A large number of people resolve to quit smoking all over the world on a daily basis. We have all heard over and over again how bad smoking is for us and how it contributes to a number of health problems and risks. And while quitting smoking is a great resolution, a new study featured on CNN.com states that quitting smoking can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Despite this new finding, experts caution that the benefits of quitting smoking — including a lower risk of heart attack and lung cancer — far outweigh the risk of developing diabetes, which can be treated with diet, exercise, and medication. However, the risk is something to keep in mind as you’re trying to quit smoking.
The study states that oftentimes when people quit smoking they have a tendency to gain weight, thereby making them a candidate for acquiring diabetes. The study followed 11,000 individuals without diabetes, where 45 percent of these individuals were smokers. After the nine year study, 1,254 people in the study developed type 2 diabetes. 
To combat this risk doctors suggest paying extra attention to weight control and making other lifestyle changes if you have decided to quit smoking and want to decrease your risk of weight gain and developing type 2 diabetes.
Weight control is key, to counteract the increased risk of diabetes, people who quit smoking are encouraged to implement a series of lifestyle changes in consultation with their physicians.
Dr. Richard D. Hurt, director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, recommends that people who quit smoking stick to small portions of low-fat, low-calorie foods. They should also get moving, he adds.
“Even just moderate exercise — like 30 minutes of brisk walking — reduces the urges to smoke and reduces withdrawal symptoms,” he says. “People are able to distract themselves, it makes them feel better, and it uses up some of the calories.”
Nicotine-replacement products may also be helpful since nicotine is largely responsible for the appetite-suppressing effect of cigarettes. Nicotine patches or gum deliver nicotine much more slowly than a cigarette, however, so to suppress appetite and prevent weight gain they may need to be administered in above-average doses, says Hurt, who was not involved in the new study.
If they are taken for at least three to six months, smoking cessation drugs such as bupropion, an atypical antidepressant sold as Zyban or Wellbutrin may also limit weight gain, Hurt says.
In addition to recommending lifestyle changes, it is suggested that physicians keep an eye on the blood glucose levels of patients who quit smoking, as elevated glucose levels can be a warning sign for type 2 diabetes.
Despite the study’s findings, doctors are quick to emphasize that quitting smoking — or better yet, never starting in the first place — is far healthier than continuing to smoke, which can cause a host of deadly health problems ranging from heart disease to lung cancer.
“Type 2 diabetes is associated with smoking to begin with; this study found there’s a 30 percent increased risk if you’re a smoker compared to nonsmokers,” he points out. “Stopping smoking increases that risk, but its way offset by the other health gains,” explains Dr. Hurt.
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Tags: diabetes risk, heart attack, lifestyle changes, lung cancer, quitting smoking, type 2 diabetes
Write down a list of ways to tackle cravings. When the cravings hit all reasoning & resolve can suddenly go out the window as you may already have experienced & is not something to be ashamed of. You need a way to overcome these things, having something to distract you from the cravings is a important things to do whether it is to get your joggers on & hit the pavement or if you are at work to perhaps chew some gum, receive a coffee or tidy up your office space.
Write a list of reason you LIKE smoking. It may seem counter to your needs to quit smoking but ignoring why you like smoking & why you continue to smoke is important so that psychologically you can overcome these things or leave them behind or replace them with something. Ignoring them basically means when cravings hit those reasons subconsciously attack your reasoning & resolve.
State your purpose to quit smoking cigarettes. Tell your friends, tell your relatives & tell your co-workers that you plan to quit smoking cigarettes for a two reasons. Two, you need a support network to help you so it is lovely to get as lots of well wishers & helpers as you can. Two if you are not announcing it does not become REAL to you & is less substantial because it is like you are a keeping a secret often as lots of do not need the stigma of people knowing they failed if it comes to that which is another excuse.
Smokeless cigarettes were first viewed with trepidation but more and more have become embraced by the public as well as the Medical Association. E-Cigarettes are now manufactured by a number of different companies throughout the US and China and are readily available across the United States and Europe, even the some of the most ardent skeptics have become believers once they try the electronic cigarette.
Relapses can occur if you are not careful, particularly when you subject yourself to the environment that habitually make you “light up”. Be aware of this and the circumstances that will make you do so, such as after a meal or when getting in the car. Keep the cigarettes away at all costs!
With current advances in stem cell research, it won’t be long before we can find a permanent cure for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. :
Stay Positive, Quit positive. Research has shown that those that quit when in a lovely & positive mood stand a much greater chance of achieving their objective. IF you plan to quit & map out your ways to quit smoking cigarettes while under stress of when depressed it does not bode well as a negative reason as has been mentioned is no where near as strong as positive ones.
Thanks for the warning! I had no idea!
Your news stories are well written. Keep up the great work. I visit your blog all the time.
i actually had a very hard time quitting smoking, i am just afraid to get lung cancer*;.
if you want to quit smoking, then you must be a very determined person to do that:~`