Straight talk with the doc Published April 12, 2011 By Maj. (Dr.) Niraj Govil 87th Medical Group JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Does the date Nov. 21, 2006 mean anything to any of you? It's actually an important date for me; it's the day I smoked my last cigarette. I've been a physician for almost 15 years, and I used to always wonder why patients would knowingly put something in their bodies when the package clearly says the contents are poisonous. I always wondered, until I got hooked. Nicotine from a cigarette reaches the brain in eight seconds, which is faster than the time it takes for injected heroin or cocaine to get there. As a matter of fact, the only way to deliver it faster is to directly inject it into the brain. Tobacco, actually the nicotine in it, is an addictive substance. Smokers, who use other drugs, such as heroin, methadone, amphetamines or barbiturates, rate tobacco as their most addictive drug. Even the Centers for Disease Control placed it at the top of their list for most addictive substances, with heroin placing fifth. Remember, this is something one can purchase legally in this country. An average cigarette holds about nine milligrams of nicotine. A cigar can contain about 200 mg of nicotine, and some cigars have 400 mg. Here's the part you may not know: tobacco is a poisonous plant. The poison is nicotine. Tobacco plants contain nicotine as a natural defense, to keep bugs from eating their leaves. Workers on tobacco farms sometimes suffer nicotine poisoning when they absorb the chemical through their skin. The bad news just keeps getting worse: someone dies every eight seconds from tobacco use somewhere in the world. Smoking takes an average of at least seven years off every smoker life, which works out to 5 1/2 minutes per cigarette. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 toxic or carcinogenic chemicals. It contains benzene, carbon monoxide, which is also emitted from the tail pipe of your car, arsenic, hydrogen and cyanide, which was used as a genocidal chemical agent during World War II. It also contains low levels of polonium and radioactive lead. Cigarette smoke has 11 chemical compounds that are known to cause cancer called group one carcinogens. For example, the benzene in cigarette smoke is known to cause acute myeloid leukemia. Quitting smoking substantially lowers the risk of cancer to the esophagus, kidney, throat, stomach, nasal cavity, mouth, pancreas, bladder and cervix. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U. S. and 90 percent of lung cancer deaths among men and approximately 80 percent of lung cancer deaths among women are due to smoking. The number one cause of death in the U.S. is heart disease. Smoking damages the arteries to the heart and brain, thereby increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Cigarette smoking harms the body by raising cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Smoking may account for a 50-percent increase in the development of arteriosclerosis, the buildup of plaque along arterial walls, for current smokers, and 25 percent for past smokers. One cigarette can impair circulation for up to 45 minutes by constricting the small blood vessels. The narrow vessels in the feet are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects. Each year, tobacco smoking accounts for approximately 20 percent of all heart disease deaths. Besides heart disease and cancer, smoking also has other harmful effects. The Michigan Ear Institute claims smoking tobacco increases the production of fluid in the middle ear. It also immobilizes the tiny hairs that are responsible for clearing the fluid. This leads to ear disease. The American Council on Science and Health states smokers are more likely to require surgery to correct middle ear disease as non-smokers with poorer results. Also, those around second-hand smoke, especially children, are more prone to ear infections. When you smoke, the blood vessels in your epidermis narrow. The decreased blood flow to your skin prevents oxygen and other nutrients from reaching the skin. In addition, smoking damages collagen and elasticity in the skin, which can accelerate wrinkles and cause sagging. The face is not the only portion affected: skin on the entire body may age prematurely as a result. After a person has been smoking for some time, they will experience changes in their lungs and airways, and may be more susceptible to colds and pneumonia, or serious effects of it. They tend to experience coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and frequent cold and lung infections. The cells that produce mucus in the lungs start to increase in size and number, and mucus gets thicker as well. Because mucus is more prevalent in the lungs for smokers, it stays in the airways and lungs and clogs them up, causing the person to cough often. For young adults and teenagers, there are other issues to consider. Females who smoke are more likely to grow excess facial hair. Both genders are more likely to develop acne and have it last longer. They are also more likely to have trouble sleeping and get sick more often. Finally, those who smoke should consider their children. Children's growing and developing bodies are more susceptible to the poisons and carcinogens in smoke than adults. The American Cancer Society reports that secondhand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000 lung infections annually, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually. Babies who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome. Finally, remember your children idolize their parents and love to copy them. They will pick up parents' habits both good and bad. They will pay much more attention to your actions versus your words. Every day, in the U.S., 3,000 children start smoking. That being said, the day my older son noticed cigarette smoke on my breath, I knew I had to stop.