Barack Smokes: Why he Shouldn't

Suckin' on them death sticks

My wife just came home with a borrowed copy of "A bound man" about Barack Obama. I surveyed it, and disagree with the author, who is blind to the fact that there really are colorblind people. Does he know something about Barack's sexual proclivities, lol? Anyway, Obama girl (and Michelle) may think he's smokin' hot, but apparently he really is. I don't know what brand he smokes, but the story came out he smokes generally between 5-10 cigarettes a day (and wants to quit, and chews Nicorrette). Hillary, on the other hand, banned smoking from the White House, apart from her husband's infamous cigars... This almost makes me want to switch side (because I am never voting Hillary. I just don't like her) to vote for Nader or even McCain. I detest smoking. What about the President's Council on Fitness? What about setting an example for America (and the "free world"?).

You know, smoking's not all bad. The effect of nicotine in first time or irregular users is an increase in alertness and memory, and mild euphoria. Nicotine also disturbs metabolism and suppresses appetite. This is because nicotine, like many stimulants, increases blood sugar levels. People smoke for pleasure, for ritualistic or social purposes, or for self-medication, as well as to satisfy a physiological dependence on nicotine. And it helps schizophrenics: Considering the high rates of physical sickness and deaths among persons suffering from schizophrenia, one of smoking's short term benefits is its temporary effect to improve alertness and cognitive functioning in that disease.

I don't smoke, and I have two smokers in my house, and I already know one person who died from smoking. I'm trying to get them to quit, to no effect. I'm not a very capable psychologist, apparently, manipulating those bells and whistles, I guess. My wife even tells me I should smoke. But I hate it when I am forced to share a car with a driver who insists on smoking. Rotten selfish insensitive rude bastard. I think that should be made illegal (if the passenger disapproves). It's my lungs, too, dammit. Just pull over, you're not in that big of a hurry.

Maybe if Barack had Americans quit with him, that would be cool. I still really like the dude. Nader's an irate, fix every detail kind of guy (which isn't so bad) and McCain, I would say, is kind of a fuddy duddy (which isn't necessarily bad either). I'm already pro-life. But I think Americans need to get up from their couches and help solve their own problems, and not rely on The President to solve all of them for us. We need a movement. There are just too many damn problems, and the world is now totally interconnected in a global marketplace (as if it ever wasn't), and needs as many effective leaders as possible.

I can even be a little flexible on the abortion issue, owing to the supposed overpopulation problem. Maybe we need Al Gore to move on to population issues, because it really is a problem. In other words, a movie needs to be made or something. Anyway, I want to talk about the dangers of smoking.

'Don't smoke or use tobacco' is the number one rule for what you can do to stay healthy. Using tobacco is one of the most dangerous things you can do, it says. One out of every six deaths in the U.S. can be blamed on smoking. More preventable illnesses are caused by tobacco than anything else. A poster in my doctor's office described 9 main diseases you can get from smoking: Bronchitis, Emphysema, Cancer of the mouth, throat, lung, or bladder, Cardiovascular (heart) disease, Gastric ulcer, and Stroke. There's two more: Smoking also causes impotence, and low birth weight of infants born by smoking mothers. I don't know how these rank among smokers who fall ill.

Cardiovascular disease is a broad category. Heart disease causes 30% of all deaths. I don't know what percentage of those are smoking-related. There are 20 specific cardiovascular diseases you can get: Aneurysms, Angina, Arrhythmia, Atherosclerosis, Cardiomyopathy, Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke), Cerebrovascular Disease, Congenital Heart Disease, Congestive Heart Failure, Myocarditis, Valve Disease, Coronary Artery Disease, Dilated cardiomyopathy, Diastolic Dysfunction, Endocarditis, High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Mitral valve prolapse, Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack), and Venous Thromboembolism. That SHOULD put the fear of God into Barack. Then again, I've heard nicotine can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine, for some people. We've all seen Trainspotting. Admittedly, all these CVD's aren't caused by smoking, like congenital.

CVD (cardiovascular disease) usually refers to atherosclerosis (arterial disease, or hardened arteries due to plaque), which can be prevented by modifying risk factors, such as healthy eating, exercise and avoidance of smoking. Health is a total lifestyle. Endorphins feel good! I like swimming.

Cancer is a broad category, too. Actually, smoking causes more than just four types of cancer. The many forms are particularly lung cancer, and also cancer of the kidney, cancer of the larynx and head and neck, breast cancer, bladder, esophagus, pancreas, and stomach. Head and mouth are the broader terms for cancers like those around the lips and cheeks. I don't really know the difference between esophagus and larynx: they're both in the throat. I don't know where the pancreas and kidney are, or what they do, but I know they're important.

The incomplete combustion produced by burning plant material, like tobacco or cannabis, produces carbon monoxide, which impairs the ability of blood to carry oxygen when inhaled into the lungs. Thus, smoking creates decreased exercise tolerance. Your endurance goes down, you get out of shape.

Cigarrettes contains over 4000 chemical compounds. Another site says there are around 3k chemicals found in tobacco smoke. By being burned, there may be even more chemicals, I would think. There is a list of 599 additives on Wikipedia that were approved as additives to food, but not tested by burning. So the effects of these additives in smoke form is largely unstudied (at least by the FDA). And I'm sure there must be interaction effects.

Interestingly, the 599 additives included by the 5 American tobacco companies participating in the survey(Phillip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Brown and Williamson, Leggitt, and American) include cocoa, coffee, tea leaf, wine, rum, sugars, orange oil, carrot oil, grape juice concentrate, fig juice, apple juice, cinnamon, maple syrup, molasses extract, raisin juice extract, and cinnamon. But don't be fooled. It also includes things like urea and skatole, found in piss and shit, and the ironic sounding immortelle.

There are 33 carcinogens (cancer-causers) listed under "smoke constituents," including the more easily remembered Arsenic, Benzene, Cadmium, Formaldehyde, and o-Toluidine. Speaking of car sin, eh? Cigarrettes contain 4000 chemicals, 47 of which are carcinogenic, according to this amazing website that lists everything. http://quitclinic.tripod.com/quit1/id31.html

A cursory look at the chemicals in cigarrettes/cigarrette smoke reveals a bevy of poisons. The extremely poisonous carbon monoxide (car exhaust) is the main one. People kill themselves in garages using car exhaust. There is no safe level of CO below which adverse effects do not occur. It is unsafe at any level. Hydrogen cyanide (nazi gas chamber chemical) and Arsenic are poisons, too. You may have heard of them. Nicotine is an insecticide. As is DDT/Dieldrin, found in cigarrettes "as well". Acetone (finger polish remover) and toluene (an industrial solvent) are in them. There's Ammonia (toilet cleaner) and Methane (sewer gas). Cadmium is used in batteries.

Insecticide: Speaking of insecticides, there are instructions online on how to blend tobacco or tobacco waste with water to produce a garden plant spray to protect from bugs. Don't spray it on roses, though, unless you want them to turn black, it says.

SHS: Even if you don't smoke, you could die from tobacco use. SHS (secondhand smoke), i.e. drifting tobacco smoke, already kills more people that motor vehicle accidents, all crimes, AIDS, illegal drugs, combined. In other words, you are statistically more likely to die from cigarette smoke than from crashing, criminals, overdoses, or AIDS.

Tar: The lungs of smokers, puffing a daily ration of 20 to 60 low to high tar cigarettes, collect an annual deposit of one-quarter to one and one-half pounds of the gooey black material, amounting to a total of 15 to 90 million pounds of carcinogen-packed tar for the aggregate of current American smokers.

Here is a plethora of Wikipedia facts and figures:

Smoking is practiced by some 1.1 billion people, and up to 1/3 of the adult population. Until the mid-20th century, the majority of the adult population in many Western nations were smokers and the claims of anti-smoking activists were met with much skepticism, if not outright contempt. Today the nonsmoking movement has considerably more weight and evidence to support its claims. In the U.S. some 500,000 deaths per year are attributed to smoking-related diseases and a recent study estimated that as much as 1/3 of China's male population will have shortened life-spans due to smoking. In developed countries, 26% of male deaths and 9% of female deaths were attributable to smoking. Regular smokers are estimated to live to 2.5 to 10 years less than nonsmokers. About one-half of male smokers will die of illness due to smoking. Tobacco is set to kill a billion people this century. Tobacco related illnesses kill approximately 438,000 USA citizens per year, about 1,205 per day, making it the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Come on, Barack.

COPD: Bronchitis and Emphysema are categorized under the umbrella term COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Pulmonary means airway. The main symptoms of COPD include dyspnea (shortness of breath) lasting for months or perhaps years, possibly accompanied by wheezing, and a persistent cough with sputum production. It is possible the sputum may contain blood (hemoptysis) and become thicker, usually due to damage of the blood vessels of the airways. Severe COPD could lead to cyanosis (bluish decolorization usually in the lips and fingers) caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood. In extreme cases it could lead to cor pulmonale due to the extra work required by the heart to get blood to flow through the lung. Cor pulmonale is a medical term used to describe a change in structure and function of the right ventricle of the heart as a result of a respiratory disorder like broncitis or emphysema. Extra muscle gets added on the heart to push the blood. Left untreated, it can lead to right heart failure and death. This prompts the question, is there a biological basis to politics? Barack doesn't like the right very much? Ha.

Aside: No, I know that the political designations and terms "left" and "right" originated in the seating position of radicals and moderates in the French revolutionary assembly in the early 1790's. Did the moderates believe more in human "rights"? Maybe political "rights" has something to do with the right side of the body. I think righteousness came from the right hand usually being stronger. Might makes right -became right makes might- in the bible, with Moses holding his right hand, I believe, up over the fighting Israelites. Language is so weird. Why would Jesus say don't let your right hand know what the left is doing (or "up to")? Very odd, indeed.

Neurolinguistics is very bizarre stuff. I'm not so sure we're born with functional specialization in our brains, i.e. right and left brain separateness of function. I mean, the hemispheres look the same.. Anyway,

Cognitive: Smoking is mad. Don't be insane to your membrane. Cognitive dysfunctions are categorized as: 1) Increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and decline in cognitive abilities 2) Reduced memory and cognitive abilities in adolescent smokers. Side effects that can result from low-level exposure to cigarrette smoke (such as from SHS, also called "passive smoking") include permanent organ and brain damage.

So there's Cognitive effects, COPD (bronchitis, emphysema), CVD (atherosclerosis, stroke), and Cancer. It's like putting a C4 explosive in your body. (Aren't I so very clever). Also, there's low birthweight, ulcer, and impotence. Smoking sucks ass, literally (butts, skatole).

The benefits of smoking cessation are immediate: blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature return to normal range; heart attack risk decreases; ability to smell and taste is enhanced; circulation improves. Plus, your breath and clothes and hair and skin smell better, and you save a LOT of money, that goes who knows where for what purposes. You set a good example for your children. There's risks of fires, coughing, sore throats, stained teeth, time lost enjoying life because you're sick, risk of gum disease, all improved. Tobacco farms could be put to better use. Like maybe rice or grain, or whatever? There are food shortages in the world, alright?

I realize some people can smoke until they're way old. There are no universal truths, maybe? But Barack Obama, as President, would have a duty to quit, to set an example for the American people, I would hope.

What to do to Quit
a)Smoke fewer cigarettes as your stop date nears (but don't inhale more deeply)
b)Buy only one pack of cigarrettes at a time
c)Delay lighting up for longer and longer
d)Switch to a brand you don't like as much
e)Ask a friend or family member who smokes to quit with you

5 Days Before Your Quit Date
Think about your reasons for quitting.
Tell your friends and family you are planning to quit.
Stop buying cigarettes.

4 Days Before Your Quit Date
Pay attention to when and why you smoke.
Think of other things to hold in your hand instead of a cigarette.
Think of habits or routines to change.

3 Days Before Your Quit Date
What will you do with the extra money when you stop buying cigarettes?
Think of who to reach out to when you need help.

2 Days Before Your Quit Date
Buy the nicotine patch or nicotine gum.
Or see your doctor to get the nicotine inhaler, nasal spray, or the non-nicotine pill.

1 Day Before Your Quit Date
Put away lighters and ashtrays.
Throw away all cigarettes and matches.
Clean your clothes to get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke.

Quit Day
Keep very busy.
Remind family and friends that this is your quit day.
Stay away from alcohol.
Give yourself a treat, or do something special.
Smoke Free

Congratulations!!!

The most common short-term effects of stopping smoking are: increased irritability, depression, anxiety, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, increased appetite, constipation, mouth ulcers and increased susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infections. These mostly last for up to 4 weeks, though increased appetite typically lasts for more than 3 months. The most obvious long-term effect is weight gain.

Tips to get past urges:
chew sugarless gum
brush your teeth
go to a movie
wash the car
take a walk
breathe deeply
review your list of reasons to quit
drink a glass of water
call a friend

How to stay stopped:
change your routine
take it one day at a time
reward yourself
reduce the amount of alcohol you drink
make nonsmoking friends
enjoy activities that you can't smoke while doing-hobbies, odd jobs
start exercising or exercise more
keep trying

My doctor gave me a Chantix brochure. It's the newest thing. Smoking releases dopamine, which gives a feeling of pleasure, briefly, leaving you wanting more. Dopamine anagrams to 'main dope'. You know that word was intentional. Or did dope come from it. So many questions.

The military, like schizophrenics, is notoriously composed of smokers. We can do it!

Apparently, Laura Bush is a smoker, too. This is from ASH (Action on Smoking and Health): The presidential campaign was stressful enough to send the First Lady, an avowed nonsmoker, back to her chain-smoking ways. "Absolutely no one was allowed to see her smoking," says one insider. "At events where she appeared, there had to be a room off to the side where she could close the door and chain-smoke before and after she spoke." The official version is that Mrs. B gave up cigarettes at the same time she made her husband kick the bottle. And a spokesperson for the First Lady's office insisted that Mrs. Bush did not use a smoking room at appearances.

I wish she would have owned up, and quit with America.

6/6/08 update: Measuring the nicotine content in toenail clippings can help predict a woman's heart disease risk, a US study suggests. Analysis of toenails from more than 62,500 women showed double the level of nicotine in those with heart disease than those without the condition.
The researchers said the test may be more accurate than simply asking a person about their smoking history. It is well established that smokers have a higher risk of heart disease.