Tuesday 3 September 2013

Could how much you smoke be linked to the chance of developing Arthritis? It would appear so.

For women who smoke, it would appear that the number of cigarettes they smoke each day directly correlates to their risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis... not good news for millions of women who are still smokers!

This may seem like a bit of a sweeping statement, however research undertaken at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden looked at the arthritis risk faced by female smokers aged 54 and 89 and results found that women who smoke anything from one to seven cigarettes on a daily basis have a 1.31-fold higher chance of becoming arthritic than those who have never smoked. What's more, the longer a period of time a woman smokes, the higher her risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Whilst those ladies who have smoked for a year have a smaller risk, those with a history of smoking spanning over 25 years have a 1.6 times greater chance of developing the condition.

We all know that smoking is not a 'healthy' habit, but this research clearly identifies just how much of a hidden impact smoking can have on the body as a whole over a long period of time. Of course this does not just affect females, however it seems women are far more likely to be impacted with arthritis than men. These worrying findings may well convince women around the world to think about whether their habit is worth it, particularly when they are so many people out there that could support them through smoking cessation.

Hypnotherapy has been used as a way for smokers to kick the habit for many years. Many smokers struggle with the various "stop smoking aids" such as nicotine patches and gum, mainly as they act as a substitute for the real thing, meaning the person remains addicted to the substitute. This often results in the person going back to cigarettes within a short space of time! What makes hypnotherapy a much more effective (and long term) solution is that it can help the person identify the root cause of their addiction and help smokers break the habit  rather than just the nicotine addiction, thus making the process a little easier. Not just for women!

If you would like to find out more about hypnotherapy for smoking cessation, please contact Christy on 01252 334377 or email: christy@christyhypnotherapy.com