RISK FACTORS, SIGNS & SYMPTOMS, INVESTIGATIONS & DIAGNOSIS

RISK FACTORS 

• Smoking over 85: loss of 3 months of life expectancy yearly

SIGNS & SYMPTOMS 

Health impacts:

• Lung cancer
• COPD
• Asthma exacerbation
• Poor infection control
• Impaired healing
• Erectile dysfunction
• Fertility issues
• Cognitive impairment
• Cardiovascular disease
• Peptic ulcer disease

Pregnancy complications:

• Pre-eclampsia
• Preterm births
• Miscarriages
• Ectopic pregnancies
• Stillbirths
• SIDS

Withdrawal symptoms:

• Weight gain (most gained 5-9kg in the years after quitting)
• Irritability
• Frustration
• Increased appetite
• Poor concentration
• Restlessness
• Insomnia
• Low mood

INVESTIGATIONS & DIAGNOSIS 

• Assessment of nicotine dependence – this predicts the severity of withdrawal
• done via a scoring system (involves a number of cigarettes today & and how long after they wake up to have a cigarette)
• important to ask about previous attempts to quit
• important to ask about medication to see if the person is in a high-risk group.