Lung Cancer Awareness Month

November is Lung Cancer Awareness month and Cancer Research UK have published some important facts that you should know about lung cancer and smoking.

• Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the UK
• In 2006, around 39,000 people were diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK, that’s 107 people every day
• The link between tobacco and cancer was established more than 50 years ago.
• Smoking causes almost 90% of lung cancer deaths.
• In Britain, around 1 in 5 adults smoke cigarettes, that’s about 9.5 million people.

Read more @ Cancer Research UK

Smoke Screen Success

Well, MTV Smoke Screen has finished and it's been a huge success for a lot of the guys who have managed to quit the habit. Their final video diaries are up so you can see the advice they have to give at the end of it all. We saw British girl Rachel last month, so let's check out what she has to say about becoming a non-smoker!



Visit the MTV Smoke Screen website

Just One Cigarette...

A study from McGill University Health Centre in Edmonton, Canada has said that smoking just one cigarette can make your arteries stiffer and the heart work faster than it should.

Leading medic Dr Stella Daskalopoulou claimed smoking just a few sneaky cigarettes could have a significant impact on the heart.

"This was revealed very clearly when these young people were placed under physical stress, such as exercise."

...

Amanda Sandford, of anti-smoking campaigners ASH, said: "This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing there is no safe level of smoking.

"Young adult smokers who say they smoke only 'socially' or 'occasionally' in the belief it is not doing them much harm should think again.

"Every single cigarette smoked adversely affects the heart and increases the chances of a fatal heart attack even among relatively young smokers."

Read more @ The Sun

Smoking also increases the build up of fat in the artery. Stiff and fatty arteries are a very risky combination for the heart!

MTV Smoke Screen & quit because...

One of our quit because... presenters - Alison Walsh - is Miss Quit for the next month as she helps out some guys and girls from all over Europe to stop smoking.

She's working with MTV on Smoke Screen. It's a website following their attempts to quit through video diaries, which Miss Quit comments on and gives them her expert advice!
















Here's one of the Brits - Rachel, who's from London and studying in Manchester:


























Visit the MTV Smoke Screen website

Doctors Were Worried About Smoking 400 Years Ago

Even 400 years ago, doctors were concerned about young people smoking. A doctor's letter from 1606 was found at a college library in Edinburgh.

The letter, which was published at the time by Dr Duncon's employer, concluded that tobacco "is so hurtful and dangerous to youth...

Read more @ BBC.co.uk

Asthma Risk for Smoking Teens

A study was done on teenagers who smoke and it showed that there's more risk of your lungs not working as well, and developing asthma symptoms.

Here the most important points from the study:

15.2% of the teen smokers they studied reported wheezing.

20.4% were wheezing after exercising.

Compare this to 8.5% and 10.7%, respectively, of non-smoking teens.

...

Smokers had poorer lung function than non-smokers

Patrick Swayze's Cancer Related to Smoking

The quit because... team was very sad to see the passing of Patrick Swayze (Roadhouse, Dirty Dancing, Donnie Darko). He's said in the past that:

"I will go so far as to say probably smoking had something to do with my pancreatic cancer..."

An American doctor gave a similar warning the other day:

"We do know, however, that we see more pancreatic cancers in people who smoke and we see more pancreatic cancers in people who are overweight.

...

But there is no question that if you want to do all you can to avoid developing a malignancy in the pancreas, do not smoke," Dr. Brown emphasized.

Read more

A Smoker's Tale

Okay, so the NHS were just a little bit behind our Sexiness In A Stick video, but their short film about Megan - a 16 year old smoker - is also pretty cool!