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We can dance, dance, dance all night.
Well, maybe not all night, but we need our bodies' own aerobic tools to be clear and as healthy as possible for dancing, running and other activities. We want to
rock, and we don’t mean in a rocking chair. |
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Tobacco would drag us down…
- It would make us more susceptible to ordinary illnesses and more likely to develop some really devastating diseases.
- It would slow down our ability to heal when we’ve been sick, injured or had surgery.
Let’s start with an important acknowledgement...
We all agree that breast cancer is a very important issue for all women today. What some may not know, though, is that
more women die from lung cancer than from breast cancer.
Years ago, lung cancer was generally considered to be a “man’s disease” because women seldom developed it. However, a couple of decades after the tobacco industry started targeting women and girls with clever and effective marketing ploys more and more women were diagnosed with this often fatal disease. The rate of lung cancer among women increased steadily. The graph below illustrates the mortality rates for breast cancer deaths and lung cancer deaths among women. Notice the sharp rise for lung cancer, crossing over the breast cancer line in 1988.
We do not wish to detract from concerns about breast cancer. It’s serious and scary, especially because we don’t know a sure way to protect ourselves. (Though there are some actions that may help.)
But lung cancer is a different story – Most cases are preventable! We want women who smoke to know that the most important step they can take to improve their own health now and in the future is to stop smoking. More help is available now than ever before. It’s also important that women protect themselves from secondhand smoke because exposure can cause lung cancer and other diseases even in people who never smoked.
Not the distant future, the problem is now
In the past it seemed that the serious tobacco-related diseases wouldn’t strike until people reached middle aged or older. Teenagers and young adults are usually not concerned about consequences that seem so far away in time (Isn’t it funny how the older a person gets the younger 50 seems?). Those that experiment with smoking don’t plan to become addicted and then, when they realize that they might be addicted, they usually plan to stop before they think they could develop any diseases. Now, though, it has been found that toxins in tobacco can cause life-altering effects that occur in young people. Not “just” more frequent and more serious colds, bronchitis, asthma attacks… There can be permanent effects, possibly including impaired lung development, dental caries and circulatory problems.
Lung cancer and other diseases caused by tobacco are becoming more common among younger women. So-called “light” cigarettes may be a contributing factor. The public is sheltered from hearing appropriately about these unnecessary deaths because most of the victims are reluctant to speak out and many don’t survive very long after diagnosis. Some exceptional people have been willing to share their stories, in hopes of helping others to be tobacco-free.
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Jean Bush was 35 years old when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She became active in informing people about the consequences of using tobacco, volunteering her time to speak at schools and community events. She also started a successful support group for lung cancer patients. Jean especially wanted girls to know that lung cancer can strike people while they are still young. She lost her valiant fight against the disease at age 37. Video clip from: “Eye on Health,” WKBW-TV, May 1998
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Here’s a different perspective on middle age
Rick Stoddard, whose wife Marie died at age 46 – just 5 ½ months after she was diagnosed with lung cancer – points out that for Marie, “middle age” was 23. That’s something for any young woman to think about before lighting a cigarette – Are you already “middle aged?” Jean Bush was “middle aged” at 18, though she didn’t know it. Have you lived half of your life already?
There are many other cancers that are caused by or linked with tobacco, such as cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, bladder, liver, kidney, pancreas and cervix. Toxic chemicals from tobacco including carbon monoxide, arsenic and polonium-210 are carried to every part of the body, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that tobacco harms almost every part of the body. The experiences and outcomes related to each cancer are different.
When cancer is found in someone’s throat, surgery may be necessary to remove all or part of the voice box (larynx). The patient then breathes thru a hole, called a stoma, in her neck for the rest of her life. She has to learn a new way to talk, either with an electronic device held against her throat or by esophageal speech, in which she would swallow air and “talk” by belching the air back. There are other permanent effects, too. Janet Sackman, the former Lucky Strike girl, started smoking because a tobacco company executive told her it would be good for her modeling career – that she would look more authentic holding a cigarette in the photos. Some years later Janet had to have her larynx and then part of a lung removed. Now Janet shares her personal story in public to urge others to be tobacco-free and also volunteers her time teaching esophageal speech at the Anamilo Speech Club. Many local American Cancer Society offices sponsor self-help support groups called New Voice Clubs for laryngectomees.
Wait, there’s more…
As if all the cancers aren’t enough reasons to be tobacco-free, there are many additional diseases that are caused by tobacco, most importantly cardiovascular diseases and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Almost twice as many U.S. women die of heart disease and stroke than all cancers combined. Smoking is a major cause of these cardiovascular diseases.
Two critical messages:
- Using both birth control pills and cigarettes places a woman at even greater risk for heart attack and stroke. Most doctors will not prescribe contraceptive pills for women aged 35 or older who smoke.
- Before and during a heart attack, women often experience symptoms that are quite different from the “typical” chest pain that is described in first aid training courses. Failing to recognize the situation can delay the start of appropriate treatment and result in a negative outcome.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) is the fourth leading cause of death in America. The primary risk factor for COPD is smoking.
Try this:
- Take a fairly deep breath and hold it a few seconds.
- Without letting any air out, inhale more air.
The feeling of trying to draw in that second breath is the way someone with COPD feels while trying to breathe, 24/7. For further understanding of living with this disease, read the “Pacing” section on the “American Lung Association’s Around the Clock with COPD” web page.
COPD is another a disease that usually strikes after decades of smoking, but that is not always the case. Read Pam Laffin’s story of becoming stricken as a young woman.
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with this disease, COPD International may provide needed support.
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We haven’t even mentioned:
- Lower bone density and correspondingly increased incidence of hip fracture
- Increased cataracts and macular degeneration
- Fertility! Tobacco interferes with hormone levels, both those our bodies produce naturally and also birth control pills. So whether you want to get pregnant or prevent pregnancy, smoking can crush your wishes.
For more information about diseases related to tobacco use, see the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Fact sheet, “Health
Consequences of Tobacco Use Among Women.”
Never too late!
When someone stops smoking, her risks of developing tobacco-related diseases begins to decrease within 20 minutes and, over time, the risks for almost all of those diseases will become the same as for people who never used tobacco.
So it’s never “too late” to stop smoking, but the sooner a person stops, the better it is for her.
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