It’s quite a well-known fact that the habit of smoking has a profoundly damaging impact on the smoker’s health when indulged in over an extended time.
With all the common wisdom we’ve grown up hearing coupled with regular the advertisements on TV and at movie halls, the fact that smoking induces cancer and causes breathing troubles is something crystal clear and fresh in everyone’s mind.
However, one reality that many of us might not even know or easily miss out is the fact that smoking also makes it more likely for one to be prey to serious cardiovascular diseases. As a fact, creating awareness about this striking reality is the guiding theme of the World No Tobacco Day on May 31 this year.
If you look through the staggering numbers, they indicate that roughly 1 out of 5 deaths that occur due to heart disease are directly linked to smoking. Smokers are medically known to be two to four times more likely to suffer from heart disease. This risk is even higher for pregnant women who smoke.
Let’s understand how and why this happens.
How does smoking impact the heart?
Smoking as an activity itself is highly addictive, mainly due to the presence of the nicotine drug in the making of a cigarette. As a natural element, nicotine is an inherent component of the tobacco plant, which is used to manufacture cigarettes.
Tobacco companies are known to exploit the addiction inducing properties of nicotine and design their cigarettes in a way that they have enough nicotine to create and sustain its addictive tendencies for smokers. This nicotine when regularly consumed in the act of smoking has a seriously damaging impact on one’s heart. It has the following effects:
- It reduces the amount of oxygen supplied to the heart
- It spikes up one’s blood pressure
- It’s known to speed up one’s heart rate significantly
- It also makes blood clots likely. These clots increase the probability of one suffering from heart attacks or heart strokes. In fact for someone who smokes a cigarette daily, the risk for stroke is as high as 41 percent.
- Nicotine also internally harms blood vessels, including those inside one’s heart.
As a fact, smoking also raises risks of heart disease for others around.
Passive smoking also causes heart diseases
If you’re an addicted chain smoker, the chances are that you find it hard to give up.
However, one reality you must acquaint yourself with is that your smoking also impacts the health of your near and dear ones extensively.
Second-hand smoke inhaled by any smoker is known to irritate any inhaler’s airways with a damaging impact on their heart and blood vessels.
It might surprise you to learn that inhaling smoke regularly raises the risk of heart disease by 25-30 percent, as testified by the National Cancer Institute.
Whether you smoke or have someone around you smoking, the act, unfortunately, has a damaging cardiovascular impact for the entire family alike. Hence, it’s a must to take the right measures to quit the habit and live a healthy life.
Getting rid of the addiction is not something one can achieve overnight, but the goal is worth the effort.
Use health insurance
It’s a wise idea to at least insulate against yourself and the family with the risks of adverse health consequences.
It’s understandable if your daily time-pressed lifestyle might not allow you with enough room to exercise or engage in health focus activities. However, in case of suffering through any disease especially of the heart, or cancer its implications on the body, mind and even loss of income due to missing work can have damaging consequences.
A good way to do so is by choosing a good health plan that covers critical ailments including the most dangerous and life-altering ones such as heart and cancer-related issues.
The best health plans take care of treatment costs, expenses with second opinions, and even the loss of income due to being away from work.
It’s quite simple these days to buy a health plan online at the comfort of your home in a matter of minutes. So why not take that leap forward, towards a healthier and more secure future for your family this World Tobacco Day.
Choose health from tobacco.
