Smoking Awareness

Smoking is the single greatest cause of disability, preventable illness and premature death in the UK.

It's also a big part of the Navy's culture - it's associated with taking a break, relaxing and socialising. So much so, that when people join the Navy they start smoking!

Smoking is an addiction, not a habit. And as such, a smoker needs to show an interest in giving up smoking before they can be helped.

Smoking is an Addiction

The 'hit'
Smokers often describe cigarettes as a pleasurable experience - so what is the chemical contained in a cigarette that gives smokers a 'hit'?

'Nicotine'
The hit smokers refer to comes from nicotine. This powerful drug provides the 'feel good' factor that keeps people smoking. As well as highly poisonous arsenic, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and shellac cigarettes also contain tar which in turn contains a variety of irritants and at least 60 known cancer-causing carcinogens. 70% of the toxic tar in every cigarette is deposited in the smoker's lungs.

How does nicotine work?
There are around 4000 poisonous chemicals and gases contained in cigarette tar. Yet people still smoke. Why? The answer is nicotine. So how does nicotine become addictive?

Step 1 - As you inhale cigarette smoke, nicotine is quickly absorbed from the lungs to the bloodstream.

Step 2 - Nicotine in the blood reaches the brain in about seven seconds flat. Once there, the nicotine acts on certain centres in the brain to produce chemicals that give feelings of pleasure.

Step 3 - The chemicals released in the brain by smoking the cigarette take away the immediate urge to smoke.

Step 4 - But after a short time, nicotine levels in the brain begin to fall.

Step 5 - Feelings of withdrawal are experienced - and the craving for another cigarette begins.

Step 6 - Smoking another cigarette temporarily stops the craving and the vicious cycle begins again. In a relatively short period of time, a smoker's brain gets used to nicotine and needs more of it to produce the same feelings. As smokers become more addicted, they smoke increasingly more cigarettes and inhale more deeply to get the same effect.

Effects on fitness - Fit for life
Smoking has serious effects on a sailor's fitness and their ability to serve. Smoking poses many risks to a sailor's general health they include:

Chronic heart disease
Diseases of the circulatory system
Carcinoma (cancer)
Respiratory disease
Chronic obstructive lung disease
Raised blood pressure and pulse rates
Reduced temperature in skin and extremities (fingers and toes)

Effects on fitness - Fit to serve
Ill-health caused by smoking has serious knock-on effects for a sailor's military capability, in terms of:

Fitness and strength
Endurance capacity
Increased risk of injury (early fatigue)
Reduced night vision
Overall reduction in operational effectiveness

By smoking, sailors not only risk letting themselves down, but letting down the team and the unit as well.

Smoking and Navy life
Smoking is more common in the Navy that it is in civilian life (35% compared to 28%). To help us understand why, let's take a look at some of the reasons why sailors start, continue and stop smoking.

Starting to smoke
The Services have long had a culture of smoking, and smoking amongst recruits remains high. The training culture allows frequent smoking breaks and leaves non-smokers feeling ostracised from their smoking peer group.This may cause some sailors to try smoking for the first time, and those who have previously smoked may decide to resume the habit to integrate with their new social group.

Continuing to smoke
In contrast to the National gender data, the number of smokers in the Navy is greater among female than male recruits. This may be because female sailors continue smoking or go back to it because they think that smoking helps them maintain their weight.

The advice that should be given to these sailors is to watch their diet and take plenty of exercise. They shouldn't replace cigarettes with sucking sweets.

Times to stop
There are a number of times that a smoker may choose to stop:

Change in personal circumstances
Personal health crisis/scare or death of a friend/relative
Decrease in fitness/stamina (failed RNFT)
Increase in cost of cigarettes
Introduction of smoking bans
Infertility/impotence problems
Pregnancy and arrival of new baby

'I smoke to relieve stress'
This is the reason people often give for smoking. But when nicotine enters the bloodstream it stimulates the brain and raises the heart rate. When the levels of nicotine in the blood fall, the withdrawal brings of feelings of stress as the smoker craves more.

Why stop?

Disability, preventable illness and premature death

It causes impotence
Smokers have lower physical endurance than smokers or ex-smokers
It increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and strokes
Smoking whilst on the pill can increase the risk of blood clots that cause strokes and heart attacks
Children whose parents smoke are more likely to become smokers

Smoking is the key cause of disability, preventable illness and premature death in the UK. It kills over 120,000 people a year and is a major cause or cancer, heart disease and respiratory illnesses.

The risks
Let's take a closer look at some of the specific incentives for quitting smoking. Health - Giving up smoking reduces the risk of a wide range of health problems including strokes, coronary heart disease, respiratory disease and cancers.

Fitness and injury - Smokers are more likely to suffer injuries and take a longer time to recover.

Oral health - Smokers are more likely to suffer mouth cancer, tooth loss and gum disease compared to those who don't smoke. Plus, they're more likely to have bad breath.

Fertility - Smoking has serious effects for fertility in both men and women. Men can be affected by impotence, as well as infertility. Women also suffer from reduced fertility. Smoking during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight and cot death.

Appearance -As well as making breath and clothes stink, each cigarette smoked affects the skin, body weight and shape of the smoker. A smoker at 40 will have as many wrinkles as a non-smoker at 60

Lets see what you could have WON!
As well as the cost of smoking on health budgets and, in turn, a smoker's ability to do their job, there's a significant personal financial cost for smokers.

The price of a daily packet of cigarettes may seem modest - but think about the cumulative cost.

What could be bought for the cost of smoking 10 cigarettes a day for a year?

A flight to Australia
Ten IPods
One hundred CDs
Two Mediterranean holidays
Two repayments on a three bedroom house
Four weekend spa breaks

For further information contact your local Medical Centre, or your Unit Health Advisor.
Or visit :
http://smokefree.nhs.uk/

Or call:
NHS Free Smoking Helpline: 0800 022 4 332
Mon to Fri 9am to 8pm, Sat and Sun 11am to 5pm