What is Smoking?
Smoking is the process of inhaling and exhaling smoke by sucking it through the mouth orally on the other end of a lit smoking tool. Moreover, we can refer to smoking as an action or habit. The smoking material contains fumes of burning plant materials like marijuana or tobacco.
These materials have brain-stimulating and tranquilizing psychoactive effects. Traces of smoking can be found in various old stories, books, monarchial histories, and religious contexts. After the industrial revolution, smoking also became a fancy trend or popular habit. Thus, today smoking is done by many people worldwide. Men are the highest consumer of smoking. Also, there are various forms of smoking ways and tools available today.
Medical science advancements found the ill effects of smoking. Various profit and non-profit organizations are also working on raising awareness and making the world smoke-free and more healthy. Smoking not only affects the user’s health but also the environment and people around them. Hence, quitting or avoiding smoke is the best thing you can do for a better life for yourself and others.
Types of Smokers
There is a variety of smokers we can find all over. According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), here are the general types of smokers we come across at least once in our lifetime as follows:
- Everyday smoker– Smokers who smoked around 100 cigarettes in their lifetime can come under this category. They smoke daily
- Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS)– these smokers consume smoke indirectly from the environment in a passive way
- Former smoker– In the past, they took many clouds of smoke (around 100) but they have quit smoking recently or for a long time
- Smokers who tried attempting to quit smoking
- A smoker who smokes occasionally around or less than 100 times
- The smoker who only smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime
Types of Smoking Methods
There are varieties of smoking methods that revolve around some common types of materials. Additionally, these materials have brain-stimulating and tranquilizing psychoactive effects.
Following are the type of materials that most smokers and substance addicts use:
- Tobacco
- Cannabis
- Papaver somniferum (opium poppy)
- Psychoactive drugs like anesthetics, analgesics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, anxiolytics, stimulants, and antipsychotics
- Cocaine
- DMT (N, N-Dimethyltryptamine)
- Heroin
- Meth
- Narcotics
- PCP (Phencyclidine)
Following are the smoking methods that most smokers use:
- Using rolling paper to roll loose tobacco
- Pipes
- Cigars
- Bidis
- Hookahs
- Bongs
- Cigarettes
Smoking addiction
Smoking occurs when you get dependent on those smoking materials. Substance dependence happens when you need them always and you cannot stop smoking. These materials have brain-stimulating and tranquilizing psychoactive effects. Thus, it becomes hard to quit. Substances like Nicotine that come from Tobacco produce tranquilizing or pleasing effects on your pain temporarily. The brain becomes habitual of this leading to Nicotine dependency. Moreover, more consumption of Nicotnene will lead to more relaxation in the brain. So, if you stop it in between, your brain will start to show symptoms of withdrawal. It’s not easy to quit smoking but eventually, with medical help, you can.
What are the Signs of Smoking addiction?
The signs of withdrawal can be understood pretty easily not only by smokers but also by other people around them. If you’re a heavy smoker or have been smoking for a long time and you’re quitting now then you may experience intense withdrawal symptoms. Moreover, here is the list of withdrawal signs that smokers may face as follows:
- Unable to stop or quit smoking
- Also, start to show withdrawal symptoms if you ain’t smoked for sometime
- Feel a strong urge or desire to smoke in any circumstances
- If you feel stressed, you feel the urge to smoke more
- Moreover, you’re still smoking even if it’s impacting your life seriously
- Furthermore, withdrawal symptom of smoking addict includes:
- Crazy urge or craving to smoke
- Mood swings
- Restlessness
- Fidgeting
- Unable to concentrate
- Weight gain
- Feeling hungry
- Loss of appetite
- Trouble sleeping
- Anxious
- Upset or sad
- Depression
- Lose interest in many things
Smoking cessation
This term is also known as quitting smoke or stopping smoking. Furthermore, it specifically says about stopping tobacco smoking as tobacco is widespread among smokers. Tobacco contains Nicotine which is highly addictive and the human brain tends to get dependent on this substance over a long time. Quitting smoking and not taking tobacco can be very difficult. Moreover, with the help of doctors, you can make it possible. Smoking has huge health risk factors. So, it is our responsibility to take care of ourselves and close ones who are suffering from smoking addiction and who are into quitting smoking.
Health hazards of Smoking
Moreover, smoking can lead you to various other medical conditions directly or indirectly. Furthermore here is a list of health hazards that smoking can lead you to as follows:
- Lung diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema
- Mouth cancer
- Lung cancer
- Cancer in regions of the throat, bladder, pancreas, kidney, cervix, esophagus, larynx
- Leukemia
- Heart problems
- Cardiac arrest
- Heart failure
- Diabetes
- Vision problems
- Loss of eyesight
- Cataracts
- Impotency in both men and women
- Pregnancy complications
- Cold
- Flu
- Serious gum infections
- Gum inflammation
- Lung cancer and heart diseases to non-smokers around you
- Brain stroke
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)
Benefits of Quitting Smoking
Quitting smoking is a great step to preventing others and yourself fall into serious health hazards before it turns fatal. Furthermore, here is a list of benefits that you get after quitting smoking as follows:

- Improves quality of life
- Reduces risk of dying at an early age
- Improves your overall health
- Prevents the risk of various health problems
- Improves your reproductive health
- Prevent you from high risk of heart problems
- Helps to treat COPD and coronary heart disease
- Pregnant women’s health improves
- Prevents you from various lung disease risks
- Helps the environment have cleaner air to breathe in
- Prevents passive smoking of people around smokers
How to Quit Smoking?
Quitting smoking and also other substance can ver quite hard as your body get addicted to them deeply. Thus, you need to seek professional medical help to get rid of such a problem that can lead to serious consequences. Furthermore, the following is the list of treatment methods that will help you in the process of smoking cessation:
- Nicotine Replacement Therapy
- Nasal spray or inhaler with anti-smoking properties
- Nicotine gums, lozenges, and patches
- Anti-smoking drugs or non-nicotine such as varenicline and bupropion
- Electronic cigarettes
- Avoiding triggers that lead to smoking
- Avoid going to places like parties or bars where you smoke
- Delay smoking whenever you feel the urge to smoke
- Replace your smoking cravings by chewing gums or eating hard-chewing candy or fruits
- Be realistic about your goals and dedicate yourself
- Start physical activity like yoga or gym
- Involve yourself in fun activities or hobbies
- Get into groups or communities that share experiences of quitting smoking for motivation and help you to be consistent
- Medical counseling and frequent health chankcups
- Also, you can visit your nearest rehabilitation support center for proper support and guidance
- Remind yourself of the benefits you will earn after quitting smoking
- Get a purpose for quitting smoking and stick by it till the end of the process
Conclusion
Smoking is the process of inhaling and exhaling smoke by sucking it through the mouth orally on the other end of a lit smoking tool. Moreover, there is a variety of smokers we can find all over. Furthermore, medical science advancements found the ill effects of smoking. Hence, quitting or avoiding smoke is the best thing you can do for a better life for yourself and others. Although there are various treatment methods available for quitting smoking it starts with the awareness and purpose to quit.
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