If you are a smoker or one of your loved ones is, by now you should know the life risking consequences of smoking, and the struggles of nicotine withdrawal. With the introduction smoking cessation drugs, there now exists a new way to quit smoking. The prescription drug Zyban (bupropion) is currently the only stop-smoking medication on the market geared to making smokers quit within a week. Acomplia (rimonabant), a breakthrough drug that helps to lose weight and quit smoking, will also be released in 2006.

According to data gathered by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the life threatening affects of smoking are as numerous as they are alarming. Smoking causes lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Smoking also causes heart disease, and the third leading cause of death in the United States - stroke (a clot in a brain blood vassal).

Unfortunately, the damage doesn't stop there. Smoking also causes mouth cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, cancer of the pancreas, cancer of the cervix, larynx and esophagus cancer, liver cancer, and colorectal cancer. Smokers are also at greater risk of developing cataracts, which causes blindness.

If you're a woman, it is important to know that female smokers experience earlier and more disturbing menopause. According to the general surgeon report, smoking-related diseases cause women smokers to lose on average 14 years of potential life! Smoking also increases the risk of infertility.

Secondhand smoking damages the people around you and increases their risk of developing respiratory diseases and lung cancer. It is very important not to smoke during pregnancy and around pregnant women, babies and children. Smoking can cause premature birth, low birth weight which is a major cause of infant deaths, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory diseases, and other conditions. When you quit smoking, you're doing it not just for your own health, but for the sake of your family.

The good news is that no matter at what age you stop smoking you reduce the risk of coronary heart disease within a year or two. Five to 15 years after quitting, the risk of stroke is reduced to that of someone who has never smoked. Plus smoking cessation will make you cough less, have less congestion, and feel less tired and less short of breath. It has been reported that women who quit smoking greatly reduce their risk of premature death, and after 10-15 years of nicotine-free life, the risk is reduced significantly.

Smoking cessation drugs, (Zyban and Acomplia), are prescribed medications that operate on the brain and nerve system to control nicotine cravings. Currently Zyban (bupropion) is the only quit-smoking drug on the market. In 2006 drug manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis will release Acomplia (rimonabant).

Zyban reduces nicotine cravings, and consequently your urge to smoke and withdrawal symptoms. It can allow you to quit within one week from the beginning of treatment. Upon first taking Zyban, a date is chosen in the second or third week of treatment. Meanwhile you can go on smoking as before. When the chosen date has arrived, one simply stops smoking, and goes on taking Zyban for no longer than 6 months. As with all drugs, it is advised that a healtcare provider is consulted before taking Zyban.

Acomplia (rimonabant) is weight loss drug that can also help you quit smoking. Acomplia reduces food cravings as well as nicotine cravings, so you can quit smoking without worrying about gaining weight. Acomplia's additional benefit is a decrease of other risk factors such as high cholesterol and blood fat levels and waist line fats, which cause heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Acomplia will be released in 2006.