/24-7PressRelease/ - PALM BEACH, FL, September 03, 2006 - This National Grandparents' Day, September 10, Smoke Free Society brings awareness that it's never too late to quit smoking and though people may have smoked for years, the benefits they'll enjoy when they quit will begin within 20 minutes of their last cigarette, and will continue for years to come. Life is too short and no one deserves to live a miserable last few years dying a slow death.
"My mother survived lung cancer, but she couldn't outlast Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Any smoker who is not afraid of cancer should spend a few hours with someone with advanced COPD to see what it does, not only to the person with COPD but to their family as well. The cost of care and the emotional toll on family members can be astronomical," said Christina O'Neill, managing editor, Worcester Business Journal, Worcester, MA. O'Neill wrote to warn others of this most debilitating disease. "Increased awareness of what COPD does - before it's too late - could and should keep our young people from starting to smoke, and could be one of the most important lessons grandparents can teach their children and grandchildren," she continued.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, COPD, is a progressive impairment of lung function, and it's the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. This dreadful disease has been the diagnosis for 10 million people, BUT an estimated 14 million people in the U.S. may have it and have not yet been diagnosed. The two most common forms of COPD are emphysema (the actual loss of lung tissue) and chronic bronchitis (the shrinking of the lung passages). The more severe COPD is, the more at risk the person is for problems such as heart failure and the more likely their overall quality of life will be impaired. Smoking causes nearly 90 percent of COPD cases and estimates show that almost 20 percent of long-term smokers will develop COPD.
"Within weeks of the first COPD flare-up, my mother's difficulty breathing cost her her independence," said O'Neill. "She required supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day, and a wheelchair. Her short-term memory clouded. Our roles became reversed as I took charge of her financial affairs and arranged for her medical care. Our activities together narrowed down to my transferring her from bed to wheelchair to destination, and back again."
"It was heartbreaking to watch mom, a former language teacher, losing her innate talent to relate to people," she added. "Her grandchildren never knew mom as the vivacious, energetic person she had once been. While she received excellent medical care at the end of her life, nothing could replace her lost health. Mom died in 2004. I often dream of her as she was when she was healthy. I hold onto that memory, and only wish my niece and nephew could have seen her that way, too." To read more of O'Neill's moving story, please visit http://www.smokefreesociety.org/NewsClip/COPD-story.asp.
Smoke Free Society offers its top 5 ways how grandparents can help their children and grandchildren not to smoke or use tobacco:
1. Lead by example - If you smoke, quit and encourage them to do the same.
2. Talk to them about the hazards of smoking and why they shouldn't smoke.
3. Explain the costs of smoking to them and their family - the amount of money they are throwing away.
4. Encourage them to be an advocate of nonsmoking.
5. Talk to them about the myths of smoking and how advertising is an illusion and misleading just to get them hooked at an early age.
Smoke Free Society is a national, not-for-profit organization solely dedicated to providing information and techniques to help smokers quit smoking, educating children to prevent them from starting to smoke or use tobacco, and uniting the community to promote a healthy, tobacco-free lifestyle. The organization offers a free online download of its "Proven Stop Smoking Technique" to help smokers correctly and effectively quit in just 17 days without any substance or drug. Individuals should go to http://www.SmokeFreeSociety.org for the download, free eCards for loved ones to send to their grandparents to pledge their love, support and involvement in helping them quit as well as other lifesaving information.
About Smoke Free Society
Smoke Free Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping smokers quit smoking and educating kids not to start.
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