The New Wellness

Dr. Michael Wegmann's Thoughts:

Focusing on our health is an extremely important aspect in our lives. People seem to care more about their health as they age, sometimes forgetting it's what we do when we're younger that creates the problems later. Making good decisions today will affect our lives significantly as we grow older. Accidents can be tied to poor decision making and taking risks. Which is the leading cause of death for people 18-29. This is also the age group many people are introduce to cigarettes. Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; that it can shorten your life by 10 years or more; and that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So how come people are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is addiction. Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal. People start smoking for a variety of different reasons. Some think it looks cool. Others start because their family members or friends smoke. Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start before they're 18 years old. Most adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become addicted. That's why people say it's just so much easier to not start smoking at all. The consequences of smoking may seem very far off, but long-term health problems aren't the only hazard of smoking. Nicotine and the other toxins in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes can affect a person's body quickly, which means that teen smokers experience many of these problems: * Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin ó which is why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis. * Bad breath. Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath. * Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to linger ó not just on people's clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars. And it's often hard to get the smell of smoke out. * Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can't compete with nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of smoking (like rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath) impair sports performance. * Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking affects the body's ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as damage to tendons and ligaments, will heal more slowly in smokers than nonsmokers. * Increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. And people with certain health conditions, like asthma, become more sick if they smoke (and often if they're just around people who smoke). Because teens who smoke as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly. If you find yourself behind a cigarette ask yourself "is this contributing to my life?"