Colon Health Suffers When You Smoke
I can ho
nestly say that I am very glad that I never started smoking. I can barely stop from eating an entire pack Oreos or a whole box of Girl Scout cookies. I can’t imagine trying to stop smoking. I don’t know how I managed to make it through my teen years and 20s without lighting up, but I can tell you that my choice to not smoke is a huge warrior in my fight to prevent colon cancer.
Seriously though, I can see why a lot of people started smoking. Because it was, and still is, something that many youth consider “cool.” Although, I think today’s youth are a lot smarter about the health risks related to smoking, but I grew up in a different world.
I remember when smoking was everywhere: in the movies, on TV, billboards, bars and in the office. As a kid, we played with bubble gum cigarettes placed strategically between our Lee press-on clad hands, and when we didn’t have those available, we would settle for pretending with crayons, pencils or anything that resembled those “cool sticks.”
Back in the “glory days” of smoking, we weren’t aware of the number of health problems linked to cigarettes or how hard kicking the habit was going to be. Now, we have no excuse. We have tons of research – on EVERYTHING. One month we hear about research that eggs or bad for us. Then the next month we read research that says eggs or good for us.
You know what, I’ve never come across educated research that says smoking is good for you.
Research actually shows that it’s not just your lungs you should be thinking about before lighting up. You can also help prevent colon cancer by not picking up a cigarette.
Smoking increases your risk of colon cancer because inhaled or swallowed tobacco smoke sends carcinogens to the colon. Not only are current and former smokers more likely to get colon cancer than non-smokers, people frequently exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk as well. Smoking is also related to an increase in polyp size. And—in case you’re unaware—bigger is not better when it comes to polyps. The larger the polyp, the greater the chance of it becoming cancerous.
If you’re smoker, it’s never too late to stop. There are so many tools out there to help you quit. Find a way to quit that will work for you and then get someone to hold you accountable. A good friend will be happy to keep you around a little bit longer.
Tags: bad habit, butt, butt seriously, cancer, cigarettes, colon, colon cancer, habit, lighting up, picking up a cigarette, Prevention Info, quit smoking, seriously, smoker, smoking, stop smoking