Respiratory Care Week and Breathing Easy Testimonial Contest

Did you know that it is Lung Health and Respiratory Care week? True story!

We know how important the lungs are to a body functioning correctly. Without proper oxygenation, people are less able to fight off infection, including tuberculosis. The damage caused to the lungs by smoking stretches far beyond just lung cancer. In a study published recently in The FASEB Journal states that cigarettes effect the lungs in a similar manner as Cystic Fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis disrupts the normal function of epithelial cells — cells that make up the sweat glands in the skin and that also line passageways inside the lungs, liver, pancreas, and digestive and reproductive systems. (1) The improper movement of salt and water in the epithelial cells lining the lungs causes a thick, sticky mucus to form. Bacteria and toxic chemicals become trapped in the mucus, leading to a host of problems including life-threatening infections and cancer.

The hope of the study is to highlight the importance of adequate airway hydration in terms of lung health and that it will help provide a road map for the development of novel therapies for the treatment of smoking-related lung disease including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, and the earliest warning signs of dry cough. Researchers have tested individual lung cells with clean air and polluted cigarette smoke air. In the cells exposed to cigarette smoke, the water concentration decreased dramatically and remained below normal levels for two and one-half hours prior to returning towards normal levels. In the exposed cells, researchers also tested a treatment used in cystic fibrosis patients called hypertonic saline. The saline took the exposed cells to a more-normal level of hydration.

Quitting smoking should be the first priority of every smoker. Along side quitting, it is important that you remember to adequately hydrate your body in the upper end of the normal water range every day to help your body replenish the fluid in your cells that is necessary to remove destructive toxins and bacteria from your lungs to ensure your health.

Knowing how cigarettes destroy the lungs...

How has quitting analogs helped you? Are you breathing easier? Able to accomplish great feats? Are you running again, hiking steep mountains, finally enjoying your life again, or....? We want to know! In this contest, we encourage you to tell us how eliminating tobacco cigarettes from your life has made a difference in how you breathe.

• Contest entries are due 10/20/2011 by 9pm PST
• Entries can be a video OR a picture with a written testimonial
• Video entries must be hosted on YouTube and a link emailed to contest@thesafecig.com
• Photo and written testimonials must be emailed to contest@thesafecig.com (Please email the photo, too.)
• Voting will begin on 10/21/2011 and end on 10/23/2011
• Winner will be announced on 10/24/2011

(1) KidsHealth.org