E-Cigarettes Could Save Millions of Lives

woman using e-cigarrette

Nicotine is a highly addictive drug that keeps tobacco users coming back for more. If you are in recovery, then you know that many of your peers are still smoking cigarettes. You may still be a smoker yourself. Perhaps you have tried quitting in the past, but were unable to manage the difficult task at that time. Those of you who are regular readers of this blog might remember a post from several months back. One that discussed the risks of smoking to your recovery. Hopefully, the post struck a chord and made you reconsider your relationship with nicotine.

While quitting smoking is difficult, it is possible. There are a number of methods that can help mitigate the likelihood of starting again after quitting. All such products you are undoubtedly aware of. In recent years there has been a lot of talk about electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes. Health experts have been trying to get a grasp on the risks and benefits of using the devices. Both for smoking cessation purposes and/or replacing one nicotine vehicle for another. If you are trying to quit smoking and this is something that interests you, then you should take a look at a website like Vaping360. Hopefully, this might be the thing to help you quit smoking for good.

If you have been following the news about such research, then you know that there isn’t a real consensus. Some argue that e-cigs are worse than traditional cigarettes. But, not necessarily for the reasons that traditional cigarettes are bad for you. Others debate whether they are an effective way to quit smoking altogether. Again, the research is both new and relatively inconclusive in that regard. However, a cursory review of the available research indicates experts tend to agree on one front. Traditional cigarettes are worse than e-cigarettes for one’s health.

E-Cigarettes Might Save Your Life

Vaping is what e-cigarette use has come to be called. And in the rooms of recovery there are many-a-vaper. Perhaps you use an electronic cigarette? If so, there is some new research that you may find of particular interest. Researchers from Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center contend that e-cigarettes can save millions of lives, according to a GMUC press release. In fact, as many as 6.6 million cigarette smokers will live substantially longer by making the switch. The research showed that smokers could gain 86 million years of life if they switch to vaping. So if this is something that you are interested in, then one thing that you take a look at buying would be buying something like these vape & dab pen batteries.

“In addition, there would be tremendous health benefits including reduced disease disability to smokers, reduced pain and suffering, and reduced exposure to second hand smoke,” says the study’s lead author David Levy, PhD, professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi. “Even the gloomiest analysis shows a significant gain in years of life if nicotine is obtained from vaping instead of much more deadly amount of toxicants inhaled with cigarette smoke.”

The team of researchers believe that e-cigarettes should become an important part of the U.S. tobacco prevention policy. The status quo isn’t going to cut it. Smokers should be encouraged to make the switch to e-cigarettes. The findings were published in the journal Tobacco Control.

Protecting Your Recovery

Ideally, everyone dependent upon nicotine would give it up all together. But, reality dictates a common-sense approach. If e-cigarettes are the lesser of two evils with regard to one’s health and longevity, smokers should consider switching. What’s more, it may be possible to step back one’s reliance on nicotine by using e-cigarettes. Given that you can get varying degrees of nicotine strength, with the goal of working your way to nicotine-free vapor.

At 10 Acre Ranch, we encourage all of our clients to give smoking cessation serious thought. We can help you break-free from tobacco while learning how to live a life in recovery. Please contact us if you are ready to take steps toward recovery.

Addiction, Mental Illness and Cigarettes

Addiction, Mental Illness and Cigarettes photo of a man smoking in a dark room

Back in May you might remember an article we wrote about the dangers of smoking cigarettes in addiction recovery. Specifically having to do with the increased risk of relapse among smokers in recovery. In case you didn’t get a chance to read the post, we will give you a brief synopsis.

There is evidence suggesting that cigarette smokers in recovery are more likely to relapse on their “substance of choice.” Given that the goal of people in recovery is long-term abstinence, the findings are problematic, to say the least. If you regularly attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), you know that smoking is quite common. The last vestige of many people’s addictive past.

Those of you not in recovery, without a history of substance use disorder (SUD), may find that revelation odd. You might be thinking, ‘people are able to give up the heroin, but can’t kick the nicotine?’ Said people fought tooth and nail to be free of deadly substances, but are still holding on to cigarettes. Both addictive and deadly. Well, yes… It’s a common occurrence among people in recovery. Even with those who have undergone residential addiction treatment and are working a program of recovery day-in and day-out.

The Nature of Addiction

Regardless of which mind-altering substance, they are all addictive and extremely difficult stop using. Every case is different, but while every substance is hard to kick, some are more socially acceptable. Cigarettes are legal to use, and the toll they take on the human body is usually slower than “hard drugs.” People tend to have less of a sense of urgency when it comes to abstaining from tobacco. Even though it is killing you.

With that in mind, we would be remiss if we did not point out that smoking cessation is possible. Are you in recovery and still smoke, or started while in recovery (it happens more than you’d think)? If so, quitting can be extremely beneficial to both your physical and mental health. Finding healthier ways to cope with stress is always ideal. Considering that people in recovery are committed to living a healthy life and avoiding things that could lead to relapse.

Perhaps you would like another reason to prime your desire to quit. It turns out that the tobacco industry has long been targeting people with mental health disorders. If you are in recovery from addiction, that means you, too. They have also been targeting people in high stress environments, such as the military.

Praying Upon Addiction and Mental illness

MTV’s Music Awards are being held this coming Sunday. At which time viewers will see a series of advertisements about the tobacco industry’s nefarious ways of turning a profit. As smoking rates have continued to decline in recent decades, research suggests that “Big Tobacco” has targeted the vulnerable, The Washington Post reports. The ads point out that around 40 percent of cigarettes sold in the U.S. are to people with mental health issues. Such as depression, anxiety or substance-abuse problems. What’s more, 38 percent of people who smoke in the armed services started after enlisting. Please take a moment to watch the both informative and disturbing ads below.

“As the number of smokers drops, the industry is finding it harder and harder to find those replacement smokers,” said Robin Koval, chief executive of Truth Initiative. “So the industry is targeting people based on their challenges in life, on who they are. It’s shocking and appalling.”

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“The real truth is quitting actually helps their mental condition,” said Koval. “Those who are addicted and quit smoking when in recovery are less likely to relapse. Depression, anxiety, all those issues are helped when people try to quit.”

Addiction Treatment

At 10 Acre Ranch, we encourage all our clients to give up cigarettes while in treatment. We know how difficult it can be. Quitting all mind-altering substances at once can be a lot to handle. But, in the long run, it will be worth it for both health and recovery reasons. If you are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, including nicotine, please contact us today. We can provide a number of tools to help you be free of tobacco, while learning how to live a life in recovery.

Addiction Signs On Facebook

iphone 6 with facebook login display Social Media

In today’s world, practically everyone uses social media of some kind. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to name a few. Even people who dislike Facebook (no pun intended) tend to at least scroll through their timeline, from time to time. After all, social media can be a great tool for keeping in touch or checking in with friends all over the world. Given the fact that people will share anything from wedding announcements to what they plan to have for breakfast tomorrow, it stands to reason that they will also reveal their emotional state, whether knowingly or not. In some cases, your friends may be constantly posting about partying with drugs and alcohol or that they have been isolating a lot lately. Both of which may be signs of dis-ease.

Over the last year, Facebook announced that they have begun “spidering” their platform with an algorithm to help identify troubled users in order to determine people who may be a risk to others or themselves. The goal is to identify troubled users, potentially open the door for intervention before something tragic happens. Many people who are struggling with mental illness, like addiction or depression, are usually pretty guarded as to talking about it. This is generally out of fear of judgment or social stigma. Both of which can deter people from seeking the help they need. Which is why there is an inherent value in “combing” social media for users in distress, who may be subtly crying out for help.

Spotting Substance Abuse on Facebook

At the Addiction Recovery Research Center in Roanoke, Virginia, a team of researchers may have found a way to identify users struggling with addiction by looking at social media messages, MIT Technology Review reports. The findings come from mining millions of “status updates,” looking for various keywords that were associated with substance use.

The researchers also looked at myPersonality, a project on Facebook which more than 4 million users participated, according to the article. The project involved a series of psychometric tests.

“Our best models achieved 86% for predicting tobacco use, 81% for alcohol use and 84% for drug use, all of which significantly outperformed existing methods,” say researcher Warren Bickel and co. “We believe social media is a promising platform for both studying SUD-related human behaviors as well as engaging the public for substance abuse prevention and screening.”

Getting Help for Addiction

Sometimes you personally can spot signs of trouble among your Facebook friends. If you think that your friend is struggling with drugs or alcohol, you might try to encourage them to seek help in a compassionate way. Ignoring the signs, or passing it off as just a little too much partying could have disastrous consequences. We can all have a hand in looking out for our friends and loved ones, just showing that you care can be immensely important.

If they intimate that they need help, please contact 10 Acre Ranch today. We can help them break the cycle of addiction, and learn how to live a life in recovery.

Cigarettes Affect Addiction Recovery

cigarrette

In the world of addiction recovery, cigarettes are in many cases the last bastion of one’s disease. When people seek help for drugs and alcohol and successfully complete a substance use disorder treatment program—cigarettes often hold strong. While most treatment centers encourage clients to quit smoking while under their care and some don’t allow tobacco use of any kind, cigarettes are typically where clients put their foot down. Maybe using a vape, like the kind found at MagicVaporizers, would prove to be a valuable help.

Already anxious and depressed about saying bon voyage to drugs and alcohol, the thought of quitting smoking, too, is often more than one is willing to consider in early recovery. One says to themselves that tobacco did not make my life unmanageable, my wife didn’t leave me because of my addiction to Camels; so why do I need to give them up, and why should I do it at the same time I’m attempting to kick opioids or withdraw from alcohol?

The best counter to such musings is: for the sake of your health and your recovery. But, let’s start with the effect tobacco has on one’s health.

Cigarettes, In the End, Will Kill You

There is hardly a single adult in the United States who would find it surprising to learn that tobacco is deadly. Smokers are reminded of that fact on the side of every pack of cigarettes they purchase. Even though everyone is made aware of the risks, people still continue to smoke. No wonder why companies like Money Expert exist. Even “big tobacco” has admitted that they knew there was a correlation between premature death and their products, and chose to mislead the general public for profit. That being said, most smokers if asked the risks would likely respond by saying, “lung cancer.”

While it is true that years of smoking often results in the development of lung cancer, the reality is that the lists of cancers now associated with tobacco use is ever growing. There are about 36.5 million smokers in the United States, and just under half (16 million) of those individuals are living with some form of smoking related illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cigarettes are currently the number one cause of preventable disease and death in America, and according to the National Cancer Institute smoking causes coronary heart disease, as well as cancer of the:

  • Esophagus
  • Larynx
  • Mouth
  • Throat
  • Kidney
  • Bladder
  • Liver
  • Pancreas
  • Stomach
  • Cervix
  • Colon
  • Rectum

What Are The Risks to My Recovery?

After seeing the lengthy list above, there is a chance that people in recovery will continue smoking regardless. The reasons for which are going to be subjective, but one of the major reasons is the fact that many addicts and alcoholics think that just because something is likely to happen—doesn’t mean that it will. When you have recovering heroin addicts who have survived an overdose, and alcoholics who have survived nearly fatal car wrecks, then it can give individuals a sense of invincibility, and thus they forget that they are eligible, too.

However, why someone does not heed the warnings about tobacco is not the focus of this article. We would like to discuss research which has shown that recovering addicts and alcoholics who continue to smoke whilst working a program of recovery are at a greater risk of relapse than their peers who have quit or didn’t smoke in the first place. If you are in recovery and still smoke, we implore you consider the study conducted at Boston University: School of Public Health which found that continuing or initiating cigarette use in recovery is associated with an increased likelihood of substance use relapse. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

People working a program of recovery often say that their program is the most important thing in their life. Saying things like, “to drink is to die” or “I’m sure I have another drink or drug in me, but I’m not sure I have another recovery.” A testament to the deadly nature of addiction, and thinking that your next relapse could be your last is reinforced by the fact that the likelihood of a deadly overdose in today’s world is high. So, if your recovery is, in fact, paramount to your continued existence. Rethinking your relationship with cigarettes is not just healthy, your future depends upon it.

You are probably aware, there are a number of smoking cessation aids; patches, gums and lozenges to name a few. There are some medications that have been proven to be effective for some smokers, such as Chantix and Wellbutrin. Using any one of those aids in conjunction with step-work and talking with your peers in the program, could allow you to break free from the chains of tobacco use. And possibly prevent a relapse.