Stay Smoke-Free And Live Without Lung Cancer




your lungs

If you are a smoker, consider quitting. If your friends or family members smoke, encourage them to quit. If you are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, change your surroundings. Do not take it lightly - cigarettes cause lung cancer and smoking kills.

Statistics show that lung cancer is responsible for more deaths than breast and prostate cancers combined. Worldwide, lung cancer kills more people than any other type of a malignant tumour. In fact, the rates of lung cancer have been steadily growing since the beginning of the 20th century, when cigarette smoking became a widely spread addiction.

Tobacco smoke can cause lung cancer in two different ways. First, regular inhaling of smoke inhibits the natural cleansing mechanism that protects the lungs, bronchi, and air passages from various contaminants. In a non-smoker, cilia, or tiny hairs located inside the respiratory tract, sweep away dust, microbes, and foreign substances. In a smoker, this little protective projections flatten and virtually disappear, which leads to the accumulation of foreign particles inside the airways and lungs.

Second, the toxic waste which has not been removed from the respiratory tract triggers cellular mutations that eventually can turn into malignant tumours.

Lung cancer does not strike smokers right away, but develops over time. In fact, it is predominantly a disease of elderly smokers. Most cases of lung cancer occur in people aged 65 and older. Even non-smokers, who have been chronically exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke, double their risk of contracting lung cancer in comparison with people who have not been exposed to passive smoking. It is estimated that, in Canada, almost 350 non-smokers die annually from lung cancer caused by inhaling environmental tobacco smoke.

Other causes are involved in the development of lung cancer, as well. Among them is exposure to toxic substances, such as nickel dust, asbestos, silica, smog, vehicle exhaust, coal tar, and naturally-emitted radon gas. Additional risk factors are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a family history of lung cancer. However, since smoking accounts at almost 90 percent of lung cancer cases, it makes a perfect sense to butt out in order to protect your own health and that of people around you!

Tips to reduce lung cancer risks:

- Do not smoke. If you are a smoker, quit! Do everything it takes in order to successfully kick the habit: try nicotine patches, gather the support of your social circle, restrict your contacts with smokers, or get the help of a wholistic practitioner.

- Exercise, hypnosis, massage, and acupuncture can be very helpful when stopping smoking, as is changing your everyday habits and rituals associated with cigarettes.

- Lower your exposure to harmful chemicals and dust. Wear a mask if you have to work with any carcinogenic compounds.

- Test your home and workplace for the levels of radon gas.

- Include anti-carcinogenic phyto-nutrients and antioxidants into your daily menu. These can be obtained from green tea, fruits, and vegetables.

- Supplement your diet with natural vitamin D (cod liver oil is the best source), especially if you live in a Northern climate. According to studies conducted by the Harvard School of Medicine, vitamin D has a strong protective effect against lung cancer.

- Eat plenty of red grapes. They contain amino-acid n-acetylcysteine that helps detoxify the respiratory tract and protect lungs cells from mutations.

Darlene Marlow

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Posted on April 4, 2008 
Filed Under Facts on Smoking, Smoking and Health, Stop Smoking

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