===>Take the National Tobacco Survey

What Do You Have to Do to Take the National Tobacco Survey?

First you need to visit the survey site. Then, you will have to select what brand that you smoke with the predominant tobacco brands being Marlboro Cigarettes, Camels, and even if you don’t smoke you can still participate. Unfortunately, if you are an e cigarette user, you will have to choose the “No Cigarettes” option at the time of the writing of this article.

Why is This Survey Being Conducted?

Its simple. Even though we all know that cigarette smoking is bad for your health, Big Tobacco and other related industries still wants to know what consumers prefer in their brands. They also want to hear from non-smokers as well. For those who complete the quick Tobacco Survey, they can get a $100 Visa Gift Card for their time. You do need to be 21 or older to participate.

The cancerous cells in the kidney can also spread outside the organ which is brought by the blood the runs through the system and affects the nearest lymph nodes. Other parts of the body that can be affected are the bones, lungs and breast which are also very prone to be affected. When the cancer cells will spread to this organs it easily affects the function of the organs, the process of affecting other part is the same with other types of cancer in the body.

The common kidney cancer patients are from the age bracket of 40 years old and like in any other cancer the cause of the cancer are not known. This kind of cancer is not contagious and there is no such thing as infected with cancer with just by touching. Here are some of the kidney cancer risk factors: Smoking which contains very dangerous chemicals that kill the body cells. If you are obese you are prone to this kind of cancer. If you have high blood pressure you have a high risk to have kidney cancer since your blood cannot excrete much excessive water and the kidney may contain it all. If your family blood line has been infected with cancer you will still have a high percentage of accruing the disease. Many studies also states that male usually are affected with this kind of cancer because they tend to be prone to other factors that may develop into such. Common kidney cancer symptoms associated with this condition are weight loss, fever and blood in the urine.

Diagnostic exams should follow to every hunch that you will have, it is very important to know any problems as early as possible to prevent other problems you may encounter in connection with this kind of cancer. Physical examination, Urine test and blood test can be done primarily and if not contented with the result you need to have biopsy which is the confirmatory diagnostic exam for cancer. Some doctors may recommend surgery that removes part of your kidney that is affected by the cancer cells.

Liver cancer is one of the third deadly cancers in most cases worldwide. This kind of disease is commonly found in people that live in Southeast Asia and in people that are in South Africa. It is said that for every 100,000 people, 100 are affected. There are also many risk factors that can lead to liver cancer like hepatitis B which is from infected blood products, these maybe from used needles and sexual intercourse. Hepatitis C infection is another infection that is usually from contaminated blood product. Other risk factors are alcohol, drugs and chemicals which can affect the blood of a person. People with diabetes, obesity and people with cirrhosis will eventually lead to this kind of cancer. Your family blood line can also be a risk factor in which you will have a high percentage or being infected.

Initial liver cancer symptoms of a person initially vary because infectious cells can affect many organs and the symptoms that a person will manifest differently. If you believe that you have one of the risk factor to have liver cancer, you should go to a physician so that you will be diagnosed. Some physician say that cancer is one disease that you will not know that you have one. Many studies say that pain in the abdomen is not common to people with this cancer. You will notice that abrupt weight loss may happen and may be a sign of cancer for some people.

Physicians also can state that this kind of cancer will not be diagnosed with blood test; this depends on how your physician works and screens your tumor markets in the blood. If there are extensive cancerous cells in the body surgical and medical treatment will still be effective. Confirmatory biopsy is one of the common diagnostic exams you need to have.

The cancerous cells of mouth cancer spread to other parts of the mouth and it usually go through the lymphatic system of the body. This system carries the cell in watery fluid that is clear and affects most lymph nodes in the neck which now can spread to other parts of the body. It is said that the cancerous cells can spread to other parts of the body like the lungs which is a primary organ but some of these cancer cells that are found in this organ can be basically cells that are in oral cancer cells.

Here are some of the risk factors that can be affected by oral cancer; tobacco users which are the number one risk factor in the list for mouth cancer. Heavy smokers combined with alcohol have the highest risk and many studies say that 3 out of 4 people that use cigarette and alcohol usually get some form of oral cancer. People that drink too much and even though they do not smoke can be at significant risk as well. The hereditary of a person can also be a significant risk factor if there is a history of heavy smoking, drinking, and exposure to the sun. There are different symptoms that can be found in a person with oral cancer and they are as follows: patches that can be found inside the mouth which look like white and red in color, difficulty in swallowing, soreness in the lips and other parts of the mouth which does not heal, bleeding, experience loose of the teeth are basically common symptoms that can be found in person with such disease.

If you notice or think you have mouth cancer symptoms , it is very important to go immediately to your physician or your dentist so that your throat and mouth will be examined properly by the experts. These physical examinations and other hunch may be confirmed if biopsy is taken, like with most cancers. This is a confirmatory diagnostic exam you can have. The treatment of the cancer depends on what stage it is under, surgery; chemotherapy and radiation are its common solution.

Many studies and research have been conducted to prove that stomach cancer only develops in approximately 3 % of patients that have infections from bacteria that can result in cancerous development in the stomach. You need to destroy all the bacteria that may accumulate in the stomach to delay further development of the cancer. Anybody can be affected by this type of cancer in the body but it has been found to commonly affect people that have Down syndrome. Down syndrome patients do not have the right amount of immunity so that their body can fight the bacteria that can be accumulated in their stomach. Because they are born with many abnormalities and deficiencies in the body they tend to be open to other serious problems like gastric cancer.

Stomach cancer symptoms can be wide ranging and connected to symptoms of other ailments of the digestive symptom. Some of these include a loss of appetite and weight and abrupt changes in the body structure and condition that should lead you to consulting a physician as soon as practical. A number of diagnostic exams may be needed such as an ultrasound or ultimately a biopsy to take sample tissue from your stomach to determine if cancer has developed.

Early detection of cancer has been proven to be a primary ingredient to successful treatment. It is very important that if you can feel any slight changes in your body or abnormalities that are not common to consult your doctor immediately. Treatments for this kind of cancer may include surgery which is common that can be: partial removal of the stomach, it can be a subtotal removal of the stomach or the total gastrectomy which is very common to those who are suffering total damage of the stomach.

The dangers of smoking extend far beyond the effects to the body of the smoker. Their immediately family, the environment, society, and even the economy are all affected. Did you know that there are more than seven hundred chemicals added in cigarettes? In fact, many of them are classified as being toxic and aren’t even allowed to be used in food production!

A cigarette, after being ignited, has the potential to reach over two thousand degrees! This extremely high level of heat is responsible for releasing the above mentioned toxins into your body and the air around you. Some of the toxins found in cigarettes include carbon monoxide, arsenic, cyanide, and numerous cancer-causing chemicals as well. Every time you inhale with a cigarette, you are flooding your body with these.

Dangers Presented by Nicotine

Nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes and represents one of the primary dangers. It is both colorless and odorless and highly addictive both physiologically and mentally. Cigarette companies use specially calculated levels of nicotine to encourage an addiction.

The drug enters your body in the form of tiny drops that attach themselves to the tar found in the smoke of the cigarette. From there, it flies directly into both of your lungs, followed by its entrance into your bloodstream. Within a matter of seconds, it goes straight to your brain. Shortly thereafter, it has successfully infiltrated your entire system, killing you slowly.

One of the effects of nicotine is an increased blood pressure and a faster heartbeat. After inhaling from a lit cigarette, the smoker begins to feel much more at ease and comfortable. After approximately thirty to forty minutes, the majority of the nicotine has exited the system, leaving the subject with a feeling of anxiety.

This effect encourages the user to grab yet another cigarette to calm the feelings caused by the crash resulting from the exiting of the nicotine.

The Dangers of Tar

Nicotine is not the only danger from smoking. Tobacco, which is what a cigarette is composed of, builds up inside your lungs over time. As mentioned earlier, the smoke from a cigarette can reach extreme temperatures, which burns cilia (which are tiny hairlike fingers) whose mission is to capture any harmful substances before they enter your lungs. This further promotes bodily damage, since a natural defense mechanism has been destroyed.

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a toxic substance that can lead to death if a human is exposed to a high enough amount. This substance is also a prime component in cigarettes. As you breathe in the smoke, it increases the level of this chemical in your lungs, which prevents them from in-taking the proper amount of oxygen, which is necessary for survival.

Due to this lack of oxygen, a smoker is required to put much more effort into any type of physical activity, and as a result, their heart is put under severe stress. Carbon monoxide also has the ability to strain your visual system, internal clock, and coordination.

The Potential for Disease

“Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy.”
- Surgeon General’s Warning Located on Cigarette Packaging

Can you guess what the number one cause of death in America each year is? That’s right, cigarettes. The Surgeon General has a label printed on each and every package of cigarettes warning smokers of a variety of diseases, cancers and other health complications.

Smoking is also responsible for a number of respiratory issues that dramatically reduce the quality of life for those affected. They can prevent you from enjoying any activities, life in general, and also massively reduce your life expectancy. Still think there’s a benefit to smoking? Think again.

Over time, anyone affected by cigarettes becomes significantly more likely to suffer from debilitating health complications such as damage to the arteries, heart disease, lung cancer, cancer in your larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and more. Women may suffer from pregnancy complications and cancer of their cervix.

As time continues to pass, a resistance is created in the lungs that slowly prevents oxygen from entering them. There are also cosmetic problems as a result of smoking – yellow teeth, stinky breath, stained fingers, and more. Your house and personal belongings will also be coated in thin layers of smoke.

The Economic Effects of Smoking

Think about the average price of a pack of cigarettes. Recent statistics show this number to be at about four dollars, give or take. Now, let’s do the math and assume you only smoke one pack per day, at $4 each… that equals a total of over $1,500 per year! That money could be much better spent, right? Smoking presents a large cost to anyone maintaining this unhealthy way of life.

Medical Expenses

Are you aware of the extreme costs of medical treatment these days? You’ve probably heard about them in the news or from your friends and family. Perhaps you’ve even experienced them yourself. Smokers have increased insurance premiums and may even deny you many types of coverage.

Getting the diseases outlined above treated are horrifically expensive and will certainly burn a hole in your wallet – pun intended. Plus, you might have to take off work and spend your time in a hospital bed, instead. So now you’ve now not only wasted your money on cigarettes, but you’re spending it on medical treatment and/or raised insurance premiums, and not bringing in any additional money.

Secondhand Smoke

Cigarette smoke doesn’t only affect your life, it affects the lives of everyone around you who is forced to be exposed to it. They suffer even more dangerous medical effects from your bad habit because the smoke to which they are exposed is not even filtered!

Cosmetic Damages

Your breath will smell terrible, your teeth will be stained, and your clothing will reek of smoke and may even be discolored. Darker gums are also an effect of smoking, as well as premature aging and wrinkles.

Miscellaneous Problems

A notable number of house fires have been caused by cigarettes that were not properly extinguished. There is also a significant adverse effect to the environment, caused by the release of carbon monoxide and other chemicals found in cigarettes.

As mentioned earlier, many insurance plans have higher premiums for those who smoke. Some companies may even refuse to extend coverage to you. Your bad habit could also put your pension and social security at risk.

The average person, when asked if they find smoking to be unattractive, would respond in the affirmative. Nobody wants to kiss someone who tastes like an ashtray. They wouldn’t want to cuddle with someone whose clothing smells like smoke. Your skin, hair and nails are also affected.

Finally, we can’t neglect the emotional costs caused by smoking… addictions can restrict your freedom and impair your desired lifestyle. You’re also hurting your family and will be faced with a lot of pressure to finally give up your smoking addiction.

Smoking is not the only cause of bad breath, however. Some of the most commonly experienced issues that result in less-than appealing breath are poor hygiene, such as a lack of proper brushing or flossing, or in more severe cases, gum disease or gingivitis.

Waking up in the morning with bad breath is normal and extremely common. This occurs simply because of the fact that while you sleep, your mouth loses moisture and becomes drier than normal. Shortly after being awake, you will notice that the moisture and saliva production return to normal.

There are a variety of other substances that can lead to bad breath, as well. Some examples would be various foods, like garlic, or medications. Certain foods have unique chemicals that are absorbed into your body, then exhaled from your lungs later in the day. Alcohol also has a tendency to produce a foul smelling breath, though these effects are often temporary and will disappear after a bit of time.

Pieces of food can often get stuck in-between your teeth, under your tongue, or even beneath your gums, and the scent of this food will be picked up by other individuals when you talk or breathe. It can also result in a variety of gum diseases and help cause plaque build up. However, the smell of a cigarette is, undoubtedly, a prime example of bad breath.

Simply put, the more activities you engage in that reduce the production of saliva, the more likely you are making it that you will suffer from bad breath. If you have any medical problems or diseases related to your mouth, these conditions can be exacerbated by smoking cigarettes, which also causes an exorbitant amount of mouth decay.

If you’re self-conscious about your breath, smoking cigarettes is clearly not a good idea. They contain high levels of tar, nicotine, and other chemicals that will, over time, build up on the inside of your mouth, especially in hard-to-reach places, not to mention the drying effects that cigarette smoke can cause. As you know, from what was outlined above, the dryer your mouth, the worse.

If you insist on smoking, but still want to handle your breath, it is recommended that you carry out an exceptional dental hygiene routine consisting of brushing and flossing, followed by the use of a quality mouthwash. Sugar-free gum may also be advisable.

Smokers should also find themselves drinking a lot of water, since this can help combat the dryness in your mouth.

If you are seeking a permanent or long-term solution, the only one that exists is to completely give up smoking – plain and simple. Following a step-by-step routine with support is the best method through which to do this. Regardless of your status as a smoker, proper hygiene is always advised.

Teen Smoking Facts

If your teen daughter smokes and takes birth control pills, her chances of having a stroke and blood clots is significantly increased.

Teenagers who smoke are three times more likely to drink, 22 times more likely to use cocaine, and eight times more likely to smoke marijuana.

Almost 75 percent of high school smokers were still smoking almost 10 years later.

Someone who starts smoking at 13 will have a significantly more difficult task to quit smoking than someone who picks up the habit at the age of 21.

Teenagers who smoke see reduced lung growth and they risk not developing full lung capacity for when they are an adult.

Teenagers that smoke find themselves with reduced physical fitness, cough more, have increased phlegm production, and overall more health issues than their counterparts who do not smoke.

If you teenager hangs out with friends who smoke, they are 10 times more likely to start smoking than if they hang out with friends who do not smoke.

More than 90% of adults who smoke started when they were a teenager.

There are more than 3 million teenagers who smoke.

More than 3,000 teenagers and tweens start smoking every day.

More than 20 % of American teenagers smoke.

More than 6 million American teenagers smoke today despite the education efforts of the past two decades.

More than 1,000 of the 3,000 teenagers and tweens who start smoking today will eventually die from complications created by smoking.

Tweens and Teens who have both parents that smoke are twice as likely to start smoking than those kids who have non-smoking parents.

Despite it being the law for stores to request for identification from those buying cigarettes, most teens are not asked for ID or sold the cigarettes knowingly by the store clerk(s).

Second Hand Smoking Facts

The following facts are derived from reports the U.S. EPA has reported over the past two decades:

There are more than 12 million tweens and teens who live in a home where there is at least one person who smokes.

Nonsmokers who are regularly exposed to second hand smoke are 25 percent more likely to get coronary heart disease when compared to nonsmokers.

Almost three quarters of children in the United States have been found to have cotinine in their blood which comes from nicotine.

More than 3,000 adults who don’t smoke die from complications attributed to second hand smoke annually.

Second hand smoke has been found to be the cause of chest discomfort, reduced lung function, coughing, and phlegm in nonsmoking adults and children.

There are more than 200,000 respiratory tract infections every year in children and infants in the U.S. Attributed to secondhand smoke which results in almost 15,000 trips to the hospital.

Secondhand smoke increases the risk of children to get middle-ear disease or have reduced lung function.

There are more than 3 million children in the United State who suffer from asthma or asthma-like conditions. Almost 1/5 of these children have more frequent asthma attacks due to the effects of secondhand smoke.

There are more than 4,000 toxins found in secondhand smoke to include ammonia, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and more. Four known carcinogens are found in second hand smoke to include benzene, 4-aminobiphenyl,2-naphthylamine, and polonium-210.

Pregnancy Smoking Facts

In the early 2000s, more than 11 % of pregnant mothers smoked. This number has not gone down significantly since then.

If you are a mother and smoke while breast feeding, you can pass along the nicotine to your baby through your breast milk.

If you are a woman who smokes more than ½ a packa a day, then you can experience an irregular menstrual cycle and may find it harder to get pregnant in the future.

Babies that are born to moms who smoke have a higher rate of bronchitis, asthma, and get colds more often than kids who are born to non-smokers. They will also have double the odds of eventually developing asthma than children born to non-smoking moms.

Women who smoke normally experience menopause earlier than women who have quit smoking or have never smoked at all.

Smoking during pregnancy can result in slowed growth of your baby due to the oxygen being decreased and the carbon monoxide intake increased while their brain and other body parts are forming and growing during the pregnancy.

You will pass along toxins and nicotine to your baby by smoking during pregnancy.

Your baby on average will weigh up to seven ounces lighter than a baby born to a non-smoking mother.

By smoking, you increase the odds of your baby being born with a birth defect or other abnormality.

The odds of having a miscarriage, still birth, or premature labor is increased by continuing to smoke during your pregnancy.