#AskDrKK: How to reduce smoking?

#DrKKAnswers: Do not smoke the 1^st cigarette in the first hour of waking. Smokers who smoke the 1^st cigarette within half an hour of waking are at 59% higher head and neck cancer risk and 79% elevated lung cancer risk compared with those who smoke 1^st cigarette after an hour of waking up

As per a study published in the journal cancer by Joshua E. Muscat, PhD, of Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey  those who started on their first cigarette 31 to 60 minutes after waking were at significantly elevated risk as well (42% and 31%, respectively).

While any smoking boosts cancer risks, an early start in the day is particularly risky because it signals stronger nicotine dependence.

1.       1^st study described results among 1,055 head and neck cancer patients and 795 controls. Cancers were 2.11-fold more likely with smoking within 30 minutes of waking and 1.63-fold more likely with a first cigarette within 31 to 60 minutes of waking.

2.        The other study described analysis of 4,775 newly-diagnosed lung cancer cases and 2,835 controls. Current smoking and greater number of cigarettes smoked per day were linked to higher lung cancer risk. There was 2.64-fold higher risk of cancer with smoking within 30 minutes of waking and 1.58-fold higher risk with smoking 31 to 60 minutes after waking.

#AskDrKK: Is smoking linked to atrial fibrillation?

#DrKKAnswers: Smoking increases the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, according to a study published in the journal HeartRhythm. The researchers found that n the risk of the abnormal heart rhythm was 1.32 times higher in former smokers and two times higher in current smokers, compared to people who never smoked.

The study looked at data from more than 15,000 people, aged 45 to 64, who were followed for an average of 13 years, and found that there were 876 atrial fibrillation events during that time.

HCFI Update: Asthma linked to smoking

Active smoking increases the risk of developing asthma, said Padma Shri & Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India and MTNL Perfect Health Mela.

Dr. Aggarwal said that adolescents who smoke more than 300 cigarettes a year are at 4 times the risk of developing asthma compared to their non-smoking peers. Active smoking is strongly associated with high incidence of asthma between ages 17 to 33.

It is also seen that those children who develop asthma by age 7, usually go in remission but relapse by age 33 if they smoke.

Secondhand smoking is also associated with developing asthma in early life, especially, if the mother is a smoker. Many studies have shown that children of smoking mothers are two times are more likely to develop asthma than children of non-smoking mothers.

Smoking can cause Erectile Dysfunction

One reason for a man or a woman not to smoke is that a man is likely to end up with erectile dysfunction and the woman with premature aging with wrinkles on face, said Padma Shri & Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India.

It has been shown that men who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day have 60% higher risk of erectile dysfunction as compared to those who never smoke. Fifteen percent of past and present smokers experience erectile dysfunction. Men, who are current smokers or are former smokers, are 30% more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. Among men who never smoke, only 12% end up with erectile dysfunction.
Smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction by more than 50% in men in the 30–40 year age group. Diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are other important risk factors for erectile dysfunction.
Apart from erectile dysfunction, smoking also causes reduced volume of ejaculation, low sperm count, sperm shape etc.

In women, smoking leads to premature aging with formation of wrinkles on the face.
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Doctors should quit smoking

Summary:

Doctors are role model for the society and should not smoke at all and particularly in public. It is also true that even doctors find it hard to quit smoking. The answer therefore is not to start smoking or quitting it as early as possible before it becomes a hard hitting habit, said Padma Shri and Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee. Dr. KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India.

Text

Even doctors find it hard to quit smoking. Therefore, in the first place, the answer is not to start smoking or quitting as early as possible before it becomes a hard hitting habit.

Doctors are a role model for the society and should not smoke at all and even if they do, it should not be before patients or at social gatherings. A doctor cannot advise quitting smoking if he/she himself/herself smokes.

Most doctors start smoking before they enter medical colleges and continue to do so because of the hardships one goes through during the medical college education. For quitting smoking, these doctors can set an example in the society. It is easier for doctors to quit smoking than patients or general public as counseling a doctor is much easier than a non–doctor. However, doctors cannot counsel themselves and therefore, they need a counselor and help from another doctor.