5 Health Benefits of Smoking
By Christopher Wanjek July 19, 2011
(Image: © Morguefile)
Introduction
Who says smoking cigarettes is so bad … well, aside from the World Health Organization, Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and every medical board and association on the face of the Earth?
But should smokers be fortunate enough to dodge all that cancer, heart disease, emphysema and the like, they will be uniquely protected — for reasons unexplained by science — against a handful of diseases and afflictions.
Call it a silver lining in their otherwise blackened lungs. Although long-term smoking is largely a ticket to early death, here are (gulp) five possible benefits from smoking. Breathe deep.
Smoking lowers risk of knee-replacement surgery
While smokers might go broke buying a pack of cigarettes, they can at least save money by avoiding knee-replacement surgery. Surprising results from a new study have revealed that men who smoke had less risk of undergoing total joint replacement surgery than those who never smoked.
The study, from the University of Adelaide in Australia, appears in the July issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. What could be the connection? Knee-replacement surgery was more common among joggers and the obese; smokers rarely jog, and they are less likely to be morbidly obese.
After controlling for age, weight and exercise, the researchers were at a loss to explain the apparent, albeit slight protective effects of smoking for osteoporosis. It could be that the nicotine in tobacco helps prevent cartilage and joint deterioration.
Smoking lowers risk of Parkinson’s disease
Numerous studies have identified the uncanny inverse relationship between smoking and Parkinson’s disease. Long-term smokers are somehow protected against Parkinson’s, and it’s not because smokers die of other things earlier. [10 Easy Paths to Self-Destruction]
The most recent, well-conducted study was published in a March 2010 issue of the journal Neurology. Far from determining a cause for the protective effect, these researchers found that the number of years spent smoking, more so than the number of cigarettes smoked daily, mattered more for a stronger protective effect.
Harvard researchers were among the first to provide convincing evidence that smokers were less likely to develop Parkinson’s. In a study published in Neurology in March 2007, these researchers found the protective effect wanes after smokers quit. And they concluded, in their special scientific way, that they didn’t have a clue as to why.
Smoking lowers risk of obesity
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Smoking — and, in particular, the nicotine in tobacco smoke — is an appetite suppressant. This has been known for centuries, dating back to indigenous cultures in America in the pre-Columbus era. Tobacco companies caught on by the 1920s and began targeting women with the lure that smoking would make them thinner.
A study published in the July 2011 issue of the journal Physiology & Behavior, in fact, is one of many stating that the inevitable weight gain upon quitting smoking is a major barrier in getting people to stop, second only to addiction.
The relationship between smoking and weight control is complex: Nicotine itself acts as both a stimulant and appetite suppressant; and the act of smoking triggers behavior modification that prompts smokers to snack less. Smoking also might make food less tasty for some smokers, further curbing appetite. As an appetite suppressant, nicotine appears to act on a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, at least in mice, as revealed in a study by Yale researchers published in the June 10, 2011, issue of the journal Science.
No respectable doctor would recommend smoking for weight control, given the toxic baggage accompanying cigarettes. This recent Yale study, however, does offer an inkling of hope for a safe diet drug to help obese people control their appetites.
Smoking lowers risk of death after some heart attacks
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Compared with non-smokers, smokers who have had heart attacks seem to have lower mortality rates and more favorable responses to two kinds of therapy to remove plaque from their arteries: fibrinolytic therapy, which is basically medication; and angioplasty, which removes the plaque by inserting balloons or stents into the arteries.
There’s a catch, though. The reason why smokers have heart attacks is that smoke scars the arteries, allowing fat and plaque to build up in the first place. So, one theory as to why smokers do better than non-smokers after such therapies is that they are younger, experiencing their first heart attack approximately 10 years before the non-smoker.
A study published in an August 2005 issue of the American Heart Journal, however, states that age alone is not enough to fully explain the survival differences and that “the smoker’s paradox is alive and well.” No alternative theories have been put forth since.
Smoking helps the heart drug clopidogrel work better
A study by Korean researchers in the October 2010 issue of the journal Thrombosis Research builds upon work by Harvard researchers published in 2009 that demonstrates the benefit of smoking at least 10 cigarettes a day. It seems that something in cigarette smoke activates certain proteins called cytochromes, which convert clopidogrel into a more active state.
Again, no respectable doctor is encouraging patients to start smoking to get the most out of clopidogrel. But this and the other four “benefits” of smoking reveal how tobacco — perhaps not unlike other potentially toxic plants — might contain certain chemicals of real therapeutic value.
Christopher Wanjek is the author of the books “Bad Medicine” and “Food at Work.” His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on LiveScience.
The WHO calls tobacco “the single most preventable cause of death in the world”—but cigarettes may also provide a handful of paradoxical, if Pyrrhic, health benefits: Smoking will probably take years off your life, but certain things in tobacco smoke may actually do the body good. Here’s what science has to say about the smoker’s paradox.
Smoking Alleviates Ulcerative Colitis but Inflames Crohn’s Disease
Broadly speaking, smoking worsens your health. But for some people who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), smoking seems to relieve their worst symptoms.
IBD refers to a handful of chronic gut diseases. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the two most-common forms of IBD, both result when a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks that person’s own gut. But while smoking cigarettes has exacerbates Crohn’s disease, it seems to alleviate ulcerative colitis.
Does Stress Have a Negative Effect On me?
Ongoing, chronic stress, however, can cause or exacerbate many serious health problems, including: Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and stroke.
Let’s look at some of the emotional signs of stress and what you can do to reduce and manage them.
- Depression. …
- Anxiety. …
- Irritability. …
- Low sex drive. …
- Memory and concentration problems. …
- Compulsive behavior. …
Mood swings.
Can Stress Make You Dizzy?
Most people who experience dizziness, imbalance or vertigo also experience unpleasant emotions such as, fear, panic, anxiety, stress, frustration, embarrassment or anger. “WHAT CAN I DO TO REDUCE DIZZINESS SYMPTOMS CAUSED BY EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS?” Undergo the health tests recommended by your medical practitioner.
What Results to Stress?
Stress can be caused by any type of physical or emotional stimulus or situation. Often, people speak of different types of stress such as work stress, relationship stress, or parenting stress. … Despite its source, any type of stress can become unmanageable or overwhelming.
Good Stress VS Bad Stress
If we define stress as anything that alters our homeostasis, then good stress, in its many forms, is vital for a healthy life. Bad stress can even turn into good stress, and vice versa. “Good stress,” or what psychologists refer to as “eustress,” is the type of stress we feel when we feel excited.
Is Stress A Silent Killer?
There are a number of ways chronic stress can kill you,” says Aldwin. That includes increased levels of cortisol, often referred to as the stress hormone. Elevated cortisol levels interfere with learning and memory, lower immune function and bone density, and increase blood pressure, cholesterol and heart disease.
Stress is key for survival, but too much stress can be detrimental. Emotional stress that stays around for weeks or months can weaken the immune system and cause high blood pressure, fatigue, depression, anxiety and even heart disease. In particular, too much epinephrine can be harmful to your heart.
Examples of positive personal stressors include: Receiving a promotion or raise at work. Starting a new job. Marriage….
Having a child.
- Moving.
- Taking a vacation.
- Holiday seasons.
- Retiring.
- Taking educational classes or learning a new hobby.
Eustress or positive stress is defined as stress which enables employees to perform better and increase their job satisfaction. … On the other hand, large amount of negative stress or distress significantly leads to physical and psychological illness.
Follow our 10 simple tips to help manage and reduce your stress levels.
- Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, and Nicotine. …
- Indulge in Physical Activity. …
- Get More Sleep. …
- Try Relaxation Techniques. …
- Talk to Someone. …
- Keep a Stress Diary. …
- Take Control. …
- Manage Your Time.
These days, a particular family of antidepressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which includes Paxil, Prozac and Lexapro, are the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications for this anti-anxiety, anti-stress purpose.
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