Smoking kills… there isn’t a doubt about it

An article has just been published within the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that after again shows that secondhand smoke is harmful to health. A University College London team studied 13,000 people in England and Scotland and located that folks exposed to secondhand smoke doubled their risk of dying from heart disease. Studies have shown that exposure to secondhand smoke increases the chance of cancer, worsens bronchitis and asthma, and is linked to sudden infant death syndrome.

Smoking and secondhand smoke kills people, there isn’t a doubt about it. However, you’ll be able to still walk right into a store and buy a pack of cigarettes; where is the logic on this? However, times are changing. Our local hospital will probably be smoke-free. They have done an awesome job reaching out to employees and their families and offering them smoking cessation programs. I actually have noticed that an increasing number of office buildings and restaurants have banned smoking or have limited smoking to a secure distance from other people. Even airports have turn out to be smoke-free; you not should hold your breath while walking through the terminal. Casinos have not made the complete transition to a smoking ban yet, but there continues to be hope for them.

I grew up in a house where my mother smoked and still smokes. I really like her very much, but I am unable to stand the smell of my hair, clothes and skin after a brief visit along with her. She tried to quit smoking repeatedly but still failed. I doubt she would ever do this at 73 years old. When I look into her eyes, I see all of the people I actually have cared for dying from COPD, heart disease and cancer resulting from exposure to smoke. I just hope he doesn’t turn out to be a statistic for a while yet.

Posted by Anne Dabrow Woods, MSN, RN, CRNP, ANP-BC