Addiction Solution Source

Peer pressure, including the media, is one of the main reasons many people smoke.

Before World War I, tobacco was smoked mainly in the form of cigars and primarily by the wealthy. Cigarettes, which were basically leftovers of the cigar making process, were used by the less fortunate.

The number of people who smoked cigarettes boomed when tobacco companies started to mass-produce them. Their clientele: soldiers of World War I. This marketing broadened of course after the war.

In my research, I discovered ads from JAMA – The Journal of the American Medical Association that promoted various brands. One ad pictured a military doctor promoting Camels. Wow! Not only are you being patriotic by using them but a doctor is promoting the brand. I am sure this ad influenced many to smoke, especially military men and women. If your peer was a soldier next to you that was smoking, don’t you think that would have a powerful influence on you?

Another JAMA ad I discovered was telling you how much more “pleasure” you will get with the Chesterfield brand. An ad will state anything favorable to entice you to take it up.

It is my understanding that the AMA did not take a position against smoking until the 1980s even though there was plenty of evidence that it was dangerous to your health and could cause cancer among other diseases. Do you think money influenced this attitude?

Smoking has been very prevalent in the movies and especially in the 1950s and 1960s, on television. Even the actors were advertising various brands in commercials during a TV show. They made it seem classy and romantic.

Some of you may recall the “Marlboro Man” (rugged-looking cowboy). There were actually several men who modeled for print and TV ads. At least two of them have died of lung cancer from smoking.

Older smokers are motivated to quit smoking by very different factors than are younger smokers.

Smoking a joint is equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of lung cancer risk, and scientists have warned of an “epidemic” of lung cancers linked to cannabis (marijuana).

In an article published in the European Respiratory Journal, the scientists said cannabis could be expected to harm the airways more than tobacco as its smoke contained twice the level of carcinogens, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, compared with tobacco cigarettes.

The method of smoking also increases the risk, since joints are typically smoked without a proper filter and almost to the very tip, which increases the amount of smoke inhaled. The cannabis smoker inhales more deeply and for longer, facilitating the deposition of carcinogens in the airways.

Marijuana addiction is becoming a real problem.

More information on this research:

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new report that states 80% of the more than eight million annual tobacco-related deaths projected by 2030 are expected to occur in the developing world.

This results from a global tobacco industry strategy to target young people and adults in the developing world, ensuring that millions of people become fatally addicted every year. The targeting of young women in particular is highlighted as one of the “most ominous potential developments of the epidemics growth”.

While efforts to combat tobacco are gaining momentum, virtually every country needs to do more. The six MPOWER strategies are within the reach of every country, rich or poor and, when combined as a package, they offer us the best chance of reversing this growing epidemic, said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. Dr Chan launched the WHO Report of the Global Tobacco Epidemic at a news conference with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Philanthropies helped fund the report.

The six MPOWER strategies to better protect the population are:

Prenatal and adolescent exposure to nicotine has harmful effects on auditory and visual attention in adolescents.

When tobacco is smoked, nicotine is absorbed by the lungs and quickly moves into the bloodstream and then reaches the brain within 8 seconds! Nicotine also acts directly on the heart to change heart rate and blood pressure and also on the nerves that control respiration to change breathing patterns.

This site is focused on the most current alternative and natural health treatments for alcohol addiction, smoking, sugar addiction and drugs, both prescription drugs and street drugs. Frequently these addictions are inter-related and people have more than one substance that they are addicted to.

Research shows that conventional counseling and 12 Step programs have low success rates for the long term. What we support is a holistic health approach. “Holistic” means that the addiction treatment program is designed to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms of substance abuse. By treating the entire person – body, mind, and spirit, you have the best chance of success. read more

Nicotine is an addictive stimulant found in cigarettes and other forms of tobacco. Tobacco smoke increases a user’s risk of cancer, emphysema, bronchial disorders, and cardiovascular disease. The mortality rate associated with tobacco addiction is staggering. Tobacco use killed approximately 100 million people during the 20th century and, if current smoking trends continue, the cumulative death toll for this century has been projected to reach 1 billion.

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit substance. This drug impairs short-term memory and learning, the ability to focus attention, and coordination. Marijuana also increases heart rate, can harm the lungs, and can cause psychosis in those at risk.

Alcohol consumption can damage the brain and most body organs. Areas of the brain that are especially vulnerable to alcohol-related damage are the cerebral cortex (largely responsible for our higher brain functions, including problem solving and decision making), the hippocampus (important for memory and learning), and the cerebellum (important for movement coordination).

An addict usually has poor nutrition and that is why we consider a great nutrition plan a vital part of quitting smoking.