claim the side effects of smoking

What Is Passive Smoking?

Smoking as a habit has been around for over 7000 years, and for many people, it’s an everyday part of life. The harmful effects of this were not properly studied until research from the British physiologist Richard Doll was published in 1948. Yet smoking remains prevalent. Up until 2007, employees, even those who did not smoke, could be exposed to the smoke of others, and its negative effects. Those who were most at risk were waiters, waitresses and bar staff, and anyone else who worked indoors, exposing them to large groups of smokers.

What if I’ve Fallen Ill as a Result?

If you have developed a condition, or disease, that may have been caused by passive smoking,you could be entitled to make a passive smoking claim. The ill effects of smoking on health have been known for decades, so where employees were exposed to second hand smoke on a daily basis, employers will have been negligent in their duty to protect them. If you feel that you may have been affected by passive smoking, as a result of your employment, you should speak to us.

Complications

For those that have been exposed to second hand smoke, the possibilities of contracting a respiratory disease, or condition, will be heightened. We’ve dealt with cases where victims have suffered from:

• Bladder Cancer
• Bronchitis
• Cancer of the Kidney
• Cancer of the Pancreas
• Cancer of the Stomach
• Cervical Cancer
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Decreased sense of taste and smell
• Emphysema
• Heart Attacks & Heart Disease
• Impotence and Infertility
• Increased risk of developing colds and flu
• Mouth Cancer
• Pneumonia
• Stomach Ulcers
• Strokes
• Throat Cancer

In the UK, more than 100,000 people die due to smoking, and statistics show that half of all living smokers can expect to die from a smoking-related disease.

Our Passive Smoking Claims Experience

Our expert solicitors can assess your position quickly, determining whether or not you have a valid claim. If we find that your employer or a third party has been negligent in protecting you from smoke exposure, we can investigate. We will meticulously examine every aspect of your situation, from assessing health and safety practices, to examining medical records. In doing this, we can collect all the evidence required to build a compelling case.

As part of our investigation we will assess the present impact on your health, and your life, examining any possible long-term consequences, whether physical, emotional or financial; so that we can assess any future needs, or expenses. By working in this way we can acquire compensation that fairly reflects the damage, and undue suffering, that you have had to bear.

Effects of Smoking Pipes and Cigars

Pipe and cigar smokers often wave off worries that smoking is bad for their health. They claim their habit is harmless and perpetuate the common misperception that pipes and cigars are somehow safer than cigarettes. In reality, these tobacco products carry the same health risks -- and sometimes even greater risks -- than cigarettes.

Cigars and pipes differ in design from cigarettes, which are made from tobacco wrapped in thin paper. Cigars are wrapped in tobacco leaves, and unlike cigarettes, they don't typically have filters. In pipes, the tobacco sits in a bowl at the end, and a stem connects the bowl to the mouthpiece. Pipes can be equipped with filters, however.

Another type of pipe, the water pipe, consists of a body filled with water, a bowl in which the tobacco is placed, and an attached tube and mouthpiece through which the pipe is smoked. Water pipes, or hookahs, originated in ancient Persia and India about 400 years ago and are still popular today. Hookahs are filled with fragrant tobaccos in a variety of flavors, such as cherry, apple, or mint.

Cigar and Pipe Smoking Just as Risky as Cigarettes

Cigar and pipe smokers often argue that their health isn't at risk because they only smoke one or two a day and they don't inhale. There is also the claim that pipes and cigars aren't addictive. Yet research shows that cigar and pipe smoking is every bit as dangerous as cigarette smoking, and possibly even more dangerous.

A single large cigar can contain more than a 1/2 ounce of tobacco -- as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes. One cigar also contains 100 to 200 milligrams of nicotine, while a cigarette averages only about 8 milligrams. That extra nicotine may be why smoking just a few cigars a week is enough to trigger nicotine cravings.

Health Effects of Smoking Pipes and Cigars

Here are just a few of the harmful health effects of smoking pipes and cigars:

Cancer. Even if you don't inhale, you can get a number of different cancers from smoking pipes and cigars. People who smoke cigars regularly are four to 10 times more likely than nonsmokers to die from cancers of the mouth, larynx, and esophagus. Oral cancer can develop anywhere the smoke touches, including the lips, mouth, throat, and tongue. People who inhale also increase their risk for cancers of the lung, pancreas, and bladder.

Lung disease. Cigar and pipe smoking double the risk for the airway damage that leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease that includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking can also worsen existing asthma.

Heart disease. Smoking cigars or pipes increases the likelihood of having heart disease or a stroke. Cigars boost the risk of early death from coronary heart disease by 30%.

Smoking: what are the effects?

Effects of tobacco

The effects of any drug (including tobacco) vary from person to person. How tobacco affects a person depends on many things including their size, weight and health, also whether the person is used to taking it. The effects of tobacco, as with any drug, also depend on the amount taken.

In Australia, tobacco use is responsible for approximately 15,000 deaths each year. In 2004–2005 approximately three-quarters of a million hospital bed-days were a result of tobacco use. (Collins & Lapsley, 2008)

There is no safe level of tobacco use. Use of any drug always carries some risk—even medications can produce unwanted side effects. It is important to be careful when taking any type of drug.

Immediate effects

Low to moderate doses

Some of the effects that may be experienced after smoking tobacco include:

• initial stimulation, then reduction in activity of brain and nervous system
• increased alertness and concentration
• feelings of mild euphoria
• feelings of relaxation
• increased blood pressure and heart rate
• decreased blood flow to fingers and toes
• decreased skin temperature
• bad breath
• decreased appetite
• dizziness
• nausea, abdominal cramps and vomiting
• headache
• coughing, due to smoke irritation.

Higher doses

A high dose of nicotine can cause a person to overdose. This means that a person has taken more nicotine than their body can cope with. The effects of very large doses can include:

• an increase in the unpleasant effects
• feeling faint
• confusion
• rapid decrease in blood pressure and breathing rate
• seizures
• respiratory arrest (stopping breathing) and death.

60 mg of nicotine taken orally can be fatal for an adult.

Long-term effects

Tar in cigarettes coats the lungs and can cause lung and throat cancer in smokers. It is also responsible for the yellow–brown staining on smokers’ fingers and teeth.

Carbon monoxide in cigarettes reduces the amount of oxygen available to the muscles, brain and blood. This means the whole body—especially the heart—must work harder. Over time this causes airways to narrow and blood pressure to rise, which can lead to heart attack and stroke.

High levels of CO, together with nicotine, increase the risk of heart disease, hardening of the arteries and other circulatory problems.

Some of the long-term effects of smoking (Quit Victoria, 2010) that may be experienced include:

• increased risk of stroke and brain damage
• eye cataracts, macular degeneration, yellowing of whites of eyes
• loss of sense of smell and taste
• yellow teeth, tooth decay and bad breath
• cancer of the nose, lip, tongue and mouth
• possible hearing loss
• laryngeal and pharyngeal cancers
• contributes to osteoporosis
• shortness of breath
• coughing
• chronic bronchitis
• cancer
• triggering asthma
• emphysema
• heart disease
• blockages in blood supply that can lead to a heart attack
• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• myeloid leukaemia, a cancer that affects bone marrow and organs that make blood
• stomach and bladder cancers
• stomach ulcers
• decreased appetite
• grey appearance
• early wrinkles
• slower healing wounds
• damage to blood vessel walls
• increased likelihood of back pain
• increased susceptibility to infection
• lower fertility and increased risk of miscarriage
• irregular periods
• early menopause
• damaged sperm and reduced sperm
• impotence.

Other effects of tobacco use

Passive smoking

Passive smoking occurs when a person who is not smoking breathes in the smoke from people who are smoking. Passive smoking can irritate the eyes and nose and cause a number of health problems such as heart disease and lung cancer. Tobacco smoke is especially harmful to babies and young children.

Using tobacco with other drugs

Nicotine can affect the way the body processes many different drugs. This can affect how these drugs work. For example, nicotine can decrease the effectiveness of benzodiazepines. Smoking while taking the contraceptive pill increases the risk ofblood clots forming.

Check with your doctor or other health professional whether nicotine might affect any medications you are taking.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Read about the effects of tobacco use on pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Many drugs can cross the placenta and affect an unborn child.

In general, using drugs when pregnant can increase the chances of going into labour early. This can mean that babies are born below the normal birth weight.

If a mother uses drugs while breastfeeding, they may be present in her milk, and could affect the baby.

Check with your health professional if you are taking or planning to take any drugs during pregnancy, or while breastfeeding.

Tolerance and dependence

People who use tobacco regularly tend to develop a tolerance to the effects of nicotine. This means they need to smoke more tobacco to get the same effect.

They may become dependent on nicotine. Dependence can be psychological, physical, or both. People who are dependent on nicotine find that using the drug becomes far more important than other activities in their life. They crave the drug and will find it very difficult to stop using it.

People who are psychologically dependent on nicotine may find they feel an urge to smoke when they are in specific surroundings or socialising with friends.

Physical dependence occurs when a person’s body adapts to the nicotine and gets used to functioning with the nicotine present.

12 Ways Smoking Ruins Your Looks

Smoking impacts appearance

If you smoke, you already know you need to quit. It’s bad for your heart, lungs, brain, and even your sex life. 
But let’s face it: You’d have kicked the habit yesterday if smoking’s illeffects were a bit more obvious. What if each cigarette created a black pockmark on your face, for instance? 
Well, smoking does damage your looks. Read on to discover 15 ways smoking is ruining your appearance.

Bags under your eyes

Don’t you hate it when you can’t get a good night’s sleep—and it shows on your face?  

If you smoke, you’re four times as likely as nonsmokers to report feeling unrested after a night’s sleep, according to Johns Hopkins study. 

Why the lack of shut-eye? It’s possible that nightly nicotine withdrawal could be causing you to toss and turn. And unfortunately, poor sleep doesn’t equal pretty.

Psoriasis

To be fair, psoriasis is an autoimmune-related skin conditionthat can show up even if you never touch a cigarette. 

However, if you do smoke, your risk for the scaly skin condition goes up—a lot. 

According to a 2007 

study

, if you puff a pack a day for 10 years or less, psoriasis risk goes up 20%; 11–20 years and your risk is 60% higher; and for those who pass the two-decade mark, the psoriasis risk more than doubles. (Even secondhand smoke during pregnancy or childhood is linked to a higher risk.)

Icky teeth

Wouldn’t you love to have a set of dazzling white, Hollywood-like choppers? If you smoke, you can kiss that dream good-bye. 

It’s the nicotine in cigarettes that can stain teeth. 

So in addition to the escalating costs of buying and smoking your cigs, add in the cost of tooth whitening. A professional procedure to clean your teeth costs an average of $500 to $1,000.

Premature aging and wrinkles

We can all appreciate a wizened visage—on our favorite nonagenarian that is. Wrinkles look anything but wise when they show up on a relatively young person who smokes. 

And show up they will. Experts agree that smoking accelerates aging, so that smokers look 1.4 years older than nonsmokers, on average. 

Why the wrinkly face? Smoking hampers the blood supply that keeps skin tissue looking supple and healthy.

Yellow fingers

The nicotine in cigarette smoke can not only make your teeth (and the walls of your home) brown, but it’s also notorious for staining fingers and nails as well. 

If you search the Internet, you can find a number of home remedies, including lemon juice, bleach solutions, and scrubbing with steel wool. Ouch. 

Wouldn’t it be easier—and less painful—to just quit?

Thinner hair

As if the wrinkly skin wasn’t enough, smoking hurts your hair too. Experts think the toxic chemicals in smoke can damage the DNA in hair follicles and generate cell-damaging free radicals as well. 

The end result? Smokers have thinner hair that tends to go gray sooner than nonsmokers. That is, if they have any hair at all. 

Men who smoke are about twice as likely to lose their hair as nonsmokers, after taking into account factors that increase the risk of baldness, such as aging and genetics, according to a 2007 study in Taiwan.

Scarring

Nicotine causes vasoconstriction, a narrowing of the blood vessels that can limit oxygen-rich blood flow to the tiny vessels in the face or other parts of the body. 

This means your wounds will take longer to heal and you’ll have scars that are bigger and redder than you would in a nonsmoking parallel universe.

Tooth loss

Smoking puts you at greater risk for all kinds of dental problems, including oral cancer and gum disease. 

In fact, according to a 2005 U.K. 

study

 in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, smokers are up to six times more likely than nonsmokers to develop gum disease, which can lead to tooth loss. 

Wouldn’t you rather be doing, well, anything other than sitting in a dentist’s chair?

Natural glow is gone

Ever notice how smokers’ skin sometimes seems off? You’re not alone. A 1985 study came up with the term Smoker’s Face to describe certain facial characteristics, such as wrinkles, gauntness, and a gray appearance of the skin, caused by smoking. 

Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide, which displaces the oxygen in your skin, and nicotine, which reduces blood flow, leaving skin dry and discolored. Cigarette smoking also depletes many nutrients, including vitamin C, which helps protect and repair skin damage.

Wound healing

Several studies have found that smokers do not heal as well after surgeries such as face-lifts, tooth extractions, and periodontal procedures. 

So once cigarettes wrinkle up your face, you’ll have a harder time correcting the damage with cosmetic surgery than people who’ve never smoked. (And your surgeon might not even perform the procedure until you agree to kick the habit.)

Warts

For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, smokers are more susceptible to infection with human papillomavirus, a large family of viruses that can cause warts—including genital warts. 

While genital warts are caused by sexually transmitted types of HPV, smoking is also a risk factor. Even taking the number of sex partners into account, women who smoke are nearly four times as likely to have genital warts as nonsmokers, according to one study.

Ten Things You Should Know About Laser Hair Removal

Laser hair removal is a safe and effective way to permanently remove unwanted hair from the bikini area, underarms, legs, chest, back (gentleman), and even faces. It is not for everyone, however, and there are some things you should know before signing up this summer.

1. Laser hair removal only works on pigmented hair. If you have light blond or white hair, then lasers won’t work! See How Laser Hair Removal Works to learn why.
2. The darker your skin, the greater your risk of injury. Lasers target the pigment, not the actual hair, so dark pigment in the skin is more likely to absorb the laser’s energy.
3. Plan ahead — you shouldn’t have laser hair removal done if you have a tan (and you should question anyone who is willing to do the treatment on you if you do). The brown pigment from your tan will be more likely to absorb the laser, leading to discoloration of your skin.
4. It is important that you see a trained professional who is experienced in laser hair removal; choosing the right laser is critical in determining how many treatments are needed. Also, some lasers are not safe for some skin types.
5. In some women, laser hair removal on the face can cause a paradoxical increase in hair growth! Using the correct laser can prevent this, so be sure that the person who is doing your treatment knows if you are at risk and how to prevent this.
6. You have to let your hair grow for at least 2 weeks prior to laser treatment. Yup, that means stubbly legs for a while, sorry.
7. Prices vary dramatically depending on your geographic location and on the areas you want treated. It can take 3 to 5 treatments depending on the color of your hair, the laser used, and the area treated — in some instances, it can take 10 treatments to get satisfactory results. Try to negotiate a price for a complete treatment rather than paying for each individual session; it could save you money in the long run.
8. Because it takes multiple treatments, and you have to wait weeks between treatments, a complete course can take several months to finish. So if the wedding is in August, then you had better start now.
9. Be sure that the person operating the laser can tell you the following: what type of laser or device is being used; why it’s the best type of laser for your skin and what your risks are; what adverse outcomes they have had; how many treatments they expect you’ll need. Using the wrong laser or the wrong settings can lead todiscoloration of your skin, failure of the laser to work, pain and redness, and even scarring.
10. The laser actually explodes your hair follicles when it hits them, so treatments do hurt a little. It is often described as feeling like an elastic band being snapped against your skin. Ah, what we will endure for the sake of vanity.