokers claim that a cigarette helps them to relax. If the heart is working so much harder because of the effects of nicotine, then that claim becomes difficult to sustain, but what is worse is that, when cigarette smoke is introduced into the body, the organism reacts to being poisoned in the same way as it would if subjected to a horrifying experience.

The automatic defence system becomes activated and the whole body goes into what is known as fight or flight mode. This automatic response to danger is present in all creatures. It ensures that we are instantly prepared to use maximum strength and effort to either run from perceived danger or to stop and fight. Our heart beats faster, and respiration increases to pump richly oxygenated blood to the major muscles and to the brain.  Decide to stop smoking now.

Adrenalin and noradrenalin course through our system, and lactic acid is produced to maximise muscle power. The brain needs additional oxygen to heighten its ability to rationalise the situation and to react in the manner which best serves the need to survive the crisis.

The story of the eight stone woman who lifted the car off her small child is one that springs to mind. Resources are diverted away from other areas that are less important. Systems which are not required are shut down in order to allow power to be available where it is most required.

The digestive system is hardly necessary when you're preparing to do battle or run from danger within the next few seconds so it shuts down, and the ability to digest food and absorb the nutrients from it are dispensed with. Similarly blood supply to the extremities is reduced, and the immune system which will not be required to fight disease at this time, also shuts down. Make the call and stop smoking ASAP.

Now...What was that about 'it helps me to relax'?

The digestive system

If we continue to smoke, the body is under constant assault and the perception of danger is constant and unrelenting.  The fight or flight state is still at a heightened state of readiness with all of those power diversions in operation, heart rate increased, respiration increased, adrenaline, noradrenalin and lactic acid production at full flow, digestive and immune systems suppressed. 

But, if we continue to smoke, the enzymes produced are not used in their intended fashion but remain in the tissues as toxins.  Now, we have a problem.  If the smoker cannot digest his food and absorb the nutrients from it efficiently because the digestive system has been suppressed, it is small wonder that smokers are so susceptible to health problems and suffer particularly from so many digestive upsets ranging from constipation to ulcers and cancers.

Cancer - the bogeyman of smoking

The main strategy of many smokers to diminish the possible threats to their health is disassociating themselves from it. 'Cancer will not happen to me. It happens to other people.' Even though we know that this is completely divorced from the truth, this perception serves to ensure that the smoking habit continues, as the 'smoker' part of the sub conscious feeds this and other complete fallacies to the conscious mind to ensure the continued 'beneficial' supply of nicotine.

Cancer is a condition which is latent in everyone. It does not manifest itself in all of us, and indeed the majority live through life without this problem. It begins when the cell reproduction function which is controlled by the sub conscious becomes corrupted and runs out of control.

It is the immune system which protects us from this dreaded condition. A smoker's immune system is suppressed because of the permanent invocation of the fight or flight response, and this must surely be a major factor as to why smokers are much more susceptible to cancers than non-smokers.

The belief that smoking is responsible just for cancer of the lungs has to be discounted. Smokers are at risk from cancer of the mouth, the tongue, the larynx, the kidneys, the liver, the prostate, the bladder, the testicles, the cervix, the womb and ovaries, the stomach and colon, skin cancer, cancer of the oesophagus and cancer of the pancreas. In fact the incidence of any form of cancer that you can think of it will be greatly increased.  Decide now to stop smoking.

The lungs

When we smoke, we inhale, drawing the gases produced by the burning tobacco into our lungs, gases full of chemicals and poisons. The airways that conduct the inhaled air into the lungs are covered with fine hair like projections called cilia. It is the function of the cilia to provide a defence against the ingress into the lungs of particles of dust and foreign matter.

An offending object will brush against the cilia, which are then activated to propel the foreign matter upwards again towards the mouth. The lungs and airways go into spasm as the delicate tissues of the linings are irritated and force air out in a violent explosion that is a cough.

This reaction is designed to expel the foreign matter and prevent its passage down into the delicate inner chambers of the lungs where the vital interchange of gases is implemented. Oxygen is absorbed into the blood and carbon dioxide extracted and then expelled with exhalation.

Sticky tar in the cigarette smoke coats the tiny cilia causing them to become brittle, to lie flat against the walls of the airways, or to break off.  They are thus unable to carry out their function so that the foreign particles are able to pass into the lungs where they accumulate.

There is no way out. As the detrius accumulates the capacity of the lungs is reduced, and with that the ability to oxygenate the blood is also diminished. The mucus lining of the lungs that facilitates the chemical interactions necessary for the absorption of oxygen and the extraction of carbon-dioxide becomes corrupted and its chemical composition changed.

Its function impaired, the lungs produce more mucus in an attempt to correct the situation and so the lungs fill up with fluid. Here are the beginnings of chest diseases, the breathlessness and the horror of emphysema. As the lining of the bronchi are inflamed so begins the dreaded smoker's cough and because the bronchi are weakened so the smoker becomes more susceptible to recurring bronchial infections.

Smokers are 10 times more likely to contract lung cancer and emphysema than non-smokers. The necessity of a good oxygen supply now requires the lungs with their reduced capacity to work harder to draw in enough air. This is the explanation for the gasping wheeze that is associated with long-term smoking.  Stop smoking now and forever.

The kidneys and the liver

The kidneys and liver have the function of filtering out the waste matter in the body and excreting them. Due to the massive increase in poisons and toxins introduced through tobacco smoke, these organs need to work at a greatly increase rate in their attempt to clean the blood of the huge amounts of impurities.

The carcinogenic materials that are present in cigarettes pass of course through both these organs, increasing the likelihood that cancer will strike here. Kidney and liver failure is an increased risk that comes with smoking. Quit smoking for good.

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