I believe you must have heard such rumors. An old man around you suddenly quit smoking, or got cancer after quitting drinking, or suffered cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, and was paralyzed in bed! Is this really the case? If the elderly have the habit of smoking and drinking, will quitting smoking and drinking cause diseases? Let’s talk about it today!

70. If you don’t quit smoking and drinking, you will be more likely to get sick! Doctors accuse: It’s never too late at any age

It’s never too late to quit smoking!

Smoking can be said to be harmful rather than beneficial. It is a recognized fact that dozens of substances in cigarettes can cause cancer.

Smoking can damage the lungs and airways, cause chronic bronchial inflammation, and even induce emphysema, damage the lungs and make it difficult for you to breathe; it can also increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, and can induce lung cancer. , oral cancer, esophageal cancer, larynx cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer and other cancers; Smoking will make you very susceptible to osteoporosis and increase your risk of blindness and blindness ; Smoking is more likely to cause type 2 diabetes than non-smoking, and is more likely to cause some complications. Smoking also makes you tired more easily and makes it harder for wounds to heal... these are just some of the dangers that smoking can cause!

So if you want to quit smoking, it’s never too late, even if you are 70 years old, you can quit smoking completely

As long as you can try to quit smoking slowly, you can enjoy Its benefits include reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and lung disease, improving blood circulation, gradually restoring the sense of taste and smell, and body odor is no longer as unpleasant as before. In addition, it is important to set a healthy example for your children and grandchildren.

Although the process of quitting smoking is painful, you may face weight gain, insomnia, cold symptoms, anxiety, etc. , that is, because the cilia in the airways gradually recover after quitting smoking, you may have more phlegm than before, but as long as you slowly and gradually reduce the smoke, you will enjoy the benefits of quitting smoking.

Seeing some friends here, they will argue that the elderly in our village have smoked all their lives without any health problems, and some people got cancer instead of quitting smoking. This is survivor bias. It is true that there are some elderly people who have smoked all their lives without any problems, but such people are rare. Even if there are more than 3 to 5 such elderly people in your village, compared to the entire smoking population, this is still a minority situation. People have high-quality genes. Usually these elderly people are likely to eat healthily and be able to work. With the blessing of genes, it is understandable that he has no problems. But you didn't go to the hospital. You go to the respiratory and thoracic departments of major hospitals and see how many people suffer from various diseases because of smoking. You've never seen a patient like this. Take the elderly people around you who have these special circumstances as an example. This is turning a blind eye and failing to see Mount Tai (a large number of patients have become sick and died due to smoking).

In addition, there are some elderly people who get sick after quitting smoking, but you should consider why these elderly people want to quit smoking. Would they quit smoking if they didn't have some specific adverse symptoms in their body? In addition, you also have to consider these elderly people. Even if they don’t want to quit smoking because of their bad symptoms, they have been smoking for many years and the problems have accumulated in their bodies. In fact, I only discovered it after I quit smoking. Have you considered these situations?

So, you have to quit smoking!

Is it necessary to quit drinking?

After talking about smoking cessation, Dr. Xie wants to talk to you about the issue of smoking cessation among the elderly.

However, Dr. Xie personally believes that the issue of abstinence should be treated differently. The first is whether the elderly drink too much or not.

For older adults, even small amounts of alcohol can impair their judgment, coordination, and reaction times. Therefore, if they drink too much, they can easily increase their risk of falling at work and at home. For older adults, serious fractures, especially hip fractures, can be fatal in the event of a fall.

In addition, many elderly people will suffer from some chronic diseases as they age. For the elderly, nearly 40 people over the age of 65 need to take 4 to 5 kinds of drugs.

We must be aware of whether drinking alcohol increases the risks of these drugs, especially if some older adults require oral aspirin. If you drink too much or too much alcohol, you may increase your risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

In addition, we should also take into account that heavy drinking increases the risk of cancer over time, leading to nutritional deficiencies, cirrhosis and pancreatitis, and may induce immune system disorders, Even cause brain damage.

So how do we judge excessive drinking? The 2007 China Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Monitoring Reporting Standards defines excessive drinking. For men, if they drink more than two and a half glasses of high-alcohol liquor, more than three and a half glasses of low-alcohol liquor, more than 3 to 5 cans of beer, or 750 ml of wine at one time, it is considered too much; for women, For example, drinking two or three bottles of high-alcohol wine, three or two bottles of low-alcohol wine, 2.5 to 4 cans of beer, or 600 ml of wine at one time is considered excessive drinking.

Therefore, if the amount of alcohol consumed exceeds the above standards, it is recommended to stop drinking.

If you have some chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, liver cirrhosis or cerebral infarction, it is recommended that you not drink alcohol.

Then let’s discuss a question. Without these problems, can a 70-year-old still drink normally?

According to the recommendations of the 2016 "Chinese Dietary Guidelines", for adults, in order to limit alcohol intake, it is recommended to consume a maximum of alcohol in a day. Alcohol content should not exceed 25 grams for men and 15 grams for women. 25 grams of alcohol is equivalent to 75 ml of 38-proof liquor, 50 ml of high-alcohol liquor, 250 ml of wine, and 750 ml of beer; 15 grams of alcohol is equivalent to 50 ml of 38-proof liquor, 30 ml of high-end liquor, 150 ml of wine, and 450 ml of beer.

So, if you are in good health, you are over 70 years old, you can still work, and you don’t have any chronic diseases, you can drink appropriately every day, but you must not exceed this amount.

Mr. Xie once wrote an article about longevity blue zones, which means there are five regions in the world. The average number of people over 100 years old in these five regions is 10 times higher than in the United States. Some scholars have studied the living habits of these elderly people and found that these elderly people drink a small amount of alcohol every day. We can never say that these elderly people live longer because they drank a small amount of alcohol, but at least we can say that a small amount of alcohol will not endanger the lives of these elderly people, and many of them are very healthy.

People were not scarce before the 1970s, so we should never have the idea that when people reach the 1970s, they will be unable to make ends meet. As long as you adhere to a healthy lifestyle, living to 90 or 100 years old is not a dream. Therefore, if you have the habit of smoking and drinking too much, it is recommended that you try to quit. Don’t listen to the rumors that smoking cessation and drinking will make you sick as you get older. It’s not true.

Finally, let’s talk about it. A few years ago, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet published a shocking article claiming that drinking alcohol has zero health benefits! That said, drinking is not recommended for anyone!

For the elderly, if there are too many difficulties in life, they will use smoking and drinking to relieve their worries. In China, many middle-aged and elderly people have the habit of smoking and drinking, which can cause serious damage to their organs. Smoking damages the lungs, drinking alcohol damages the liver and stomach. In order to make the old man quit smoking and drinking, the younger generation also tried his best, but was blocked by one sentence.

In the understanding of the elderly, quitting smoking and drinking will only bring many harms. However, after smoking and drinking for so many years, at the age of 70, it is easier to get serious diseases. Moreover, the elderly may refute others by citing examples of people around them quit smoking, quitting drinking, and eventually died.

At the age of 70, are you more likely to get serious diseases if you quit smoking and drinking? See the doctor’s analysis

If you are 70 years old, are you more likely to get serious illnesses if you quit smoking and drinking? Experts say it's just a way for people to comfort themselves. It’s never too late to quit smoking and drinking.

Long-term smoking is very harmful to the health of the elderly. The longer you smoke and the earlier you start smoking, the greater the damage to your lungs, respiratory tract and other organs. And quitting smoking can only bring benefits to people.

Because after quitting smoking, the nicotine, tar and other carcinogens in cigarettes can be metabolized by the body in a more timely manner, thereby slowly restoring your original health.

After quitting smoking, many people report coughing, phlegm, and irritability. , and some elderly people think that these are the disadvantages caused by quitting smoking, and are afraid that they will get seriously ill. But these are normal withdrawal reactions to quitting smoking. After quitting smoking, the lungs can regenerate cilia to expel impurities from the lungs as quickly as possible. This process may cause some withdrawal reactions. But if you insist on quitting smoking for more than 1-3 months, these uncomfortable symptoms will gradually disappear and bring benefits.

No matter how old you are now, it is never too late to quit smoking and drinking. About a year after quitting smoking, people can experience significant physical changes, breathing easier and eating better. It's never too late to quit smoking. The most important thing is to stick to it.

In addition, for some people who are good drinkers, it is also very difficult to quit drinking, and eating without drinking is boring. But long-term drinking can also make diseases more likely to occur. For a 70-year-old person, the metabolism in the liver and body will weaken, making it more difficult to metabolize alcohol. At this time, it is necessary to reduce drinking.

After alcohol enters the human body, it will directly damage the liver, cranial nerves, blood vessels and other parts. The elderly are more likely to suffer from liver disease, weakened reaction ability and other problems. Moreover, many elderly people also have chronic diseases and require long-term medication. Taking aspirin can prevent cardiovascular disease. Drinking alcohol after taking the medicine is likely to affect the efficacy of the medicine, induce more serious gastrointestinal damage, and even increase the metabolic burden on the liver, leading to cirrhosis and even liver cancer.

We should not just look at those individuals who smoke and drink for a long time. We must fully understand the disadvantages caused by smoking and drinking. Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of one thousand. For modern people, seventy years is not a very long life. If it is too late to quit smoking and drinking at this age, experts tell you that it is never too late to quit smoking and drinking.

As long as you make up your mind to quit smoking and drinking, it’s never too late, no matter how old you are. Seventy years old. Quitting smoking and drinking can also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, minimize damage to human organs, and prevent disease. And older people can also gain more benefits by quitting smoking and drinking, eating better, sleeping better, and being healthier.