A Wrinkle in the News
It’s bad enough that smoking causes wrinkles that make us look older than we really are. But today, the news is just bursting with reports on a study, the results of which were published yesterday in the British Medical Journal.
It seems British scientists discovered that middle-age smokers who have heavily wrinkled faces are five times more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than smokers without a lot of wrinkles.
COPD is nothing to take lightly–it represents a group of chronic, progressive lung diseases, including emphysema, asthma and bronchitis. And it’s the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. The American Lung Association says 80 percent to 90 percent of people who have COPD got it from smoking.
If you’d like information about COPD, including the symptoms and testing for the disease, click on the following link and go to the National Lung Health Education Program. They say early detection of COPD is key to helping you continue to lead a normal life.
So…what’s the mirror telling you these days?
June 16th, 2006 11:10
“Smoking causes wrinkles that make us look older than we really are … ” and don’t forget it stinks!
Congrats on quitting. And your blog is really interesting, thanks for keeping it.
It’s funny about the stinking bit though. Us non-smokers hold our breath when smokers are around … because they stink so bad even when they aren’t puffing on a cancer stick, and they don’t even realize it … and their yellow teeth … euw .. anyway, now that you are a non-smoker (yay!), you will notice all kinds of things.
Good luck this weekend — don’t give in to any temptations! We are rooting for you!
Looking forward to Monday’s post ..
June 16th, 2006 11:47
Thank you HUGELY for the support. Unfortunately, you’ll have to hold your breath for a couple more weeks because I’ve been cutting down, but I haven’t quit yet.
I’ve become very tuned in to the smokers’ aroma and try to eliminate it as much as possible. Of course, being a smoker, I probably can’t smell it most of the time.
I have picked my quit date–and will announce it today!