Basic Science

Basic scientific research is leading the way in establishing new ways to modify disease processes, improve survival and improve quality of life. Intensive efforts are underway by researchers to better comprehend the genetics of many diseases in respiratory and pulmonary vascular disease.

Smoking cessation programme

Smoking Cessation Programme

The Centre for Lung health offers a smoking cessation programme for inpatients in the Mater Hospital.

FACTS ABOUT SMOKING

  • Smoking is the greatest single preventable cause of death in Ireland
  • Each year 7,000 people die form smoking related illness in Ireland, 10 times the number who die on the roads each year
  • 90% of Lung Cancer deaths are due to cigarette smoking
  • Smoking is also a risk factor for other cancers- including cancer of the mouth, voice box (larynx), throat (pharynx), esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, stomach, and some types of Leukaemia
  • The nicotine inhaled in cigarette smoke reaches the brain faster than drugs that enter the body intravenously
  • Nicotine can be found in breast milk of a female smoker.
  • Nicotine freely crosses the placenta and has been found in amniotic fluid and the umbilical cord blood of newborn infants.
  • Those who stop smoking before their middle years avoid 90% of the risks attributableto smoking

Mark Twain once said “Quitting smoking is easy, I’ve done it a thousand times”

So why is it so hard to quit? The answer is Nicotine

Nicotine

Nicotine is a drug that is found naturally in tobacco. It is a highly addictive substance, as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Over a period of time, a person becomes physically and emotionally addicted to (dependent on) nicotine.

When cigarette smoke is inhaled nicotine is carried deep in to the lungs where it is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and carried around the body.

Nicotine has an affect on various body parts and functions- the heart and blood vessels, person’s hormones, their metabolism, and the brain.

Several different factors can affect how long it takes the body to remove nicotine and its by-products.

In most cases, regular smokers will still have nicotine or its by-products, remain in the blood stream for up to 3 to 4 days after quitting.

How people develop dependence

Nicotine produces pleasant feelings that make the smoker want to smoke more, crave another cigarette. It also acts as a kind of depressant by interfering with the flow of information between nerve cells. As the nervous system adapts to nicotine, smokers tend to increase the number of cigarettes they smoke. This, in turn, increases the amount of nicotine that circulates in the smoker’s blood stream.

With continues smoking the smoker develops a tolerance to nicotine which means that it now takes more nicotine to create the same effect. This ultimately leads to an increase in the number of cigarettes that a person smokes as time goes on.

After some time, a certain level of nicotine is reached din the blood stream and then has to continue smoking that amount to maintain the nicotine level.

Withdrawal symptoms

The duration and severity of withdrawal symptoms experiences when some one has given up cigarettes will vary. This is related to the length of time someone has been a smoker and the amount of cigarettes smoked each day. Such withdrawal symptoms are what prompt people back to start smoking again as this alleviates symptoms.

Withdrawal symptoms can include any of the following:

  • anxiety
  • irritability
  • Depression
  • Light-headed sensation (this can last for 1 to 2 days after quitting smoking)
  • Low mood
  • Restlessness, impatience
  • Frustration , anger
  • Poor sleep patterns-difficulty falling asleep, sleeping for short periods and nightmares
  • Tiredness
  • Poor concentration
  • Headaches
  • Increase in appetite

 

If you would like advice or support on Quitting smoking in Ireland , you can call the National Smokers' Quitline.
If you would like further personal support locally call the Quitline and they will put you in touch with a Smoking Cessation Officer in your area.
The National smokers' Quitline is an initative of the Health Promotion Unit at the Department of Health and Children, in partnership with the Irish Cancer Society.

The Quitline can be contacted at
CallSave 1850 201 203
Lines are open Monday to Sunday 8am to 10pm

Smokers who ring the quitline have the option of: availing of on line counselling by trained staff. being referred for professional help in their own local area, or simply having an information pack sent to them by post.
www.irishlinks.co.uk/national-smoking-quitline.htm

 

Click on Links for further information on Smoking cessation