Quitting Smoking

Poll

	|   |

Author:
Carol Ann Bentley

Are you a diabetic? Do you smoke? Do people around you smoke? We all know smoking is a direct cause of cancer but if you have diabetes smoking - including passive smoking - leads to other health problems...

Here are 7 reasons why mixing diabetes with smoking is a very bad idea:

1) You are more likely to get nerve damage (neuropathy). If this happens to be in your feet it could lead to infections and, if not taken care of properly, even amputation.

2) You could develop kidney disease.

3) When you smoke your blood pressure increases.

4) Diabetics who smoke increase, 3-fold, the risk of dying of heart (cardiovascular) disease.

5) By smoking you increase your blood-sugar levels, making it more difficult to control your diabetes, which in turn leads to other problems.

6) And it increases your cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of a heart attack.

7) Doubles your chances of getting limited mobility in your joints. It's no fun trying to bend, climb stairs or lift something when you have a painful joint.

In fact smoking - and passive smoking - have a seriously detrimental effect on the ABC's of diabetes management:

A1C - the measurement of your blood glucose over a 3-month period

B - your blood pressure, which should be below 130/80

C - your cholesterol levels

And, of course, on top of all that there is the risk of cancer!

© 2006 Carol Ann

Carol Ann created http://www.your-diabetes.com to present information on diabetes from a diabetic's viewpoint

Find out more about diabetes; how to recognise it; live with it; important linked health issues. Plus, read inspiring stories from other diabetics and share your experience.

Include delicious recipes from here in your diabetic meal plan and, if you send in your favorite recipe, you could win the monthly prize draw.

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Smoking... Do You Want to Quit Smoking? There is a wide range of ages for smokers today and about as wide a range of reasons they smoke. However, smoking is increasingly becoming more unpopular in our culture and as more and more smokers experience the discrimination perpetrated by the anti-smoking movement, they might begin seeking help to quit smoking. As those numbers have increased, more alternatives for quit smoking help have also become available. It seems many people are looking for some easy way to quit smoking or some magical stop smoking aid. If that describes you, I hate to burst your bubble... but it's not going to be easy! You likely developed your smoking habit over many years and it will take time to learn the new habit of not smoking. Your journey to quit smoking will likely require a multi-faceted approach, and if you want to succeed you'll need to... Help Yourself First and foremost you are the only one who can choose to quit smoking. You must have a strong will and you also have to be very motivated. Dig deep into yourself to find that motivation and you'll take a huge step to quit smoking. Nobody else knows or wants what is best for yourself but you. Begin by making a list of the advantages and disadvantages of giving up smoking and you may discover some powerful reasons to support your decision to quit smoking. Ask for Help If you think you're not strong enough to quit smoking on your own, then you must ask others to help you. Ask your family and friends to provide assistance - to be around when you feel the need to smoke, especially during the first days after quitting. Besides the help of the friends and family, there are other alternatives that are more organized. There is the option for asking stop smoking help from professionals. Don’t hesitate to rely on the...