Tobacco Increases The Risk Of Degenerative Diseases: Avoid It!

We all know that tobacco causes serious long-term health problems. Most people associate smoking with the risk of developing cancer, but there are many other diseases that we need to learn more about. Did you know that tobacco increases the risk of degenerative diseases?

When we are diagnosed with certain conditions, tobacco can accelerate their worsening. An example of this is heart disease or even multiple sclerosis. We provide you with all the necessary information in the rows below!

Tobacco increases the risk of degenerative diseases

Tobacco and Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer ‘s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease whose origin is not yet clear. We know that it is more common among people over the age of 65 and that, despite the fact that we do not know what causes it, there are a number of associated factors:

• A protein deficiency that is associated with high cholesterol
• Oxidative stress and old age
• The interaction between cardiovascular disease and diabetes
• Inactivity

What is the relationship between tobacco and Alzheimer’s?

• Tobacco can increase the risk of disease and even aggravate Alzheimer’s disease. According to a study conducted by the Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases of the University of Malaga, nicotine can have an inflammatory action.

• Tobacco attacks the myelin that surrounds neurons, causing an inflammatory response and neuronal damage in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex.

• On our own, tobacco will never cause us Alzheimer’s disease. But it interacts with other factors, accelerating its development.

• Alzheimer’s disease cannot be prevented, but if we stopped smoking, it would appear 20 years later.
  

Tobacco and multiple sclerosis

Tobacco does not cause multiple sclerosis. What it can do is make the disease worse.

According to a recent study by Karolinska University in Stockholm (Sweden) and published in the journal Neurology, people who continue to smoke after being diagnosed with the disease experience a rapid worsening.

What is the relationship between tobacco and multiple sclerosis?

• Multiple sclerosis develops slowly at first. Subsequently, a progressive degradation of mobility begins. Smokers are likely to experience a worsening.

• Tobacco has a negative effect on degenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. The simple act of quitting smoking gives us the opportunity to have a better quality of life and to postpone degeneration.

Tobacco and macular degeneration

Another lesser known effect of tobacco is cataracts and macular degeneration ( AMD ). It is very possible that these data will surprise you and ask you if smoking has a direct relationship with eye health.

The answer is simple: smoking accelerates our aging and therefore increases the risk of diseases associated with the passage of time.

What is the relationship between smoking and macular degeneration?

• The risk of cataracts increases by 40-60% in people who have consumed more than one pack per day throughout their lives.

• The eyes lose their clarity and become inflamed. The lungs fill with chemicals that get into the blood.

• Being a smoker increases your chances of suffering from these eye problems.

• According to doctors, almost 20% of cases of cataracts diagnosed every day are related to smoking.

• Tobacco affects several vascular diseases of the eye, as well as diseases related to dry eyes.

Prepare the plan to quit smoking

If you don’t do it for yourself, at least try to do it for your loved ones, for those who love you and don’t want to see you sick tomorrow. Here are some basic tips:

• Go to the doctor for a checkup. Your doctor can give you appropriate advice.

• Quitting smoking is something progressive, which must be done according to physical condition.
• Control those moments of the day and those situations when you need a cigarette the most: when you wake up, in the afternoon, at meetings with friends,
• Tell your friends that you will quit smoking. They need to support you.
• Eliminate all tobacco memories: lighters, ashtrays… Eliminate the smell of tobacco in the house and personal belongings.
• Help yourself with natural plants. The passion flower, for example, is very suitable.
• Discover your own strategies for coping with abstinence: walking, painting, dancing, knitting, blogging on the internet…