5 Myths about quitting smoking

Like any other habit in this world, smoking also comes with its own set of myths. However, the sad part is that like all other myths, the myths around smoking aren’t that harmless. They actually affect your health adversely. As a result, it is important to dispel them for everyone’s good. At Core Cancer Foundation, we tried to find the five most common and popular myths around smoking. Our doctors also have attempted to dispel them and tell us the real facts.

Myth 1 – I have a lot of other healthy habits in general. They may compensate for my smoking.

Not true!

It’s wonderful to have healthy habits, but honesty, proper nutrition and lots of exercise doesn’t compensate for your smoking habits. The amount of toxins that go and accumulate in your body through smoking, cannot be reduced or neutralized by your healthy habits

The health risks commonly associated with smoking cannot be mitigated by healthy diet and exercising. Smoking causes risk to every single organ system in your body. It is absolutely not realistic to think that there is a perfect lifestyle that can counteract the effects of smoking. Even a truck load of vitamins and diet supplements every day would not undo the effects of tobacco according to medical experts.

Myth 2 – I have smoked for so long that the damage is done already and there’s no going back really.

Not true!

Smoking harms you and the damage is cumulative. It means the longer you smoke, the greater is your risk for life-threatening ailments. However, quitting at any age is going to be beneficial. According to doctors, even if some quits at 70, they will still benefit from quitting. The day you stop smoking, the benefits start.

Within a month, your lung capacity increases and you feel like you have more air, because you really do have more air. You start breathing easy, panting less. Ithin a year of stopping the risk for heart attacks is reduced by 50 %. Effectively, smokers who quit before an age of 35 actually prevent 90 % of health risks that are caused by smoking. Similarly a smoker who quits before 50 actually reduces the risk of their death before the age of 65, by 50 % as compared to someone who continues to smoke.

Myth 3 – Switching to ‘light’ cigarettes is less risky.

Not true again!

 Commonly observed patterns in smokers demonstrate that those who smoke the mild or light labels of cigaretters actually compensate for the lower tar and nicotine levels by inhaling more deeply or smoking a larger number of cigarettes.  As a result, the amount of killing components consumed in a lot of these cases is actually higher; thanks to a higher number of cigarettes being smoked to compensate for lower per cigarette levels. Frankly, tobacoo in itself is good enough to kill you, there’s no need for adding anything to it (in reference to ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ cigarettes).

Myth 4 – Quitting smoking will cause stress and that’s unhealthy for me!

Like really?

 If you believe that lie, you need to do some serious thinking. First things first, yes, tobacco withdrawal is stressful. But less stressful than having cancer, or emphysema or some other life threatening disease!

Secondly, there is no evidence that the withdrawal stress has long-term negative effects. In fact most smokers, who quit, actually begin exercising more, eating better,  and feel better about themselves in general. They reach a better mental space, save on the money that they take out of the family budget and spend towards smoking. On an average, a pack – a day smoking typically costs  not less than Rs. 50,000 every year!

Myth 5 – The weight gain after quitting is as unhealthy!

Not true once again!

 True, there is weight gain. However, on an average, the smokers who quit usually gain an average of 14 pounds. 7 Kgs isn’t a huge lot of weight to lose. Also, the risks attached to the extra weight are very minor as compared to the risk of continuing to smoke, doctors suggest.

In short, quitting is healthy in every situation, no matter when you start. All side effects to quitting are actually very insignificant in comparison to smoking itself. If you wish to consult one of our doctors / counselors or to support us in our anti-smoking awareness activities, do reach out to us at Core Cancer Foundation.