Does Smoking Cause High Blood Pressure?

I don’t think anyone would deny that habitually smoking tobacco helps to raise your blood pressure. There have been many studies done that show how nicotine and other chemicals can cause arteries to constrict. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to know that constricted arteries means it’s harder for the blood to get through. The heart has to work harder and the blood pressure increases.

Yet how many of us may know people in their seventies and eighties still puffing away as they have for decades. Smoking clearly isn’t an inescapable early death sentence.

But statistically you are far more likely to have chronic high blood pressure and die prematurely of heart disease, or stroke, or cancer, or any number of fatal ailments if you are a smoker than a nonsmoker.

There’s no escaping that fact.

Does smoking cause high blood pressure?

But smoking isn’t the main cause of high blood pressure in the modern world. Stress is. Stress from debts, work, family, relationships … stress from living!

And there are a few things more stressful than being a smoker in the twenty first century! Smokers have become the modern social outcasts – the new lepers. That’s stressful.

Now the sensible advice from the non-smoker is simple “just quit”. But what if you love smoking. What if you need that smoke to relax and de-stress? To a person who as never smoked that probably sounds silly. But I think most smokers can relate.

I know because I smoked for more years than I care to count. And I still struggle with it at times. You never know when a cigarette is going to ambush you when your guard is down and demand to be smoked!

Hence I have put together a little book on smoking –

The Preach-Free Guide to Smoking and Quitting

The book serves two purposes:

1. It takes a fun look at the smoking habit and explores the psychology of a smoker  (the first version of this book was writes by a former smoker). And it does it with humor, empathy and cartoons. The book will also help you understand why you smoke. Since smoking is often used as a stress buster, it should help reduce those feelings of shame and guilt we feel for smoking. And it will help reduce your stress related high blood pressure – whether you quit or not.
2. If you are minded to butt out the cigarettes for the last time, this book will significantly up put the odds in your favor for success. It’s all a psychological battle really, as you’ll discover. You’ll learn how and why quitting smoking is no more difficult than jumping over a big puddle. It’s really that easy when you know how.

If you don’t smoke but know someone who does, it could be one of the best nag-free quit smoking help you could offer.

UPDATE: The Preach-Free Guide to Smoking and Quitting is now available as a free bonus when you buy my book:

Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally – The Complete 9 Step Guide

As the name suggests, the guide contains everything you need to know about how to lower your blood pressure and keep it low through easy, effective and enjoyable changes in lifestyle.

To make this simple and straightforward, the guide is laid out in nine easy-to-follow steps. These progressive steps are based on the principle that positive incremental change is always best in health matters.

Each chapter will take you further along the road of greater vigour and peace of mind (and a healthy blood pressure).

Click on the link below for more information (you can also download a free sample to check it out):

Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally Guide
(with free Preach-Free Guide to Smoking and Quitting)

All the best,

Simon