Nicotine in cigarettes does not cause cancer at all, is smoking really harmful to health? tell you the truth

"Did you know that nicotine doesn't actually cause cancer!"

"How is it possible, where did you get the news, why does it sound so unreliable?"

Just after posting, a friend forwarded an article to Xiao Yang - "BBC documentary reveals the truth: nicotine is not actually carcinogenic, smoking is harmful is wrong! 》

Xiao Yang clicked on the article, which mainly explained the documentary "E-Cigarette: Miracle or Threat", which seemed to be well-founded.

But Xiao Yang still felt unreliable, so he sent a private message to ask, what is the specific truth? Today I will talk to you in detail.

1. A study of 130,000 people found that smoking reduces life expectancy

The harm of smoking to human health is already a "cliché", but for many "old smokers", those evidences are unreliable. Recently, a new study found that smoking can actually reduce life expectancy.

A new study by a research team from Zhejiang University, published in Cancer Communications, analyzed the relationship between smoking and death in nearly 130,000 patients across 23 types of cancer. turn out:

• Compared with non-smokers, quitters had a 9% higher risk of death, and smokers had a 19% higher risk of death;
• The greater the daily smoking, the increased risk of death;
• The younger the age of smoking, the worse the prognosis, and the risk of death increased by 32% for patients who started smoking at the age of 17;
• Patients who quit smoking for 20 years have a 20% lower risk of death.

Then why do some people "tobacco and alcohol never leave their hands and live to ninety-nine"? In fact, it is mainly related to genes .

A study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the United States found that those who are smokers without cancer may have powerful mechanisms in their bodies that limit somatic mutations that protect themselves from cancer cells.

It needs to be clear that the probability of longevity is very low for those who drink and smoke, but a lifetime of non-smoking and non-drinking can really lead to longevity.

The Zhejiang Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine conducted a survey on the reasons for longevity of centenarians. The survey showed that 83% of centenarians did not smoke, and 73% never drank alcohol . In other words, a lifetime of non-smoking and non-drinking contributes to a long and healthy life.

Second, nicotine does not actually cause cancer, is it true?

There are hundreds of carcinogenic components in tobacco, but nicotine is really not among them.

Nicotine is actually the "culprit" that makes you addicted to tobacco.

When you inhale cigarettes, nicotine will enter the blood circulatory system, pass through the blood-brain barrier, and go straight to the brain. It confuses the brain through skilled methods, and produces a large amount of dopamine that makes the brain feel happy, making people feel to pleasure, satisfaction and comfort in seconds.

Objectively speaking, nicotine is very addictive , even more than alcohol and marijuana.

In addition, there are many dangers of nicotine:

1. It is pathogenic and increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

Nicotine can cause microcirculation ischemia, increased blood pressure, rapid heartbeat and other discomforts, promote platelet aggregation, and increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

2. Converted into nitrosamine carcinogens

Although nicotine is not carcinogenic, it can be converted into carcinogenic nitrosamines during metabolism .

3. Affect the development of children and adolescents

For pregnant women, nicotine can cross the placental barrier and directly affect fetal blood levels. This exposure can cause high levels of nicotine in the fetal brain, which can cause a series of neuropathy, and even lead to premature birth or stillbirth.

For adolescents, when the body is in a developmental stage, nicotine exposure can lead to decreased concentration and memory , and increased impulsiveness and anxiety.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has delivered a major speech on cigarettes, pointing out that the vast majority of tobacco-related deaths and illnesses are caused by addiction.

Addiction leads to long-term continuous use, and long-term use leads to exposure of the body to harmful chemicals produced by disease, which means that nicotine is actually inseparable from the carcinogenicity of cigarettes.

3. Millions of people die from "tobacco" every year, how to reduce the harm of tobacco?

There are as many as 308 million smokers in China, of which more than 1 million die each year from tobacco-related diseases . The only way to reduce tobacco harm to your body is to quit smoking.

Many people experience withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit smoking.

This is actually a self-regulating process of the body adapting to the absence of nicotine stimulation, and this withdrawal response is not harmful to the body .

Once you get past this stage, the benefits will increase over time as you quit smoking. You will find that your blood pressure and heart rate begin to drop, lung function improves, coughing, shortness of breath, etc. are significantly reduced , and the risk of various chronic diseases is also reduced.

The time to judge whether a person has successfully quit smoking is 5 years. Generally speaking, 5 years of no smoking at all is considered a success. So how to stop smoking scientifically?

1. Specify a quit date

Within 2 weeks of starting your plan to quit smoking, choose a quitting day for yourself, implying that from this day onwards, you will not be able to smoke any more.

2. Create an environment conducive to smoking cessation

Before quitting smoking, dispose of smoking-related items such as lighters, cigarette packs, and ashtrays, and make the surrounding environment a smoke-free environment.

3. Ask for help

It is difficult to persevere in quitting smoking alone. You can tell your family, friends and colleagues about your determination and get their support. If you have a severe reaction during withdrawal, you can also go to a smoking cessation clinic for help .

It needs to be emphasized that some people really cannot insist on quitting smoking, thinking that smoking one less puff can reduce the harm of cigarettes to health.

But even occasional smoking is far less effective than complete quitters, and still carries a higher risk of death. So, bear with it, and stop smoking when you can quit.

There are so many things in life that are more fragrant than "smoking", why should you give up your health for a small "nicotine"?

References:

[1] "Zhejiang University team analyzed the data of nearly 130,000 cancer patients and found that smokers have a 19% increased risk of death and a 5.9-year short lifespan". Bio Valley. 2022-09-15

[2] "5.31 World No Tobacco Day | Good use of nicotine can help you quit smoking! What are you hesitating about?”. Healthy China. 2020-05-31

[3] "It takes 5 years to quit smoking to be considered a success! Note to old smokers: do these things to avoid relapse". Life Times. 2021-10-20

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