If you’ve been considering giving up smoking but haven’t been able to bring yourself to quit, a disturbing new study published in the American Heart Association Journal on the long-term effects of smoking on DNA could be the motivation you need to seek help. The study revealed that long-term DNA damage caused by smoking can lead to a wide range of smoking-related diseases, including lung and cardiovascular disorders, cancers and even osteoporosis.
There were 16,000 people who took part in the study which uncovered evidence that one-third of the known genes found in smokers were affected by smoking. Although most of the genes recovered within five years of smokers quitting, 19 genes – including a vital gene commonly linked to lymphoma – were impacted up to 30 years later.
The study was conducted using blood samples from the 16,000 people, ranging from current to former smokers, as well as non-smokers. Its key focus was DNA methylation, otherwise known as the process by which a gene is altered, causing it to become either inactivate or change the way that the gene normally functions.
The team involved in the study examined blood samples from research conducted as early as 1971. In conjunction with providing samples, participants also filled in questionnaires covering topics such as diet, personal health history, lifestyle and their smoking habits.
Long term effects of smoking
While there were some positive results from the study, which highlighted that the human body tried to heal itself within 5 years of participants giving up smoking, indicated by the genes which fully recovered, the DNA methylation still present in the remaining genes is a scary reminder of the long-term effects of smoking.
Wanting to stop smoking but haven’t found an effective method? Hypnosis for smoking has had excellent results in helping smokers break their nicotine habit. Hypnotherapy is an alternative method of healing which addresses a wide range of habits and emotional issues by creating subconscious changes that result in patients forming different feelings, responses and behaviours. Through hypnosis, clinical hypnotherapists can access the subconscious mind, where poor patterns of behaviour and responses are formed.
Hypnosis helps
Addiction to smoking is often caused by underlying reasons, otherwise known as triggers, which have to be addressed if the habit is to be stopped permanently. Often issues in the subconscious, such as phobias, anxiety or relationship problems, are the triggers that many people are unaware of and which make stopping a habit so hard. This is often why traditional methods to give up smoking, such as nicotine patches, are often unsuccessful.
Whether you are a light or heavy smoker and want to kick the habit permanently, make a booking for a hypnotherapy session with clinical hypnotherapist Roland James today and experience the benefits of better health and well-being. With hypnotherapy you can stop smoking permanently, so call now to make a change!