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Let's Quit!!
Fit & Healthy Business clients will know by now that smoking is one of the modifiable risk factors to disease that prevent us from attaining an optimal level of health and subsequently must be stopped immediately by all that currently smoke.
Smoking caused the deaths of 19,429 Australians in 1998-9 (Collins and Lapsley, 2002). This equals 53 preventable deaths every day. Smoking resulted in over 900,000 hospital bed days and cost over $700 million in hospital costs alone. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, most deaths resulting from tobacco smoking occurred in people aged 65 years or more. However, around one in five deaths occurred in the 35-64 years age group. The major tobacco-related diseases include cancer, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Smoking kills more men (13,000) than women (6,000). Cancer is the number one cause of tobacco-related death in men (43%) and women (32%), with lung cancer accounting for around 76 per cent of cancers for both genders. Based on current trends, lung cancer is expected to overtake breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women in the next couple of years. Data released in 2001 from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicates that 19.5 per cent of people aged 14 years and over smoke. Of particular concern is the smoking rate among Aboriginal people, which is reported to be more than double that of the wider community, at 51 per cent.
In 1995, the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer at the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria (now Cancer Council Victoria) conducted a study into the smoking behaviours of Australians.
Selected statistics include:
Men smoked on average 19.7 cigarettes per day, compared with 18.1 smoked by women.
Men smoked cigarettes with an average tar content of 8.2mg.
Women smoked cigarettes with an average tar content of 7.2mg.
Generally, people with tertiary qualifications are less likely to smoke than people with lower levels of education.
For males, 17 per cent of university graduates smoked compared to 32.8 per cent of those who had finished schooling at Years 10 or 11.
For females, 14.2 per cent of university graduates smoked compared to 27.6 per cent of those who had finished schooling at Years 10 or 11.
People with high occupational status were less likely to smoke than people with low occupational status.
For males, 18.7 per cent of those identified as upper level white collar workers smoked, compared to 40.9 per cent of lower level blue collar workers.
For women, 16.7 per cent of those identified as upper level white collar workers smoked, compared to 31.8 per cent of lower level blue collar workers.
Smoking - weight gain and quitting
About 80 per cent of smokers put on weight when they quit, with men prone to greater weight gains than women. The average gain is only 2.3kg, but fear of putting on weight is one of the reasons why some smokers, particularly women, are hesitant about quitting. Weight gain can also lead to relapses - the ex-smoker is so unhappy about the added kilos that they start smoking again in the hope of slimming down. It is possible to quit smoking and maintain your current body weight if you pay attention to diet and exercise. However, it can be difficult to quit cigarettes and manage weight at the same time, because both activities require effort and commitment. If this is the case for you, concentrate first on quitting. See your doctor or dietitian for further information and advice if weight gain is a problem.
The two main causes of weight gain include:
The effect of nicotine on the body - nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco that causes smokers to continue their habit. Although nicotine isn't thought to cause cancer, it does cause a range of changes to the body's food processing system, the metabolism. One of the reasons why smokers tend to put on weight after quitting is because their metabolism changes in response to life without nicotine.
Eating more food - many smokers find their eating habits change when they quit cigarettes. For example, some ex-smokers turn to food in an attempt to manage withdrawal cravings.
Some of the reasons you may gain weight after you quit smoking include:
More glucose is delivered to body cells - there are two main reasons for this. Firstly, nicotine triggers the release of adrenaline and other 'fight or flight' chemicals, which encourage the body to empty glucose stores into the blood. Secondly, nicotine seems to stop insulin from working effectively, so blood sugar levels are kept high. Without nicotine, more glucose (and kilojoules) is available for use.
You feel hungrier - it seems that the smoker's body sees the high blood sugar levels caused by nicotine as if they were the result of a recent meal, and decides not to trigger hunger signals. Without nicotine, blood sugar levels are lower, which means hunger signals are triggered more often.
Once you quit, your metabolism slows - nicotine boosts your metabolic rate. After quitting, your metabolism slows, so that you burn fewer kilojoules than while you were smoking. This explains why some ex-smokers put on weight even if they're not eating any more than usual.
Some ex-smokers eat more, particularly in the first few days or weeks after quitting. Some of the reasons include:
The restless, empty feeling of nicotine withdrawal can feel very similar to hunger pangs. The smoker may be 'fooled' into thinking they're hungry when they're not.
Missing the oral satisfaction of putting a cigarette into their mouths prompts some ex-smokers to substitute food for cigarettes. Instead of lighting up, they eat something.
Food can be comforting. If an ex-smoker is having a hard time during the withdrawal period, they may reward themselves with treats and snacks in an attempt to feel better.
Some smokers regularly skip meals - for example, breakfast may be a cup of coffee and a couple of cigarettes. Once you stop smoking, you may find that you don't feel like skipping meals anymore.
Many ex-smokers find that food tastes better, and this may lead to second or third helpings.