Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK. Each year, roughly 100,000 people in the UK lose their life due to smoking; many more smokers live with debilitating smoking-related illnesses too. You may not be aware that smoking increases your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions, some of these can be fatal and others may cause irreversible long-term damage to your health.
There is a lot of information that you may not be aware of regarding smoking, so we are hoping to clear a few things up for you. Did you know…
- Smokers who light up first thing in the morning, double their risk of developing lung and mouth cancer?
- Morning smokers find it harder to quit?
- Tobacco use is the biggest cause of mouth cancer?
- Up to half of all smokers die of tobacco-related illnesses?
- Mouth cancer kills more people in the UK than road traffic accidents?
Mouth cancer is one of the few cancers predicted to rise over the next decade. Research has shown that people who smoke within five minutes of waking are exposed to twice the amount of harmful chemicals than those who wait for at least one hour.
Despite the already high death rates and the predicted increase in cases, there is not a great deal of publicity surrounding the disease. It is important that people are aware of the risk factors and any signs and symptoms of which we should be aware.
Risk factors include a poor diet, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) transmitted by oral sex, alcohol (especially spirits) consumption and of course, smoking.
Early detection of mouth cancer is linked to survival rates. It is therefore important that people are aware of the warning signs. The warning signs include mouth ulcers which do not heal within three weeks, red and white patches in the mouth and unusual lumps or swellings in the mouth. Your dentist is the best healthcare professional to advise you.
Of course, the most beneficial step a smoker can take is to give up smoking. Your online pharmacy is often a good place to start for advice and a range of products that may help. At PharmacyDirectGB you can have an online consultation with a doctor meaning that prescription-only smoking cessation products may be prescribed, if appropriate for you. This may be what you need to help you quit for good.
Note: The study, presented in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, included 1,945 participants from the 2007/2008 and 2009/2010 National Health and Nutrition and Examination Survey.
Pharmacy Direct is a fully licensed online chemist, with our own online consultation and prescription service.
If you are looking for an online pharmacy that you can trust, take a look at our website. We have a range of medical treatments that have been professionally proven to help. We have a qualified pharmacist and Pharmacy Direct also offers an online prescription service too! Contact us if you have any questions, we are always happy to help.
