Many people have never heard of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But it’s a lung condition that includes emphysema  and chronic bronchitis, and is the fourth leading cause of death in the US. People who have it can end up with inflamed or damaged airways that make it difficult to breathe. In most cases, COPD is caused by smoking. It is not a glamorous disease. The most recognizable symptom of COPD is a chronic, hacking cough. And yet, over the years, celebrities who have suffered from COPD—most of whom developed emphysema from smoking—have, through their fame, brought greater awareness to this serious and life-threatening disease. 

In the vast majority of people, smoking is the cause of emphysema. Exactly how smoking destroys the air sac linings in the lungs isn’t known. However, population studies show that smokers are about six times more likely to develop emphysema than nonsmokers. Estimates vary, but more than 10 million people in the U.S. likely have emphysema or another form of COPD. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.

Read more Facts about Emphysema

In 1997, after her father died of lung cancer, supermodel Christy Turlington lent her million-dollar looks to a series of antismoking public service announcements. Turlington herself had quit smoking in 1994, after maintaining a pack-a-day habit for nearly a decade. She didn’t quit soon enough. Three years later, at the age of 31, the cover girl revealed that she had early-stage emphysema. Turlington’s story is a vivid reminder that COPD can start to develop in one’s 20s, and even earlier, although most people aren’t diagnosed until their 40s, 50s, or 60s.  In a cruel twist, this makes Turlington a particularly apposite spokesperson for the disease. “When I started modelling I wanted to appear more grown up, and smoking easily did that for me,” the model said last week. “By 16 I was on a pack a day. The frightening thing is, my smoking caused permanent damage. It seems so ironic – breathing is part of the process that sustains life; you breathe in cigarettes and they take your breath away.”

What is emphysema?

Emphysema is a progressive lung disease that results in shortness of breath and reduces your capacity for physical activity. The cause of emphysema is damage to the small air sacs and small airways in your lungs. This damage obstructs airflow when you exhale. When emphysema is advanced, you must work so hard to expel air from your lungs that just the simple act of breathing can consume a great deal of energy. Unfortunately, because emphysema develops gradually over many years, you may not experience symptoms such as shortness of breath until irreversible damage has already occurred.

1. The main cause of emphysema is smoking, which activates inflammatory cells in the lung. This inflammation causes; 1) swelling within the bronchioles, and 2) activation of enzymes called proteases which attack and destroy lung tissue (the alveolar wall structures).

2. There is a genetic predisposition to emphysema. The relatively rare condition known as alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is the genetic deficiency of a chemical that protects the lung from damage by proteases.

3. Emphysema is also a component of aging. As the lungs get older, the elastic properties decrease, and the tensions that develop can result in small areas of emphysema.

4. In underdeveloped countries, a common cause of emphysema is indoor air pollution. In these populations, it is very common to have indoor stoves in the kitchen. The smoke from cooking results in the damage to the lungs.

Smoking causes 82% of emphysema/chronic bronchitis among males and 76% among females.  A more recent report by the U.S. Surgeon General attributes smoking as the cause of more than 90% of deaths due to COPD. Damage from emphysema is not reversible. However, quitting smoking will slow the rate of loss of lung capacity in chronic airways disease.

Improve Your And Your Family’s Health By Switching To An Alternative Smoking Experience

There is an alternative to treatments for lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema that does not involve a surgical procedure, using a bronchodilator, or suffering from unbearable withdrawal symptoms. Traditional cigarette smokers can improve their health and the health of their family by switching from traditional cigarettes, which contain 4,000 chemicals and carcinogens, to an electronic cigarette, also known as e-cigarettes, which contain only four ingredients: water, propylene glycol, nicotine, and a fragrance that emulates the cigarette flavor.

Smoking regular cigarettes not only increases an individual’s chances of lung damage but also enhances the possibility of damage caused by second hand smoke to their exposed loved ones. E-cigarettes are a viable smoking option that does not cause lung damage. Because an electronic cigarette is truly smokeless, it eliminates the harmful smoke inhaled by those who come into contact with them and also removes the fire hazards associated with a lit flame. It is now possible to experience the smoking sensation of regular cigarettes without the risks. E-cigarettes, also known as an electronic cigarette, can shield you and your family from the health risks associated with the lung damage caused by smoking traditional cigarettes.

Solar Cigarette has offered a great opportunity for smokers to choose the type of starter kit they wish to purchase. Because of the special launch, the Solar Cigarette Starter Kit comes in 3 types of packages. This means in any 1 of the three you have an opportunity to save more money and reduce the heavy investment it takes to quit smoking.  All the Solar Cigarette kits comes with a 1 trial cartridge that the smoker can use to try out the electric cigarette. The free trial kit has a separate pack of 5 cartridges in a bleeder pack for which the smoker can keep using. After the initial investment of an e-cigarette start-up kit, the replacement cartridges will typically run about half the cost of real cigarettes. And because you can decrease the concentration of nicotine delivered in increments, it may be a way of weaning oneself from the drug. In the USA, as of Nov. 2009, use of e-cigarettes is unrestricted. In fact, they are becoming more popular and accepted every day.

Smoking is the most important risk factor for emphysema. When a person inhales tobacco smoke, it damages the air sacs in the lungs. Eventually, the lungs loose their functioning resulting in emphysema. People who smoke 20 or more cigarettes per day suffer from emphysema. Current smokers are 6 times more likely to develop emphysema than non-smokers. Smoking causes 82% of emphysema among males and 76% among females. Damage from emphysema is irreversible. So it can not be cured. Nevertheless giving up smoking is quite beneficial. It helps to slow down the rate of loss of lung capacity in emphysema.

Damaged lung tissue cannot be regrown. Whatever damage is done is done – forever!

Save your lungs and choose a healthier alternative to tobacco smoking with Solar Cigarette!

Christy Turlington’s Battle with Emphysema is a post from: Electric Cigarette Review

Smokers who want to light up after a meal are finding it increasingly difficult to do so in a growing number of states. Since California adopted a smoke-free law in 1998, half the states have followed suit, with some states banning smoking completely in workplaces, restaurants and in some bars. Smoking bans are nothing if not controversial, at least as they’re being proposed and implemented. But are they effective? 

In 2010, California marks the 15 year anniversary of its landmark statewide smokefree law, AB 13. Many of California’s enclosed public places and workplaces went smokefree in January 1995, and restaurants and bars followed suit in January 1998. In 2007, the California legislature adopted a bill, AB1467, to close the loopholes in the smokefree law, but Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill. Numerous California communities have adopted local 100% smokefree laws that are stronger than the state law and close the gaps in indoor coverage, providing workers and the public 100% smokefree protection in enclosed workplaces and public places. Additionally, many California communities are expanding smokefree protections to outdoor workplaces and outdoor public places where people gather. In 2006, California voters narrowly defeated Prop 86, a proposed $2.60 increase to the California tobacco tax that aimed to lower smoking rates and improve public health.

Read more on Smoking Bans in California

To date, two states, California (1995) and Delaware (2002) have instituted comprehensive bans on smoking in all public places, including restaurants, bars and gaming facilities, government facilities, public transit, retail and grocery stores, schools, and other public places. Many city and county governments have done so for such establishments within their jurisdictions. Bans on smoking in public places also benefit public health generally: a CDC-sponsored study found that smoking bans reduce risk of heart disease and heart attack—that the incidence of heart attacks falls by up to 47 percent in areas with smoking bans in place.

Smoking bans — in airplanes, offices and restaurants — were designed to reduce the public’s exposure to dangerous second-hand smoke. But it turns out the restrictions do much more than that: they reduce smoking overall. Smoking bans increase the stigma and hassle of smoking, and remove some of the social cues for lighting up. Workplace bans, especially, can have a dramatic effect. Smoking bans are gaining popularity, even at home. Studies in California and Massachusetts show nearly half of all smokers ban smoking in their houses.

Bans Going Too Far?

Most of the Antismoking crusaders desire is to make society in their image.  Smoking is but the tip of the iceberg and it is an easy target.  Most people don’t like cigarettes and therefore don’t care too much about smoking bans. Just because one doesn’t use a particular freedom doesn’t mean that we should allow it to be taken away.  It started with nonsmoking sections in airplanes, then a simple ban in public government buildings and hospitals which ostracized smokers to small isolated areas.  Then nonsmoking areas were extended to restaurants which were required to install new and often expensive ventilation systems. The fight over smoking bans continues in many parts of the country. Bars and casinos are the biggest battleground. They are often the last refuge of smokers who want to light up inside. Most of the time, smokers are forced to huddle outside in the cold when they want to light up.

The argument for limited government holds that the Legislature has no business regulating such behaviors. Cigarettes are legal. So are cell phones. Lawmakers are merely regulating the use of those products when their use collides with the rights of everyone else. Now virtually everything including stadiums, beaches, an other outdoor venues are included.  Large and small cities from Chicago to Oshkosh are have or are trying to institute total bans the likes of New York City or worse.  People are now even being banned from smoking in their own homes. Perhaps they need to take a deep breath and remember that we tried prohibition 90 years ago. They called it a noble experiment. It turned into a civic disaster.

Smoking has always been a favorite pastime for many people but these days, enjoying smoking is not easy as many public places have banned smokers in view of the health hazards. It is getting harder to enjoy a cigarette smoke especially with all the health risks as well. However, there is a cigarette alternative. There is no reason why you should not relax and enjoy a nice smoke . The electronic cigarette is a good alternative as you can enjoy a good smoke without the problems. Solar Cigarette  manufacturers have paid much attention to detail so that you can hold it exactly like area cigarette and enjoy a smoke with style. Unlike the traditional cigarette, the smokeless cigarette does not use smoke and combustion. It uses an atomizer to release the nicotine in vapor form. Electronic cigarettes are equipped with sensors that can detect when you inhale, to allow for an instantaneous release of the perfect amount of nicotine vapor every time.The electronic smokeless is actually quite an innovative device as it is able to use simple technology to find an alternative to normal cigarette.

Smokers should look into this cigarette alternative as there are so many drawbacks of smoking cigarettes from the unpleasant odor to wreaking your health and those around you who are at risk as well from cancer. Solar Cigarette’s electronic cigarette has turned up to be a very good alternative to normal cigarettes. It does not have the hazardous substances in tobacco and has no passive smoke to irritate other people. There is also savings as it is much cheaper to use and it can be used anywhere, being smokeless. With this, smokers and non smokers can now live peacefully on mutual grounds.

Avoid smoking bans and get your smokeless electronic cigarettes from Solar Cigarettes!

Smoking Ban: Too Much, Too Soon is a post from: Electric Cigarette Review

Smoking has many negative effects on the skin. It is known to accelerate the aging process resulting in wrinkles and brown spots that make a person look much older than his years. When a smoker puckers his lips to puff on the cigarette, it causes wrinkles to develop around the mouth. Smoking also makes the skin look much duller and ruddier and causes it to lose the shine and brightness associated with a healthy, youthful complexion. Smoking also increases the level of carbon monoxide in the blood, which results in the increase of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that induce aging. Carbon monoxide also dries the skin which further accelerates the process of aging. A smoker ages about five times faster than a non-smoker due to the increase of free radicals caused by the carbon monoxide in smoke. Many smokers have noticed that their skin looks much healthier and brighter as the free radicals in the cells decrease.  

“For smokers, middle age starts in the early 30?s as the tell tale wrinkles around the mouth and eyes begin to appear. Young female smokers are likely to be wasting their money on anti aging face creams if they continue to smoke.” - Amanda Sandford, Action on Smoking Health

Maybe there is no fountain of youth, but there is a surefire way to make yourself look older. Smoking changes the skin, teeth and hair in ways that can add years to your looks. It also affects everything from your fertility to the strength of your heart, lungs and bones. Also, anti-wrinkle creams is a huge industry. they can charge you up to $400 for a jar smaller than the size of canned tuna. When doctors compared smoking and non-smoking identical twins, the results were undeniable. Smoking ages skin faster than almost any other factor. Wrinkles, deep lines and furrows were more numerous in smokers. In addition, repeated exposure to the heat from burning cigarettes and the facial expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — may contribute to wrinkles. While the skin wrinkles may not be reversible, you can prevent worsening of wrinkling by quitting smoking now.

Is Electronic Cigarette a Safe Alternative To Smoking?

If you can’t quit smoking right away and is looking for a better alternative to nicotine gums and patches, trying electronic cigarettes may not be a bad idea. Solar Cigarette’s  electronic cigarettes are becoming more popular nowadays to the smoking population. For some people these are the quickest ways to take when they decide to turn their backs directly on nicotine and its negative health effects. For other people however these are mere substitutes for the real cigarettes especially when you’re smoking on places where it is prohibited. Whatever the purpose behind the switch to these non-smoking cigarettes is, the main thing is that people who cannot yet let themselves get off the tobacco hook can at least lessen the damage on their bodies. Unlike real ones, this type of cigarettes does not have a bad effect on a user’s lungs.

To keep yourself safer from any disease or addiction, it is best that you use you an electronic cigarette cartridge with a non-nicotine solution. There can be some solutions that may be healthier, you must choose these instead. However, if nicotine is the reason why you cannot refuse a real cigarette, then you may have to use a cartridge with nicotine solution first. Later on though, you must learn to gradually shift to the non-nicotine solution. Through this you will become less prone to smoking cigarettes again. The benefits of smokeless cigarettes are remarkable even for a non-smoker, it has no smoke and no lingering odor. Electronic cigarette vapor dissipates quickly and has essentially no smell. Cartridges come in different flavors and patent pending vitamin pack ranging from simulations of popular smoking flavors such as regular and menthol and taste similar to light cigarettes and cigars but are smoother and less harsh. It’s also eco-friendly, non-flammable and can be smoked anywhere.

It’s better to use electronic cigarettes than be muching on candy. Once you are dedicated to putting a stop to this nasty habit, you are sure to be successful in this quest with the help of these e-cigarettes.

Start and make a difference on your health. Read more on how you can get a safer and healthier smoking alternative!

How Electronic Cigarettes Help Smokers Age Gracefully is a post from: Electric Cigarette Review

A tall nonfat  caramel machiatto with extra foam please. Just hold the smoke. Smokers are running out of room. Due to a growing number of California communities banning cigarette smoking in public places, lighting up is becoming more of a challenge. Even local Starbucks coffee houses, where cups of joe and cigarettes traditionally go hand in hand, recently have joined the smoke free bandwagon. 

Starbucks recognizes the far-reaching benefits of its action that clean air is not just a convenience but an absolute necessity for healthy living. Starbucks’ decision can be promoted positively to show their stores are in tune with the times, and that Starbucks supports a clean, ambient, enjoyable environment. History and Board of Equalization records show that smoke-free policies have only been good for business.

Below are some facts that many other companies have used in making such an important decision to protect both workers and patrons:

• Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death and disease in the US and poses a serious health threat to non-smokers, especially children, infants, and the elderly.

• About 53,000 American non-smokers die each year in the US from heart disease, cancer and lung disease caused by their exposure to secondhand smoke – more than die in automobile accidents.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand smoke as a Class A carcinogen – a cancer-causing agent in humans with no safe level of exposure.

• According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, short-term exposure to secondhand smoke does real damage. Five minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke causes the aorta to stiffen as much as smoking a cigarette.

In order to educate their customers, business-card-sized fliers entitled, “Starbucks is a smoke-free environment – inside and out”, are being handed out at their stores.

Read more on smoking bans in Starbucks coffee shops

The international coffee giant is also extending its ban on indoor and outdoor patios and dining areas in California. Starbucks customers are welcome to sit outside and sip for awhile, but not for smokers. A lot of families and kids usually hang out in local coffee joints like Starbucks and one can just imagine how much all the smoke around them could endanger their health. This move have apparently drawn flak in social networking sites and there were unverified reports that some customers threatened to boycott the store.

Smoking bans is one of the hottest legislative issues today in the US. While the bans may improve public health, they’re leaving a lot of smokers out in the cold. As more and more bans take effect, smokers are being driven to the fringes of polite society and that has many fuming. Seven states now ban smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants while three other states like New Jersey have bills pending. Cigarette smokers who once found themselves out in the streets and huddled in the cold, lighting up – alone.

A growing number of people have begun using electronic cigarettes as a way to kick the tobacco smoking habit. E-cigarettes use a battery to heat up a nicotine-laced liquid which users inhale the vapor and exhale the water vapor smoke and is claimed to be harmless to the environment and people nearby. Advocates also believe that e-cigarettes provide a stepping stone to quitting and is touted as the latest stop-smoking device. Solar Cigarettes smokeless cigarettes have battery powered sticks that are filled with nicotine and non-nicotine solution that is heated and inhaled as a vapor. It comes with refillable devices with solutions offered in different nicotine concentrations and in hundreds of different flavors.

Solar Cigarette is an ideal solution for both employers and smokers who wish to smoke a cigarette in the workplace. Electronic cigarettes does not fall into the smoking ban category. It is legal to use in an office, shop, building and restaurants where smoking tobacco is banned.

Read more on how smokers can get their freedom back through Solar Cigarette.

How Smoking Bans Turns Smokers to Electronic Cigarettes is a post from: Electric Cigarette Review

http://www.e-cigshop.com for e-Cigarettes; a new technology to mimic tobacco smoking. More about the e-cigarette at http://www.e-cig.org

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e-Cigarette – Electronic Cigarettes is a post from: Electric Cigarette Review

The electric cigarette is becoming so popular that even celebrities are getting in on the action. We have found a recent video of Jose Conseco using the electric cigarette on the red carpet. Most people didn’t know about these wonderful devices but after Jose was caught smoking in public, now the buzz is out and many smokers are trying to find out how these electronic cigarettes work.

Check out the video below of Jose Conseco smoking the electric cigarette and check out other video testimonials of smokers who have put down their traditonal tobacco cigarettes and have now used the Solar Cigarette electric cigarette.

Electronic Cigarette Reviews Of The Solar Cigarette

Worldwide Fans of The Solar Cigarette

Jose Canseco Becomes A Big Fan Of The Electric Cigarette is a post from: Electric Cigarette Review