Hypnotherapy For Smoking Cessation

Five Little Known Reasons to Stop Smoking Other Devastating Effects of Smoking Cigarettes and Tobacco

Jan 6, 2010 Catherine Chadwick

The link between smoking tobacco and lung cancer was first identified in the 1950s by Sir Richard Doll. Since then, the World Health Organization has said that smoking accounts for more death and disability worldwide than any disease. Many smokers may inure themselves to the well-publicized effects of smoking and yet be unaware of the other damage smoking can cause.

Smoking May Affect The Brain

According to a BBC report in 2002, scientists at the National Institute for Health and Research found that smoking interferes with the production of new brain cells and a reduction in the protein PSA-NCAM. This protein is related to the ability to learn and memorize.

A further study by French scientists on British civil servants between the ages of 35 and 55 found that in a range of tests of cognition, those who smoked ranked in the lowest 20%. However, the research also found that those who had stopped smoking fared better than current smokers.

Smoking May Affect Eyesight

According to a study by researchers at the University of Manchester reported in the British Medical Journal, smoking may increase susceptibility to blindness in smokers fourfold. The study goes on to report that the main cause of blindness in the UK is age-related macular degeneration to which smokers become more susceptible.

According to the Royal National Institute for the Blind, smoking is also implicated in the development of cataracts.

Smoking May Make Bones More Brittle

Bones are living tissue and are constantly being broken down and built up. This process gives them their strength. Smoking is known to interfere with the healthy building up of new tissue. The condition where bones are prone to breakage is known as osteoporosis.

In a study reported in the American Journal of Public Health, bone density in the hip joint was tested in both smokers and non-smokers. Smokers demonstrated reduced bone density at this site compared with non-smokers. In the same study, stopping smoking was shown to halt bone demineralisation.

Smoking May Reduce Fertility

According to a study by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, women who smoke are more likely to experience infertility and take longer to conceive. Smoking can harm a woman’s ovaries and lead to a greater likelihood of genetic abnormality. They may also be more at risk of miscarriage.

It appears that men who smoke may have lowered sperm count and reduced sperm motility. The study states that it is more difficult to ascertain the extent of the effects of smoking on male infertility but encourages men to stop smoking just the same.

Smoking May Advance Menopause

According to the same study, because smoking can lead to the loss of eggs, a woman who smokes may experience menopause a few years earlier than her non-smoking counterpart.

In addition, a study reported in the British Medical Journal found that women who smoked after menopause suffered greater bone loss that those who did not smoke. According to the study, one in eight hip fractures are attributable directly to smoking. It also concluded that this occurrence was not attributable to loss of oestrogen at menopause and that smoking may therefore directly affect the bones.

Smoking and Disability

No smoker wants to be preached to about the effects of smoking on their health. It is clear, however, that apart from the life-threatening conditions smoking can cause, smoking can seriously affect quality of life in perhaps unexpected ways.

References and Further Reading:

BBC. “Smoking Kills Brain Cells.” 13 May 2002.

Archives of Internal Medicine. “Smoking History and Cognitive Function in Middle Age From the Whitehall Study.” S. Sabia et al. 2008

BBC. “Smoking Could Ruin Your Eyesight.” 5 March 2004.

American Journal of Public Health. “Cigarette Smoking and Bone Mineral Density.” K.A. Hollenbach et al. 1993.

British Medical Journal. “A Meta-analysis of Cigarette Smoking, Bone Mineral Density and Risk of Hip Fracture: Recognition of a Major Effect” M.R. Law, A.K. Hackshaw. 4 October 1997.

American Society for Reproductive Medicine. “What Am I Doing That Can Cause Infertility?”

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