Hand to Mouth. Up and down the move goes, inhaling breath in and out. When I finally quit smoking years ago, after a proper detox, I tried counting how many times I’d put my hand to the pack, pulled a cigarette out, lit it and inhaled deeply to answer addiction’s call. The number was into the thousands. Many, many thousands.
The habit associated with the nicotine addiction that about 18% of Americans still call their own is dropping. That’s the good news. Locked in the habit, no matter the desire to stop, smoking sickens and kills the ones who haven’t yet stopped. We all know that. However, you can live a long time before smoking takes its fatal toll.
According to a new GOV report, smoking cigarettes is the root cause of about 14 million major medical conditions hindering the lives of American adults. Terry Pechacek, an associate director for the CDC told CBS News, “for each annual death, there are 15 to 20 people living with major disease caused by smoking.”
Smoking harms every organ in the human body. It causes diseases such as emphysema, diabetes, and colon cancer among the more obvious ones like lung and throat cancer. The illness with the greatest ties to smoking is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) including chronic bronchitis and emphysema.”
Approximately 7.5 million American adults have a smoking-related COPD.
The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine on October 13th. It connects smoking to 2.3 million cases of heart attack, 1.3 million cases of cancer, 1.2 million cases of stroke, and 1.8 million cases of diabetes.
The ability to breathe freely is a wonderful gift we take for granted. At Breathe Life Healing Centers, I’m sharing my new work, a book called HAND TO MOUTH: 4 Steps in 4 Weeks to Quit Smoking Now, so they can breathe better at Breathe.
Nobody should live like they are slowly drowning. Ultimately smoking will kill you, but many years of suffering are likely to come first.
Consider being open to a new way of quitting. I’ll make sure you hear about HAND TO MOUTH when it’s about to hit bookstore shelves.
I am a recovered addict nearly 12 years removed from alcohol and crystal meth dependence. I am nearly a decade removed from tobacco dependence. If you or someone you love is struggling from addiction, call Breathe Life Healing Centers HelpLine today and let us help you recover.
